Интеллект, тесты и социальная политика: история и современные вызовы.

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A large body of research indicates that IQ ("intelligence quotient") and similar measures vary between individuals and between certain groups, and that they correlate with socially important outcomes such as educational achievement, employment, crime, poverty and socioeconomic status. In the United States, certain public policies and laws regarding employment, military service, education and crime incorporate IQ or similar measurements. Internationally, certain public policies, such as improving nutrition and prohibiting neurotoxins, have as one of their goals raising or preventing a decline in intelligence.

In the early 20th century, eugenics legislation was passed in many US states which allowed, or encouraged, sterilization of "feeble minded" individuals. In the 1927 case Buck v. Bell, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes closed the 8–1 majority opinion upholding the sterilization of Carrie Buck, who along with her mother and daughter was labeled "feeble minded", with the infamous phrase, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough." Eugenics fell out of favor in the middle part of the century and is now widely denounced, though memories of the period continue to influence public policy.

Cognitive test scores predict educational performance better than they predict any other outcome, and cognitive testing is pervasive in academics. Central policy issues concern the proper role of testing in assessing educational quality and in college admission; efforts to characterize and close the educational achievement gap between racial and socioeconomic groups in the US; and the importance of cognitive ability differences in educational affirmative action. The existence of educational achievement gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups is broadly accepted; the source and stability of the gaps remain areas of active research and debate. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is aimed explicitly at reducing achievement gaps by race. Federally defined formulas in NCLB call for elimination of all achievement disparity by 2014. Regardless of the source of the gap, most educators agree that it must be addressed. They often advocate equitable funding for education. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted state and federal statutes to require that IQ tests not be used in a manner that was determinative of tracking students into classes designed for the mentally retarded. Larry P. v. Riles, 793 F.2d 969 (9th Cir. 1984). The court specifically found that the tests involved were designed and standardized based on an all white population, and had not undergone a legislatively mandated validation process. In addition, the court ruled that predictive validity for a general population is not sufficient, since the rights of an individual student were at issue, and emphasized that had the tests not been treated as controlling but instead used as part of a thorough and individualized assessment by a school psychologist a different result would have been obtained. In September 1982, the judge in the Larry P. case, Federal District Judge Robert F. Peckham, relented in part in response to a lawsuit brought by black parents who wanted their children tested. The parents' attorney, Mark Bredemeier, said his clients viewed the modern special education offered by California schools today as helpful to children with learning disabilities, not a dead end track, as parents contended in the original 1979 Larry P. case. A major area of controversy regarding the NCLB Act is whether achievement gaps are the result of "the soft bigotry of low expectations" Because the Act includes warnings and funding consequences for schools which do not meet performance goals, whether disparate student performance is due primarily to environment (which is perceived to be under substantial school and teacher control) or to genetics (which is perceived to be far less malleable) has become a crucial issue. Gifted education and special education programs aim to provide tailored instruction to students with especially high or low ability. Research in both civilian and military training has demonstrated that bright individuals learn 2–5 times faster than their less able peers.

All US military recruits take the Armed Forces Qualification Test, an intelligence test that strongly measures the general intelligence factor. A recruit's cognitive test scores in part determine the professions available to them. The Military Doesn't conduct IQ tests any more, Instead Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is conducted. The (ASVAB) test has nothing to do with IQ test and the scores between the two tests vary. The Minimum Score in the test is 31. Those who score less than 31 in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery are also selected. The U. S. military uses the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT), as higher scores correlate with significant increases in effectiveness of both individual soldiers and units.

In its 2002 ruling on the case Atkins v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court outlawed the execution of intellectually disabled criminals on the grounds that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the 8th Amendment. The designation of mental retardation (or developmental disability) typically requires a measured IQ below 70 or 75. The Supreme Court of the United States has utilized IQ test results during the sentencing phase of some criminal proceedings. The Supreme Court case of Atkins v. Virginia, decided June 20, 2002, held that executions of mentally challenged criminals are "cruel and unusual punishments" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. In Atkins the court stated that

"[I]t appears that even among those States that regularly execute offenders and that have no prohibition with regard to the mentally retarded, only five have executed offenders possessing a known IQ less than 70 since we decided Penry. The practice, therefore, has become truly unusual, and it is fair to say that a national consensus has developed against it." In overturning the Virginia Supreme Court's holding, the Atkins opinion stated that petitioner's IQ result of 59 was a factor making the imposition of capital punishment a violation of his eighth amendment rights. In the opinion's notes the court provided some of the facts relied upon when reaching their decisionAt the sentencing phase, Dr. Nelson testified: "Atkins' full scale IQ is 59. Compared to the population at large, that means less than one percentile. Mental retardation is a relatively rare thing. It's about one percent of the population." App. 274. According to Dr. Nelson, Atkins' IQ score "would automatically qualify for Social Security disability income." Id., at 280. Dr. Nelson also indicated that of the over 40 capital defendants that he had evaluated, Atkins was only the second individual who met the criteria for mental retardation. Id., at 310. He testified that, in his opinion, Atkins' limited intellect had been a consistent feature throughout his life, and that his IQ score of 59 is not an "aberration, malingered result, or invalid test score." Id., at 308. Individuals with IQs below 70 have been essentially exempted from the death penalty in the U. S. since 2002, even though this cannot be definitely confirmed.

The Social Security Administration also uses IQ results when deciding disability claims. In certain cases, IQ results alone are used (in those cases where the result shows a "full scale IQ of 59 or less") and in other cases IQ results are used along with other factors (for a "full scale IQ of 60 through 70") when deciding whether a claimant qualifies for Social Security Disability benefits.

The public policy implications of intelligence research have often been defined by debates surrounding race and intelligence.