Tests and Norms at a Six Year Old Performance Level

The Psychological Clinic Copyright, 1925, by Lightner Witnfer, Editor Vol. XV, No. 9 / December, 1924 ??

By Charlotte Easby-Grave, Ph.D Clinic Teacher, The Psychological Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Six year old children exist, but the six year old child is an abstraction, a hypothetical entity. Children are supposed to be ready to enter the first grade of school at or about the time they are six years old. However, were all children in the first grade over six a&d under seven years, they still would not be a homogeneous ^oup, for each child is a particular individual who starts out in life with an endowment of differentiated personality. How then, it possible to define a six year level of competency ? If we start with Dr Witmer’s definition of human competency as “a measure of superiority which differentiates those who are in a group from those who are not,” we may define our Problem as an attempt to determine, by certain standard tests, which children really enter into the competitive event which opens with enrollment in the first grade. It is not to be supposed that ^e six year level of competency begins with entrance into the first grade or that it ends with promotion into the second grade. Children who are in the first grade of a number of Philadelphia schools were selected for investigation as children at the six year old level, because in this way we obtained a group of children, homogeneous With respect to the conditions which determine their earliest official admission to school-room competition with other children. The chronological age of six years is the modal age acceptable to most school administrators for first grade enrollment.

According to Learning1 the index of normal ability at the fifteen year level is “the minimum of proficiency acceptable to a unit Member of the social group.” Every individual is expected to be 1 Learning, Rebecca E. Tests and norms for Vocational Guidance at the Fifteen Year Old Performance Level. Psychological Clinic, Vol. XIV, 1 QOo __ 1922, p. 193.

262 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC

able at least to earn his living, marry, raise a family, and keep out of an institution of social elimination.

On the other hand, at the six year level the criterion of competency is the child’s congenital and potential ability to respond to educational and other stimuli with some change of behavior directed toward a definable level of social proficiency. The child at this age level is presumably able to take care of himself physically. He is able to conform sufficiently to sit quiet for a stated period of time. He is able to carry out a number of directions given consecutively. He is for the first time required to pattern his behavior by a rule other than that of his family group. The first grade child is therefore in the transition stage between a purely egocentric and an alterocentric world.

PEOBLEM

The problem of this investigation, then, was to explore the competency of first grade children. The approach to this problem was, of necessity, twofold?both quantitative and qualitative. The procuring of norms by a statistical treatment of the quantitative results has developed as the only feasible means of presenting this material for practical use, either by psychologists or educators. A judgment of mental capacity eludes satisfactory expression in words. The language available seems to be worn threadbare. Each word connotes such a variety of meanings that the expression of our judgments may easily be misinterpreted or garbled by others to whom the terms carry an entirely different significance. It has been necessary, therefore, to have recourse to a statistical presentation, since numbers or arithmetical expressions have a definite and limited meaning. The deficiencies of such a method are plainly evident. The tabular standards are inelastic. They can take no account of external physical conditions, of possible poor physical tone on the part of the subject, of psycho-pathic tendencies, of the personality of the examiner, or of a hundred other individual differences. There is also the old quarrel as to whether mental capacity can even be explored by the limited means of mental tests, and granting this, whether the results, statistically presented, can be of any value. The second aspect of our study has been influenced by a realization of the importance of the qualitative differences in individuals, and a demand on the part of the school authorities for some estimate of these, no matter how poorly expressed.

The battery of tests chosen was selected not so much with the Purpose of standardization in mind, but because the tests were believed to form a part of a well rounded clinical picture of each individual. These individuals were children taken from the regular first grades of the Philadelphia Public Schools. The school authorities were naturally interested in the results from the point ?f view of individual educational treatment. The score made by a child on any given test was important to them only as we might express it to them in qualitative terms concerning the individual’s Cental endowment. They desired a diagnosis and a prognosis of future progress. This younger group of children has not as yet conformed so thoroughly to the social pattern as have older groups. The possibilities of a qualitative study of this age level are many. It would furnish, most of all, an excellent basis for preventive measures in the mental field like similar modern developments in the medical field. This preliminary study, therefore, though presented in statistical form, has included for the examiners an important qualitative aspect, and has developed the certainty that it is along this line that further investigation should proceed.

THE GROUP

The group tested consisted of five hundred children in the 1 A and B grades. Of these five hundred, without selection, 256 were males, 244 were females. Thirty of the whole group came from a private school, the other 470 are Philadelphia Public School children.

Two of the public schools?one an annex of the other are in a Neighborhood of small stores and markets. The schools are old and in rather bad condition. Their groups of children come from poor homes, mixed groups of colored and white. The families are, as a ^hole, of low social grade. Row houses of old fashioned construction provide poor ventilation and poor sanitary conditions. The clothing of the children was shabby and unclean ill health a common occurrence. The general aspect of most of the group convinced one of an environment of slovenliness and ignorance. A third school is in a prosperous, middle-class neighborhood. The building is new and well constructed?light, well ventilated and sanitary. The majority of the children looked clean and well fed, and their physical condition was better than that of the former group. Their fathers were the employees of the Traction Com264 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC pany, skilled mechanics, storekeepers, etc. The houses were row houses?as a rule, tidy and well ordered, with good plumbing, and, in many cases, electricity.

