Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Mandatory intelligence testing in schools ?

I never thought I'd see the day where a person (Thomas Bixler) running for political office (Congress in South Dakota) has suggested mandatory intelligence testing for all children in schools! As noted at the South Dakota War College Blog, Bixler's position is presented as:
  • Children should learn on certain grade levels based on personal intellect, therefore we should have mandatory intelligence testing for all students.
Didn't we try this decades ago with group IQ tests and tracking? Even I, a scholar of intelligence research and a coauthor of an intelligence battery (WJ III; Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability--Third Edition) do not believe that intelligence tests are that powerful and accurate (see my prior Forrest Gump post and report).

Can anyone say "South Dakota School Psychologists Full Employment Act?"

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