Psychological Testing-Laboratory | Psy 109.

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January 24, 2011 | Section B
Desiree Grace Tan | III AB Psychology

Reflection Paper: Intelligence Tests

Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) Results

Filipino Intelligence Test (FIT) Results

III CIS FIS (IV) GIS

Raw Score 26 22 20 46

T-Score 74 63 68 205 76 281

Percentile
99 90 96 99 99+ 99
Rank

What We Know

Upon hearing that one of two intelligence tests we are about to take is made

in the Philippines, I became skeptical as to whether this test is a well-founded

measure of our mental abilities. Upsetting it is to admit, I notice that Philippine-

made tests are still not as established and reputable as others, which I find evident

since most psychological tests administered here in the Philippines originate from

other countries, regardless of possible biases to cultural norms and differing values.

A sense of uncertainty and doubt surpasses me as well as I scanned the test

items of the Filipino Intelligence Test (FIT). While I was taking the FIT, I became even

less assured of the test’s validity, as I felt that there were several ambiguous

questions in the first few parts of the test. Moreover, some test questions were

extremely culture-oriented. I do not believe that knowledge about native dialects

and regional provinces in the country is a good test item that can suggest anything

about my overall intelligence. For instance, I may not know which region Iloilo

belongs to, but I can recall the capitals of India, Indonesia, or Ireland when asked.
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Moreover, many test items the FIT asked are quite limited in scope and has little

variety. One’s intellectual prowess cannot seem to be measured accurately on

merely recording on a few items on math problems, verbal analogies, and

vocabulary words that one must answer within a certain time limit.

I now begin to think that taking intelligence tests is similar to how one plays a

game of chance. What are the chances that this particular intelligence test aligns

with what you happen to know about the world around you? Some people may have

plenty of knowledge about world geography, and some are adept at the intricacies

of English grammar. Some then, are good at dancing and sports. Some are certified

experts at computer programming, some are amazing with creating stunning

paintings, and so on. It is evident that FIT and SPM cannot measure the specialized

knowledge, skills, and cognitive capacities of individual people. The amount of

varied knowledge and capabilities that can encompass one’s intellect is immense

and unquantifiable, and neither FIT, SPM, or any other intelligence test can measure

this all at once.

To illustrate, one’s capacity for intelligence, skills, and mental abilities is like a

large sponge, and all the world’s knowledge is represented by all the water that can

be found in Planet Earth. Each sponge can only hold a bit of water at a time, and

thus, people can only possess certain fragments of the world’s knowledge at a time.

There is just so much water, and it flows around the world for everybody else to

acquire and make us of. Even though one does not have particularly good numerical

ability skills, it does not mean that person is less intelligent than the one who got a

perfect score in the last math exam. The magical thing about the world’s skills

segregated among individuals is that in spite of us not able to know everything, our
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knowledge, skills, and talents are sharable among one another. One may be good at

taking photos but not in photo editing, and therefore asks his friend to edit them for

him, for example.

Feeling intelligent

So what use is an intelligence test then, when it doesn’t even measure a

fraction of what a person can be intellectually capable of? Intelligence tests can

simply give us a quick glimpse of just how much we know and are capable of

knowing in certain areas of expertise, translated in quantifiable terms, and attaching

a numerical value to our intelligence (or any other psychological construct, for that

matter) gives us a sense of certainty and validation on what we think we know

about ourselves. Overall, I felt satisfied with my test results in the FIT. However, my

percentile rank of 90% in Test II (analogy) is a little disappointing, since I expect to

get at least 95% and above in all tests.

With the Standard Progressive Matrices, however, I was more disappointed

upon hearing my percentile rank of 60 is merely equivalent to an Intellectually

Average ranking. Being a significantly grade-conscious student and always aiming

for higher than average scores, I do find it easy to accept to be labeled as average.

Again, these two tests, I believe, measures only a small fraction of our

intelligence, but this is also better than not having anything to measure our

intelligence with at all. There is always the possibility of error in these tests, whether

it measures intelligence or personality. I then therefore would not like to fully rely on

these tests in order to validate my intelligence.

Having always garnered honors from nursery school until high school, I have

been perceived by others as an above average individual in terms of intellectual

capacity. This then gave me ample confidence to pursue endeavors that require

plenty of rigorous mental work, which may have translated into my interests in

reading, writing, and research up to the present.

Because of my consistently high academic standing when I was younger, I do

not encounter any insecurity about my intellectual capabilities when I compare

myself to others. With regard to friends and classmates with higher GPAs than me, I

do not feel at all bothered or envious, but I do feel challenged into striving even

harder.