The fourth and fifth schools are in an Italian quarter. They are old buildings with only fair equipment, and almost no playground space. The atmosphere of the neighborhood is redolent of the old country, the women with bright colored shawls and bandannas, snatches of Italian conversation, special Italian restaurants, groceries, banks and clubs, a spirit of life, change and unrest. The school office was the scene for the hearing of many complaints: truancy, illness or tragedy at home, delinquency or mischievous and malicious conduct, but always something happening. The children were dirty, but rarely ragged. They were slow and so often lacking in alertness that one suspected an unwise diet and irregular regimen at home.

The private school is modernly equipped, has more than adequate play space, and is so endowed that its staff of teachers is excellent. The children come from the families of professional and business men. Their environment and home training, as well as their school advantages, are of the best.

These schools were not chosen with any other purpose than that of their accessibility as to distance, and a willingness on the part of the school authorities to receive us. The testing extended over the academic years of 1922-23, 1923-24.

The conditions for examining were ideal only in the private school. Here we had the use of a large, airy faculty room, quite separated from the noise and bustle of the school. In two instances the testing was done in the school office?a spot of manifold distractions. In another school we worked in a supply room, a narrow, dark place, subject to extremes of temperature, but fortunately rather quiet and secluded. In two other schools, the testing was carried on in the teachers’ lunch room. The teachers were inclined to conversation concerning the children and the tests?both of which proved highly distracting.

SELECTION OF THE TESTS

This investigation was a “test experiment,” not a “research experiment,” as Whipple2 distinguishes it. “The test has a diagnostic rather than a theoretical aim; its purpose is not to discover - Whipple, Guy Montrose. Manual of Mental and Physical Tests, War* wick and York, Inc., 1914, p. 1.

new facts, principles or laws for the science of psychology?though such a result may indirectly be attained?but to analyze, measure and rank the status or the efficiency of traits and capacities in the individual under examination.” In order to obtain a well rounded picture of the ‘1 status” of each child, a number of tests were selected as a battery for this study. The three performance tests, explorative of psycho-motor competency, included the Witmer I’ormboard, the Witmer Cylinders and Young’s Slot Maze A. The ^inet-Simon series provided a means of discovering social, environmental and informational background. The memory span test, visual, auditory, reverse and learning digit spans, were an attempt for an intellectual index. The school proficiency test involved the child’s evidence of educability and pedagogical conformity.

METHOD OF PROCEDURE

The method of procedure in examining a child of six years differs radically from that used with a fifteen year old child. The greatest single difference lies in the time necessary for each subject. The testing of one six year old requires the full time of one examiner. In addition to this, children at this age work slowly and answer questions slowly. There must be no sense of hurry or the child’s whole performance is altered. He may grow excited and careless, or he may grow shy and refuse to do any of the tests. If the examining room is removed as far as possible from the distracting sounds of the school classroom, the testing always proceeds more smoothly. The best of six year old children are highly distractable, and even the fact that two or three examiners are testing other children in the same room frequently interferes with the child’s persistence of attention and efficiency. Usually three examiners work together; thus three children may be examined at one time. The average period of each examination occupies fortyfive minutes to an hour. The school office furnishes cards which give the child’s name and address, his age in years and months, the names of his parents, his own nativity and that of his father, and the record of each year spent in the school grades. On the reverse side of the card there is a record of the routine medical examination given to each school child. Each examiner is provided with a form card on which to record information and time taken for the tests, as well as with an analytic diagnosis sheet3 on which to make judgments of abilities and defects, and to note any traits of per266 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC sonality observed. With these younger children, it is particularly essential that the examiner have a sympathetic personality and know how to make friends with children quickly. It is fatal to laugh at any of the answers given to questions, as well as to attempt to check any friendly confidences which the child offers, even if they take extra time. We often found that a few minutes of conversation gave us the clue to a child’s difficulties in school. One examiner gave the Binet test and a test of school proficiency; another the Witmer Formboard and Young’s Slot Maze A, and a third gave the Witmer Cylinders, the auditory, visual and reverse memory spans and the learning span. At least one analytic diagnosis chart was filled out for every case, and, owing to the apportioning of the tests, almost every child was seen by three examiners.

The first question asked of every case is “What is your name?” This serves not only to identify the child with the proper card, but is, in a sense, a test. The giving of a last name is placed by the Stanford revision of the Binet test at the three year level, so that we may expect all six year olds to be able to answer the question easily. “Where do you live?”?on the other hand, is a more difficult question to answer, and the majority of six year olds failed to answer it correctly. The cards provided by the school are used as a means to prove the response. “What grade are you in?”?frequently brings the answer, “Miss ‘s room.” This answer is given full credit. Questions as to race and nationality are checked up from the card. The child is asked his age, but this is confirmed as to exact age in years and months by the school card. Few six year olds know their birthday month. The next question, “What does your father do?what is his work?” elicits some of the most interesting as well as some of the most amusing responses. This query usually leads the way to confidences about the child’s life at home. The necessary information as to the age at which the child entered school and the number of years he has been in school is secured from the card. Whenever scales and measuring apparatus were available in the school, the child was carefully weighed and measured. In any case, even if exact measurement was impossible, a judgment of physical type was made. This judgment was based on a three point scale: 1?represents the anatomical and physical 3 See Humpstone, H. J., The Analytical Diagnosis, Psychological Clinic, 1919, 12, 171-173, for explanation. type which is thin, wiry, small boned and lightly muscled; 2?represents the average type in which height and weight are about equally balanced; 3?is the heavy type, big boned and rugged. Health was also estimated on a five point scale: 3?average good health, 4?above average, and 2?below; 1 and 5 represent the extremes: 1-?real illness, 5?a striking degree of vigor and robustness. With all this information recorded, we now have a fair superficial background for each child, and can begin our examination with some definiteness.

