ABSTRACT
The use of IQ tests is extensive both inside and outside education. IQ tests claim to test a person's ability independently of what they have been taught in school: that is, they are not tests of attainment but of innate ability. This chapter deals more directly with the pressures which come from outside the field of education: from parents, employers and politicians. Many parents are concerned that their children achieve the best possible results in exams so that they can get the best possible jobs. There have, in recent years, been serious and sometimes widespread criticisms of the move to 'progressive education' as indicated by such things as the provision of a non academic as well as an academic curriculum, the adoption of non selective rather than selective education, and the emphasis on continuous assessment rather than external examinations. There are numerous books, often written by educational psychologists, on the technical aspects of testing.
