IQ supporters see IQ measures as valid predictors of academic success. IQ critics believe that IQ is a limited measure of intelligence. This book tracks both sides of this debate. It provides a historical overview of IQ testing, and approaches both sides of the debate.

While the use of intelligence tests is widespread, they are not without controversy. IQ supporters see IQ measures as valid predictors of academic success, capable of proving real differences in intellectual abilities and influencing educational policy. IQ critics such as Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner believe that IQ is a limited measure of intelligence and that a truer picture should incorporate more cultural and contextual factors.Alan Kaufman, a fellow of four divisions of the American Psychological Association, is a centrist in this debate. As a protege of David Wechsler, Kaufman is a firmer believer in the goal of IQ tests, but believes that the system of IQ testing needs serious improvements. This provocative and controversial book tracks both sides of this ongoing debate. Kaufman provides a historical overview of IQ testing, and approaches both sides of the debate with critical questions, including: how do heredity and our cultural environment influence our intelligence; how does aging affect intelligence; are IQ tests irrelevant for Learning Disability Assessment; what will IQ tests be like in 2030.

Review

—Dr. S, PhD (07/01/2009)

Alan S. Kaufman, PhD, is Clinical Professor of Psychology at the Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center. Kaufman earned an AB degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1965; an MA in Educational Psychology from Columbia University in 1967; and a PhD from Columbia University in 1970 (under Robert L. Thorndike in Psychology: Measurement, Research, and Evaluation). While Assistant Director at The Psychological Corporation from 1968 to 1974, Kaufman worked closely with David Wechsler on the revision of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and supervised the stand