It is preferable to start the examination with the giving of the Witnier Formboard. This test is standardized at the four year fevel, and it may therefore be supposed that all six year olds will solve it without much difficulty. Thus it serves to give the child confidence, and make him feel that the examination is nothing *aore than a series of games, at the first of which, he has already demonstrated his ability. In addition to this, it gives the examiner an excellent opportunity to estimate discriminability, co-ordination and efficiency in the subject. The board is presented to the child with the tray on the far side. The examiner says, Do you see all these blocks ? I’m going to take them out and put them up here, and I want to see how fast you can put them back. All right, now Put them back just as fast as you can.” During these directions the examiner has taken the blocks out at random and placed them in the tray. There is a five minute time limit, and if the child has not succeeded in replacing the blocks within this time, his performance is considered a failure. If he replaces the blocks incorrectly and stops before the five minutes are up, he is asked, Is that right?” If he does not then replace the blocks correctly, failure is registered. In either case, he is next taught the solution with the minimum of instruction and giveh a second trial with the same time limit of five minutes. The directions are then, Let s see if yon can do it much faster this time and use both hands. The blocks are removed at random for this trial also. After completing the Formboard, the child is usually anxious to try the other games” or “puzzles.”

The Witmer Cylinders, standardized at the six year level, are also given with a five minute limit for both trials. The examiner gives the following directions: “Do you see how nice and smooth all these blocks are on top, and how tight they fit? I’m going to take them all out and put them in the middle, and I want to see how quickly yon can put them back just where they belong.” While giving these directions the examiner runs his hand over the top of the Cylinders to indicate their smoothness, and attempts to rattle the block in its hole, an impossibility if the blocks are correctly placed. If the child fails to complete the test successfully within five minutes, his performance is considered a failure. If he stops before the time limit is up with the blocks incorrectly placed, he is asked, ‘1 Is that right ?” If this question fails to call his attention to his errors, a failure is recorded. In either case, as with the Formboard, the child is then taught how to solve the problem, with the minimum instructions necessary. The directions for the second trial, “Now I want you to try it over again, and see whether you can do it much faster. Try to use both hands this time.”

Young’s Slot Maze A is the third performance test given. This also requires two trials, each with a five minute time limit. The directions are, “Do you see this little boy ? This is his shoe. The boy wants his shoe. Now I want you to take it to him. See how quickly you can take the shoe to the boy.” These directions are sometimes inadequate to make the child begin the test. The examiner then says, 1’ Take the shoe to the little boy?find the right path. He will get tired of waiting for it.’’ If the child fails to complete the test, the examiner takes the shoe back to the beginning and from there guides slowly along the correct path to the boy, cautioning the child to watch carefully. The subject is then given a second trial, with the instruction, “See if you can take it to him faster this time.”

Tests are made of the visual, auditory, and reverse memory spans, and of the learning span for digits. The usual Stoelting digit cards are used. The visual span is usually tested first, with the following procedure: “I am going to show you some numbers. I want you to read them for me one by one, then I am going to cover them up, and ask you what you read.” If the child fails on a series of digits, he is given another series of the same length. If he also fails the second, he is given a trial at the next longer series. If he fails this, we consider that the first failure showed the true limit of his span. In giving the auditory span, the examiner says, “Now this time, I am going to read you some numbers. I want you to listen very carefully and when I am through I want you to say just what I said.’’ The same procedure is followed as with the visual span. “When the limit of the span is reached, the examiner repeats the series one higher than the auditory span until the child is able to give it correctly. If the number of repetitions is over ten, the test is marked failure and dropped at once. This is the learning span. The concept of reverse span is too difficult for a great many six year olds, and the examiner drops the test rather than lose the child’s co-operation by too many repetitions. The procedure in giving the reverse span is to say to the child, “Now I want you to say some numbers backward, that is, if I say 1-3, you will say 3-1, do you see? Just the opposite of what I say.” If the child still fails to get the idea, the examiner may say, “Well, supPose I said 2-4, what would you say?” If the child hesitates, say “4?and what was the other number?” Then another series is given, and so on until the limit is reached, two series of the same number of digits being given in case of failure.

The starred tests of the Terman Revision of the Binet Simon Series are used. The usual procedure is followed in giving these tests, except in the case of foreign children, when simpler wording is substituted.

