The Impact of IQ on academic success
By: Hoon Jung
Introduction
It is a popular saying that effort beats talent, meaning that one who persists in effort may eventually triumph over another who was born with natural ability. Many students across the world commonly attribute this to academic success as well, believing that effort may trump natural intelligence. But is there any merit behind this saying? Research shows that there may be some correlation between academic success and intelligence, but there are also many other factors involved.
Studying is essential for the academic success of any student regardless of their intelligence, but can effort bridge a gap in IQ? | Image Credits: Pexels
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Academic Success
Several studies conducted on students have found that IQ and academic success were positively correlated, meaning that as IQ increased, students were more successful. This was also held true across different grade levels, elementary school through college. Though, it was also found that the correlation decreases as the level of education increases, meaning that IQ is a larger contributor to academic success in elementary school than in university. Furthermore, a study published by the Journal of Intelligence found that the correlation between academic success and IQ was moderate, meaning that intelligence was not the only reason for academic success for all grade levels.
This graph shows that the correlation between intelligence and academic success across numerous studies averages out to be 0.367, indicating a moderate correlation | Image Credits: (Fig. 2 Lozano-Blasco et al.)
Other studies state that the academic success of a student also depends on their socioeconomic status, school type, and family size. What is important to note is that all of these factors depend on socioeconomic status, as family size has been shown to increase with lower income and the quality of schools depends greatly on the neighborhood in which they are located, with greater quality schools in wealthier areas. Therefore it is important to note that socioeconomic status is an important contributor to the difference in academic success.
So, can effort overcome a gap in intelligence?
As with all other things, effort is able to eventually overcome a difference in IQ in terms of academic success. According to Courtney Staley, a Professor of Communication at the University of Colorado, deliberate practice and ability to focus for long periods are essential for academic success, rather than innate talent. She states that those who display great effort and a growth mindset, believing intelligence can be developed through learning, have shown great academic success. She states that the best students have both ability and consistent effort, but by having a growth mindset, students will be able to surpass raw intelligence in many cases.
And so effort is able to surpass raw intelligence in many cases, but the best students display both ability and effort.
References:
Akubuilo, Uzoamaka Chinenye, et al. “Academic performance and intelligence quotient of Primary School Children in enugu.” Pan African Medical Journal, vol. 36, 2020, https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2020.36.129.22901.
Batool, Zahira, Muhammad Ibrahim, M.Shabbir Chaudhary, & Sadaf Mahmood. "Socio-Economic Factors Affecting the Family Size." European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences [Online], 8.4 (2019): pp. 727-731. Web. 3 Sep. 2024
Lozano-Blasco, Raquel, et al. “Types of intelligence and academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of Intelligence, vol. 10, no. 4, 13 Dec. 2022, p. 123, https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10040123.
Staley, C. Courtney. Focus on Community College Success. 3rd ed., Wadsworth ; Cengage Learning Distributor, 2013, p. 16-19, https://ssc.utah.edu/_resources/documents/tools_for_success_page_documents/Ability%20Effort%20Or%20Mindset.pdf
