3 ms·
The author cites Charles Murray, co-author of The Bell Curve (1994), but does not really address the elephant in the room: why are so few blacks in gifted progr
by Bostonian 5y ago
The author cites Charles Murray, co-author of The Bell Curve (1994), but does not really address the elephant in the room: why are so few blacks in gifted programs and selective schools that admit based on IQ tests or other exams?
The standard deviation of IQ is 15, and a typical IQ threshold for a gifted program is 130, about 2 SD above the mean. Given that average IQs for whites and blacks in the U.S. are about 100 and 85, blacks will be quite under-represented in any merit-based admissions system. Similar white-black gaps are found in other tests such as SAT, ACT, and NAEP. Do we ignore that fact or give up on merit whenever it causes unequal outcomes?