We know the child’s grade and we often have the teacher s rating also, but in order to complete our picture, a short test of school proficiency is given. The reading tests consist of reading from the child’s own reader on a page which has not been studied. The child is asked to read four or five lines, and is then checked by naming individual words as they are pointed out. Here, as in every test of school proficiency, the method of scoring is extremely unsatisfactory. There is no set criterion by which the reading may be judged; the grading is therefore entirely relative. It is unfair to expect a first grade child to read a new page with no help at all. The difficult question is the determination of how much help the child shall be given, and still be considered to have passed the test. The judgment up to this time has been made arbitrarily. The only hope of uniformity lies in the fact that nearly all the school proficiency tests were given by the same person. The test ?f arithmetic proficiency was more satisfactory. The subject was asked to count to fifty by one’s, to twenty by two’s, to fifty by five’s, and to one hundred by ten’s. He was also asked to give simple plus combinations within ten. If he failed to count by two s, ?r failed in some of the combinations, he might still be given credit for arithmetic proficiency. All 1 B pupils were asked to write their names, and were accredited with writing proficiency if the name was legible even though quite imperfectly written. The 1 A children were also asked to Avrite their names, but if they were unable to do so, were given credit if they conld copy the printed letters A, B, C and D with some facility. A spelling test was attempted during the first few examinations, but the majority of the children proved to have had no real spelling drill and to have picked up very little incidentally. The school proficiency tests were all scored by a plus or minus judgment, with no qualifying term such as good, fair or poor.

The five hundred individual examinations given with this procedure covered a period of several months. I was present at these examinations and was assisted by members of the Clinic Staff and by a group of students who had received thorough theoretical training in testing, and were anxious to gain practical experience. The work of these students was carefully supervised, and the students were chosen with a consideration of their accuracy, personality and natural aptitude. The staff members assisting included Dr. Rebecca Learning, Margaret C. Brooke, Kathryn D. Ewart; the graduate students, Mrs. Helen W. Brown, Eleanor Bachman, and Yale Nathanson. The undergraduates included Mary Ambler, Harriet Deacon, Beatrice Green, Beatrice McCully, Catherine Riggs, and Sanders McComsey. A number of these students were able to assist with the investigation only a very short time.

DATA OTHER THAN” TEST RESULTS

The information concerning the nationality of the father, which was obtained from the school class card, furnishes us with only a superficial picture of the probable traditions of the children’s family. The following table is a percentage classification according to nationality.

Percentage Nationality Percentage Nationality 54.0 United States .4 Armenia 23.0 Italy .4 Scotland 10.0 Russia .4 Prance 3.0 England .4 Rumania 2.8 Germany .4 Denmark 1-4 Austria-Hungary .2 Greece 1-2 Poland .2 Czecho-Slovakia ?8 Ireland .2 Finland ?6 Sweden .2 Norway ?4 Japan Of the 54 per cent reported born in the United States, a large number were Jews who spoke Yiddish at home and retained many of the customs and much of the foreign tradition of the previously immigrating generation. Two and one half per cent of the native born are negroes. This percentage is so small that the results are little influenced by it. The small proportion of children of Irish parentage is significant. Their names, however, show that many were of Irish extraction, but the immigration is that of a previous generation.

The children of Italian born parents form 23 per cent of the total group. A special report of 100 of these cases, their peculiarities and distinctions, is being prepared by Kathryn D. Ewart. The remaining 23 per cent is divided with a wide scattering among different nations. Owing to the large number of Italians examined, the foreign born group is predominantly of South European stock. It is most interesting to note that out of an ordinary public school group 46 per cent have at least one parent of foreign birth. In many cases, neither parent was American. Since it was impossible to secure accurate information on this subject, however, no account was taken of it. These figures suffice to show how largely education must also include Americanization, if we are to have one set of standards for all school children.

The effort to discover the father’s occupation was only partially successful, since our only source of information was the child himself. Twenty-seven and eight tenths per cent were unable to answer the question, “What does your father do, what is his work?” The remaining 72.2 per cent answered at least well enough for the examiner to interpret and record the occupation. Taussig s five point scale classification has been used for the arrangement of the results. Class V, the highest, includes professional men, business executives and secondary school teachers. Class IV is made up of clerks, shop keepers, salesmen and elementary school teachers. All skilled workmen are classified in the third division. Class II consists of factory and mill workers doing the simpler types of operation. Class I includes laborers and all totally unskilled, untrained manual workers. Of this group of five hundred, 5 per cent were in group V, 10 per cent in group IV, 41.2 per cent in group III, 11 per cent in group II, 5 per cent in group I, and the occupations of 27.8 per cent are unknown. The large percentage in “roup III, the class of skilled laborers, is an interesting record. This would indicate that the major part of the group is economically well-to-do. It should possess an inheritance of good native wit or intelligence, but little cultural background. The group is neither preponderantly of a very low nor of a very high social order, but represents the respectable, industrious, independent middle class? the so-called “backbone of the nation.”

DISCUSSION OF PERFORMANCE TESTS

Intelligence has been defined by Dr Witmer as the ability to solve what for the individual is a new problem. If we are to test this important item of the analytic diagnosis, we must therefore conceive some problem which can be presented under clinical conditions. It must include enough elements of newness or strangeness to require some originality and adaptability for its solution. To date, the most satisfactory clinical method is the use of performance tests. However, these do not only present the opportunity to evaluate the subject’s intelligence, but one may also estimate other abilities or defects in mental capacity. It has been said that to see a problem sometimes denotes higher intelligence than to solve one. In this investigation, however, with its insistent demands for practicality, the successful solution of the various problems presented has been considered the criterion of intelligence. As an index to psychomotor competency the mechanical tests are invaluable. From the behavioristic standpoint, they offer an opportunity to observe performance under specific conditions. It was with these considerations in mind that the three performance tests were chosen as a part of our battery, in the effort to present a complete clinical picture of the first grade child.

