BEYOND THE BELL-CURVE - TOWARD A MODEL OF TALENT AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

This article critiques The Bell Curve's assumptions about ability, bio logy, and ecology. It argues that the measures of ability assessed on IR tests are essentially measures of literacy, which is largely a soci ally constructed outcome, This proposition is validated using data fro m a large national sample of students and hierarchical regression tech niques. The cumulative impact of social factors on literacy attainment was found to exceed that of cognitive abilities. The primacy of the m ore proximal factors of academic setting and group membership (race/et hnicity, gender, and geography) plas established over the more remote factor of socioeconomic background. An alternative paradigm that rejec ts The Bell Curve's argument for elitism is offered to overdetermine t he cognitive and emotional growth of all learners.