Are WPPSI and other similar tests reliable indicators of intelligence and/or academic success?

[Anonymous]

I'm interested in this topic, and I want to learn more about it. If anyone has good links to useful information, would you please post them? I've found a couple articles online, and I recently read NurtureShock. The results are mixed, so I want to learn more. I'd appreciate any help.

Also, while I'm sure many people have personal opinions about this issue, or have heard opinions from educational consultants/admission directors/friends, those aren't really helpful for me.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Could we keep this academic, and refrain from anecdotes like "my score was..., and I turned out...", or "dc's score was..., and he is now..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could we keep this academic, and refrain from anecdotes like "my score was..., and I turned out...", or "dc's score was..., and he is now..."

OP here. I totally agree with this request. All the personal experiences may be interesting, but they're not really what I'm trying to get at here.

[Anonymous]

I read a paper recently, and I can't for the life of me remember where now, describing the "profile" of a successful person. Success being defined as making a certain amount of money and a certain degree of educational and professional attainment. And that profile included having a high, but not very high, IQ score. More like a 120-129 (meaning well above average, but not in the gifted range). But what was also critical to that "success" was having a certain personality type: having a positive attitude and the ability to make friends easily. That this combination made someone more likely than average to be "successful".

Of course, we can argue all day long about what successful really means LOL!!! But the article was very interesting and pointed out that intelligence was only one factor. Having a certain level was important, but not the most important thing, and that personality and other intangibles also play a huge role.

[Anonymous]

I think WPPSI and WISC are definitely reliable indicators of intelligence, but a high IQ does not always translate into academic achievement. There is a lot of literature on high IQ underachievers. Here's an article you might find interesting.

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/PsychologicalScienceDec2005.pdf

[Anonymous]

Google "WPPSI" and "predict" and you'll find a number of longitudnal studies (at least in abstract form).

If you don't want anecdotes, don't ask DCUM. Look studies up. It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks to all who have responded so far. I understand it's not hard to find abstracts, but the actual articles are tougher to access. If anyone knows of actual articles (even from popular publications, not academic ones), I'd be interested in reading them. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Here is a very useful page I just found: http://faculty.education.uiowa.edu/dlohman/

[Anonymous]

Although not completely a direct answer to your question, you may find this interesting based on what else you have cited.

- Search literature on leadership and IQ. Also, you may want to search on emotional intelligence and IQ. While generally business focus, I know I have read countless articles that write on the challenges for those with IQs in the very top percentile. Also often articles write about challenges of those academically succesful, but need other capabilities to be successful if not in academia. You could read studies for years on this.

- in terms of success in university and 20s - there is so much literature on generation Y, parenting styles today, upper middle class privilege etc. Factors that can prevent academic success even with high IQs.

I'm not one with a memory for actual sources, but most, if not all, would be more popular literature or summaries of books rather than academic abstracts.