However, when I compare myself to what I may become, that is where my real

problem lies. I do not really know how smarter I can be compared to how smart I am

right now. Am I pushing myself as hard as I should be, in terms of improving my

brainpower? This question has been pondering me even more as I entered college,

wherein measures of one’s ability are measured in more ways than when I was back

in high school.

In the university setting, one’s intelligence is tested not only through written

and oral exams, but also in reflection papers, reports, projects, presentations, and

even in extra-curricular activities. Also, university students do not always find

themselves in competition with other people in terms of grades and how well they

perform academically, since everyone has equal chances of being a cum laude, of

getting an A, of getting into the Dean’s List. Ironically, is it more difficult to compete
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with oneself than with others. Complacency is always the main enemy, along with

neglect as its accomplice.

The potential to be smarter

Intelligence is an important aspect of myself. I admit that much of my self-

esteem comes from my intellectual capabilities. I quietly pride myself by knowing

that I am capable of knowing so many things, validated not by a measly intelligence

test, but by what I have achieved and done thus far in my life. Although I admit,

having taken these tests, assure me that I am still on the right track.

After having gone through these tests, I realize that intelligence tests can be

made differently, and now I question, are these tests still measuring the same

construct? Each and every test-maker has a different idea or schema of what

intelligence entails, and thus they design their tests according to their own personal

biases. There will never be a fully objective test, as each test designer will not be

able to study each and every concept there is and include it evenly and neatly into

one test.

I still am quite confused as to how interpreting how shapes and lines and

squiggles in the SPM form sequential patterns are supposedly able to accurately

measure one’s intellectual capacities. Outside the classroom, intelligence is applied

not on test booklets and testpapers, but in one’s work ethic, relations with others,

time management, organizational skills, leadership skills, and much more.

After taking the test, I realize that I still may have not realized my potentials

as much I realized I have. Because if so, I would have scored higher or perfectly in

both tests. I sometimes think that my level intelligence is more or less static, but
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there is always so much more to work on. Intelligence is a process, and grades may

just be there to give us helpful hints as to our progress. In spite of this, I believe we

can create a more accurate and reliable measure of intelligence, with time, effort,

and the right resources. One must always be reminded though: human intelligence

can never be fully reflected in numbers.

Each person’s intelligence is unique

Academic grades are also not good predictors of how smart one is. One

personal example of this is taking my Theology course under Fr. Dacanay. He is a

traditional type of teacher who sticks to traditional Catholic teachings, and expects

us to memorize and explain what he explained in class on our testpapers precisely

as how he taught them.

In this class, the ability to express oneself freely on paper does not work. We

are simply expected to replicate the lesson without any changes on our test papers.

I, having a tendency to be able to express ideas in my own words,

becamevulnerable under a class wherein he assessment of our understanding

purely through essays and reflections. Thus, I have failed my Theology 131 class

under him, after understanding all the lessons, attending all my classes (I never cut

a Th131 class that semester) studying all night for long exams. Not any of my

efforts to study Theology was reflected on my grades. How can a letter F ever clarify

that I did not cut any of this classes, that I listened intently to every point he made

in his lectures, and that I took down plenty of handwritten notes? This was such a

heartbreaking experience for me. I poured everything into that subject, but not a

single effort I made was recognized and acknowledge, and instead I got a failing
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mark. Is not Theology supposed to be personal, not intellectual? Here then lies the

disadvantage of testing things with too much objectivity, like in the intelligence

tests we have just taken.

Having a standardized test measure diverse individuals unjustly categorizes

them into little boxes, not taking into consideration what else they know, the

individual experiences they have went through so that their minds are filled with

unique versions of the knowledge of life. There is no intelligence test fit for the

“general population”, as it merely gives many generalizations and assumptions

about a person’s cleverness.

On psychology and psychological testing

There is still so much room for the improvement of psychological testing as a

field of study and as an application of psychological constructs in daily life. I am

hopeful that one day, intelligence tests will measure the mind’s capacity more

accurately. I staunchly believe in the theory of multiple intelligences, which these

two tests are not able to measure. Developmental psychologist Howard Gardner

proposed that there are nine multiple intelligences: spatial, linguistic, logical-

mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic,

and existential. A universal type of test that truly explores all these types of could

be the most effective way to measure one’s intelligence.

In spite of taking these tests, I would still rely more on personal perceptions of

my own intelligence. After all, only I know myself best, not a test conducted by

strangers who happen to be very much interested to know just how smart people

are in this world verbally, numerically, and analogically speaking. Some also want to
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find out how mentally capable we are by making sense of lines, shapes, and

patterns. Then again, the feeling of scoring in the 99 th percentile is always sends a

sense of thrill and elation inside me, and there’s that validation that I indeed

possess intellectual capacities allowing me to understand and reason out the many

remarkable, interesting, curious things I encounter in this world I live in.