s/o IQ and college

[Anonymous]

Just curious about this. Someone mentioned on another thread that people need a minimum IQ for college. If you agree, what would it be? I mentioned that I teach first grade and we have students with low IQs yet it is drilled into us that everyone must be college ready. How realistic is this?

[Anonymous]

That's what SATs are for. A first grader may have other issues that haven't allowed him to fully develop to his full IQ potential yet.

[Anonymous]

That’s the thing. They have already been tested and while they have low IQs, they don’t qualify for an IEP. What will their future be?

[Anonymous]

Where does one even have their IQ legitimately tested?

[Anonymous]

I went to back to school at a local university and noticed a few students there who had Down syndrome. I know their IQ can vary, but I’m pretty sure they were <90.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]I went to back to school at a local university and noticed a few students there who had Down syndrome. I know their IQ can vary, but I’m pretty sure they were <90.

[/b]


Down Syndrome college students are receiving lots of help and are not graded along the same parameters as everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious about this. Someone mentioned on another thread that people need a minimum IQ for college. If you agree, what would it be? I mentioned that I teach first grade and we have students with low IQs yet it is drilled into us that everyone must be college ready. How realistic is this?

I agree although I would be hard pressed to say what that iq would be. But I'm a teacher as well and it frustrates me that within the realm of education, there is a refusal to acknowledge that half of all students are cognitively below average. Outside of kids with diagnosed intellectually disability, one can never hint that the reason a kid might not do well is because they just might not be too smart. But yet, the expectation is that the students should be able to perform as well as those who have iq's 10-15 points higher.

[Anonymous]

So many things to unpack in this post.

IQ tests on first graders are notoriously unreliable. They are particularly unreliable for children who have disabilities, live in poverty, or are being educated in a language that isn't their dominant language. I'd be very hesitant to make any kind of prediction about a child's future based on an IQ test at that age. In fact, I know more than child who tested quite low (IQ score below 80) who now attends an Ivy League school.

The second thing I'd encourage you to do is to broaden your understanding of what "college" is. I think that sometimes if someone did college the traditional way, where they chose a college with a national reputation, lived in campus, took a full course load of credit bearing for 4 straight years, and earned a bachelor's degree, they can think that that's what college is. But college can look many different ways. It can include classes that lead to a certificate and a career as a child care provider, or a carpenter, or a dog groomer. It can include people taking one or two classes at a time, and getting a degree in 10 years, instead of 2. It can include people with a variety of disabilities taking classes for credit with accommodations (e.g. braille textbooks), or support (e.g. a tutor), or non credit classes with modifications (e.g. the students referenced above with Down syndrome and other types of intellectual disabilities). All of these people are college students too. Given the wide variety of ways that there are to attend college, college really can be a choice for everyone.

The last thing to remember is that the goal isn't that every kid goes to college, it's that every kid graduates in a position to be able to make that choice for themselves. What does that mean? It means that their reading, writing and math skills are as strong as they can be. It means that they have experience exploring challenging content, taking positions, and defending them with evidence. It means that they know about academic honesty. It also means that they've learned to manage a complicated schedule and workload, and to interact with a variety of adults. Interestingly, even if a kid doesn't choose to go to college, or to go right to college, these skills will serve them well.

[Anonymous]

My kid has an IQ of 95, which is low average. He gets straight As in school. Please do not judge people on IQ. Humans are complex creatures.

[Anonymous]

Bilingual kids are smart, it has been researched. This doesn't always translate to success in iq tests
Also, iq is fluid and can grow in time
Iq tests are cultural:a question could have the word drapes instead of curtains, and confuse the test taker

Some teachers are not that good. A teacher should be able to maintain the focus of the students and be able to teach
Interest in the topic is a big predicter of success. A teacher should be able to create this in the classroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to back to school at a local university and noticed a few students there who had Down syndrome. I know their IQ can vary, but I’m pretty sure they were <90.

Was this UVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bilingual kids are smart, it has been researched. This doesn't always translate to success in iq tests
Also, iq is fluid and can grow in time
Iq tests are cultural:a question could have the word drapes instead of curtains, and confuse the test taker

Some teachers are not that good. A teacher should be able to maintain the focus of the students and be able to teach
Interest in the topic is a big predicter of success. A teacher should be able to create this in the classroom

Bilingual kids have a wide variety of abilities, just like monolingual kids or trilingual kids. Being bilingual doesn't somehow make a child smart, but it's a beneficial thing for all kids, including kids with ID.

However, IQ tests, unless given bilingually, are more likely to underestimate the skills of a bilingual child, especially while they are young like OP's students.

[Anonymous]

OP again. My students who go through school have not fared well. No IEP and differentiated instruction can only go so far. When we are told all students must be college ready, they actually expect that all students should go be able to go to college. How well can a student fare in college who cannot keep up with grade level instruction? I really wish there were more options for students instead of “college or nothing.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has an IQ of 95, which is low average. He gets straight As in school. Please do not judge people on IQ. Humans are complex creatures.

There is a big difference between an IQ of 95 and one in the low 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bilingual kids are smart, it has been researched. This doesn't always translate to success in iq tests
Also, iq is fluid and can grow in time
Iq tests are cultural:a question could have the word drapes instead of curtains, and confuse the test taker

Some teachers are not that good. A teacher should be able to maintain the focus of the students and be able to teach
Interest in the topic is a big predicter of success. A teacher should be able to create this in the classroom

Bilingual kids have a wide variety of abilities, just like monolingual kids or trilingual kids. Being bilingual doesn't somehow make a child smart, but it's a beneficial thing for all kids, including kids with ID.

However, IQ tests, unless given bilingually, are more likely to underestimate the skills of a bilingual child, especially while they are young like OP's students.

The practice of switching between languages enhances intelligence. Monolingual kids loose out on this
You do not have to be simultaneously bilingual, sequentially bilinguals have this benefit too