[RH30363]

The authors ofThe Bell Curve later wrote an apologia (an article correcting and rephrasing many of their assertions) for that book. I have a copy of the article, but I believe it was published in The New York Times. Nevertheless, to answer your question, many standardized tests are culturally biased. The first I.Q. tests administered were actually literacy tests. Obviously, since teaching slaves to read was illegal, it is easy to see why African Americans scored poorly. Historically, standardized tests have been (either consciously or subconsciously) written so that one group would perform better than others. Along the same lines, the greatest predictor of success on the SAT (according to statistics) is wealth, not intelligence. This is an example of institutionalized prejudice. Often, people in the group that benefits from such prejudice scoff at the idea that these tests are anything but fair and objective, but don’t take my word for it, go read about it yourself. There are several books, studies, surveys, etc. that discuss the validity of intelligence tests and other standardized tests.

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Name : RH30363, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 27, City : Syracuse, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kiara26341]

I am an African girl. I just graduated from a Florida University with a 3.84 GPA. Some of my black friends graduated with honors, too. I have to disagree with the author of The Bell Curve because I am very smart.

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Name : Kiara26341, Gender : F, Age : 22, City : Miami, State : FL, Country : United States, 

[Annette]

Your reply stating that blacks who are not ‘polluted’ with cross-breeding are less intelligent through no fault of their own smacks of patronizing racism. The other replies, regarding social expectations for blacks, the validity of the IQ test, socioeconomic factors, etc., all address why some cross-sections of black students scored poorly (as did many white students) on the IQ test. I believe living in a culture in which one is validated as the central people of the culture, coupled with a good education, will help anyone achieve. This is the situation for many white male kids, and less so for minorities, including blacks.

As far as your racist stereotyping of ‘Orientals’ (You’re referring to appearance, not to geographical origin, as many Caucasian people originate in some areas of the ‘Orient’), you are mistaken about IQ. Neither Japanese Americans nor Chinese Americans show higher-than-average IQ scores. Native Japanese may show a fortitude for math and science, as well as any area that demands attention to detail or memorization skills. Why? Here’s my theory originating from knowledge about brain development and personal experience. While living and teaching in Japan, I saw children, beginning around age 3, learn more than 200 characters comprising Hiragana and Katakana (simplified writing). During their 12 years of school, they learned more than 2,000 Kanji (Chinese) characters. Those young years are crucial to brain development. With such attention to minute details between characters, I believe the language helps the development of the brain in some areas, thus creating higher aptitudes for some subjects. Further, the Japanese education demanded much more than its Western counterparts in areas of math and science.

The lowpoint of the Japanese education system is its emphasis on conformity and rote memorization. I could not ask for an analysis of a socioeconomic or political issues; they would not know where to begin. Art classes consisted of copying other work, not creating for themselves. Analytical skills as well as creativity was exceptionally lacking. (This is not true for the Japanese-American high school students I’ve taught in this country.)

I believe that education and cultural affirmation, not race, are the most important factors determining success on aptitude tests. And yes, brain development is very important – this is affected by heredity, nutrition and exposure to multiple stimuli at early years … not race.

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Name : Annette, Gender : F, Age : 41, City : Boise, State : ID, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Clare]

I have heard about this book, and have not read it, which does not mean I am unqualified to answer the question. There ARE Black students (including me) who score extremely well on tests they take. At my particular high school, and several others in the area, there are students (who happened to be Black) who scored a perfect 1600 on their SATs, achieved the highest scores possible on their Advanced Placement exams, the National Latin Exam, and sundry others. There are Black students around the country who may not have private school educations, but take tests well enough to be recognized by the Ivy League schools. A lot of people do not realize this, because of books such as the Bell Curve which cloud people’s views of black students.

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Name : Clare, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Catholic, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kathy]

I work in the library as a matter of fact and I notice which books do not get checked out. And, I notice that almost nobody ever checks out the Bell Curve. I glanced at a few pages myself and I am amazed at how thick the book is. He must have killed a lot of trees to try and prove his ‘research’ as genuine science. It is really sad.

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Name : Kathy, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 22, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Artist, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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