IQ on the Rise in Rural Kenya from 1984 to Ravens Progressive Matrices* Picture Vocabulary Digit Span n.s. *IQ increase over 14 years: SD or pts From Psychological Science, 2003

What Factors are Implicated? Food intake: Energy (kilocalories) 1,506 1,762 Protein 44 g 53 g Health status: hemoglobin deficiency 10% 27% (e.g., iron, vitamin, folic acid deficiency) Hookworm: 36% 18%

Have children learned to be better test-takers? Authors argue No. The 3 tests administered are very different from Kenyan standardized tests and are not familiar to Embu teachers.

Environmental Complexity? Prefrabricated toys and games Absent Absent placemats in restaurants Absent Absent Cereal boxes Absent Absent Household with television 0% 9% Billboards, complicated visual packaging unknown

Are Family Demographics Relevant? Family factors: Household members Family structure: Fathers away from home for 8 months of a year: 4% 8% Unmarried mothers 0% 16%

Maternal Education and Literacy Mother reported no schooling 26% 8% Mothers with more than 8 years education 7% 17% Mother average reading level 4th grade 8th grade Fathers’ educational levels also rose slightly between 1984 and 1998, but not as strikingly as mothers’ levels. In % of parents belonged to parents’ association at school; 16% of total household budget spent on school related expenses

Were School factors relevant? Elementary School? Probably not: All children in both cohorts attended school, but had only attended school for 4 months when tested Preschool may have mattered: 7% 15%

Questions What factors are likely responsible for the dramatic rise in IQ in 14 years in rural Kenya? Which of these factors are unique to Kenya? Which are similar to those that may have influenced the IQ rise in the industrialized west?