ERIC Number: ED174519
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1978-Oct
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: N/A
The Spatial Pattern of Intelligence in a Small Town.
Bailey, William H.
The document measures the spatial patterns of mental abilities of 94 seventh-grade students within a small town by correlating and mapping four variables--IQ test scores, achievement test scores, neighborhood quality as seen by town officials, and creativity test scores from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Objectives were to ascertain the spatial patterns of IQ, achievement, and creativity test scores, and to examine their spatial association with socioeconomic conditions, using the conclusions to draw implications about the cultural bias of the tests. The Kendall Rank Correlation was used to determine the statistical relationship among the study data, and isopleth maps were drawn identifying the spatial pattern of each variable, using the socioeconomic variable as a control. Findings showed IQ scores to be significantly associated spatially with achievement scores and neighborhood quality, while the creativity measures were not significantly associated with the other variables. The spatial association of IQ, achievement, and socioeconomic conditions supports the argument that the two tests are culturally biased. The fact that creativity tests are not spatially associated with the other variables suggests that these tests are not culturally biased and can be used to identify potentialities in culturally disadvantaged children. The study implies that children in lower ability classes within individual schools are segregated according to their performance on tests biased against them. (CK)
Descriptors: Academic Ability, Academic Achievement, Bias, Correlation, Creativity, Data Analysis, Demography, Disadvantaged, Educational Research, Human Geography, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Maps, Municipalities, School Demography, Secondary Education, Socioeconomic Background, Speeches, Student Characteristics, Tests
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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Note: Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 1978)