**TL;DR – Even though IQ tests were designed to measure one’s intelligence, it would seem that this instrument is actually being used to encourage biases such as racism.** According to [Felix Klaassen (2020)]( https://blog.donders.ru.nl/?p=12203&lang=en), this is indeed the case. IQ tests were created to more easily measure one’s intelligence. However, the issue of how to measure intelligence – for people in general, then became an issue. This then, is how the so-called “culture-friendly” IQ tests have been developed – that take cultural differences into account. Still, this also continued to present it’s own issues, the main one being racism. Klaassen provides evidence of this when he informs us that, “The IQ-scores are not interpreted within the context of culture and socio-economic climate, so that differences can induce the racist idea that certain (often non-Western) populations are naturally less intelligent than other (e.g., Western) populations. But those differences in IQ-scores can be explained by the Western nature of the test.” He also clarifies that as a result of this, IQ tests (alone) are not suitable “to measure pure intelligence independent of a country’s culture and history.” Furthermore, he goes on to say that the problem does not only lie with IQ tests and IQ scores. More specifically, it’s the current use of IQ that creates this type of scientific research - where racism and unfair racist ideas are fueled. From here then, it’s already abundantly clear that certain populations are unfairly typecasted as unintelligent due to the fact that common IQ tests are biased against people from some cultures. Moreover, we would do well to remember that racism is not only about explicit behavior towards certain groups, cultures or populations. It is in fact, our actions that are mostly determined by inherent prejudices that is responsible for this type of behavior.

**TL;DR - The history of IQ tests are racist with these tests being used to justify white superiority. This history results in a test that may not have started as racist but still has racist connotations with more researchers agreeing on this notion and the idea that intelligence can’t be identified by a numerical score.** [Binet created the IQ test](https://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_c_dombrowski_the_dark_history_of_iq_tests/transcript?language=en#t-291780) as a response to children from impoverished backgrounds coming into Paris as a way to measure their intellectual development. Therefore, the education system could be tailored to the individuals and result in a focus on differing educational needs. This test however was co-opted by racist and classist ideologies in the U.S. Born was this idea of black intellectual inferiority. That and the eugenics movement in the U.S. also compounded this. [Terman took Binet’s test and used it to promote white superiority](https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/09/22/the-racist-and-classist-roots-of-standardized-testing-found-a-home-at-stanford-and-they-still-endure-today/), creating an additional part to the test that still exists today which resulted in this idea of ‘white brilliance’. This also results in the IQ test being about white brilliance rather than educational development. [IQ test results have been used to justify horrific policies and scientifically baseless ideologies](https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/09/22/the-racist-and-classist-roots-of-standardized-testing-found-a-home-at-stanford-and-they-still-endure-today/). IQ tests do not take into account the position a person is in which results in a lower reading and writing level which will contribute to a lower IQ score. Whilst the gap between white and non-white individuals is lessening in terms of education, it still exists meaning white individuals have more opportunity in terms of education in comparison to non-white individuals resulting in a greater chance of a higher score. Furthering this, IQ tests are based on the Western concept of education and intelligence. However, different cultures have different forms of intelligence and different educational structures. It is racist as it does not take into account that non-western cultures are just as intelligent but just not what the West deems as intelligent through IQ tests. With the West primarily being white, and non-western cultures primarily being non-white. This results in the idea that as more white people do better on the test due to these cultural and socio-economic issues, the idea of white brilliance over non-white is perpetuated. There are many complicated political, historical, racist issues wrapped up in IQ testing, [more and more researchers agree on this point](https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/09/22/the-racist-and-classist-roots-of-standardized-testing-found-a-home-at-stanford-and-they-still-endure-today/), and reject the notion that individuals can be categorized by a single numerical score.

The measurements we use to measure intelligence is more often racially motivated, whether we are aware of it or not. Intelligence is one of the central components institutions use to measure candidates. This is conducted often by what is an IQ test, or an intelligence quotient. The conception was meant to be simple: those who take the test when they are really young and scored high would lead a fortuitous life whereas those who scored low would not. But since the test's implementation, there have been a wide range of outliers in which those who scored low on the test would still lead fortuitous lives. IQ tests, however, should not be discarded. They still prove to be an accurate measurement of how our lives will go. The IQ tests should instead be re-constructed to fit our modern values. The world has gotten increasingly diverse over the century since the test was employed. The IQ test has become more accessible to people of various backgrounds, but all around it is the same test. The people the test reaches are not the same. Two people from different backgrounds that stem from different cultures. People from different cultures will have different concepts of the same thing. For instance, Felix Klaassen notes in his article on the relation between IQ tests and racism on Donders Wonders, the "linguistic differences determine how people perceive relations between objects and therefore influence one's performance". So, one of the reasons why IQ tests have a racially biased background is that it was designed by a group of white people who conceived intelligence through what their society perceived as essential to survive, whereas, say, a tribe survives through farming, training animals, and living in the wilderness. Klassan writes "even though intelligence can be a universal human construct, the most effective way to measure this intelligence is not universal, but rather depends on the environment where one was raised". This, of course, has become the driving narrative by xenophobes that IQ-scores demonstrate white people's superiority to other cultures, when the context shows that the test is not adaptable to everyone's upbringing. The IQ test should not be completely done away with. It still can be an effective measurement to one's success--after all, people really are more intelligent than others. But it needs to be adaptable to other people's backgrounds, which is not easy. The tests would either need to change its questions to suit everyone, or everybody would need to take a different version of a test. We need to change the IQ test by changing how we perceive intelligence across communities. Remember, everybody is really good at something that someone else is terrible at. That should have nothing to do with race, let alone a statistic that is set up specifically for only one ethnic group. Intelligence needs to be treated as more than just being able to compute numbers and dwelling on philosophical questions effectively. It needs to be seen as how individuals can adapt to their environment. CITATIONS: Alexander, Scott. “So You’ve Learned You’ve Got a ‘Pitifully’ Low IQ. How Worried Should You Be?” Vox, 23 Oct. 2017, www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/10/23/16516516/iq-tests-high-low-achievement-sat-anxiety-determinism. Klaassen, Felix. “How IQ-Scores Encourage Racism | Donders Wonders.” Donders Wonders | Over Hersenen En Wetenschap // On Brains and Science, 17 July 2020, blog.donders.ru.nl/?p=12203&lang=en.

**Why is there a gap between black and white IQ scores?** • The IQ test was invented by Alfred Binet in the early 20th century, in order to work out which of his students needed extra learning support. Despite its altruistic origins, in the mid-20th century the IQ test was often used as a tool of scientific racism to promote and justify ideas of white supremacy and black inferiority. As ‘evidence’, they reported a measurable difference between the IQ scores of white people and black people. This gap persists today, which causes some to argue that IQ tests are racially biased against black people. • Many link this disparity in IQ scores to education, and cultural and economic factors, rather than directly to race. Studies have shown that education has an ameliorating effect on IQ scores, with scores increasing over time. The systemic nature of racism means that people of certain races, such as black people, are less likely to have access to education, which may affect their IQ scores. • Proponents also argue that IQ tests do not measure our inherent intelligence, but our grasp of literacy, mathematics, reasoning, lateral thinking and spatial insight. As the IQ test comes from a European background, some argue that it prioritises and measures against European ways of thinking, which is biased against people from other places and cultures who put emphasis on other areas of intelligence. • As over the last 20 years the IQ score gap has narrowed, some argue that IQ tests no longer reveal a racial or cultural bias. Many believe that IQ tests are an efficient way to approximate someone’s general intelligence, no matter their race.