Norm obsolescence is recognized in the intelligence testing literature as a potential source of error in global IQ scores. Psychological standards and assessment books recommend that assessment professionals use tests with the most current norms to minimize the possibility of norm obsolescence spuriously raising an individual’s measured IQ. This phenomenon is typically referred to as the Flynn Effect. This report is the first in a series of brief reports the will define, explain, and summarize the scholarly consensus regarding the validity of the Flynn Effect. The series will conclude with an evaluation of the question whether a professional consensus has emerged regarding the practice of adjusting dated IQ test scores for the Flynn Effect, an issue of increasing debate in Atkins MR/ID capital punishment hearings.
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