After reading this thread I was amused to also read in our newspaper tonight
an advert for a public memorial lecture by Geraldine MacDonald, one of New
Zealand and the world's most eminent workers in the field of educational
testing and human intelligence.
The lecture summary says:
" Let's suppose that the IQ test is the most flawless means of measuring
intelligence known to humanity. What does it tell us?
If you were born in April, May or June, you are on average bound to be
lessinrtelligent than everyone else. Aries, Taurus, Gemini or Cancer, by
virtue of your birth date you are bound to be .....um....necessarily thick.
If you are a girl your score will be manipulated to make you shine less
brightly than you really do. And if you are an average Maori boy, well,
because average Maori boys tend to move slower through the early years of
schooling than your pakeha (European) peers IQ tests will be used to persecute
you throughout your school days and make you seem subnormal..
Despite the obvious absurdity of all this people (especially radical, right
wing, male politicians) continue to believe in them almost a century after
they were invented. The inherent stupidity of IQ testing will be the subject
of this year's Beeby Memorial Lecture........."
Phillip Capper
Centre for Research on Work, Education and Business
Wellington
New Zealand
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