Hamm v. Smith · ¶41

Proceeding without a more developed record or lower- court opinions is especially perilous. That is because the differences between methods used to assess multiple IQ scores raise complicated questions on which even experts may disagree. As one example, the principal dissent, citing several studies, argues that “when an individual has multiple IQ scores, the `higher scores are likely to be more indicative' of a person's intelligence than the lower scores.” Post, at 325. Yet, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) explains that “when IQ scores are all close to the boundary of intellectual disability, the `true' score may actually be even lower than the reported scores.” Brief for AAIDD et al. as Amici Curiae 26 (AAIDD Brief). Due to the statistical concept of regression to the mean, the AAIDD elaborates, when an individual's scores are “grouped…

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