Social College students' average IQ has plunged

[F1980]

https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2024/01/23/why_college_students_average_iq_has_fallen_17_points_since_1939_1006608.html

The drop of 17 points is absolutely massive

Why College Students' Average IQ Has Fallen 17 Points Since 1939​

“The decline in students’ IQ is a necessary consequence of increasing educational attainment over the last 80 years,” the researchers commented. “Today, graduating from university is more common than completing high school in the 1940s.”

ACT scores have also declined substantially

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The average IQ of the American population in general has taken a nosedive

American IQ Test Scores Show Recent Declines, According To New Study

American IQ test scores have dropped during a recent 13-year period, according to a newly published study. That's a remarkable finding that runs counter to the well-established trend of increasing IQ scores throughout much of the 20th century.

www.forbes.com

 

[Fedor>Cain]

I would venture to guess that more people attending college would naturally drop averages.

Also would venture to guess that the ACT is probably tougher now than when I took it 17 or so years ago. Would also venture to guess that more people take the exam now as well, which also is gonna drop averages. When I was in school, you had to pay and go take it on Saturday. When my niece was going through highschool, they were allowed to take it at school (still believe they had to pay though)

 

[Seano]

No one could have foreseen this.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

I went to college in 2006 and it was fucking shocking to me how anti intellectual the whole undergrad experience was.

It was just high school all over again.

I imagine the drop in standards for professors is as big a factor as the drop in admissions requirements for students.

The 'old white man professors' that everyone hates were so much more knowledgable and open to debate than the younger hip professors. The female profs especially would act like wounded girlfriends if they got challenged in anything.

 

[Fedor>Cain]

I went to college in 2006 and it was fucking shocking to me how anti intellectual the whole undergrad experience was.

It was just high school all over again.

I imagine the drop in standards for professors is as big a factor as the drop in admissions requirements for students.

The 'old white man professors' that everyone hates were so much more knowledgable and open ti debate than the younger hip professors.

This really wasn't my experience in a STEM field. The best teachers were usually in their 40-50s while the older professors mailed it in because they were old, hungover, and had been doing the same job for 40 years and didn't care anymore lol.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

This really wasn't my experience in a STEM field. The best teachers were usually in their 40-50s while the older professors mailed it in because they were old, hungover, and had been doing the same job for 40 years and didn't care anymore lol.

I was in history. I'm sure it's very different and I'm sure you went to a much better and more expensive school than I did.

 

[Madmick]

Few know the earlier forms of the SAT were actually accepted by multiple bodies as an IQ test result. Mensa accepted SAT scores above a certain threshold before they nerfed it (around 1992 IIRC). And, similar to IQ itself, when that information has been gathered, there is no single better predictor of academic performance than standardized test scoring. Yale and Dartmouth were both recently forced to admit this as they could no longer ignore that bowing to the woke crowd saw a nosedive in the success rate of their student body. That had me LOLing because they'd known this for over four goddamn decades already. In fact, more recently, the Ivy Leagues conducted a thorough review of their own student bodies back in the early 2000's regarding test scores, GPA, race, their makeup of matriculant's high schools by race, and academic performance at their undergraduate level of study. Progressives wouldn't enjoy the reality check of the results.

Indeed, while it's so popular to dismiss IQ, in fact, it's still the most valid general measurement of intelligence we've ever devised. I don't mind that IQ has declined as we've educated a much larger portion of our population, but the stubborn unwillingness to accept where test scores (and by correlation IQ) are valid tools does bother me.

Don't like the SAT? Come up with something better to sort the wheat from the chaff. Nobody ever has.

 

[Wetarmpits]

Impressively shown in the War Room every day by our conservative clown troupe.

 

[Seano]

Few know the earlier forms of the SAT were actually accepted by multiple bodies as an IQ test result. Mensa accepted SAT scores above a certain threshold before they nerfed it (around 1992 IIRC). And, similar to IQ itself, when that information has been gathered, there is no single better predictor of academic performance than standardized test scoring. Yale and Dartmouth were both recently forced to admit this as they could no longer ignore that bowing to the woke crowd saw a nosedive in the success rate of their student body. That had me LOLing because they'd known this for over four goddamn decades already. In fact, more recently, the Ivy Leagues conducted a thorough review of their own student bodies back in the early 2000's regarding test scores, GPA, race, their makeup of matriculant's high schools by race, and academic performance at their undergraduate level of study. Progressives wouldn't enjoy the reality check of the results.

Indeed, while it's so popular to dismiss IQ, in fact, it's still the most valid general measurement of intelligence we've ever devised. I don't mind that IQ has declined as we've educated a much larger portion of our population, but the stubborn unwillingness to accept where test scores (and by correlation IQ) are valid tools do bother me.

Don't like the SAT? Come up with something better to sort the wheat from the chaff. Nobody ever has.

Sort of off topic I guess, but when I took the SATs, I recall a lot of questions in the math portion that were not anything I ever covered in school. I was always reasonably good at math but was totally unprepared for about a 1/4 of the questions on the math portion of the SAT. It always pissed me off that I got a shitty SAT math score based on crap I never learned in school.

