IQs increased by about 30 points in the 20th century. Part of this increase may have been the result of increased standardized testing because testing improves the skills on which students are tested. But although these practices may increase general intelligence, they may impede the development of creativity and wisdom. As a result, our society may be achieving short-term increases in well-being at the expense of long-term ones. Instruction and assessment need to better balance the development of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrownP.C.RoedigerH.L.IIIMcDanielM.A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: Belknap/Harvard.
2.
DearyI.J.WhalleyL.J. (2008). A lifetime of intelligence: Follow-up studies of the Scottish mental surveys of 1932 and 1947. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
3.
DettermanD.K.SternbergR.J. (Eds.) (1982). How and how much can intelligence be increased?Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
4.
EricssonK.A.KrampeR.T.Tesch-RomerC. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100 (3), 363–406.
5.
FlynnJ.R. (2012). Are we getting smarter? Rising IQ in the 21st century. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
6.
FreyM.C.DettermanD.K. (2004). Scholastic assessment or g?The relationship between the SAT and general cognitive ability. Psychological Science, 15 (6), 373–398.
7.
GardnerH. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books.
8.
GregoryR.J. (2013). Psychological testing: History, principles, and applications (7th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
9.
KamenetzA. (2015). The test: Why our schools are obsessed with standardized testing — but you don’t have to be. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
10.
KoenigK.A.FreyM.C.DettermanD.K. (2008). ACT and general cognitive ability. Intelligence, 36 (2), 153–160.
11.
NeisserU. (1998). The rising curve: Long-term gains in IQ and related measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
12.
SkinnerB.F. (1965). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: Free Press.
13.
SternbergR.J. (1985). Beyond IQ. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
14.
SternbergR.J. (1988). The triarchic mind: A new theory of intelligence. New York, NY: Viking.
15.
SternbergR.J. (1997). Successful intelligence. New York, NY: Plume.
16.
SternbergR.J. (2002). Why smart people can be so stupid. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
17.
SternbergR.J. (2003). WICS: A model for leadership in organizations. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2, 386–401.
