A systematic review of fluid intelligence testing with the Raven’s coloured progressive matrices and the quality of education in South Africa

Abstract

This study conducted a Systematic Literature Review to investigate the available knowledge that explores fluid intelligence using Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices in contexts where the quality of education may influence the assessment’s results. International test norms may contribute to misleading results as the test utilised may not be in the home language of the learners who are assessed and may not consider the quintile group in which the learner is educated. For the investigation into the relationship between fluid intelligence measured by the RCPM and the quality of education, a systematic review was deemed appropriate to explore the existing knowledge on this topic. A systematic review is ideal for research that seeks to examine the possible implications of the topic, rather than measure its efficacy. Fifty seven percent of studies in the sample supported the notion that there is a relationship between lower local norms and lower performance of female participants’ scores on the Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices. Forty five percent of the sample population raised questions about the relationship between socioeconomic status and Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices performance. All these studies were conducted in Africa, two of which were conducted in South Africa. Unfortunately, there are no publications available that directly attempt to investigate the relationship between quality of education and Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices performance.