3 chapters across the catalog
The origins of the IQ test are traced back to Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon in 1905, originally intended to identify children needing academic help. The hosts critique the mathematical formula (mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100) and the culturally biased questions used at Ellis Island. They question whether early testing gives children an unfair advantage in accessing elite educational tracks.
A discussion about the Texas Educational Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) system reveals how teachers are constrained by standardized testing. The hosts argue that the entire educational system has become a "big IQ test" designed to report results to the Department of Education. They suggest that grade inflation and lowered standards are used to keep the system functioning while masking the actual intelligence levels of students.
The 2011 Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal is revisited, where 35 educators were indicted on racketeering charges for inflating test scores. The hosts highlight the "thug" rhetoric used against the black female teachers and the 45-year prison sentence faced by Superintendent Beverly Hall. They use this as a historical parallel for how the system might treat Stacey Abrams if election fraud is prosecuted.
