For a long time, the definition of intelligence has caused strong arguments among scholars. The cause of the debate arises from the difficulty in direct measuring of the intellectual capacity of an individual. The only measurable aspect is the manifestations of intelligence in behavior. The two theories that explain the assessment of intelligence present divergent opinions regarding the existence of one general intelligence and multiple various intelligences. The following paper suggests that the best measure of intelligence should possess the characteristics of validity, reliability, and standardization.
One of the means of measuring intelligence is the Stanford-Benet Test. The participants of this test are the individuals ranging from two years of age to adults. The items of this test require verbal and non-verbal responses from the participants. The test measures the cognitive processes such as the ability to make a sound judgment, comprehension, imagination, and memory. The results collected from numerous candidates over the years appear to follow a normal distribution. Most of the people tested scored the medium mark, whereas about 2% scored marks in the lower and upper quartile. Benet initially devised the test to help with the separation and placement of pupils in regular and special classes. He also designed 30 items to represent a score of 30 and administered the test on 50 randomly selected pupils, assigning the scores to different mental ages. If, for example, the average score for a ten-year-old was 20 and a seven-year-old pupil scored 20 marks, then the mental age of the seven-year-old pupil is 10. William Stern later formulated the idea of intelligence quotient by dividing the mental age by the chronological one, multiplying the result by 100. The IQ test classifies the candidates into the categories of average if they score 100, above average if they score above 100, and below average if they score less than 100 marks.
One postulation that supports the Stanford-Benet Test is the theory of general intelligence. The theory states that a single general factor, g, governs an individual’s level of intelligence. Spearman, however, argues that IQ is highly correlated with the cognitive tasks. He administered different types of tests covering different categories of cognitive ability of many people. The results of these tests indicated a positive correlation for an individual. A person who performed well in, say, a verbal test also performed well in other cognitive ability tests such as mathematics. He concluded that a single test could in fact measure the intelligence of an individual.
The second measure of intelligence is aptitude tests. They measure the capability of an individual to perform a specialized task such as doing well in a job or college training. Before securing the admission to a university in the US, students take a Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The tests help to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate students because they predict the student’s success in the specific fields. The results of the SAT are interpreted along with other related factors such as school grades, personal interviews, projects and extracurricular involvements. Aptitude tests cover a wide range of experiences such as verbal and numerical skills, and correlate with the general cognitive ability as well as the standard measure of intelligence.
The theory of multiple intelligences supports aptitude tests as a measure of intelligence. The proponents of this theory state that there is more than one type of intelligence, the numerous forms of which include musical, linguistic, interpersonal, spatial, and mathematical, among others. The theory also states that different parts of the brain are responsible for different intelligences. It suggests that a single measure cannot indicate an individual’s level of intelligence as it is dependent on the specific task against the performance of which an individual should be measured.
My determination of the method that makes the best measure of human intelligence is based on the criteria that the test should be valid, reliable, and standard. A test is valid if it accurately captures the aspect it attempts to assess. For example, a test intended to estimate mathematical ability should not have the instructions written in cryptic English. The results of the test should also meet an external criterion such as career success. The second criterion is reliability. The results of good intelligence tests should be consistent and stable. They should not show a significant variation if the same person retakes the test. The third criterion is standardization. The process of administering and interpreting the test should be uniform. That is, if the test involves interviewing the candidate, the interview questions should be the same for all the participants. Furthermore, the intellectual capacity of an individual is a measure of the level of difficulty of the task he can perform, the quality of actions, and the speed with which the individual can perform these actions.
Aptitude tests meet most of the above stated criteria compared to Benet tests. Aptitude tests examine the ability of an individual to learn a specific skill faster or perform better in a specific job. Besides, they are valid because they measure specialized abilities of a candidate in the field of interest. For example, if a college seeks to determine the suitability of a student and their ability to perform well in a mathematical course, they issue an aptitude test that checks numerical skills. The validity of aptitude tests, especially SAT, is enhanced by the inclusion of other factors such as school grades when interpreting the results of them. Aptitude tests evaluate the candidate’s ability to use the tests founded on the fundamental principles of a specialized field. The candidate is likely to score the same marks if he retakes the test because the evaluation of the tests depends on pre-determined principles. Such test is reliable. Aptitude tests are also standard because all the participants of an aptitude test do similar questions, which are then marked by standard principles.
The Stanford-Benet Test, popularly known as IQ test, is not, therefore, an effective method of measuring intelligence. The IQ tests classify a person’s cognitive ability into the scales of three classes. The individuals scoring 100 marks are average, above 130 are exceptionally intelligent, and below 70 have delays in developmental intelligence. Intelligence, however, is the possession of cognitive problem-solving skills, which are more complex than a single score. This sort of a test falls short of the validity criterion because it does not succinctly define the aspect it intends to measure. The test also oversimplifies the ability of the human brain since it does not accommodate the aspect of multiple intelligences. Besides, the test does not accurately measure the three fundamental indicators of intelligence that include verbal ability, reasoning skills, and short-term memory. The IQ tests lack the standardization criterion since they classify the responses according to ages and, therefore, do not have a uniform method of scoring.
In conclusion, IQ test cannot conclusively indicate the level of an individual’s intelligence. The human thought process is complex and a single measure cannot indicate the level of creativity, interpersonal abilities, and acquired skills such as art, for example. An assessment of intelligence should specifically estimate whether an individual can perform a specific task. For this reason, aptitude tests are a better intelligence evaluation medium. Apart from being valid, reliable and standardized, they measure the level to which a person can perform specific difficult tasks with speed while simultaneously achieving high quality.
Jaime Bradley is a talented writer at  https://qualitycustomessays.com. Whose hobby is to transfer his thought to the paper sheets.

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