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The following articles come from two standard intelligence tests for children: the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests. The latter was first designed in 1924 to furnish an IQ comparable to that obtained with the Stanford-Binet without relying extensively on verbal directions and responses. Several of the performance tests and scales were revised by Grace Arthur to accommodate children from different cultural backgrounds, deaf or non-English-speaking children, and those with delayed or defective speech. The Stanford-Binet Scale underwent revisions in 1916, 1937 and 1960 but continued to depend heavily on verbal skills to assess intelligence. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was originally calculated by taking the quotient of the child's mental age and his or her chronological age and multiplying by 100:
IQ = mental age x 100.
chronological age
All testing equipment courtesy of the Augustana College Department of Psychology, Rock Island, Illinois, unless otherwise stated.
Naming Objects from Memory
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner: "Name each object. Now shut your eyes tight so that you can't see them. (Examiner hides an object under the box.) Open your eyes. Look! Which one did I hide?"
Block Building: Bridge
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner: "See if you can make one like this."
Seguin Form Board Test
Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests.
Examiner: "Put these back as fast as you can. Ready. Go!"
Directions for the test could be communicated non-verbally. As stated by Grace Arthur in her 1946 manual, the test was often omitted "for groups not accustomed to time pressures. Indians [Native Americans], for instance, can react with great speed but do not hurry. Their reactions are planned, and trial-and-error is a method not approved. The form boards tend to reward rapid trial and error rather than planned response....The Seguin is avowedly a speed test, and is valuable for measuring speed of reaction to a simple task."
Courtesy of the Hospital School, The University of Iowa
Sorting Buttons
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner: "See, the black buttons go in this box, and the white buttons go in that box. Now you put all the black buttons in thatbox and all the white buttons in thisbox."
Stringing Beads
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner: "Now let's play this game. Watch." (Examiner strings one bead of each shape and gives the child a second cord.) "Let's see how many we can put on."
Healy Picture Completion Test II
(For ages five to adult.)
Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests, 1946.
The child was to choose the block which best completed each picture. The test was developed in 1917 as an alternative to a language completion test used for measuring reasoning ability. Healy recognized the high incidence of immigration in America; many children did not speak English in their homes.
In the Arthur Point Scale, the test was administered with non-verbal instructions. It was omitted for children whose cultural backgrounds did not include the scenes depicted in the illustrations.
Delayed Response
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner: "Look, I'm going to hide the kitty and then see if you can find it again." (With the child watching, the examiner hides the cat under one box, screens all three and lets ten seconds pass.) "Now find the kitty!"
Naming Objects
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner (presenting objects one at a time):"What is this? What do you call it?"
Knox Cube Test (Arthur Revision)
Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests, 1946.
The child was given one pencil and the examiner held the other. The examiner would attract the child's attention and tap a series of blocks. If the child did not understand that he or she was to repeat the series, the examiner would guide the child's hand. The test was discontinued when the child failed three consecutive times as the examiner proceeded through tests of increasing complexity.
Obeying Simple Commands
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960.
Examiner:
| (a) "Give me the dog." |
(b) "Put the shoe beside the block." |
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29. Dr. Beth Lucy Wellman (1895-1952)
Professor of Child Psychology
Iowa Child Welfare Research Station
June 24, 1952
Child Practicing a Tracing Board Test
ICWRS Preschool Laboratories
circa 1924
Wellman and Motor Coordination: In her early work, Dr. Beth Wellman was concerned with the development of motor abilities in children. In one of her studies children were asked to trace a vertical groove down a board. In all previous uses of this apparatus, a bell would ring if the child strayed from the groove and hit the sides. Wellman thought the sound of the bell would delight the children; she reversed the set-up so that the bell would ring only while the child traced the groove.
The Results: Wellman's study showed that factors such as handedness, age, suggestion and practice influenced a child's performance. She found that neither sex nor intelligence affected a child's ability or determined his or her performance level.
#196-57
Swimming Pool
The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
September 1981
Built around 1930, the pool continued to provide children with recreation a half-century later.
Photo courtesy of the Quad-City Times
30. Response to Pictures
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960
Examiner: "Look at this picture and tell me all about it."
Patience: Rectangles
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960
Examiner: "One of my cards has been cut in two: you put these two pieces together to make a whole one just like this one."
Pictorial Similarities and Differences
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, 1960
Examiner: "Put your finger on the one that is notthe same as the others."
Stencil Design Test
Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests, 1946
Examiner (pointing to a sample design): "Make this one."
Porteus Maze Test (Arthur Revision)
Arthur Point Scale of Performance Tests, 1946
The examiner would first finger-trace the correct path and then, with a pencil, make a short mark at the arrow for the child to continue. In the 1940s the scores for the test were seriously affected by the appearance of mazes in comic journals. The children often exclaimed, "These are fun! I do them in the funnies!" |
