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Intelligence tests assess a person’s mental abilities and compare them with the abilities of other people through the use of numerical scores. Although the term intelligence is used as if there is agreement on what it means, in reality there is much debate as to how this term should be and has been defined. For example, debate has surrounded whether intelligence should be considered an inherent cognitive capacity, an achieved level of performance, or a qualitative construct that cannot be measured. Psychologists have debated whether intelligence is learned or inherited, culturally specific or universal, and one ability or several abilities. While these debates are ongoing, evidence is increasing that traditional intelligence tests measure specific forms of cognitive ability that are predictive of school functioning, but do not measure the many forms of intelligence that are beyond these more specific skills, such...
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