On Wed, 29 Sep 2004, ravi wrote:
> i notice that compared to an older post, you have now modified "academic
> achievement" to "intellectually challenging settings", a smaller subset
> of college programs: such as med school, grad school, theoretical
> physics. would you consider this modification as your answer to my
> earlier post (in response to you) where i pointed out that data seem to
> suggest that SAT test results (which i used as a substitute for IQ
> tests) do not correlate well with college performance at all. i am
> enclosing the last message in that thread, below.
>
> i would appreciate pointers from you for the data and analysis that
> backs up your claim above.
Check out any intro psychology textbook (I'm serious; it's that banal).
> here's one relevant section from msn encarta:
[insert snarky comment about encarta here]
> of course a lot more analysis is needed to show that IQ test results and
> academic performance, even when they correlate, are not tracking
> variables (perhaps of a trait like aggression). there is also the
> trivial danger that one or the other result (more probably performance
> in intellectually challenging areas) is manipulated or ill-deserved.
Let me get this straight: aggressive people somehow get higher IQ scores and better school outcomes? whaaaa? It's not that complicated: IQ tests predict objective, nontrivial outcomes like completing medical school, getting a college degree, passing the bar. Are you really so cynical about formal education that people don't actually learn anything in any of this professional training? (And if you think these are ill-deserved credentials, why do you rely on the services of computer programmers, health professionals, and lawyers?)
It's strange that in the context of this list, I appear to be a supporter of IQ testing. In fact, I'm a pretty vociferous critic of the misinterpretation and misuse of the tests. But c'mon, let's base our arguments on evidence! (I should note that the problems that ravi points out about the SAT do not exist with IQ tests like the Stanford-Binet.)
Miles