Comprehension Third Degree
The questions for this year are:--
(a) "_What's the thing for you to do when you have broken
something which belongs to some one else?_"
(b) "_What's the thing for you to do when you notice on your way
to school that you are in danger of being tardy?_"
(c) "_What's the thing for you to do if a playmate hits you
without meaning to do it?_"
The procedure is
Each question may be repeated once or twice, but its form must not be
changed. No explanations are permissible.
SCORING:--
_Question a (If you have broken something)_
_Satisfactory responses_ are those suggesting either restitution
or apology, or both. Confession is not satisfactory unless
accompanied by apology. The following are satisfactory: "Buy a
new one." "Pay for it." "Give them something instead of it."
"Have my father mend it." "Apologize." "Tell them I'm sorry,
that I did not mean to break it," etc. Of 92 correct answers, 76
suggested restitution, while 16 suggested apology, or apology
and restitution.
_Unsatisfactory._ "Tell them I did it." "Go tell my mother."
"Feel sorry." "Be ashamed." "Pick it up," etc. Mere confession
accounts for over 20 per cent of all failures.
_Question b (In danger of being tardy)_
_Satisfactory._ The expected response is, "Hurry," "Walk
faster," or something to that effect. One bright city boy said
he would take a car. Of the answers not obviously incorrect,
nearly 95 per cent suggest hurrying. The rule ordinarily
recommended is to grade all other responses _minus_. But this
rule is too sweeping to be followed blindly. One who would use
intelligence tests must learn to discriminate. "I would go back
home and not go to school that day" is a good answer in those
cases (fortunately rare) in which children are forbidden by the
teacher to enter the schoolroom if tardy. "Go back home and get
mother to write an excuse" would be good policy if by so doing
the child might escape the danger of incurring an extreme
penalty. When teachers inflict absurd penalties for unexcused
tardiness, it is the part of wisdom for children to incur no
risks! When such a response is given, it is well to inquire into
the school's method of dealing with tardiness and to score the
response accordingly.
_Unsatisfactory._ "Go to the principal." "Tell the teacher I
couldn't help it." "Have to get an excuse." "Go to school
anyway." "Get punished." "Not do it again." "Not play hooky."
"Start earlier next time," etc.
Lack of success results oftenest from failure to get the exact
shade of meaning conveyed by the question. It is implied, of
course, that something is to be done at once to avoid tardiness;
but the subject of dull comprehension may suggest a suitable
thing to do in case tardiness has been incurred. Hence the
response, "I would go to the principal and explain." Answers of
this type are always unsatisfactory.
_Question c (Playmate hits you)_
_Satisfactory responses_ are only those which suggest either
excusing or overlooking the act. These ideas are variously
expressed as follows: "I would excuse him" (about half of all
the correct answers). "I would say 'yes' if he asked my pardon."
"I would say it was all right." "I would take it for a joke." "I
would just be nice to him." "I would go right on playing." "I
would take it kind-hearted." "I would not fight or run and tell
on him." "I would not blame him for it." "Ask him to be more
careful," etc.
_Unsatisfactory responses_ are all those not of the above two
types; as: "I would hit them back." "I would not hit them back,
but I would get even some other way." "Tell them not to do it
again." "Tell them to 'cut it out.'" "Tell him it's a wrong
thing to do." "Make him excuse himself." "Make him say he's
sorry." "Would not play with him." "Tell my mamma." "I would ask
him why he did it." "He'd say 'excuse me' and I'd say 'thank
you.'" "He should excuse me." "He is supposed to say 'excuse
me.'"
REMARKS. All three comprehension questions of this year were used by
Binet, Goddard, Huey, and others in year X; two of them in the "easy
series" and one in the "hard series." The Stanford data show that they
belong at the 8-year level on the standard of scoring above set forth.
The three differ little among themselves in difficulty, but all of them
are decidedly easier than the other five used by Binet. It would be
absurd to go on using the comprehension questions as Binet bunched them,
eight together, ranging in difficulty from one which is easy enough for
6-year intelligence ("What's the thing to do if you miss your train?")
to one which is hard for the 12-year level ("Why is a bad act done when
one is angry more excusable than the same act done when one is not
angry?").
