Making sense of children’s intelligence test results:
(Everything you’ve always wanted to know about IQ but were afraid to ask)
Goals of Presentation
Overview the major theories of intelligence Explain what intelligence tests do & don’t measure Describe the relationship between IQ and poverty Overview the constructs of temperament & personality Provide ideas for cognitive- and temperamentcognitivetemperamentbased intervention strategies
Lynn E. Pelco, Ph.D. & Sandra Ward, Ph.D. Pelco, Project HOPE Virginia Annual Seminar Williamsburg, March 2007
What is Intelligence? Single Intelligence Theory
Single Intelligence: g = general intelligence Intelligence is a unitary trait explained by performance over a wide range of intellectual activities. Single intelligence theories assume that all abilities can be subsumed under one entity.
Examples of ‘g’ Theory Tests
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) (WISCDavid Wechsler defined intelligence as capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment. No attempt to rank subtests in importance All subtests were selected on the basis of measuring ‘g’. The scales of the WISC-IV (Verbal Comprehension, WISCPerceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, & Processing Speed) are not difference intelligences, but different ways ‘g’ can be expressed.
Multiple Intelligence Theory
Multiple Intelligence Theory assumes that different types of intelligence are actually distinct from one another (e.g., ga, gb, gc) Researchers who support a theory of multiple intelligence theory include: Gardner, Cattell, & Horn Cattell, EXAMPLE: Howard Gardner’s theory purports 8 different, unrelated types of intelligence…including linguistic, logicallogicalmathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, bodilynaturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.
‘g’ theory is a controversial topictopic-
John Carroll (1993) developed a map of known cognitive abilities.
Fluid intelligence Crystallized Intelligence Memory and Learning Broad Visual Perception Broad Auditory Perception Broad Retrieval Ability Broad Cognitive Speed Processing Speed (rxn time, decision speed)
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Contemporary Model of Intelligence: The CHC Model
CHC stands for “Carroll, Horn, Cattell” Cattell” The CHC Model is a ‘g’ theory of intelligence. CHC Model proposes 10 Broad Factors CHC Model proposes multiple narrow factors
10 Broad Factors of CHC Model
Fluid Intelligence (Gf) Crystallized Intelligence (Gc) Visual Processing (Gv) Auditory Processing (Ga) Short-term Memory (Gsm) ShortLong-term Associative Storage and Retrieval (Glr) LongCognitive Processing Speed (Gs) Decision/Reaction Time or Speed (Gt) Quantitative Reasoning/Knowledge (Gq) Reading/Writing (Grw)
Intelligence Tests & Poverty
Consistent mean differences on IQ tests between children from middle class and poverty across age levels. Getting off to a bad start…
Hart & Risley (1995) showed significant language differences by age 3 years between children living in poverty and children living in the middle class. They concluded that hearing lots of words, more affirmations and complex sentences had a positive effect on IQ.
Hart & Risley (1995)
Data when children were 3 years old… Intelligence Test Score (IQ) Number of words in child’s vocabulary Number of utterances spoken by parent/hr. Total number of encouragements vs. discouragements child heard Children from Poverty Ave = 79 Ave = 525 Ave = 178 Children from Middle Class Ave = 115 Ave = 1,100 Ave = 487
Ave = 75,000 vs 200,000
Ave = 500,000 vs 80,000
Why Measure Intelligence?
What the public thinks IQ tests measure If IQ tests measure ‘g’…what does ‘g’ tell us? The process is intuitively similar to taking the average of a sample of measurements of a single variable – ‘g’. ‘g’ is a summary measure of a sample of variables. ‘g’ is abstracted from various measures (of cognitive ability). How does ‘g’ develop? Biological Correlates of ‘g’: Strong correlates include mass of the prefrontal lobe, overall brain mass, and glucose metabolization rate within the brain. Environmental Correlates of ‘g”: nutrition, health, early stimulation (especially language related).
Contemporary Uses of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence tests are still used to predict a student’s achievement (‘g’ is statistically the most reliable predictor of academic performance). Currently, intelligence tests are being used more to assess the CHC abilities that are associated with academic achievement. Intelligence tests are now being used in conjunction with neuropsychological measures to help determine the underlying processing disorders of learning disabilities.
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Predicting Academic Achievement
Language development (e.g., Hart & Risley, 1995) and scores on intelligence Risley, tests do a reasonably good job of predicting academic achievement. Duckworth & Seligman (2005) found that reports of a student’s self-discipline selfpredicted twice as much variance as IQ in final GPA for a group of 164 8th graders.
