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Black Americans Reduce the Racial IQ Gap: Evidence from Standardization Samples

James R. Flynn and
JRF
James R. Flynn
William T. Dickens
William T. Dickens University Distinguished Professor of Economics & Social Policy - Northeastern University

October 1, 2006

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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