Thought about this earlier today and wanted to make one thing very clear: people with high (and low) IQs come from all races, ethnic backgrounds, genders, ages, SES demographics, etc. The difference is in the range and ratios found among these different groups. Again, I will not even delve into the possible reasons for this, because that is not my specialty…and even the experts don’t know, or don’t want to definitively say anything one way or another.
The RPM is a good test that will definitely identify students who are superior when it comes to certain types of logic, reasoning, and visual-spatial skills. And while the results from this test tend to overlap with the results from other intelligence tests, it is more limited in what it is testing.
While it’s good to use tests that remove cultural and linguistic biases, some people think it’s important to test for these other skills, as well. Verbal-linguistic intelligence, memory, arithmetic, conceptual thinking, understanding of social issues, etc. are all very important, too. Again, while strength in the RPM assessment might overlap with some of these things, it doesn’t cover all of them. Other IQ tests look at visual-spatial skills, but they are looking at many other skills, as well. Not saying that they are better, just that they are different.
Some students are better at math, some at reading, some at logic/debate, some have superior social skills, some have better “street smarts” which many would argue is just as important as intellectual strength. It’s difficult to measure everything with a single test, but what we do know is that higher scores on IQ tests (including the RPM) are highly correlated with wealth, good decision making, higher education, better/longer-lasting marriages (and children born to married parents), etc.
Now, are we failing those who don’t score well on IQ tests? I would argue that we are, but it’s not the teachers who are doing this, it’s the entire educational system, the politicians and corporate leaders who are pushing education in a particular direction, and it’s also because our economic system isn’t set up to give everyone an equal chance, given the same effort expended. I think that is wrong, but we would have to revamp our entire economy and educational system in order to fix it, IMHO, and that just isn’t going to happen.
All that being said, if the cultural and language barriers were the crux of the problem, why do so many Asian students do so well, especially when one considers the fact that their languages and cultures are even more dissimilar than many of those who perform poorly on these tests? …Of course, some would argue that the people coming over from China, Japan, Korea, etc. are wealthier (therefore, more intelligent) while the people coming from Latin America and Africa are more likely to be the downtrodden because they are more likely to be descendents of slaves, or people who weren’t doing well in their native Latin American countries, so made their way over here. Then, we’re right back to, “I just don’t know.”
