What you learned in school
Educational psychology textbooks taught that IQ tests provided objective, culture-free measurements of innate intellectual capacity. Students were taught that IQ scores reflected their true, fixed intelligence regardless of background, education, or circumstances. Schools used IQ tests to permanently track students into different academic levels based on these "objective" intelligence measures.
What we know now
Educational psychology taught that IQ tests provided objective, unbiased measurements of innate intelligence. Students were taught that IQ scores reflected their true intellectual capacity regardless of background. IQ tests contain significant cultural and educational biases that favor certain backgrounds and experiences. They measure specific types of reasoning that are valued in particular cultures and educational systems, not universal intelligence. Factors like socioeconomic status, language background, test anxiety, and cultural familiarity with testing formats all affect scores. Intelligence is also more complex and multifaceted than any single test can measure.