Intelligence Tests for Kids

Intelligence Tests for Kids
Intelligence Tests for Kids

Standardized intelligence tests for kids have been around nearly 100 years. These tests have become one of the primary tools for identifying children with mild to severe learning disabilities to mental retardation. Intelligence tests have helped the United States military place its new recruits in positions that suit their skills and abilities. And since the administration of the original Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) – adapted in 1926 from an intelligence test developed for the U.S. Army during World War I – it has spawned a variety of aptitude and achievement tests that shape the educational choices of millions of students each year. The intelligence test for children that dominates the field is the WISC-III – the third revision of psychologist David Wechsler’s 1949 test for children, which was modeled after Army intelligence tests developed during World War I.

Intelligence test for kids: Assessment
Intelligence tests for kids are sometimes called “potential based assessments”. This is because they provide an educated guess as to how well an individual may be expected to perform in school. There is much statistical data evidencing the power of these tests to predict future scholastic achievement. Discussions about this data can often be confusing due to the technical wording and procedures that these tests use. Most potential based assessments are standardized. Standardized tests have a straightforward set of criteria that the examiner must follow. These criteria dictate the way that the test is administered as well as scored, the wording of questions, what responses are acceptable, etc. The goal of standardization is to control all of the elements involved in the testing process with the exception of the child’s responses. The standardization can even extend to instructions about the testing environment, such as where the test should take place and who can be present.

Intelligence tests for kids: Remediation
Standardized intelligence tests for kids have incurred some criticism. However, due to their long history, and the amount of work that has gone into them, they are a fairly reliable measure of expected school achievement. When a standardized test is normal, it means that it was initially administered to a large number of children, usually in the thousands. Ideally, this normal is characteristic of the children who ultimately will be taking the standardized instrument. When looking at results from such a test, there exists a degree in comparing an individual’s scores to the scores of other people of the same age. In this way it is possible to say how well a person performed relative to his peers. At LearningRx, we specialize in brain training. We give kids the skills to do well on standardized tests and well in the classroom. Call a LearningRx Center near you or check us out at www.learningrx.com.

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