Can You Pass the 'Chitling Test'?

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Taken from today's news headlines ... this story from the Houston Chronicle -- 'Chitling Test' Stirs Emotion at School -- about how a Civil Rights Era relic is spurring drama at a Texas high school.

A teacher used the so-called "Chitling Intelligence Test," in an attempt to teach her students a larger lesson about cultural bias in IQ tests. The exam includes questions like this one:

Hattie Mae Johnson is on the County. She has four children and her husband is now in jail for non-support, as he was unemployed and was not able to give her any money. Her welfare check is now $286 per month. Last night she went out with the highest player in town. If she got pregnant, then nine months from now how much more will her welfare check be?

Should such a test be presented in a high school class? Or is nothing off limits in the name of education when presented in the proper context?

And, while we're talking about it ... can you pass the "Chitlin Test"? Published in 1971, much of the lingo is dated, but try anyway and tell us how you scored.

Geoffrey Bennett

Tags: IQ test | race

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