Temperament & Personality
Temperament traits are the individual differences in behavioral tendencies that appear early in life and are biologically-rooted. These behavioral tendencies are biologicallyrelatively stable across various kinds of situations and over the course of time. Temperament determines not what a child does, but how a child typically interacts with his or her environment. Temperament acts as the foundation for personality development. Temperament and personality are not generally correlated with intelligence (i.e., IQ).
Why is Temperament Important?
Temperament influences a child’s development. Research has shown that temperament during preschool relates to children’s behavioral and social adjustment later in life. Specific temperament tendencies often elicit predictable responses from others, thereby setting up cycles of interactions that may limit learning opportunities for the child. Early temperament relates to later academic achievement. Specific temperament traits can act as protective factors or as risk factors for the child.
What are the temperament traits?
Activity level (sitters vs. movers) Approach/Withdrawal (‘I’ll try it’ vs. ‘I’d rather wait and see’) Persistence (‘I’ll keep trying’ vs ‘I’m done’) Mood (sunny vs. somber) Intensity level (dramatic vs. mellow)
Big 5 Adult Personality Factors
Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness Neuroticism
How does temperament develop into personality?
Costa & McCrae—biologically determined McCrae— Thomas & Chess—interactionally-determined… Chess— interactionallyGoodness of fit between biological predisposition and environmental context fosters or impedes development stability of temperament/personality across time is due to ‘niche picking’.
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Goodness of Fit
Goodness-of-fit refers to the consonance-Goodness- ofconsonance-or match--between the individual’s match--between temperament and his or her environment. Goodness-of-fit fosters optimal positive Goodness- ofdevelopment.
Coming to school ready to learn
Public schooling is structured (beginning in kindergarten) with the expectation that children come to school with many prerequisite skills
e.g., language development (using and understanding), persistence, self-control/selfself- control/selfdiscipline, self-monitoring, compliance, and selfresponse to verbal rewards.
The extent to which these prerequisite skills are not developed will impede academic progress.
Temperament-based Interventions Temperament(Pelco & Reed-Victor, 2003) Reed-
Using Information from Intelligence Tests
Interpretations of intelligence tests must be made in conjunction with other information. Conclusions about the child’s abilities cannot be made on the basis of a single score from an IQ test. Interpretations of Composite/Cluster scores are more reliable than interpretations of subtest scores. Ensure that aspects of the CHC model, relevant to the child’s difficulties, are assessed Qualitative analysis of the child’s performance is important to your interpretations. The most accurate decisions are made when one combines statistical techniques with sound clinical judgment.
Improve Goodness-of-Fit by making reasonable adaptations to Goodness- oflearning environment (e.g., home and classroom) based on child’s temperament. Encourage adult caregivers to understand their own personality styles & how these interact with the child’s temperament traits. Across time (long term) instruct child to understand and work with with his/her own temperament. For example, helping a child with low persistence learn to persevere Use language of acceptance.
Using Information from Intelligence Tests
Determine what aspects of intelligence (e.g., memory, auditory processing, etc) are important to assess with respect to the child’s referral concerns. Be sure that the instrument(s) you choose assess those abilities. Link intelligence test results to specific interventions designed to enhance the child’s educational performance (e.g., cognitively-based cognitivelystrategies) Just providing teachers and families with an overall IQ score is never helpful.
What IQ Tests Don’t Provide
Intelligence tests are not measures of innate ability. An IQ does not provide any information on HOW a child processes information. Intelligence tests to do not provide an accurate long-term prediction of overall life longsuccess. There are no validated profiles on intelligence tests that are related to specific disabilities.
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Cognitive Instruction Strategies
Cognitive strategies should be taught in conjunction with content and in content response to learner needs and capabilities. Teacher modeling and self-regulation lie at the heart of good instruction. selfExplicitness of instruction, with relatively greater teacher input about input what is to be learned during good strategy instruction is necessary. Phonemic Awareness Encourage rhyming Ask the child to supply missing details in stories Child can create and use maps Advanced organizers Graphic organizers Sequence steps of a task Teach self-monitoring (Stop & Think) selfMnemonics
References for Cognitive Instruction
Naglieri, J. A. & Pickering, E. B. Helping Children Learn: Intervention Intervention Handouts for Use in School and at Home Pressley, M., & Harris, K. R. (2006). Cognitive Strategies instruction: instruction: From basic research to classroom instruction. In P. A. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology. New York: MacMillan. Wood, E., Woloshyn, V. & Willoughby, T. Cognitive Strategy Instruction for Middle and High Schools. Pressley, M. J. & Woloshyn, V. Cognitive Strategy Instruction That That Really Improves Children's Academic Performance: 2nd edition. (Paperback)
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