Formboard

The Witmer Formboard4 has been standardized at the four year level; that is to say, at the four year level, 50 per cent of children may be expected to complete the test successfully in five minutes. The Formboard proved to be satisfactory for the six year level as well, though the problem it presents is apparently much less difficult than the Witmer Cylinders. Two and six tenths per cent of the five hundred first grade children examined failed to complete the test in five minutes on the first trial. There were no failures on the second trial. It was suggested by Dr Witmer that the time limit should be lessened to one hundred seconds, in which * Young, Herman H. The Witmer Formboard, Psychological Clinic, 1916, Vol. 10, No. 4. TEE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 273

case there would be 10 per cent of failures on the first trial, and 2.6 per cent on the second trial. The shortening of the time to one hundred seconds would be a distinct advantage to the clinician from the point of view of the time necessary to complete an examination. The percentage of failure, although increased, is not large enough to distort the results and make the procedure unsatisfactory. Of the eleven blocks to be replaced, only four present specifically any marked difficulty to the competent first grade child. These are the equilateral and isosceles triangles, and the diamond and oblong hexagon. The two triangular blocks are placed next to each other, so that they present a more striking difficulty than if they were further apart. Placed further apart, they might be solved entirely by chance. As it is, the particularization of this part of the board, with the spaces in juxtaposition, must include one as well as the other. The replacing of these triangles, therefore, requires a real discrimination. An error in this discrimination may not be a stupid error, but may be made because the child is more impressed by the similarities of these blocks than by their differences. It is believed by some psychologists that the perception of similarities is a higher intellectual operation than the perception of differences. The arrangement in the Biiiet series of the questions of differences at the seven year level and of likenesses at the eight year level is based on this theory. The hexagon and the diamond are placed one below the other, and present the same problem of discrimination. Once having made the error, however, since the board is self corrective, the majority of cases have no trouble in replacing the blocks correctly. The feeling of satisfaction displayed by the children on the successful completion of the Formboard test convinced the examiners of the wisdom of its selection; not only as an opportunity to observe performance, to judge of muscular co-ordination and control, discrimination, distribution of attention, efficiency and trainability, but as a valuable adjunct to that delicate adjustment called co-operation. The test is easy for competent first grade children?perhaps too easy to be a real test of intelligence?but with most young children success is a stimulus to further satisfactory performance.

As in Dr Young’s investigation there is a slight sex difference in favor of the boys in each decile. Of the total, male and female, 4.6 per cent complete the test in less than thirty seconds on the first trial, and 1.6 per cent complete it in less than twenty seconds on the second trial. These percentages might be considered to represent the really superior performances as in contrast to the percentages of failures as truly inferior.

Cylinders

With the Witmer Cylinders, a six year level test, the percentage of failure on the first trial proved to be 47.6 per cent, or nearly 50 per cent, as was to be expected. On the second trial the failures dropped to 12 per cent. Here is a test which presents an adequate problem for six year level intelligence. The eighteen rather finely graduated cylinders differ in both diameter and height. A marked degree of analytic concentration of attention or discrimination is required if they are to be replaced correctly in five minutes. As Paschal5 points out in his standardization, this test demands distribution of attention to a greater degree than any other test standardized at the present time. The analytic diagnosis sheet includes almost no item on which a judgment cannot be made from observation of two performances on the Cylinder test. From the qualitative point of view, therefore, this test was proved invaluable. The aspect of the differences of performance displayed is impossible to present in this report. In each examiner’s mind, however, the qualitative aspect far outweighed any quantitative score, as far as individual diagnosis was concerned. A striking characteristic of these first grade children is their slow rate of discharge. They have apparently no concept of speed. They become either stubborn, or entirely distracted by over urging to hurry. . As has been noted in previous use of the test, the method of solution varies with age. The younger children often increase the time taken by attempting to put the smaller blocks away first. In many cases these little children devote their attention to one recess at a time, trying block after block and discarding them until the correct block is found. The older child is more likely to pick up a cylinder and inspect the various recesses until he finds the correct one, or replace the cylinder by a series of trials and errors. The problem of the first trial is, “How shall I fit these blocks into their places?” The problem of the second trial is, ‘’ How shall I fit these blocks in more quickly and with less trouble?” Ten and four tenths per cent failed to solve the 5 Paschal, F. C. The Witmer Cylinders. Hershey Press Co., Hershey, Pa., 1918.

test successfully on either trial. Of these failures 50 per cent were boys and 50 per cent were girls. One and six tenths per cent solved the problem on the first trial and failed on the second trial. This figure indicates an element of chance in its solution as well as that of other performance tests, although the percentage is small. There is again a marked sex difference in favor of the boys, as Paschal notes in his standardization. He explains this on the basis of a difference in attitude and poise between the male and female, which sets a different problem. Analytically, the test is by far the most enlightening of the performance problems. Should it be necessary to make use of only one mechanical test at this age level, the Cylinders would prove of highest diagnostic value.

