Cultural Bias 1

There is a vast number of different IQ tests developed that we use today. The first highly regarded IQ test was the Stanford-Binet test, now in its fifth edition (Roid, 2003). This test was originally developed by the French psychologist Alfred Binet to identify children who were mentally retarded, in the hope that they could be protected from being beaten, shamed, or otherwise punished because they did not learn as fast as other children. An American named David Wechsler developed another set of IQ tests. There are Wechsler tests for preschoolers (the WPPSI, or Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence), for adults (the WAIS, or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), and for school-age children (The WISC, or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), now in its fourth edition (D, Wechsler, 2003). Like the binet test, the Wechsler tests provide one overall IQ score, but also have 10 subtests including tests of vocabulary, general knowledge, memory, and spatial comprehension, each of which provides a score. The results of five of the subtests provide a verbal IQ (measured by vocabulary, math problems, and so on); the results of the other five yield a performance IQ score (measured by puzzles, copying shapes and so on).There are vast number of IQ tests developed that we use today that we reflect cultural bias.

A problem is now apparent with all major IQ tests: They reflect cultural bias. Every exam reflects the culture of those who write and administer it (Armour-Thomas & Gopaul-McNicol, 1998, Cianciolo & Sternberg, 2004). In the United States, children of immigrant families or nonEuropean back- grounds score lower on IQ tests, but those scores do not accurately reflect their learning potential. Because their scores are lower, a higher portion of such children are designated as mentally retarded (IQ below 70). Because of the way scores are calculated if the overall average of an ethnic group is reduced by 10 points because of culturally unfair test

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questions, then about 12 percent of the group (not 2 percent, as is the case the population as a whole) will score below 70 and be labeled as having mental retardation. According to advocates of multiple intelligences (including Sternberg, Goleman, and Gardner), standard IQ tests measure only part of brain potential. Other scientists are critical of the idea of multiple intelligences (e.g, Visser et al., 2006; Waterhouse, 2006). But almost all agree that education should be tailored to individual students abilities, especially for children with special needs. There is a vast number of different IQ tests administered today. Some considered as standard but, all reflecting cultural bias. Tailoring these tests to an individual persons abilities can ultimately eliminate the cultural bias that some people face with IQ tests. Which will in able us to accurately measure the IQ of everyone regardless of cultural differences and bias.

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Works cited Armour-Thomas, Elanor, & Gopaul-McNicol, Sharon-Ann. (1998), Assessing intelligence: Applying a bio-cultural model. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cianciolo, Anna T., & Sternberg, Robert J. (2004). Intelligence: A brief history. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Roid, Gale H. (2003). Stanford-binet intelligence scales (5th ed). Istaca,IL: Riverside. Visser, Beth A., Ashton, Micheal C., & Vernon, Phillip A. (2006). Beyond g: putting multiple intelligences theory to the test. Intelligence, 34, 487-502. Waterhouse, Lynn. (2006).Multiple intelligences, the Mozart effect, and emotional intelligence: A critical review. Educational psychologist, 41, 207-225. Wechsler, David. (2003). Wechsler intelligence scale for childrenfourth edition (WISC-IV). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.