History of IQ testing

The Academy of Social Sciences has awarded the British Psychological Society's History of Psychology Centre funding to produce a resource for secondary school students. The resource will cover the history of IQ testing in the UK and the wider social implications and legacy of this testing.

The funding comes as part of the Academy of Social Sciences' EDI funding scheme, which is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. The resource produced by the History of Psychology Centre (HOPC) will replicate IQ tests from the BPS archive, which were used to evaluate young children's intelligence in the 1960s-1970s.

This IQ testing, which was administered and formulated by psychologists, led to many children of Black Caribbean descent being incorrectly sent to schools for the 'Educational Subnormal'. The pilot resource aims to encourage students to think critically about the tests, to explore this previously excluded part of UK history and acknowledge the impact the British education system has had on the Caribbean communities who settled here.

As well as developing the resource, HOPC will also run interactive sessions in secondary schools to engage with students and bring these unexplored stories to life. The BPS is partnering with the British Educational Research Association to form an expert panel of historians, psychologists and educational experts to develop the resource and add their insights.

Sophie O'Reilly, BPS Archive Manager, said: 'We are delighted to have been awarded funding for this resource which will shine a light on a challenging aspect of UK psychology's history. This shows the value of historical records and how important it is to reflect on the more difficult parts of our collective history in a constructive way.'

The project will begin in January 2024 and HOPC will publish updates on the resource's progress throughout the year.

Image: 1960 Stanford-Binet intelligence test