Maze

The Young’s Slot Maze A test contributed one type of result which neither of the above performance tests furnished so conclusively: a marked sex difference. Dr Young,6 in his preliminary standardization of the test, noted this difference, a clear-cut superiority on the part of the boys. The statistics of this investigation confirm his findings. In the decile divisions, the score of the boys is higher in every division than that of the girls. A total of 11 per cent failed on the first trial; of these 72.8 per cent were girls, and only 27.2 per cent were boys; 7.6 per cent of the total group failed on a second trial; of these 68.4 per cent were girls, and 31.6 per cent were boys. A total of 4 per cent failed on both trials of the Maze; 75 per cent of these were girls, and 25 per cent boys. Aside from this marked sex difference of which Dr Young felt he could make no satisfactory interpretation, the Maze test revealed nothing which the other two mechanical puzzles did not show. The construction of the test with its little sailor boy waiting for his toj shoe is undoubtedly attractive and stimulating to a child’s imagination. This might almost be considered a fault in dealing with first grade children. It is difficult at times to determine whether the subject is truly unable to solve the test, or whether he has merely discovered in the shoe, the boy, and the devious path, a new plaything which he is reluctant to give up. He pushes the shoe into all the blind alleys, goes back to the beginning, and repeats the same Procrastination. There is a certain sphinx-like quality about chil8 Young, Herman H. Slot Maze A, Psychological Clinic, Vol. XIV, N?s. 3 and 4.

dren of this age which renders uncertain the discrimination between this play spirit and real inability to grasp the problem. Children from four to eight years are, in the main, quite self-sufficient. They have resources within themselves. They present an inscrutable exterior, which reveals nothing of the content of their minds. Too much prodding or urging to complete a test or answer a question makes many children retreat into their shells, or, at the other extreme, produces a confused and frightened excitement. The method of solution of the test varies greatly with different children. The girls are prone to go a certain distance successfully, run into a blind alley, and then retreat to the beginning of the Maze for a fresh start. Dr Witmer suggests that this difference in method of attack is due to the feminine training which leads to a return home in the face of any encountered difficulty. One might carry this still further. The Maze, in a mild way, represents a hazard which requires a certain spirit of adventure to surmount. Boys prove to have this spirit of adventure but girls, trained to a sense of caution which social usage has made necessary, are reluctant to push ahead without turning back to consider. The poorer grade of children, both boys and girls, run into a blind alley and are often satisfied to try for several minutes to force the shoe through the solid wood to another slot. The test takes an appreciable amount of time to give; 28.8 per cent of the children took three minutes or more to complete it the first time, and 18.2 per cent took three minutes or over on the second trial. The Maze gives an excellent opportunity to observe, according to Young, “how long it takes the child to learn how to solve the problem of delivering the shoe.” “The second trial decrease in time is not the result of increased efficiency in the physical manipulation of the test.” Dr Young made no attempt to teach the child the solution of the Maze test after failure on the first trial. Our method of teaching was entirely an experiment, tried without consultation with the maker of the test. Seventeen per cent failed on the first trial, and this percentage was reduced to 6.8 per cent on the second trial by the method of teaching used, even though the latter seemed rather difficult and left much to be desired. In many cases a longer time was required for the second trial. This was not always due to the fact that the first solution was pure chance. It was often the result of the subject’s seeking to discover some shorter way to deliver the shoe than by the tortuous path traveled on the first trial.

On the whole, the boys do better with the performance tests than do the girls. Variation in age among first grade children seems to have no bearing on successful solution of the problem. The child’s initial interest in the tests as games frequently makes him inattentive to the directions, when they are being given to him. Often he catches only one phrase of them, and perhaps, for this reason, takes longer for the solution. The type of material represented by the Formboards is sufficiently unfamiliar to arouse the curiosity of any normally responsive child.

Memory Span

As previously stated, four forms of the memory span test were employed: the audito-vocal digit span, the visuo-vocal digit span, the reverse and the learning spans. The frequency mode for the auditory span was five digits, and for the visual span, four. In the case of adults, the visual span is usually one higher than the auditory. These first grade children are not so familiar with numbers. The mere mechanics of reading and naming the numbers involve additional mental effort. This seems to be the only explanation for the consistent result of an auditory span of one more digit than the visual span. Young children are accustomed to learning almost entirely through auditory and motor training. The curriculum of most public schools is so arranged that until the third grade or above, the major part of the- material given to the children is presented in an auditory or kinajsthetic fashion. The auditory span provides a speedy though somewhat rough diagnostic measure. As Learning7 found with her group at the fifteen year level, a high memory span is not always of the same diagnostic significance. The high score may be due to “special facility in using language, to echolalia, to the grouping of digits, or unusually good visual or auditory imagery.” In the six year level group, a memory span of less than four has been considered previously a marked indication of real mental defectiveness. Three and eight tenths per cent of the children tested in this investigation bad a span of three. None fell below three, except one little Italian boy, who was so negativistic that it was impossible to get him to give any span. The examiners were unwilling to call these children with a span of 3, feeble-minded. Ranged beside the rest of the group, however, they do appear inferior or deficient. They are not. always deficient in every test, but if a composite score were to be made on all the tests, this group would fall into the lower end of the distribution. It may be said, therefore, that an auditory span of three given by a first grade child should make the clinician suspect present or future retardation. In some cases, of course, general poor physical tone may account for poor performances. Many of these children are of a physically infantile type. The memory span test, acording to Humpstone,8 explores associability. Associability refers to the ” number of discrete perceptions associated in a single act of attention, and the combination of the associated component parts of a single perception.”9 From the results, it is evident that it is necessary for a child to be able to associate four or more discrete perceptions in a single act of attention in order to make satisfactory progress in school. For instance, in learning to spell the word “play”?the child with a span of only three must hear the letters repeated a number of times until his learning span is reached, in order to grasp the four letters and associate them. More repetitions will then be necessary in order that he may retain permanently the “associated component parts.” This means that this child will always require more drill and more time to learn than the child with a longer span.

