The issue lies in the origin.
During the early 1900s the stigma of mental disability was a social problem that was classified by the subjective judgement of the public. There was no standard for measuring these conditions. Socially unacceptable behavior was labeled as a deterant to a functional and healthy society and so the need for a system of classification was overdue. 1
Today we have evolved in our understanding of what intelligence is, although the experts still debate it's definition as we are entrenched in academic assessment that is deeply tied into the education economy.₂
There is hope in research that suggests other forms of intelligence exist, but the bastion of IQ will not be losing any ground in the landscape of who is smart and who isn't.
French Psychologist Alfred Binet- Founder of IQ Testing
How IQ Came to be
"In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon (1905a, 1905b, 1905c), a psychologist and a physician, published a 30-item "Measuring Scale of Intelligence" designed to provide an objective procedure for the differential
diagnosis of idiots, imbeciles, morons (debiles) and normal individuals. These are the terms used during this time to describe individuals with abnormal behavior. The first
item of the test was Le regard: "Do the head and eyes follow a moving match?"
The second was Prehension provoked by a tactile stimulus: "Will the child seize
a piece of wood touched to its hand, and bring the wood to its mouth?" The 29th
and 30th items, the top of the scale, were a paper-folding task and the question,
Definitions of abstract terms: "What difference is there between esteem and
affection?" "What difference is there between weariness and sadness?" 3
IQ isn't for everyone
"The achievement-testing orientation exhibited in intelligence tests may be acceptable and even appropriate when the tests are administered to children who have had fully adequate educational opportunities in reasonably adequate social and emotional environments. But for children whose environments have been characterized by degrivation of one kind or another, this orientation may lead to invalid test results. There is no fully
adequate solution to the problem "of assessment of intelligence among such youngsters, especially if the youngsters will have to function in a normal sociocultural milieu." 5
Where
does IQ Assessment originate?
"The 1905 Binet-Simon test was used for the classification of relatively low-functioning (cognitively impaired) children. As the items of the instrument were explored and modified in a careful program of test development, it became clear that the test responses of retarded children resembled the test responses of younger cognitively impaired children. To perfect their test, Binet and Simon needed amore detailed picture of children's mental development." 4
IQ tests need refining
"However, even though IQ tests are only relative measuring instruments and have their limitations, they are currently the most common and easiest clinical tools to give a psychometric value to the intellectual abilities of a person.
The combination of IQ with clinical history and other elements enables clinicians to obtain a psychological and cognitive profile of the person,
which can be important for clinical followups. While assessments of stage based on the MHC exist, these tools need to be further refined and assessed in order to develop an assessment that can be easily used and understood in the daily practice of psychologists." 6
Notes:
1. Sheldon H. White, "Conceptual Foundations of IQ Testing," Psychology, PublicPolicy, and Law 6, no. 1 (2000): 33-43, doi:10.1037/1076-8971.6.1.33.
2.R. J. Sternberg, "What Should Intelligence Tests Test? Implications of a TriarchicTheory of Intelligence for Intelligence Testing," Educational Researcher 13, no. 1 (1984): 5-15,doi:10.3102/0013189x013001005.
3. White, S. H. (2000). Conceptual foundations of IQ testing. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Psychology, 6(1), 33-43. doi:10.1037/1076-8971.6.1.33.
4. White, S. H. (2000). Conceptual foundations of IQ testing. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Psychology, 6(1), 33-43. doi:10.1037/1076-8971.6.1.33.
5. Sternberg, R. J. (1984). What Should Intelligence Tests Test? Implications of a Triarchic Theory of Intelligence for Intelligence Testing. Educational Researcher, 13(1), 5-15.
6. Vanheck, C. (2016). An analysis of the verbal comprehension index of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth edition (WAIS–IV) using the model of hierarchical complexity (MHC): Why might stage be a better measure of “smarts” than verbal IQ? Behavioral Development Bulletin, 21(1), 50-62. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.ferris.edu/10.1037/bdb0000015