Fireside Chats 2017
QUOTE
“They are at
university, so why
do they need an
IQ test?”
Jane Kirk
Why IQ persists as a tool for educational placement
Educational placement should be based on a set of criteria that are
appropriate to the context.
There is extensive research that clearly demonstrates that two aspects may
be correlated, but cannot be used at the individual level for placement.
Expectations, Predictions and Correlations
Reading ability is highly correlated with parental income. Reading ability
can be measured using a standardized test. Parental income can be
measured. Parental income is correlated with reading at about the same
level as IQ (around 0.4 to 0.6). Dyslexia is a function of reading ability.
Since (to some people) correlations are more important than construct
validity, then dyslexia must be measurable using parental income.
Footnote
Sadly, when she presented this to one
group of professionals, one person
seriously thought that this should
therefore be adopted as the new test
for dyslexia!!!
Thanks to Linda Siegel uses the example
Rethinking Special Education for a New Century
Rethinking Special Education for a New Century
… IQ scores reflect primarily a gross estimate of
current general cognitive functioning and should
not be used as a measure of learning potential
Rethinking Special Education for a New Century
… is fraught with psychometric,
statistical and conceptual problems
that render many comparisons useless.
Rethinking Special Education for a New Century
Move the emphasis from
eligibility to intervention
(Historic and
often misguided)
(The needs of NOW)
Rethinking Special Education for a New Century
IQ and Reading Achievement Correlations
As Stanovich says (page 358) that the field “has been so carried away with
the face validity of the notion that achievement discrepancies from aptitude
should be important that is has completely forgotten where the burden of
proof lies.”
“The popularity in educational practice of the use of the concept of
intelligence as a BENCHMARK in the definition of reading disability …… surely
one would be hard-pressed to find a concept more controversial than
intelligence in all of psychology!” p340
Correlations between IQ and Reading Achievement
Bryant et al (1989)
Juel, Griffiths and Gough (1986)
Lundberg, Olafsson and Wall (1980)
Stanovich, Cunningham and Cramer (1984)
Stanovich Cunningham and Feeman (1984)
Torneus (1984)
Tunmer and Nesdale (1985)
Tunmer, Herriman and Nesdale (1988)
0.28-0.58
0.40
0.29
0.55
0.29
0.30
0.11
0.13-0.42
Source: Stanovich KE (2000) Progress in Understanding Reading New York. Guilford Press p60.
Resistance to change – Review
Thomson stated (p16) “a significant discrepancy between cognitive ability
and attainment scores is a crucial part of diagnosis”)
He also states (p11) that there is “no longer a discrepancy between expected
and observed reading”.
It is unlikely to be that Thomson is
suggesting that they are no longer dyslexic.
But the statements seem to suggest that
the basic premise (identification of dyslexia
by use of the discrepancy model) of the
paper is questionable.
Source: Dyslexia Forum discussion with IS
Resistance to change
The major reasons that could
be considered are:
• A vested interest
• The fear of admitting errors
• The fear that even more
people will need support.
• Not knowing better
Resistance to change
They agree everything you say, and then carry on as before.
Vested interests
If I am right, then the IQ test should finally be put to rest as inappropriate in the
identification of dyslexia, the need for using IQ tests disappears, the need for
specialist who are qualified to use them disappears, and the whole process becomes
more accessible, faster and cheaper.
So some “Advisors” would stand to lose a lot of money if the need for IQ was
removed.
However, if should not be forgotten that what is always important is the ability to
interpret the test, and the only persons qualified are those who are trained in the
appropriate interpretation of test results. It is not the paper qualification that counts,
but the training and experience.
Smythe I (2003) Dyslexia Forum
Resistance to change
After each round, a facilitator or change agent provides an anonymous summary of
the experts’ forecasts from the previous round as well as the reasons they provided
for their judgments. Thus, experts are encouraged to revise their earlier answers in
light of the replies of other members of their panel. It is believed that during this
process the range of the answers will decrease and the group will converge towards
the "correct" answer.
…………..
Their identity is not revealed, even after the completion of the final report. This
prevents the authority, personality, or reputation of some participants from
dominating others in the process.
Resistance to change – Dyslexia Forum discussion with IS
Another student I taught was convinced she was stupid - because she was 11 yrs old
and had still not managed to learn to read - in fact had trouble decoding cvc words.
An assessment found that her IQ was in the top 2% of the population. She gradually
started to believe in herself and her intelligence - and it was vital for her to have
evidence from the EP that she was bright - as her reading skills strengthened to the
point that reading became a pleasure for her and she did well in her mainstream
English classes. The reading gap had closed with our dyslexia unit programme.
So if the “reading gap” closed, then it cannot be a definition for the condition.
Resistance to change – Forum discussion with IS
“a boy with an IQ of 120 who, after work in our unit, attained a Word Identification
and Word Attack in expected range but his Passage Comprehension was not - over a
period of about a year and a half. On the basis of this I recommended a full vision
test and it was found, as I suspected, that he had too many regressive saccades
(backwards eye movements) along a line of text. After vision therapy, carried out at
home, his PC has come up to expected levels.”
