While critics have actively pointed out the limitations of IQ testing, many feel that the tests accurately predict a student's success in school. According to the website "Human Intelligence" The although IQ tests "do not lend themselves perfectly to some views of intelligence, they have been been fairly good predictors of school achievement." MSNBC reported that another study showed IQ tests given to elementary school students predicted with some degree of accuracy the student's future income, level of education, and job status.
IIn the past, IQ tests gave retarded or autistic individuals low scores or zeroes, revealing little that was useful about the test taker's true mental ability. On December 15th, 2008 Science Daily reported that a group of researchers at the University of California Davis had developed a more effective test for children who commonly suffer mental impairments. According to one of the researchers involved with the project, "If this new method becomes widely available, we will be able to tell parents something more useful and more accurately diagnose and treat young children who are learning disabled."
Educators and specialists need some way to assess the intellectual ability of gifted children. IQ tests, while not the only way of measuring a child's intelligence, are valued tools. The website"Human Intelligence" describes IQ tests as providing valuable information for making "placement decisions" for gifted children. Teachers and administrators who understand a gifted child's capacity may be able to place her in a learning environment that nurtures and develops her gifts.