Английский язык. Горчакова Е.П - 40 стр.

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     Despite the lack of a precise definition of what it is that
mental tests measure, their use (by armies and industries as
well as schools) has demonstrated their practical utility.

     Psychologists still hope that accumulated data from
“intelligence tests” will eventually lead to an understanding of
the nature of mental ability.

     The test maker first select a number of the test items
which, in his opinion, might measure “intelligence”. These
items should then be tested to determine whether they are
culture-fair and whether they show a growth curve with age.
This last permits the assigning of an age level to each item.
The test is then standardized on a representative sample of the
population for which the test is designed.

     A child’s score is based on the number of items at each
age level answered correctly. This permits scoring in items of
mental age, MA. IQ (intelligence quotient) is computed by
dividing MA by chronological age, CA. This faction is then
multiplied by 100 to remove the decimal point, and is reported
in whole numbers. With this formula, it necessarily follows
that of 100; a child who does better than average will receive
an IQ score above 100; and a child who does worse than the
average, below 100.

      The rate of growth of mental ability seems to slow down
after about age 16, and may remain stationary after some point
in adulthood. Because chronological age continues to increase
(inexorably), this formula would inevitably scale, designed for
adults, makes no assumption about MA growth and compares
each person’s performance with his age-mates only. This test,
composed as it is of a number of subscales, can be used to
compute separate scores for different abilities as well as one
overall score.

     IQ scores are fairly successful in predicting performance
in grade and high schools, less so for become increasingly
important at that level. People with high IQ scores tend to do
well on most kinds on jobs. Some jobs attract those with