Above Average

ABOVE AVERAGE. This is the minimum IQ grade requirement of an aspiring UST Nursing Freshman. With the high quota and high applicant turnout (considering that it almost has 15,000 applicants every year – Ma’am Maila from the Dean’s office would attest my claim) the college has every year, can we surmise that the 400 qualified enrollees are the cream of the crop (in terms of intelligence) among all of those?

Well, I don’t think works quite that way. 

Let me explain why in 3 points:

USTET

Undeniably, having a high score for the entrance examination can be a valid measurement of an applicant’s academic proficiency. It might depict either  the precision of the thinking faculties or the perseverance of a person. 

But how about the other aspects of intelligence?  A good score is just but a reflection of either how well you take the test or how much you’ve prepared for it.

IQ TEST

I am reserved with the idea of this cutoff IQ score being as one of the factors in the freshman screening process. First of all because it leaves no room to what psychologists call as divergent thinking where innovation, creativity, imagination, and invention are highlighted. Rather the IQ tests adopt the convergent way of thinking where a “right” answer is what the students must arrive at. The latter is exemplified by the use of IQ tests to test one’s capability to notice the difference between abstract shapes and figures.

Can we say that the act of “finding the right answer” can be a valid measure of one’s intelligence?

In the real world we are not confronted with multiple choice questions answerable by the letters a,b,c,d. 

The answers to life’s questions are always subjective and such solutions for it will only be left to be justified by the person. 

If we would accept that there is a “right” answer, this would be contrary to the popular cliché “There are no wrong choices in life” which will be most likely be followed up by the phrase “But what matters most is how we deal with our choices”. Believe me, I’ve heard this line at almost every self-help speech and the speakers would definitely save your egos by agreeing to this popular saying.

TO EACH HIS OWN

The theory of multiple intelligences explains this beautifully. It states that every human has the same level of intellectual capacity yet differ in the area most developed. This is the reason why the segregation of students based on their exam grades is quite a narrow-minded idea and should be looked upon for its effects. 

Admission to a certain program must be more liberalized and should also evaluate the different aspects of intelligence of the students. Although, yes,  I would agree that no test for multiple intelligence currently holds much water. 

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The picture above was taken from one of the masterpieces at Art 19b at Cubao Expo. The concept of having a Filipino version of chess is quite interesting don't you think?.