The use of the reverse span proved little except that the concept of “reverse” was too difficult for such young children. Fortytwo and four tenths per cent of the children failed to give any reverse span. A high reverse span did seem to signify a higher intellectual level. It is more important at this age level than at an older one, where the subject may be shrewd enough to know how to “beat the game.” The inability to give a reverse span did not necessarily denote a lack of intellectual development. The importance of this span is, therefore, a positive rather than a negative matter. The learning span?the number of repetitions necessary to increase the auditory span one digit?brought very interesting results. Twenty-six and four tenths per cent failed to increase their span after ten repetitions. To some extent this might be said to show the constancy of the auditory memory span at this level and age. On the other hand, it is more likely that it denotes a low degree of trainability on the part of these children. Fifty-six and 8 Humpstone, H. J. Some Aspects of the Memory Span?a Study in Associability. Psychological Clinic Press, Philadelphia, Pa., 1917. 8 Witmer, Lightner. Analytical Psychology. Ginn and Company. six tenths per cent raised the span one digit on from two to six repetitions. This gives a fair index of trainability for the group. In giving this test we noted that little children quickly became discouraged when they found that they were not succeeding in what was asked of them. The greatest tact had to be exercised to encourage them to persist. The examiners felt that many children failed because, after five or more repetitions, they really abandoned all effort to succeed. First grade children possess little of the competitive spirit and cannot be roused on this score like older children. The results of the four memory span tests confirm other investigations, in that no appreciable sex difference appears. The length of the span in any of the tests seems somewhat dependent on chronological age as well as mental development. If the six year level may be considered the level of congenital competency then the endowment of the six year old is the nucleus of all further development. “What seems to be increased capacity is nothing more than proficiency, depending on the ability to organize and retain. It is possible that the modal span of four to five obtained from children of the six year level is the true span, and the higher spans secured from older children and adults are the result merely of grouping or organization, and not a true span.

Binet Test

The starred tests of the Terman Revision of the Binet-Simon series were used for two reasons: first, for the benefit of the school authorities, to whom we sent reports; second, from the standpoint of the social and environmental picture which they provide as a background for qualitative judgments. The test is long and tedious to give, because of the number of questions and the slowness with which young children respond. However, it does supply an opportunity for several minutes’ conversation with a child, which serve to alter or confirm the preliminary diagnosis, which the other tests furnish. As Dr Learning points out, a diagnosis based on the Binet intelligence quotient alone is unwise and unjust. Language ability is an overwhelming factor in success with the tests. A high vocabulary score will carry the child to higher levels and make it possible for him to try tests which he would not otherwise reach. A low vocabulary score, on the other hand, often makes it necessary to slide down to a younger level for the basal age. Not only is facility in the use of language necessary, but good language comprehension is the basis of the whole series. A child whose general level of competency is otherwise only mediocre often scores a high intelligence quotient because his home training has provided him with the sort of information necessary to answer the majority of the Binet questions. The child of foreign born and nonEnglish speaking parents may present a much better general picture, and attain only a low intelligence quotient because of this very lack of training, and not a lack of mental ability. However, because of the fact that it does bring out these differences in social background, training and language equipment, the series is a valuable part of the array of tests.

Terman emphasizes the fact that the concept of mental age does not mean that every normal individual acquires a certain mental age at a corresponding chronological age. There is wide variation among individuals. Though few of the children in this investigation were weighed and measured, and only estimates of physiological age were made, yet the examiners all felt that the growth index of the subjects influenced their mental ages. Miss Jones’ results with her superior group seem to confirm this impression. The looseness of the term “six year level” is evident from the range of chronological age covered?the youngest child is four years eight months old, the oldest eleven years. The lowest mental age is three years six months, and the highest ten years. These results differ from Terman’s, which showed a wider variation of mental than of chronological age. The intelligence quotient range is from 49 to 160. Sixty-five and four tenths per cent of the children examined obtained intelligence quotients of 100 or more. Only 1.8 per cent had an intelligence quotient of 70 or less, which Terman defines as denotative of feeble-mindedness. This is contrary to Dr Learning’s results?she found her range of intelligence quotients low. Our group shows a greater scattering; the intelligence quotients falling lower and going higher, 49-160, as opposed to her results, 50-147. The explanation of their difference is clear. At a younger age, the child has more opportunity for a high score, because the tests which he may try above his chronological age cover a greater range. The fifteen year old has no tests above the eighteen year or superior adult level open to him. With the starred series no test of memory span appears until the nine year level, while at the twelve, sixteen and eighteen year levels the forward or reverse spans. or both, are tested. A specific deficiency in memory span is, therefore, not likely to lower the younger child’s intelligence quotient. In giving the Binet series, four substitutions of tests were made. At the five year level definition of words (test 4) was used instead of discrimination of weights (test 1). At year nine making change (test 3) was substituted for discrimination of weights (test 2). This change was made because previous investigations had demonstrated the fact that weights are a difficult piece of apparatus to keep. They disappear frequently and need numerous replacements. At the five year level the child was asked his age instead of giving the execution of three consecutive commands. This was necessary because of the number of examiners working in the same room. The distraction caused by one of the subjects walking about the room to execute the commands made the giving of the tests impossible. At the ten year level memory span, an alternate for the sixty word test (test 6), was substituted as a time saving device. Aside from these four changes the regular starred tests of the Terman Revision were used.

