Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Effective HS Physics (was Statistics / more ...)



I think that is right, as I read that IQ was originally designed to predict
success in school. One of the big fallacies about IQ is that it is fixed.
The research of Feuerstein has shown that it is possible to dramatically
change IQ, even starting as late as age 15. If the sort of treatments that
are useful in changing thinking level were generally available, the effect
of SES (Socioeconomic Status) might be lessened.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX



I thought IQ tests were a good predictor of college success --
that's how they're
designed. The problem is they're misnamed. i.e. that's all they do.
(indirectly [concomitantly] they may measure socio-econ, status, english
comprehension, etc., but not I.Q. -- unless I.Q. is another
phrase meaning the
former.)

bc

P.s. What's SES?


Brian Whatcott wrote:

At 09:16 PM 1/2/02, Dan MacIsaac responded to this:
It is not PC to mention it, but an important predictor of
academic test results is that old faithful, the IQ measure.
This measure is designed to be normally distributed.
A high school may expect to see student results in
general that are
reasonably normal, even if test results are not 'marked on a curve'
[i.e. transformed to a normal distribution] for this reason alone.

Brian:

Check out Gould's book "The Mismeasure of Man" IQ is a very
cooked statistic
(as you say, "designed" for statistical reliability), but after reading
Gould's book I rather believe it measures very little about actual
intelligence (whatever that means). If you really want an
indicator for
predicting student success, try SES. If you are looking to
predict success
in college physics, look for whether the HS physics teacher
used no text.
(after Sadler's recent _science education_ article)
Dan M

Dan MacIsaac

I hope that if one party mentions a non-PC predictor of
academic success (IQ)
and another party responds with a PC predictor of academic success (SES)
then a reasonably conscious third party may see a statistical connection
between the two measures.
Moreover: what red-blooded American could be against socio-economic
status? And a relevant question: Is SES normally distributed?

But I really hoped someone would pick up on your no textbook
proposition -
it is so intuitively appealing. The *next* time someone asks for a
physics book recommendation (an almost monthly event, I
sometimes think:)
I hunger to read that someone is advising:
- "dump it in the round file: list the physics topics you
have something
interesting to talk about - and go for it!"

Brian Whatcott
Altus OK Eureka!