consistently high on, nor was there a test that all of the students scored consistently low on. The order of the tests also had no effect on the scores (Lawler, 1978, p. 40-43). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences defies testing. Current IQ tests measure less than half of Gardner’s catergories and then the results are combined into a single IQ score. Many of his catergories can not be tested with a standardized test. For instance, Gardner defines his newest catergory of intelligence ( the naturalist) as including a child that knows about dinosaurs, a child that knows different types of vegetation, or a child that knows about trees. There is no single test that can measure knowledge in each exclusive area of the naturalist (Carvin).Many also argue that the test is biased in the way that answers are scored. For example, one question used in the test for twelve year-olds asks the children to pretend that they have been sent to the store to buy a loaf a bread, but when they arrive the store is out of bread. The children are then asked what they would do with points only being scored for the answer of going to another store; however, for children living in large urban ghetto areas the most popular answer has traditionally been to go home. Researchers argue that, considering the environment that these children live in, going home would be a much more intelligent decision than attempting to go to another store (Lawler, 1978, p.34).Can intelligence be measured? Does an IQ test actually measure a person’s intelligence? The answers all depend on who you ask. ...
