Annually vast numbers of students who have just finished school submit an application for admission to tertiary institutions, as funding by government is determined by the quantity of students who pass; the institutions have a preference to admit students who will be successful and therefore admission testing programmes are often used. Group tests are intended to access cognitive aptitudes that are applicable to academic accomplishment. Generally amalgamations of verbal and non-verbal subtests offer a total ability score. Yet some group measures comprise only of verbal or non-verbal content.
The development of culture fair measures for instance concentrates on non-verbal measures of general intelligenc. Different Theoretical Approaches to IntelligenceDefining IntelligenceTo define intelligence has posed to be a problem as many theorists have theirown definition and haven’t come to an agreement on how to define cognitive intelligence. The word intelligence comes from the Latin verb intelligere which is obtained from inter-legere implying to pick out or discriminate . A form of this verb, intellectus, became the medieval scientific name for understanding. Intelligence is unconstrained by particular training and customs which have been regarded as vital for human intelligence testing since the beginning of the 1900s. Charles Spearman suggested that there might be a general intelligence aspect related to all intellectual tasks, but its nature was never very apparent.
Intelligence includes culturally defined ways of thinking, but is not limited to:* Abstract thought* Understanding* Self-awareness* Communication* Reasoning* Learning* Having emotional knowledge* Retaining* Planning* Problem solvingTheories Underlying Types of TestingA range of methods to test human intelligence have been adapted, the psychometric approach is particularly well-known, in addition to being the most studied and certainly the most commonly used in practical settings. Each of the theories has its origin in the differential; the main crux of this approach is the study and measurement of individual distinctions in psychological traits [ (2013, p. 48) ].Statistical methods for instance correlational and particularly factor – analytic methods are intended to ascertain the fundamental basis of distinction among individuals.
Research is focussed toward determining the formation of mental abilities, as interest is on unobservable traits. Each theorist has contributed to the conclusions we make about the disposition of the underlying variables of intelligence.Sternberg on the other hand takes to a great extent a wider opinion on the disposition of intelligence than most of his predecessors, in addition to suggesting certain mental mechanisms are necessary for intelligent behaviour, he furthermore stresses that intelligence requires an adaptation to the real-world setting. For our group testing is taking place in a multicultural context Sternberg’s theory of triarchic theory of intelligence should be adequate as the theory comprises with three aspects of intelligence:* Experiential intelligence* Contextual intelligenceEach one of these have two or more subcomponents. Componential intelligenceComponential intelligence comprises of three sub-sections:* Metacomponents or executive process ( Planning)* Performance components ( Syllogistic reasoning)* Knowledge – acquisition components (Ability to require vocabulary words) Experiential intelligenceExperiential intelligence comprises of two sub – sections: * Ability to deal with novelty* Ability to automatize information processingContextual intelligenceContextual intelligence comprises of three sub – sections: * Adaption to real-world environment* Selection of a suitable environment* Shaping of the environmentSternberg’s theory has received a great deal of criticism from theorists such as Detterman who feels basic cognitive components of intelligence should be investigated before higher – order components of intelligence; Rogoff on the other hand questions whether the three sub- categories are adequately correlated. Even so Sternberg’s theory is the most comprehensive and ambitious model yet, in a multicultural setting Sternberg’s triarchic theory can be adapted for the various cultures just asSternberg insists that intelligence has several components and therefore can’t be measured by traditional tests.
Measuring Learning Potential When individuals from diverse cultural, educational or socioeconomic conditions are tested together, unbiased and impartial analysis of test scores become particularly difficult. Given unchanged circumstances, standard tests will in all probability carry on to project future performance relatively well for all groups, as they are strongly linked to educational achievement.The same cultural factors that influence test implementation are furthermore expected to have an influence on the wider behaviour sphere that the test is designed to sample. Using psychometric tests which mainly measures the results of previous educational exposure.
The mounting curiosity in learning potential assessment and dynamic testing implies a change in the manner that cognitive aptitude is observed for the sake of taking realistic actualities into account.By looking further than existing performance and recognizing the likely effect of other factors on performance, more realistic measures and descriptions of cognitive development can be attained [ (2013, p. 53) ]. Dynamic Assessment Dynamic assessment is adjustable and is intimately associated with the methods used in tests of potential where learning possibilities are offered as part of the testing process [ (Foxtrot & Roodt, 2009, p. 218) ].
Dynamic assessment is a method that can be used in adjunction to presently existing methods and not as a substitute for those methods.Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is commonly recognized as the hypothetical foundation upon which dynamic assessment has been formed. The way in which Vygotsky perceived the measurement of IQ testing is in a way indicative of Binet’s initial theory which furthermore made allowances for modifications in IQ test performance. Binet argued that we can enhance our IQ through education, and discarded the notion that intelligence is an irreversible inherited capacity Operational of Dynamic Assessment and Learning PotentialThe crucial quality of dynamic assessment is the test-intervention-retest design. Measures vary significantly, even though in theory they are founded on particular analysis of Vygotsky’s theory.
Quantitatively, three measures are inferred, two of which are used to express the cognitive development of the individual. In their analysis of learning potential, many theorists have focused solely on the individual’s potential to promote gain from education as the principal variable. Existing intellectual aptitude has consequently assumed secondary significance
