Discusses the false assumptions that indicate students are less intelligent than in the past. Topics include a historical perspective of college student problems; standards that kept all but the elite out of education; S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores; social influences; the complexity of today's economy; and the importance of reading.…

This paper explores the reasons for the rapid adoption of intelligence tests by the public schools, and the historical relationship between testing and ability grouping or tracking. Case studies are presented of three California communities--Oakland, San Jose, and Palo Alto--between 1910 and 1925. These communities have been selected because they…