 

[USA!USA!]

What's the cause?

I have my suspicions but I am not scientist or physician, so I'd love to see what they think.

 

[Noveltymortar]

Any honest discussion of one of the primary reasons for this will likely result in getting banned.

 

[gspieler]

Back in the day, a smaller percentage of the population attended college. And they were generally either the smarter and\or more affluent, who attended. Of course that cohort is likely to have a higher median iq, than a cohort from a society in which a bachelor's is "the new high school diploma".

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Assuming all true and IQs are indeed down, I wouldn't be surprised if actual marks in school are way up. I've heard marks to get into top colleges are way higher because high school marks have gotten way higher. There's a school of thought around having everyone feel like a super star and not competing against each other is better for society. I've heard some good arguments for each side.

The IQ topic is very contentious - all in all I think it's really overrated. Some very high IQ people are very capable of a hell of a lot of harm, over low IQ people. Especially those who basically start viewing low IQ as being lesser humans. That's probably where the contention comes in, because of a fear (likely somewhat valid) of behaviors people may take if they view masses of people in various places as being of inferior IQ. If someone were to tell me I'm from overall genetic stock that overall has lower IQ than some other group (I think far east is where folks who look into this stuff point to highest IQs), I wouldn't cry about it.

I suspect that biologists and social scientists would view IQ differences in general of people of the world having some variation because of environmental factors is very natural and obvious. Much like zoologists and wildlife biologists would have no qualm of admitting differences in typical male and female behavior amongst species. It seems like even doing this for homo sapiens is viewed as some mix of controversial and unacceptable.

 

[Seano]

What's the cause?

I have my suspicions but I am not scientist or physician, so I'd love to see what they think.

The trend of lowering expectations and 0 accountability. It probably started with the "everyone is a winner" thing a couple of decades ago. Kids today aren't really given a reason to excel. There's no incentive to put in the work.

 

[Seano]

dbl

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

The trend of lowering expectations and 0 accountability. It probably started with the "everyone is a winner" thing a couple of decades ago. Kids today aren't really given a reason to excel. There's no incentive to put in the work.

I think something in microcosm that also tells a story would be the celebrity of Paris Hilton. In the past the focus on fame was tilted a bit more towards accomplishment and skill. Being a top athlete, singer, actor, and to an extent business person, doctor, astronaut etc. Then Paris Hilton and her room temperature I.Q. got "famous for being famous", saying mundane stupid shit in interviews, and hoopla around not wearing underwear and having sex tapes.

So you get this divergence where now apparently a top wish of kids is to be an "influencer" which is basically to exist, look pretty, and tell people what make up or other product to buy. Countries behind the curve on this "evolution" still stress obtaining status based on putting in real work into things to help people and society.

So when a new currency was introduced in society, that being "clout". The real work ethos for sure took to some degree a hit.

 

[AbominableJoman]

Diversity admissions….

 

[Rob Battisti]

Few know the earlier forms of the SAT were actually accepted by multiple bodies as an IQ test result. Mensa accepted SAT scores above a certain threshold before they nerfed it (around 1992 IIRC). And, similar to IQ itself, when that information has been gathered, there is no single better predictor of academic performance than standardized test scoring. Yale and Dartmouth were both recently forced to admit this as they could no longer ignore that bowing to the woke crowd saw a nosedive in the success rate of their student body. That had me LOLing because they'd known this for over four goddamn decades already. In fact, more recently, the Ivy Leagues conducted a thorough review of their own student bodies back in the early 2000's regarding test scores, GPA, race, their makeup of matriculant's high schools by race, and academic performance at their undergraduate level of study. Progressives wouldn't enjoy the reality check of the results.

Indeed, while it's so popular to dismiss IQ, in fact, it's still the most valid general measurement of intelligence we've ever devised. I don't mind that IQ has declined as we've educated a much larger portion of our population, but the stubborn unwillingness to accept where test scores (and by correlation IQ) are valid tools do bother me.

Don't like the SAT? Come up with something better to sort the wheat from the chaff. Nobody ever has.

They don’t want to separate the wheat — that’s the point. Everyone needs an equitable outcome. No one should excel.

 

[Nimrod]

Well when you surround kids with information overload at there finger tips is it any wonder?

They just have to use the internet or ai like chat gpt to get most answers for things..
Which negates the process of learning completely making them lazy and stupid.

The tech companies like Google and Facebook have a lot to answer for.

 

[Scerpi]

This really wasn't my experience in a STEM field. The best teachers were usually in their 40-50s while the older professors mailed it in because they were old, hungover, and had been doing the same job for 40 years and didn't care anymore lol.

Whatever... lol

I had great old professors for my engineering degree.

I got into the water treatment industry and emailed one of my professors about a project I was doing near the campus for a Water Reuse Facility in downtown Denver.

Dude was so excited, he asked if he could bring out his classes for a field trip.

I got to give a tour and it was amazing to catch up with my professor. I could tell he was also proud to see how I ended up.