Is it racism?

[Ender]

Sagan tackled this in his book Candle in the Dark. He drew upon research about how food intake impacts brain development and then showed that the groups that test lower (the example of the OP being africans) tended to have poorer nutrition due to economic conditions on top of poorer educational facilities, which could combine to produce the results.

[Metatwaddle]

Of course, that doesn't really show anything except that the American education system is stacked against black students, just as much as the tests are.

Not necessarily. The average white family is more economically advantaged and better educated than an African-American family. So the average white family can take more time to help their kids with their school work, or to take them to educational trips (I.E. Museums) or, heck, even to the doctor. Same reason why white families from economically disadvantaged areas (I.E. West Virginia off the top of my head) tend to score low on test scores also.

Yeah, but even when you correct for parents' income level, black students tend to score lower than white students.

That doesn't mean you need to go to genetics to explain it, of course. Chances are that a family making, say, $30,000 a year in West Virginia or another rural area has a higher standard of living than a family making $30,000 in a major city, since cities are generally more expensive. And I do think the differences in schools are relevant here. It's my understanding that urban schools have very different problems from rural schools, even if they get the same funding per student. I'm not completely sure of the specifics, though.

[Rye]

Is it racist if you do say that blacks score lower on IQ tests but then put it down to factors other than genes? I mean, there's still the racial trend that you're specifically relating it to, isn't there?

[RedImperator]

Is it racist if you do say that blacks score lower on IQ tests but then put it down to factors other than genes? I mean, there's still the racial trend that you're specifically relating it to, isn't there?

You have to be careful with your language: "blacks tend to score lower" or "on average, blacks score lower" is a lot better than "blacks score lower", full stop. Otherwise, though, it's no more racist than saying blacks tend to have lower incomes or are more likely to be murdered. The racism, if there is any, lies in the explanation. If someone is blaming genetics and claiming Africans as a racial group are inherently dumber than everyone else, it's a safe bet he's a racist looking to justify his prejudices with pseudoscience. At best, it's a well meaning person who's swallowed someone else's racist bullshit because it sounds logical, even if he doesn't like the conclusion.

[Gerald Tarrant]

Aren't Twin Studies one of the better ways to determine heritability versus cultural impact?

[Junghalli]

Aren't Twin Studies one of the better ways to determine heritability versus cultural impact?

Yeah, although you still have to worry about gene expression, since there are traits that are genetically based but still influenced by environment (like autism IIRC, or at least that's one of the theories on it), as well as environmental effects in the womb. There's also the issue of finding of identical twins who've been raised from birth in widely dissimilar circumstances.