UTILITY OF INTELLIGENCE-TESTS FOR TREATMENT PLANNING, CLASSIFICATION,AND PLACEMENT DECISIONS - RECENT EMPIRICAL-FINDINGS AND FUTURE-DIRECTIONS

Intelligence testing in schools continues to be a frequent behavior am ong many school psychologists that creates a lucrative market for test publishers. Each year, between 1.5 and 1.8 million intelligence tests are administered by school psychologists. The typical school psycholo gist spends approximately two-thirds of his or her time in special edu cation eligibility determination. This article maintains that intellig ence tests contribute little if any information useful for the plannin g, implementation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for c hildren. This argument is supported by the virtual absence of empirica l evidence supporting the existence of aptitude x treatment interactio ns. We also suggest that intelligence tests are not particularly usefu l in making differential diagnostic and classification determinations for children with mild learning problems. Further, school study teams often ignore results of intelligence testing in making classification and placement decisions. We argue that intelligence testing is not a c ost-beneficial use of school psychologists' time and should be replace d with assessment procedures directly related to the design, implement ation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for children and youth.