Testing in the United States and Mexico

Testing for Intelligence?

It is important for a teacher to be aware of the abilities and disabilities of a child in as many areas as possible, but many abilities can be assessed on an ongoing basis. There are many areas like music, dance, and visual arts in which  a teacher may not be able to help a gifted child improve, but if there is a way to assess a child’s talents in these areas, the results can be shared with parents so the parents have a choice of seeking away to develop their child’s talent. Social skills might also be difficult to numerically assess, but if a teacher sees talent in this area, the teacher should think of ways to give opportunities to a child with social skills or understanding, so that this child can develop the talent that could lead to a career in leadership or psychology, for example.

I used to not be very concerned with IQ tests and I figured that the results weren’t worth knowing because everything a parent or teacher would need to know about a student could be known just by knowing the student. At one point in my life, however, I had a reason to ask a principal what the IQs of my four oldest children were. This was necessary partially because not everyone knows a student or child as well as any one parent might know a child. One of my children was in fourth grade and she had at least three siblings in her elementary school who were both older and younger than she was. The other siblings were receiving straight As. When her dad, my husband, saw that her grades were not the same as her siblings, he assumed that she was not trying as hard as her siblings were and said something to her about not trying hard that made my daughter sad. I was not happy about this because I was afraid that my daughter might get discouraged and cease to try as hard as she was trying. I told my husband that our other children did not have to try very hard to get the grades they were getting and that the chances were that the one whose grades were very good but not straight A s was trying harder than the ones that had straight A s. I also remember that this daughter had particular trouble with Spanish class and with spelling. She may have gotten a C in spelling. Before she graduated with her master’s, we were both very happy there was spell check on the computer.

I went to the principal and explained why I wanted to know the IQs of my children. She told me that my oldest daughter’s IQ was 140, my second daughter’s IQ was 130, my son’s IQ was 139, and the IQ of my adoptive daughter, who was six months older than my son, was 100. With that said, it is important that I note that my adoptive daughter has always been socially brilliant and wise, and she has always noticed that my other children don’t  have as much social intelligence as she does. After I had this information, I was able to be strong in my conviction that I was encouraging this daughter just enough and that I should discourage my husband from discouraging my socially intelligent daughter who has now completed a master’s degree in social work and is the first person in our nuclear family to complete a master’s degree.

I am not a bit sure that children should ever know their IQ scores because a person should not feel limited, and since other talents cannot be measured in this way, the one thing that can be measured might be mistaken for the measure of a person’s value.  I think it is useful for teachers to know IQs because they measure a student’s abilities to learn academic subjects. For example, if a teacher knows that a student has a high IQ, the teacher can help the student, who is gifted academically, learn the one thing that student has trouble learning at school, how to work hard and take on a challenge. The teacher can do this by offering the student extra work and raising the bar for an A in that teacher’s class. If the teacher knows that a student has a lower IQ, that teacher can also work to identify the student’s strengths and help the child use the strengths to overcome the student’s weaknesses.

Academic Testing in Mexico

                In Mexico, children between the ages of six and fifteen are required to go to school. There are primary schools for grades one through six, lower-secondary schools for grades seven through nine, and upper-secondary schools for grades 10-12 (Educational Innovation, n.d.). In 1992, there was a controversy about a test that was required of students who wanted to attend upper-secondary school in the Mexico City area. After the controversy, there was question of whether they would even do the test the next year (Fairtest, n.d.). In 2006, it was standard to have admission tests for both lower-and upper-secondary schools. The tests are partially for appropriate placement of students because some secondary schools are technical or occupational schools (Rowling, 2006).

Educational Innovation (n.d.). Mexico. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/eduvsintel/schooling-2/schooling-around-the-world/mexico

Fairtest (n.d.). Protests against teaching in Mexico. Retrieved from http://fairtest.org/protests-against-teaching-mexico

Rowling, K. (2006, June). Education in Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.wes.org/ewenr/06jun/practical.htm