Black Americans Reduce the Racial IQ Gap: Evidence From Standardization Samples
Abstract
It is often asserted that Black Americans have made no IQ gains on White Americans. Until recently, there have been no adequate data to measure trends in Black IQ. We analyzed data from nine standardization samples for four major tests of cognitive ability. These data suggest that Blacks gained 4 to 7 IQ points on non-Hispanic Whites between 1972 and 2002. Gains have been fairly uniform across the entire range of Black cognitive ability.
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- Authors
- Dickens, W. T., & Flynn, J. R.
- Affiliations
- Brookings Institution (US)
- University of Otago (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Flynn, James R.
- ORCID
- Dickens, William T.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-10
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 913-920
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2135842529
- Cited by
- 119
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 9.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
- Keywords
- African Americans, IQ trends, cognitive ability, standardization sample, cognitive test scores, racial differences in intelligence
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aptitude, Black or African American, Child, Cognition, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Male, Psychometrics, Reference Standards, United States, Black People, White People
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