Are You Brilliant in Academics or a Duffer? Your Genes, Not Your Brains Determine That

Are your children in school? As parents are you tad worried about your ward’s academical performance? Tired of complaints from teachers?  Do not worry, for help may be at hand. A research conducted by scientists at King’s College London, says that in a not too distant future both parents and teachers would be able predict their children’s academic brilliance or lack of it, through a genetic test.

This proposal is likely to make parents feel helpless. If mental ability and potential was controlled by one’s genetic makeup, there was nothing the parents could do. However, scientists say the tests can pinpoint in early stage, children who are academically weeks.

That way educators can design special aids and interventions for them. Saskia Selzam, lead author of the study clarifies, “By using these polygenic scores, it is actually possible to identify those for example who are maybe at heightened risk for a learning disability….. So imagine a scenario where we could use a polygenic score very early on to give us information about whether someone might have some learning problems later on.”

How are these genetic tests conducted? Well, the scientists use a special kind of DNA analysis called a genome-wide polygenic score.  The team at King’s College London used a formula for a polygenic score which was used earlier by other researchers had earlier used to determine the number of years of formal education an individual could manage. Next the scores were applied to 5,825 unrelated children. The research team studied the students’ academic scores at ages 7, 12 and 16. They found that genes played a key role in variation of grades as the kids got older.

At age 7, genes accounted for about 3 percent of grade differences. At 12, the number shot up to 5 percent. By 16, genes determined about 9 percent of the difference in grades. The outcome was crystal clear: By age 16, kids with high polygenic scores, secured As and Bs. Those with low polygenic scores got Bs and Cs. Obviously kids with the highest scores had better chances of entering a university than those with the lowest scores.

However implementation is not going to be easy.  There are various aspects which need to be considered.  The outcome of the study has created quite a stir—other scientists are evaluating the pros & cons of it.Daniel Belsky, professor at the Duke University School of Medicine, says “We’re a long way from tests that can be used in schools and doctor’s offices to predict a child’s academic abilities. He adds further “Findings from this study, along with others, suggest the possibility that we might someday have genetic tools that can predict important dimensions of children’s life outcomes.

Belsky urges  scientists to focus on whether they want such tools right away or prefer to wait till more accurate genetic predictions become possible.  Daniel Benjamin, an associate professor at the Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California, is also skeptical about use of  polygenic score as a tool to predict a  person’s educational skills. He opines that these genetic tests would be more useful in identifying the environmental interventions that can help make people better off, and improve their educational outcomes.