Our Education System: Are We Measuring Intelligence the Wrong Way?

There is a simple image that captures one of the biggest problems with education: we often expect every student to succeed in exactly the same way.

The cartoon shows a teacher asking a group of very different animals—an elephant, a monkey, a penguin, a fish, and others—to complete the same task: climb a tree.

The message is powerful. If every animal is judged by its ability to climb a tree, the monkey may appear brilliant, while the fish may seem like a failure. But the fish isn't unintelligent. It is simply being measured against a skill that doesn't reflect its strengths.

Traditional education often relies heavily on exams, grades, memorisation and standardised assessments.

Students sit in the same classrooms, study largely the same material, complete the same tests and are frequently ranked according to the same criteria. But children are not identical.

One student may be exceptional at mathematics. Another may tell extraordinary stories. Someone else may understand how machines work, while another has an incredible ability to communicate, create art, lead others or solve practical problems. Yet some of these abilities receive far more recognition than others.

This raises an important question: Are we measuring intelligence—or simply measuring how well students fit the system?

Imagine a classroom containing ten students.

• One loves science

• One is a creative writer

• Another can draw really well

• Someone else is brilliant at building things with their hands

• Another is great at sport and physical exercise and is strong

• One student struggles with written exams but can solve real-world problems almost instinctively.

  
  

If we use only one measurement to judge all of them, we're likely to miss much of what makes each person capable.

Education should not be about discovering who is "better" than everyone else. It should be about discovering what each person can become good at.

One of the most damaging things education can do is convince a young person that a poor grade means they are unintelligent.

A student who repeatedly struggles with mathematics or English may eventually think 'I'm just not that smart' or that 'I am bad at school.'

But struggling with one subject does not mean someone lacks intelligence or ability.

It may mean they need a different explanation or learn differently or that their strengths lie elsewhere.

Or it may simply mean they haven't yet found the right way to engage with the subject.

Performance in one environment is not the same thing as potential.

Education should discover potential and not just get students to compete for top marks. This doesn't mean exams and academic standards have no value. Knowledge matters. Discipline matters. Learning difficult things matters.

The problem arises when grades become the only language we use to describe ability. A good education system should give students opportunities to develop Power Skills:

• Think critically

• Ask questions

• Solve real problems

• Create things

• Work with others

• Communicate ideas

• Experiment and make mistakes

• Discover their interests

• Develop practical as well as academic skills

Instead of asking only, "What grade did you get?", perhaps we should also ask:

"What are you curious about?"

"What are you good at?"

"What problems do you want to solve?"

"What could you become exceptionally good at with the right support?"

Should we not also rate passion and enthusiasm, commitment and resilience of a learner and the determination to try.

So the fish does not need to climb the tree. The lesson of the image isn't that we should stop challenging students. It's that the challenge should recognise the individual.

Our goal shouldn't be to make every child the same.

It should be to help every child recognise and develop their own strengths while giving them the skills they need to navigate the world.

And finally, the image carries a lesson worth remembering for teachers, parents and students alike: Don't judge someone's potential solely by how well they perform at something they were never naturally suited to do.

Education should open doors—not convince people that there is only one door worth walking through.