Point 1
This means that those with lower IQ would not be recognised and supported, and will
not reach their potential because of the assessors (misguided) expectations.
Point 2
If their dyslexia criterion is based on a discrepancy model, and the discrepancy is no
longer there, then it means the individual is no longer dyslexic. Yet dyslexia is a lifelong condition. So he cannot have been dyslexic.
Source: Dyslexia Forum discussion with IS
Resistance to change – Forum discussion with IS
“I did NOT say that reading comp and IQ "always" correlate. I was careful to say that I
would "expect" it to correlate. This is based on years of classroom experience. A
hypothesis is only that.”
Comment: So you are using a hypothesis that has been disproved!
“…an IQ and reading achievement which is unexpected”
But what or who creates the expectation?
The expectation is created by the individual and not by science.
So you are teaching to fulfil your expectations
and not their potential!
Logic Statement 1
1. To identify a problem in an individual, you need to set
criteria
2. In order to set research criteria, you need an unequivocal,
widely accepted, definition
3. There is no unequivocal definition of a reading disability
4. Therefore, one cannot say who conforms to the criteria and
has a reading disability
5. However, whatever definition the investigator uses should
make logical sense.
Logic Statement 2
1. The IQ - reading achievement hypothesis states that dyslexia
is present when the reading achievement score does not
correspond to the level predicted by the IQ measure.
2. The fact that it is unexpected is based purely on the IQ level,
and suggests that the IQ predict reading ability.
3. However, the fact that the IQ score does not always predict
reading disability, since there is sometimes a discrepancy,
demonstrates that IQ cannot predict reading ability, and
thereby invalidates the assumption made in (2).
4. Therefore the discrepancy hypothesis is invalid.
Logic Statement 3
1. The only tests that can determine a reading disability are
those that confirm the diagnosis with respect to the
definition
2. The definition states a reading disability is defined by
difficulties in the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading
skills.
3. An IQ test does not measure fluency and accuracy of reading.
4. Therefore, a measure of IQ is not required to determine if an
individual is dyslexic.
Logic Statement 4
As to being an indicator of potential achievement, it is at best a
measure of current functioning. However, consider the following:
1. It is suggested that the IQ test is included as it is a predictor
of achievement.
2. The correlation between IQ and achievement is, at best, 0.6
3. Therefore the percent of variance in achievement predicted
by IQ is less than 40%
4. Therefore the IQ test cannot be seen as a reliable predictor of
achievement.
Using Logic
It is not the label that determines support,
it is the understanding of the difficulties
which leads to appropriate support.
Source: Ian Smythe
Some psychometrics
https://www.slideshare.net/iapsych/forrest-gump-and-iq-expectations
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Which is real data and which is randomly generated?
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Some psychometrics
Weschler viewpoint
Weschler believed intelligence involved persistence,
motivation, and moral and aesthetic values, among other
things (Weschler, 1971). Thus, Weschler was clear that he did
not think his tests reflected “intelligence”:
“….. the abilities called for to perform these tasks do not, per
se, constitute intelligence or even represent the only way in
which it may express itself. They are used and can serve as
tests of intelligence because they have been shown to
correlate with otherwise widely accepted criteria of
intelligent behaviour.” (Weschler, 1971, p52)
In the end …..
British Psychological Society Working Party Report “Dyslexia, Literacy and
Psychological Assessment”, which states:
The validity of identifying dyslexia in terms of statistically unexpected
contrasts between actual literacy attainments and those predicted
on the grounds of IQ scores, is not supported by the body of
evidence showing that children of different IQ levels perform
similarly on a variety of measures in reading and spelling
Statistically unexpected contrasts between individual normreferenced reading test scores and those predicted on the basis of IQ
scores (discrepancy criteria of dyslexia) can be criticized on
theoretical grounds.
Analogy
Hypothesis:
Weight is related to
fuel consumption
Light cars
use less fuel
Use weight as a basis
for taxing cars.
Unfair?
Some cars are 50% more
efficient despite same
weight
Analogy
Hypothesis:
Use weight
as tax basis
Heavy
electric cars
are free?
Electric
(Tesla
Model S)
Assess using
appropriate
criteria
Analogy
Hypothesis:
Engine size
as tax basis
Penalise some
heavy cars with
economic mpg
Assess using
appropriate
criteria
Conclusions
Conclusions
Early identification
Response to intervention
Ongoing monitoring and evaluation
Define the purpose and
use tools that are fit for that purpose
In the end …..
“It is easier to accept something
we don't understand than trying to understand
something that should not be accepted.”
Source: Ian Smythe, 2017
The NEXT Fireside Chat
www.profileranalytics.com
The problems
of testing
reading fluency
Presented by
Dr Ian Smythe
Tuesday, 11th April
7pm UK time
Link: dotr.im/11Apr17