Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
National IQs predict differences in scholastic achievement in 67 countries
Richard Lynn1, Gerhard Meisenberg, Jaan Mikk
1University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Abstract:
This paper examines the relationship of the national IQs reported by Lynn & Vanhanen (2002, 2006) to national achievement in mathematics and science among 8th graders in 67 countries. The correlation between the two is 0.92 and is interpreted as establishing the validity of the national IQs. The correlation is so high that national IQs and educational achievement appear to be measures of the same construct. National differences in educational achievement are greater than differences in IQ, suggesting an amplifier effect such that national differences in IQs amplify differences in educational achievement. Controlling for national differences in IQ, slight inverse relationships of educational achievement are observed with political freedom, subjective well-being, income inequality, and GDP. However, public expenditure on education (as % of GDP) was not a significant predictor of differences in educational achievement.
Related Concept Videos
Measures of Intelligence
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this; it...
Binet's Contribution to Measures of Intelligence
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Intelligence
The Bell Curve
This pattern applies to many human characteristics beyond intelligence, such as height. For example, if you...