§ 8. Mr. James MacCollasked the Minister of Education whether she is aware that recent experiments indicate that individual scores in group intelligence tests can be improved by systematic coaching; and whether, in view of the use made of such tests in the competitive selection of children for different types of secondary education, she will advise local education authorities on the best way of correcting this.
§ Miss HorsbrughI think it best that I should leave local education authorities to work out methods for determining the most suitable secondary education for each child.
§ Mr. MacCollIs the Minister not aware that the Professor of Educational Psychology for the Institute of Education has suggested that scores of intelligence quotients can be raised by as much as 14 points by systematic coaching? Is it not desirable that there should be a uniform practice in this matter either by giving coaching, as he suggests, or by forbidding it altogether?
§ Miss HorsbrughI do not think it is possible to get a completely uniform practice. I shall be only too happy to enable local education authorities to obtain any help they may want from my expert advisers. Local authorities have seen the various suggestions made in the Press and elsewhere.
§ Miss Alice BaconIs it not clear that there is no satisfactory method of selecting children at the age of 11 for different types of secondary education, and would not the right hon. Lady agree that the only right method is to ensure comprehensive schools?
§ Miss HorsbrughI quite agree that it is very difficult to know exactly the abilities and aptitudes of any child, at a particular age, but I would rather see mistakes made in this scheme than increase the number of comprehensive schools until an experiment has been tried in these schools.