<p>Duster, some people might do bad on certain tests because they are nervous. Poor performance on a standardized test does not indicate a lack of intelligence. Some people are really smart but they can’t perform under pressure in a testing situation. This may result in a lower standardized test score. I know kids who are in the top 5% of the school who have low sats simply because they can’t keep their focus during a pressure situation. You can’t assume that people who perform poorly on standardized tests are dumb.</p>
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<p>This must be some twist on Godwin’s law.</p>
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<p>Look at post 3. It says exactly the same thing, just with different emphasis.</p>
<p>And this is page 2.</p>
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Billy’s Law.</p>
<p>[Billy</a> Godwin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Godwin]Billy”>Billy Godwin - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Interesting…</p>
<p>Perhaps more relevant</p>
<p>[William</a> Godwin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Godwin]William”>William Godwin - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>[Political</a> Justice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Justice]Political”>Enquiry Concerning Political Justice - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>This seems worthy of further reading.</p>
<p>My friend panics on tests and doesn’t do well… but she’s not unintelligent.</p>
<p>I panicked on my AP Chemistry test, but it’s probably just because I didn’t know the material very well. 
I was also very sleep deprived and felt like crap.</p>
<p>People who flunk legitimately easy tests are either not academically inclined or savants, and given the distribution of good genes in our population, it’s more likely that they’ll belong to the former group.</p>
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<p>…Sounds like you’re the next incarnation of Chuck Norris.</p>
<p>BTW everybody- I’m not talking about standardized SAT type tests. While all smart people without legitimate anxiety issues WILL score well on an SAT, not all who score well on the SAT are intelligent. I think IQ-type tests are pretty ridiculous in nature anyway.</p>
<p>I’m talking about the people who do terrible on in-class tests and AP exams because they’re just stupid, and then blame it on being a ‘bad test taker’. Probably one of the worst things about this excuse is that it implies that those who are intelligent and/or work hard and score great are simply ‘good’ test-takers, as if it’s all just some mythical ability intelligent people have.</p>
<p>The problem we have with what you’re saying Duster is that you are assuming too much about these “bad test takers.” You don’t know enough about the person to really determine if they’re stupid or not, or if their excuse of being a poor tester is “valid.”</p>
<p>hobbit- Again, it’s like people with obesity. Yes, for some of them it is out of their control and genetics-based, but the number of people who CLAIM it is genetics is much more than it is actually true for. Do you see what I mean? The bad test taker excuse is terribly overused.</p>
<p>I know what you’re saying. But it’s the same: for anyone who says they’re a bad test taker, you have no grounds to judge them for it. Everyone has some wonky story behind their behavior.</p>
If a self-proclaimed “bad test-taker” doesn’t study for test in class, and then gets a bad grade on a test then yes, saying they are a bad test-taker" is a poor excuse. However, standardized IQ tests are a poor measure of intelligence. I would know because I was born with a mild case of Spastic Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy which affects the right hand side of my body, and my visual/spatial processing and math skills. I was devastated when I took the test back and got an IQ of 83. Almost everyone, including the school psychologist, said that the score wasn’t an accurate assessment of my intelligence because of my learning disability. I scored really high on things like spelling, verbal, reading fluency, and vocabulary, but the math and visual processing brought my score down. I think that standardized tests of intelligence are something that should be made obsolete because intelligence is far too broad a quality in human beings to put a label and number on.