Test for Intelligence?

Finding a Solution for Intelligence Testing

I believe human beings have multifaceted talents social, cognitive, physical, and more.  To test only one aspect of a child’s genus is absolutely asinine.  In my opinion the test should address the whole person in order to get a true snap shot of who that person is, and what his/her potentials are.  

I agree with (Sternberg and Goleman , and Gardner) when they said ” humans have multiple intelligence, standard IQ test measure only part of brain potential.”  If intelligence is a jewel, then school needs to expand their curricula and tests, so that every child can shine (Williams et, al., 2006)

 Developing countries are my areas of interest, and African is one of the regions that interest me the most.  In rural Zambia  (Serpell) found the countries where Western schooling had not yet become common to the concept of testing intelligence was more extensive, and cultural friendly.  In rural Zambia, the concept of (nzelu) includes both cleverness (chenjela) and responsibility (tumikila). 

“When rural parents in Africa talk about intelligence of children, they prefer not to separate the cognitive speed aspect of intelligence from the social responsibility s.” says Serpell.

Sternberg and Grigorenko have investigated the African concepts of intelligence for the past several years.  They studied the Luo people of rural Kenya; Grigorenko and collaborators have found that ideas about intelligence consist of four broad concepts:  rieko which largely corresponds to the Western idea of academic intelligence, but also includes specific skills; luoro, which includes social qualities like respect responsibility and consideration; paro or practical thinking; and winjo, or comprehension,  Only one of rthe four –rieko- is correlated with traditional Western measures of intelligence. 

In another study in the same community, Sternberg and his collaborators found that children who score highly on a test of knowledge about medicinal herbs--a measure of practical intelligence--tend to score poorly on tests of academic intelligence.

The results, published in the journal Intelligence (Vol. 29, No. 5), suggest that practical and academic intelligence can develop independently or even in conflict with each other, and that the values of a culture may shape the direction in which a child develops.

They also agree with studies in a number of countries, both industrialized and non-industrialized, that suggests that people who are unable to solve complex problems in the abstract can often solve them when they are presented in a familiar context.

The end result of this research is twofold. As Sternberg has pointed out, lay theories of intelligence often lack the precision of scientific theories, but they can suggest new avenues of research, shed light on how people use intelligence in everyday life and highlight aspects of intelligence that scientific theories have ignored. Studying intelligence in different cultures can thus be a way of challenging conventional Western ideas about intelligence.

The humans have so many aspects to their being, how can we just focus on one of the as.  I have a child in my classes that find difficulties sitting down listening to story time, so he is allowed to roam quietly.  Later during the day that child will repeat the story almost verbatim.  Another four year old boy does not seem to recall colors and numbers, but in the block area his constructions are so detailed and elaborate they equal the level of a seven year old.   Just imagine if everyone in American was a doctor, lawyer, teacher i.e. professional, who would fix you plumbing, electrical program, deliver the mail, remove the rubbish, tailor your garments, and build your homes?  There is much more to our lives than what’s wrapped up in a single test score.  We have to find a way to service the whole child, and not limit their possibilities.