My students often ask me why they must write under a time constraint in my course. They feel enough pressure to write without the limited minutes I give them. The timed-composition doesn’t reflect the normal composition process of plan, write, edit, rewrite and edit and rewrite some more. “So why do it?” they ask.
The timed-composition test measures intellectual potential or abilities in a simple, cost effective and academically sound way. Teachers in many disciplines use it to determine students’ subject mastery. This semester in my course students learn techniques to help them master the timed-composition test. In college, writing well under a time constraint measures one aspect of the brain’s potential. It measures the intelligence necessary for academic success.
Humans disagree over what intelligence means. Some psychologists use the word to describe people who get good grades in school or solve problems skillfully. A great deal of people’s perceived intelligence may also have to do with their preparation or prior knowledge. People may seem very well versed in one subject but not so smart in another. Memory also plays a role. Someone may not have much formal education but have a wealth of memories and experiences on which to draw.
These differences in intelligence draw on different skills. What do timed-composition tests measure? Intelligence means the ability to think and reason and a number of different abilities fall under this definition, like spatial, numerical, perceptual, verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning. The timed-composition test measures several of these abilities.
Over the years psychometricians have developed tests that measure how well people perform on different reasoning tasks. These tests vary. The tests use several kinds of problems that draw upon different reasoning skills. Some may do well on one type of test and not so well on another. Some of these tests measure the ability to analyze or synthesize. Most of these tests have a time constraint to measure the ability to solve such problems quickly. The timed-composition test measures verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning or the ability to analyze and synthesize.
People who do well on intelligence tests tend to possess strong academic and intellectual skills. Test scores indicate how well students may do in school. Strong academic abilities may also translate into success in professional life but poor performance on an intelligence test such as the timed-composition doesn’t necessarily indicate low-intelligence. The test may tell us something useful about the way brains work, give people reason to explore different types of learning than those used in college and university classrooms or encourage some to explore their creative side. Intelligence tests don’t measure all abilities.
Timed-composition tests don’t measure social, personal and leadership skills, physical ability or desire to learn. Most importantly, they don’t measure creativity. Creativity helps in all aspects of life including business, scientific discovery, athletics and governing. From writing a song to solving downtown traffic problems innovation and creativity equal success in many fields.
These two functions, intelligence and creativity, line-up on different sides of the brain. The left hemisphere of the brain controls many of the mental functions necessary for academic success. Such things as memory, language, logic and numeracy allow humans to dissect the individual parts of a problem (analyze) and organize them into a coherent whole (synthesize). The timed-composition test measures these abilities. The right side of the brain contains mental functions necessary for intuition, musical talent, physical coordination and emotion. The right hemisphere houses creativity but timed-composition tests barely measure this brain side.
Both brain halves work together. Truly creative individuals tap into their intelligence and truly intelligent people also create but some people think better one way and some in another. Just why remains a mystery.
Perhaps mental abilities result from two factors--heredity and environment. From parents children inherit a brain wired in a certain way with a certain capacity. The environment in which the brain develops has a great deal to do with whether it achieves its full innate potential. Lack of stimulation at a young age or a poor diet can stymie brain development. Parents might also encourage or stymie their children’s creative abilities.
Even if students do poorly on timed-composition tests teachers should use test results along side other aspects of students’ personalities such as effort, focus, interests and creativity. The timed-composition test doesn’t prove genius either. Timed-composition tests measure just some aspects of intelligence. They measure verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning. Students need this intelligence for academic success but not for success in most aspects of life.
Copyright Bert Lorenzo, 2007
