In an effort to construct the most advanced school system in
the nation, Los Angeles school administrators and educators initiated a
new scientific method of group intelligence testing. Almost immediately
educators discovered serious limitations with the process and resisted
its exclusive use.
This study examines the reception of this new technology in Los
Angeles between 1922 and 1932. Many historians have seen those
associated with I.Q. measuring as bulwarks supporting the hegemony of
Anglo-Saxon upper-middle class society. While their criticism has
brought some non-equitable aspects of twentieth-century public
education to surface, it has not led to our understanding of how
educators interpreted the tests. An analysis of the sources, including
reports published in the Department of Psychology and Education
Research Bulletin of the Los Angeles City Schools, the Teachers' and
Principals' School Journal, and the Minute~ of the Board of Education,
provides insight into how Los Angeles educators viewed standardized
testing
