Assessment Report Roundup

Education Attainment

By Sarah D. Sparks — July 17, 2018 1 min read
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A massive new research analysis finds that formal education, in general, remains “the most consistent, robust, and durable method yet to be identified for raising intelligence.”

Children who have a higher early IQ are more likely to stay in school longer, finds a meta-analysis in the journal Psychological Science. But more importantly for teachers, for every year of education, students also gain on average one to five IQ points, with gains that continue into old age.

To put that in perspective, about two-thirds of adults have an IQ between 85 and 115, and only about 2.5 percent of adults have an IQ above 130.

Researchers looked at nearly 30 studies involving some 600,000 people but did not analyze potential effects of early education.

A version of this article appeared in the July 18, 2018 edition of Education Week as Education Attainment

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