Homepage > Thai Youth Issues > CHILDREN IQ tests reflect regional divide

Published on Jan 11, 2002 The Nation

A national survey of school children's intelligence shows a wide regional gap, with children in the North scoring an average of nearly nine points less than their Bangkok peers on intelligence quotient (IQ) tests.

The National Health Examination Survey team yesterday released a report that said a large number of school children have slightly low IQs. Although the average IQ of Thai school children is 91.96 points - at the low end of the standard range of 90 to 110 - 44 per cent of those tested had IQs that were less than 90 points (see table).

At 87.88 points, children in the North had the lowest average. In Bangkok the average was 96.54.

Researcher Dr Nitchya Reungra-chakanont, from Ramathibodi Hos-pital, said her team could not specify the reasons for the wide gap.

Because it was done on a large scale the research was rough, Nitchya said.

Moreover, the researchers relied solely on the children's ability to answer IQ questionnaires and did not measure other skills, she said. The survey was conducted in 1997 as part of the Public Health Ministry's Prospective Cohort Study of Thai Children. About 4,000 children in 33 provinces were given IQ tests. The survey will be conducted again this year.

The average IQ of children in Bangkok, municipal areas and the South fell within the standard range, the survey found. On average, girls had a slightly higher IQ than boys, it found.

The survey also found that 8.5 per cent of the children it tested were mentally retarded. Most of them were in the North, where 16.4 per cent of the children surveyed were classified as mentally retarded. Only 2.5 per cent of those tested in Bangkok were mentally retarded.

Doctor Chanpen Chooprapa-wan, director of the programme, said numerous factors influence IQ, including nutrition, family income and the environment.

"Cream of the crop students who have won many global awards are just less than 1 per cent of all children in the country. Having genius children is good for the country, but we should not only be proud of them and ignore the others who are almost below the standard line," Chanpen said.

The government should pay more attention to children's development, particularly in remote areas, she said.

Children will get smarter if society supports them, she said.

Thai children were also found to be too small and too short.

On average, boys' weigh about one to five kilograms less than they should and girls about 1-3kg less than standard. Boys are about one to two centimetres shorter than the standard while girls fall short by about two to four centimetres.

Nutrition is a critical problem for the country's school children. About 20 per cent of them lack sufficient amounts of iron, a mineral crucial for brain development, the survey found.

Pennapa Hongthong,

Sirinart Sirisunthorn

THE NATION