Why is intelligence tested?
The reasons for starting to test intelligence are complex and varied. The tests have often functioned as sorting tools—a way to differentiate individuals or groups from others. An IQ score can be the basis for whether a child receives access to special education. It can be crucial when determining if a criminal is legally responsible or not. However, the tests have also caused significant harm, both in society and for individuals. They have been used to legitimize racist segregation, argue that some groups are less valuable than others, and justify medical procedures performed under coercion.
Photo: Helge Brekke MUV
The range of what intelligence tests have done and continue to do is therefore great.
But despite being controversial and always having been so, they continue to be used. The development of intelligence tests is characterized by pragmatism: the tests performed a function of sorting, organizing, and classifying, which made them useful tools in the hands of various professional groups.
The results of intelligence tests have always been subject to interpretation.
Even though the same tests have been used in many contexts, this does not mean that the test results have been interpreted in the same way. An IQ score can tell different stories depending on the time, institutional context, and who is interpreting the answer. Changing attitudes, scientific theories, and historical events have also influenced how the tests are understood, both in the past and today. At the same time, test results from the past are used to make statements about the present and to ensure that today's tests are statistically valid.
