Limitations of Intelligence assessment Essay Example for Free

Limitations of Intelligence assessment Essay Intelligence is defined as the ability for abstract thinking . It is the ability of an individual to act in a purposeful manner and think rationally as well as interact with the environment in an effective way. Some have also said that intelligence is whatever the intelligence tests assess which is usually dependent on the preferences of the test developer. According to Piaget, Intelligence is an equilibrium state towards which successive adaptatations of cognitive and sensorimotor patterns as well as accomodatory and assimilatory interactions between organism and environment tend towards (Flynn, 2007). Limitations of Intelligence assessment An intelligence assessment test does not show what an individual can do in specific areas and does not assess specific conditions such as dyslexia. A person with dyslexia may still have high intelligence quotient. An intelligence quotient score can be deceptive in that people with same IQ can have very different intellectual abilities. Furthermore, an IQ test does not measure raw intelligence or any absolute, inherent or innate ability. The IQ test is just a relative index of intelligence assessment which only compares one person’s performance with another of his own age (Flynn, 2007). Strengths of Intelligence assessment The strength lies in its purpose which can be educational, medical, research and vocational. In terms of vocation, IQ tests are used for vocational guidance as different vocations call for different aptitudes . In research IQ test are used to study mental growth as mental ability develop sequentially from birth onwards and so intelligence assessment can be used to see direction of individual and group curve it is also used in research to indicate the extent of differences of IQs among children of same calendar age and this will imply the need to provide materials at the different levels of difficulty. In medicine, IQ assessment is used to characterize the degree of mental retardation so as to evolve adequate management strategies. In education, it is used to identify gifted children and for homogenous grouping of children for educational effectiveness.