Keith E. Stanovich, professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto will be honored for his 2009 book, What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought, by receiving the 2010 Grawemeyer Award in Education. In the article below Mr. Stanovich says “such tests [IQ and SAT] are incomplete measures of good thinking because they fail to take into account the rational skills needed to exercise good judgment in daily life.†Schools tend to reward academic success, and students who don’t score well on standardized tests need to know that there are many paths to success and that they aren’t their test score.
Two other pioneers on human intelligence and how it’s measured are Howard Gardner and his Multiple Intelligences theory and Robert Sternburg and his Successful Intelligence framework, which supports that analytical, creative and practical intelligences are requisite skills for a successful life. Schools tend to reward academic success, and students who don’t score well on standardized tests or IQ tests need to know that there are many paths to success and that they aren’t their test score. Like Stanovich, these educators stress that paper and pencil tests can’t adequately measure the scope of human potential, nor the various ways these abilities manifest themselves in college, career and life. Here is Sternberg’s definition of successful intelligence:
“The ability to acquire, develop, and apply a full range of intellectual skills, rather than relying on the inert intelligence that schools value.â€
Important Questions to Consider:
- How can schools balance integrating multiples intelligence and successful intelligence frameworks into their curricula while preparing students for standardized tests?
- What are other ways can schools honor the variety of intelligences and aptitudes that students exhibit and remove some of the obstacles that would allow students to follow other pathways to success?
- How can parents help their students experience success outside of school where their child’s gifts may not have full expression?
ARTICLE:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
December 2, 2009
Scholar Who Calls for Better Tests of Intelligence Wins Grawemeyer Award in Education
by Charles Huckabee
Keith E. Stanovich, a professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, will receive the 2010 Grawemeyer Award in Education, the University of Louisville has announced.
To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com
