A new study suggests that intelligent teenagers are in short supply. Researchers determined that the "high-level thinking" skills of 14-year-olds are equivalent to those of 12-year-olds in 1976. Professor Shayer, a researcher in the study, identifies the increase in time spent watching TV and playing video games as primary reasons for this downward slump. The tests used in the study required no former knowledge and determined the students' ability to think critically. "It looks at how people can deal with complex information and sort it out for themselves." Shayer said. The research team indicated that teachers are increasingly drilling students to pass exams instead of teaching them to understand crucial concepts.

The London's King's College study tested 800 13 and 14-year-olds and compared the results with a similar exercise in 1976.

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