Do you think average intelligence is enough to do well in school?

@lucas
Lowering the bar also changes what constitutes ‘doing well in school’. If school is made super easy, then it is very easy to do well in it, and almost everyone will.

SarahBrown said:
No, that would leave 50% of students not doing well in school by default. It also goes against the idea that learning is a skill that requires practice to be effective.

I would guess over 50% of students aren’t doing well in school.

@CathyGenesis
I’m in Guidance lol.

SarahBrown said:
@CathyGenesis
I’m in Guidance lol.

Highschool is overly easy to allow everyone to have the chance to do well. Would you say that below average intelligence still stands a chance in university though? I’d say at least average is needed, and even average would find it difficult.

@AmeliaScarlet
Yes, I would say the biggest correlation at the College level beyond socio-economic stuff is motivation and contact hours.

@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

And 50% of those students don’t know the difference between the median and the mean.

Amelia said:

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

And 50% of those students don’t know the difference between the median and the mean.

Or the range.

Amelia said:

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

And 50% of those students don’t know the difference between the median and the mean.

What do you mean? They used it correctly

@Scofield
It’s technically true, only if we represent the IQ distribution as a continuous range instead of the discrete set it actually is. There are a whole lot of people that have IQs of 100, meaning that there’s actually less than 50% of people with below average intelligence. The statement also misrepresents what is really meant by ‘average intelligence’. Realistically, there’s not much of a tangible difference between someone with 100 and 99 IQ. So typically, ‘average intelligence’ refers to people within 1 standard deviation of the average (i.e. nearly 70% of people)

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

Because it’s a bell curve distribution, this is technically not true

TeachTalker3 said:

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

Because it’s a bell curve distribution, this is technically not true

I met a kid once that always started his sentences with according to my calculations…

TeachTalker3 said:

Kieran said:
@CathyGenesis
And 50% of students have below mean intelligence.

Because it’s a bell curve distribution, this is technically not true

It is true. In a normal distribution the mean is the median.

@TomHarris
Yes, however it is still misleading because most data clumps around that mean/median, and when you consider the fact that something like a 95 IQ is nearly indistinguishable from 100, and that average intelligence is typically thought of as a range, you are left with significantly less than 50% of people that are truly below average (or above) in a practical sense.

@sheldon
It isn’t misleading, but we are using different definitions, both of which are correct. Being within 1 stdev of the norm is average. So about 15% are below average from your pov. But no, 95 is not nearly indistinguishable. 5 IQ points is nearly 1/3 less intelligent. Every 15 points basically doubles intelligence. I know that sounds harsh, but someone with a 130 gifted IQ is multiple times smarter than an average person. Average people struggle with algebra 1.

SarahBrown said:
No, that would leave 50% of students not doing well in school by default. It also goes against the idea that learning is a skill that requires practice to be effective.

To quote Forrest Gump, “stupid is as stupid does.”

SarahBrown said:
No, that would leave 50% of students not doing well in school by default. It also goes against the idea that learning is a skill that requires practice to be effective.

“Average” intelligence isn’t defined as being at or above the 50th percentile. “Average” IQ is anything within 1 standard deviation of the mean, so roughly the middle two-thirds of the distribution, or everyone between IQ 85 and IQ 115. That leaves about 1/6 of the population as “below average” and an equal number “above average.” IQ is strongly correlated with academic performance.

A lot of it is realizing that there is a game/system and playing it. Easier if you have parents and family who navigated it successfully. Much harder if your family rants about how algebra and literature don’t matter in the real world.

@jordansmith
So true and so sad for the truly intellectually curious who get ridiculed by the hard asses in the family. I had no college grads in my family and they never understood the work needed nor could they help with advice. Indeed, my own mother told me I should quit in junior year after I complained how pressed I was between my domestic duties and academic demands to keep my GPA up for my scholarship. I felt pretty betrayed.

No. Successful students have work ethic and grit. Some are not smart but they keep trying and don’t quit with the first difficulty they encounter.