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In this article we will discuss about the history of the intelligence testing movement.
Intelligence testing as it stands today is the result of long and strenuous struggle to devise means and instruments for measuring the depths of intellectual capacity. The first credit goes to Binet, who devised a scale of measurement of intelligence in 1905.
Since then the work has undergone numerous phases which is narrated below:
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1. Binet-Simon Test:
In 1904, the French Minister of Public Instruction appointed a commission of physicians, educators and scientists to formulate methods, and to make recommendations for the instruction of feeble-minded children in the public schools in Paris. At that time Alfred Binet was the Director of the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at Sorboune.
Binet was a French citizen. He was born in Nice (France) in 1857 and had undergone a course in medicine. He was, however, interested in the treatment of abnormal children. He continued his studies of abnormal children, especially their mental behaviour. In 1895, he founded the journal ‘Launce Psychologique’ in which he published a number of his own studies and those of his students.
It was in 1905, when the Commission was appointed by order of the French Minister, that he as a member of the Commission, prepared his first rough scale of intelligence test, in collaboration with Theophile Simon. This scale was prepared to test feeble-minded children. The first scale was followed by an enlarged and revised editions in 1908, and 1911.
The scale contained tests for the age-group 4 to 15 years. In these test items, the Chronological Age and Mental Age (C.A. and M.A.) were correlated. A point scale was prepared. There were 6 items in the test meant for each age (one test for one year). Thus each item in the test represented 2 months of mental age. The basic factors which were sought to be tested were reasoning, imagination and judgment.
2. Popularisation of Binet-Simon Tests:
Binet-Simon scale marks the beginning of intelligence lasting. Less than ten years after the publication of its final revision, this scale was being extensively used in almost all the European countries, Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia, China and Japan. Thus the test get tremendous popularity as a sound device for measuring intelligence.
3. Stanford Binet Test by Terman:
Binet’s tests were quickly adapted and revised in America. Goddard introduced these tests in 1908, by translating the scale into English and making certain minor modifications to suit the local conditions. He used the scale extensively in his work with the feeble-minded at the Viheland Training School in New Jersey.
In 1916, Terman revised Binet’s scale at Stanford University. This scale is now generally known as “Stanford Binet”. Terman made some modifications by avoiding certain drawbacks in Binet’s test. He found that Binet’s tests were too low and too difficult at the upper age-levels, and the instructions given were not clear.
So he spent a year in training examiners who would administer the test and some more time in supervising the administration. He tried 31 new tests on a number of experimental groups of children. The chief experimental group consisted of 1000 school children of average social status. Finally he arrived at 90 test items (36 more than Binet’s scale).
He placed six tests and several alternatives in each age group from 3 to 10; eight tests at the age 12, six at the age 14, six at average adult level (16) and six at superior adult level (18). It was here that Terman introduced the concept of INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (I. Q.), as the ratio of the mental age to the chronological age.
4. The Concept of I.Q:
Binet had introduced the concept of mental age (M.A.). He tried to correlate mental age with chronological age (C.A.). So, when a child of eight years (C.A.) was tested for intelligence, he could either solve all the test items meant for that age or, fall short of some. Suppose lie solved all the items, then his mental age was the same.
That way he had C.A. as 8 and M.A. also as 8. But suppose he left short of 3 out of 6 items in the test for 8 years age. He was considered 6 months (each item equals 2 months mental age) behind in mental age. So his M.A. was 7½. Suppose he solved all the questions forage 8, and also 3 items of age 9 (out of 6 items), his M.A. was 8½.
This concept of M.A. is all right. But it involves fractions, and does not help us in comparing the mental level of different age-groups.
Terman introduced the idea of Intelligence Quotient, by finding the ratio between M.A. and C.A., and multiplying the fraction by a common base number 100.
So his formula is:
For example a child of 8 years age, with an M.A. of 8 years will have an I.Q. of 8/8 x 100 or 100. If the child’s M.A. is 10, his I.Q. is 10/8 x 100 or 125. If his M.A. is only 6, his I.Q. is 6/8 x 100 or 75.
I. Q. represents the ratio of mental growth, and is an index of brightness. This concept was one step forward in determining more accurately the intelligence level of a child. It was a quantitative procedure, which helped later in all statistical calculation.
5. Terman-Merril Test:
In 1937, Terman assisted by Dr. Merril revised the Stanford Binet test, and published the revised Stanford Test, with two parallel forms L and M. The new scale covered the age level 1 ½ to 18. The two equally valid scales from L to M, contained 129 items (in each form), and were thoroughly standardised, after making it more valid and reliable. Greater objectivity of scoring was ensured. The test gave us the further concept of the intelligence levels from idiot to genius.
6. Army Alpha Test was prepared in America during World War I, for selection of recruits in the army who were educated. But soon, an Army Beta Test was prepared for the uneducated. This former was verbal group test, and the latter was non-verbal group test.
7. Group and Performance Tests:
Binet’s Test was individual test, and so was Stanford Revision Test. Army Alpha Test was the first attempt to have a group test. Spearman devised verbal group tests. Terman also devised group tests, followed by group tests by Cyril Burt.
Thorndike at Columbia prepared the well-known CAVD test battery and consisting of completion, arithmetic, vocabulary and direction items. Thurstone at Chicago prepared 54 different types of sub-tests of mental ability.
Alexander prepared performance tests, followed by Koh’s Block Design test, Collin’s and Drever’s performance test. Wechsler Bellevue Intelligence scale is another popular test.
8. Testing in India:
(i) Attempts were made to translate and adapt Binet’s test at Madras, Dacca and Lahore. In 1924, Prof. C. Herbart Rice prepared the Hindustani form of Binet’s test at Lahore.
(ii) V.V. Kamath standardised Intelligence test in Bombay, in Marathi and Kanara.
(iii) S. Maury of Erwin Christian College Allahabad prepared group verbal test. L.S. Jha also adapted Terman’s group test. A more scientific attempt was made by Jalota at Lahore (1934), in English, Hindi and Urdu.
(iv) Sohan Lai standardised group tests for age 11 and 12.
(v) R.R. Kumria constructed some group tests in Urdu.
(vi) Dr. Gapeswar Palgot standardise a number of tests in Bengali, Gujarati and Hindi at Calcutta.
(vii) Menzel at Raipur tried a group of general test of intelligence, Under his guidance, at Madras, a group of general intelligence and non-verbal test were prepared.
(viii) Prof. Uday Shankar developed Hindi form of individual test C.l.E. Delhi, for the age-group 3-11 years.
(ix) C.M. Bhatia standardised verbal group test for age-group 12, 13 and 14, and performance tests for 11 plus to adult at the Bureau of Psychology Allahabad.
A detailed testing work has been started by the various departments under the N.C.E.R.T., Delhi.
9. Difficulties in the Preparation of Intelligence Tests:
Despite the above achievement in the field of testing, there is a great dearth of tests, both- verbal and non-verbal, individual and group in India. The progress has been slow because of a number of reasons.
Firstly, we have the multiplicity of languages. We need as many forms of test for each group as the number of languages in India.
Secondly, the pupils in schools come from different socioeconomic background. Thirdly, the ages recorded about the pupils in the admission registers are not reliable. Fourthly, there is still lack of resources for undertaking the huge task of standardising testing material.