PBL Muse #19: So you think you're smart

So here's this week’s question......how well does IQ equate to doing well in school?

Correlations of this magnitude tell us that IQ tests, on their best days, predict 40-50% of school achievement (Applied Psychometrics 101 – square the correlations and multiply by 100 to get the percent of variance explained). This is very good. Yet…50-60% of a person’s school achievement is still related to factors “beyond IQ!”

Today, IQ testing is one of the most common tools in the school system for assessing cognitive ability, classroom placement, need for accommodations and cognitive expectations. But good gracious, 50-60% achievement is beyond IQ! Rather than using IQ to tell us about our limitations, we should look for strengths that tell us what to build on.

What are some of the other predictors? Organization, will, desire, interest, are but a few. So while being smart is a good start its not the end all and be all.

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Maynard Luterman