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Do Standard Intelligence Tests Actually Measure Intelligence?

Do Standard Intelligence Tests Actually Measure Intelligence?
The concept of intelligence has been widely debated throughout time following the inception of the IQ test. Many theories have been proposed although no single definition of intelligence has been universally accepted with disagreement between researchers from biological and psychometric fields. The psychometric approach, which is the dominant field with respect to public attention and research, attempts to measure intelligence by means such as the Stanford-Binet or Wechsler tests. General intelligence is measured on these tests by including many different items which utilise various aspects of reasoning; for example the subject may be required to complete verbal and nonverbal items which assess spatial abilities, arithmetic and literacy (Neisser et al., 1996). The aim of this essay is to examine whether standard intelligence tests actually measure intelligence. The conventional psychometric definition of intelligence revolves around an individual’s generalised ability to control oneself, learn from experience and adapt to the environment (Neisser et al., 1996; Sternberg & Kaufman, 1998). Originally, psychometric tests of general intelligence were used by Alfred Binet to measure the ability of children to succeed at school. Since then, a vast amount of research has been conducted using such tests and it has been found that IQ scores correlate highly with school performance, scores on school achievement tests, total years of education and job placement (Neisser et al., 1996). It is well documented through research that IQ tests are positively correlated with predicting future outcomes, but do IQ tests really measure intelligence? Furthermore, what is intelligence and how is someone determined as being intelligent. Is it the ability to successfully complete a pen and paper test, or are there other aspects such as the ability to apply reason to real world tasks?
Possibly the earliest attempt...