More
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In devising tests of intelligence it is, of course, necessary to be guided by some assumption, or assumptions, regarding the nature of intelligence. To adopt any other course is to depend for success upon happy chance. However, it is impossible to... Binet's Experiment On How Teachers Test Intelligence
Finally, Binet had three teachers come to his laboratory to judge the intelligence of children whom they had never seen before. Each spent an afternoon in the laboratory and examined five pupils. In each case the teacher was left free to arrive at a... Binet's Questionnaire On Teachers' Methods Of Judging Intelligence
Aroused by the skepticism so often shown toward his test method, Binet decided to make a little study of the methods by which teachers are accustomed to arrive at a judgment as to a child's intelligence. Accordingly, through the cooeperation of the ... Border-line Cases (usually Between 70 And 80 I Q)
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What do the above I Q's imply in such terms as feeble-mindedness, border-line intelligence, dullness, normality, superior intelligence genius, etc.? When we use these terms two facts must be borne in mind: (1) That the boundary lines between such ... Comparison Of Lines
PROCEDURE. Present the appropriate accompanying card with the lines in horizontal position. Point to the lines and say: "_See these lines. Look closely and tell me which one is longer. Put your finger on the longest one._" We use the superlative as ... Comparison Of Weights
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PROCEDURE. After getting the child's attention, say: "_What must you do when you are sleepy?_" If necessary the question may be repeated a number of times, using a persuasive and encouraging tone of voice. No other form of question may be substitute... Comprehension Fourth Degree
The questions for this year are:-- (a) "_What ought you to say when some one asks your opinion about a person you don't know very well?_" (b) "_What ought you to do before undertaking (beginning) something very important?_" (c)... Comprehension Second Degree
PROCEDURE. The questions used in this year are:-- (a) "_What's the thing to do if it is raining when you start to school?_" (b) "_What's the thing to do if you find that your house is on fire?_" (c) "_What's the thing to do if ... Comprehension Third Degree
The questions for this year are:-- (a) "_What's the thing for you to do when you have broken something which belongs to some one else?_" (b) "_What's the thing for you to do when you notice on your way to school that you are in da... Copying A Diamond
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PROCEDURE. Place before the child a cardboard on which is drawn in heavy black lines a square about 11/4 inches on a side. Give the child a pencil and say: "_You see that_ (pointing to the square). _I want you to make one just like it. Make it right... Correlation Between I Q And The Teachers' Estimates Of The Children's Intelligence
By the Pearson formula the correlation found between the I Q's and the teachers' rankings on a scale of five was .48. This is about what others have found, and is both high enough and low enough to be significant. That it is moderately high in so fa... Counting Backwards From 20 To 1
PROCEDURE. Say to the child: "_You can count backwards, can you not? I want you to count backwards for me from 20 to 1. Go ahead._" In the great majority of cases this is sufficient; the child comprehends the task and begins. If he does not comprehe... Counting Four Pennies
PROCEDURE. Place four pennies in a horizontal row before the child. Say: "_See these pennies. Count them and tell me how many there are. Count them with your finger, this way_" (pointing to the first one on the child's left)--"_One_"--"_Now, go ahea... Counting Thirteen Pennies
PROCEDURE. The procedure is the same as in the test of counting four pennies (year IV, test 3). If the first response contains only a minor error, such as the omission of a number in counting, failure to tally with the finger, etc., a second trial i... Defining Abstract Words
PROCEDURE. The words to be defined are _pity_, _revenge_, _charity_, _envy_, and _justice_. The formula is, "_What is pity? What do we mean by pity?_" and so on with the other words. If the meaning of the response is not clear, ask the subject to ex... Dependence Of The Scale's Reliability On The Training Of The Examiner
On this point two radically different opinions have been urged. On the one hand, some have insisted that the results of a test made by other than a thoroughly trained psychologist are absolutely worthless. At the opposite extreme are a few who seem ... Description Of Pictures
PROCEDURE. Use the same pictures as in III, 3, presenting them always in the following order: Dutch Home, River Scene, Post-Office. The formula for the test in this year is somewhat different from that of year III. Say: "_What is this picture about?... Desirable Range Of Testing
There are two considerations here of equal importance. It is necessary to make the examination thorough, but in the pursuit of thoroughness we must be careful not to produce fatigue or ennui. Unless there is reason to suspect mental retardation, ... Detecting Absurdities
PROCEDURE. Say to the child: "_I am going to read a sentence which has something foolish in it, some nonsense. I want you to listen carefully and tell me what is foolish about it._" Then read the sentences, rather slowly and in a matter-of-fact voic... Differences Between Abstract Terms
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PROCEDURE. Use the forms supplied with this book. First, place the circle of the duplicate set at "X", and say: "_Show me one like this_," at the same time passing the finger around the circumference of the circle. If the child does not respond, say... Dissected Sentences
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PROCEDURE. Say to the child: "_Show me your right hand._" After this is responded to, say: "_Show me your left ear._" Then: "_Show me your right eye._" Stress the words _left_ and _ear_ rather strongly and equally; also _right_ and _eye_. If there i... Drawing Designs From Memory
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In this group are included those children who would not, according to any of the commonly accepted social standards, be considered feeble-minded, but who are nevertheless far enough below the actual average of intelligence among races of western E... Duration Of The Examination
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The most important effect of the revision is to reduce the mental ages secured in the lower ranges of the scale, and to raise considerably the mental ages above 10 or 11 years. This difference also obtains, though to a somewhat smaller extent, betw... Enumeration Of Objects In Pictures
PROCEDURE. Use the three pictures designated as "Dutch Home," "River Scene," and "Post-Office." Say, "_Now I am going to show you a pretty picture._" Then, holding the first one before the child, close enough to permit distinct vision, say: "_Tell m... Essential Nature Of The Scale
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There are innumerable grades of mental deficiency ranging from somewhat below average intelligence to profound idiocy. In the literal sense every individual below the average is more or less mentally weak or feeble. Only a relatively small proport... Finding Mental Age
As there are six tests in each age group from III to X, each test in this part of the scale counts 2 months toward mental age. There are eight tests in group XII, which, because of the omission of the 11-year group, have a combined value of 24 mont... Finding Omissions In Pictures
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Before we can interpret the results of an examination it is necessary to know how frequently an I Q of the size found occurs among unselected children. Our tests of 1000 unselected children enable us to answer this question with some degree of def... General Value Of The Method
In a former chapter we have noted certain imperfections of the scale devised by Binet and Simon; namely, that many of the tests were not correctly located, that the choice of tests was in a few cases unsatisfactory, that the directions for giving... Genius And Near Genius
Intelligence tests have not been in use long enough to enable us to define genius definitely in terms of I Q. The following two cases are offered as among the highest test records of which the writer has personal knowledge. It is doubtful whether m... Getting Into Rapport
The examiner's first task is to win the confidence of the child and overcome his timidity. Unless _rapport_ has first been established, the results of the first tests given are likely to be misleading. The time and effort necessary for accomplishin... Giving Definitions In Terms Of Use
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