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IELTS reading passage – Intelligence And Giftedness
Intelligence And Giftedness
The French Minister of Education, in 1904, tried to find a way to filter the unable from the merely lazy as he was having only limited resources for schooling. The task of devising selection principles is given to Alfred Binet who offered a clever solution which became a milestone on the study of intelligence. It was the forerunner of intelligence tests used still today. In 1905, he designed a thirty problem test which measures different abilities of intellect like judgement and reasoning. This test determines the child’s mental age based on their performance. For example, if a five year old child gets ten items correct on average, then a child with a mental age of five should score 10. It means that they perform as well as others of that age. Then, the child’s mental age is compared to his physical age.
If there is disparity between the child’s mental age and his physical age, then it suggests inability instead of laziness, which means he needs special schooling. However, Binet denies the test measures intelligence, its intent was simply diagnostic, for selection only. Later, numerous problems and misunderstandings occurred as the message was lost.
Though the Binet’s test was popular, it was a bit difficult to tackle the variety of physical and mental ages. So, Wilhelm Stem, in 1912, devised a formula where the mental age is divided by the physical age and multiplies the result by 100. An average child would score 100 irrespective of age. If it is less than 100, then he or she needs help, while scoring more than 100 means a child is well ahead of his peers.
The measurement of intelligence is now termed as IQ (Intelligence quotient) score and its purpose is to indicate how a person, adult or child performs relative to others. In 1916, Lewis M. Terman, a professor of psychology and education of Stanford University, coined the term IQ, who has done significant revisions on Binet’s test called the Stanford Binet test, versions of which are still given extensively.
Psychometrics, a field for studying intelligence and developing tests, is combined with psychology as a sub field. ‘Psycho’ means ‘mind’ and ‘metrics’ means ‘measurement’. In 1917, when Einstein published his grand theory of relativity, the practical side of psychometrics became popular, which are development and use of the tests. Germany’s submarine warfare triggered the United States to enter the First World War in the same year. The military had to develop an army quickly but it had around two million inductees to segregate. Psychometricians developed two intelligence tests to sort them out. This was the first major use for testing. The tests are given under horrible conditions, the examiners seemed to have a low level of commonsense and most of the recruits had no idea about what to do and in some sessions, the inductees score was zero. Also, the examiners conclusion was astounding which states that from their testing the average American adult’s intelligence was equal to the thirteen year old intelligence.
Intelligence testing also had political and social prejudice. They used to argue that Jews should be set apart from the United States as they are intellectually inferior and would pollute the racial mix. Also, blacks are not permitted to breed at all. This kind of abuse and test bias forms criticisms against psychometrics.
Measurement is an inevitable element of science and technology. Science can advance only further if the measurement devices improve. Psychometrics tried for a longer period of time to develop ways to measure psychological qualities including intelligence and more specific abilities, extroversion, emotional stability, compatibility, with marriage partners, and so on. If teachers and parents start to see the IQ as a definitive thing, it would take on a life of its own. It became a main issue in the 70s where the Courts put cases to stop everyone from making decisions based on IQ score. One of the major criticisms is that they don’t really measure intelligence, whether intelligence can be measured at all is being controversial. Some say it cannot measure intelligence and others say IQ tests attained great achievements.
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Intelligence And Giftedness IELTS reading questions
Questions 1 – 6
This reading passage has seven paragraphs, A–G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A – G, as your answer to each question.
- Wilhelm Stem devised a formula for calculating IQ scores.
- Psychometrics is a subfield of psychology.
- Alfred Binet offered a brilliant solution on the studying of Intelligence.
- The main criticism about Intelligence tests is that they don’t actually measure intelligence.
- Intelligence testing had political and social prejudice.
- Binet denied that his test measures intelligence.
Questions 7 – 11
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
7. Who coined the term IQ ?
- Alfred Binet
- Lewis M. Terman
- Sigmund Freud
- Wilhelm Stem
8. Which is a field for studying intelligence and developing tests ?
- Psychology
- Cognitive psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Psychometrics
9. Who ought to be set apart from the United States because they are intellectually inferior, according to intelligence testing ?
- Jews
- Blacks
- Psychologists
- Researchers
10. Which devices advance science further ?
- Intelligence
- Technology
- Measurement
- Advanced devices
11. When does IQ become a major issue ?
- 90s
- 70s
- 80s
- 60s
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Questions 12 – 14
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the reading passage for each answer.
| Year | Instances/Events |
| 1905 | 12_____ designed a thirty problem test which measures different aspects of intellect |
| 13_______ | Wilhelm Stem devised a formula where the mental age is divided by the physical age and multiplies the result by 100 |
| 1917 | The 14_____ side of psychometrics became popular |
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Intelligence And Giftedness IELTS reading answers
1. Paragraph C
2. Paragraph E
3. Paragraph A
4. Paragraph G
5. Paragraph F
6. Paragraph B
7. b. Lewis M. Terman
8. d. Psychometrics
9. a. Jews
10. c. Measurement
11. b. 70s
12. Alfred Binet
13. 1912
14. Practical
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