RESULTS ON INDIVIDUAL BINET TESTS

Age Plus Minus ^el 1 2 3 4 Test No. 12 3 IV VI VII VIII IX X XII 6 5 5 5 No. of cases 0 111 1 3 4 5 Test No. 13 4 5 59 58 57 58 No. of cases 12 4 1 2 3 4 6 Test No. 2 3 4 6 127 126 137 119 No. of cases 22 23 10 28 1 2 3 4 Test No. . 1 2 3 4 300 265 288 266 No. of cases 37 70 40 61 1 2 5 6 Test No. 12 5 6 “347 375 305 260 No. of cases 121 100 173 215 2 3 4 6 Test No. 2 3 4 6 “145 331 242 94 No. of cases 307 132 2I6 354 1 3 4 5 Test No. 13 4 5 28 29 39 47 No. of cases 325 306 312 313 1 2 5 6 Test No. 12 5 6 5 8 15 35 No. of cases 90 88 86 48 1 4 5 6 7 8 Test No. 1 4 5 6 7 8 0 0 1 2 4 2 No. of cases 3 22 21 17 19 6

ANALYSIS OF BINET TESTS The results of an analysis of the individual Binet tests provide some interesting data. The score of the majority of tests falls between six and eight years in the series. On either side of these limits, there is only a scattering of results.

Year Six

At the six year level the most interesting fact observed is the large balance on the plus side, only a small minority failing in any of the tests. At this age level, in distinguishing the right from the left, 89 per cent of the children given this test passed it successfully. However, only 65.8 per cent of the children in the investigation attempted it. Terman10 says that the distinction between right and left “has a certain inherent and more or less mysterious difficulty.” The group tested has a practical background and had evidently mastered this distinction early, possibly in connection with games or certain school activities. Test 2, finding omissions in pictures, proved to be the most difficult at this level. The pictures in themselves are open to criticism. The drawings are crude. The child undoubtedly does not have a “perceptual familiarity” with human forms of this sort. Some of the answers to the test were amusing as indicative of the child’s experience. A number of the children remarked that the lady with no eyes had something wrong with her face because it lacked powder and rouge. Other children said that the lady with no arms was not dressed, the gown in the picture being of such an old style that the children found it totally unfamiliar. Test 3, counting of thirteen pennies, was next in simplicity to the discrimination of right and left. Again, the practical background of these children has made them familiar with the handling of pennies, and the necessity for rendering account of money “spent at the store.” Test 4, comprehension, was particularly significant in demonstrating the child’s social orientation, (a) “What is the thing to do if it is raining when you start to school?” Our most common answer was “Run.” Terman says that ‘4 this answer may reasonably be scored plus, if it can be ascertained that the child is accustomed to meet the situation in this way. The social status of the majority of our group convinced 10 Terman, Louis M. Measurement of Intelligence. Stanford Revision and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale. Houghton Mifllin Co., 1916.

THE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 283

us that the most frequent answer was an intelligent response. Some children replied with the special conditions imposed upon them at the school; such as, “Go to the basement and leave my umbrella.’’ (b) “What is the thing to do if you find that your house is on fire?” The answers given to this question were not unusual; the most common correct reply was “Call the firemen”; the most common incorrect reply was “Cry.” (c) “What is the thing to do if you are going some where and miss your car 1’’ The correct answer, “Wait for another,” was commonly given. One of the more modern means of meeting the situation was the cool response, “Call a taxi.” Oddly enough, this remark was not made by a private school child of well-to-do parents but by the son of a garage mechanic. Many children said incorrectly, “Go home again,” or “Get lost.”

Year Seven

At the seven year level approximately 75 per cent of those given the test answered correctly the number of fingers on each hand and both hands together. Terman believes that this throws light on the child’s spontaneous interest in numbers. The most common failure is due to the subject’s counting his fingers instead of answering at once. Test 2, description of pictures, is an interesting one as a qualitative differentiation of imagination as well as of home training, (a) The Dutch Home, for instance, brings from the children of a low social order some such description as this: the little girl is crying; she wanted to go out and her mother hit her because she was mad;?or, the little girl is crying because she is hungry and they have nothing to eat but bread, (b) The River Scene was apparently less stimulating. Again, however, surroundings to which they are accustomed influence the answers. Some children had never seen a canoe, and knew nothing whatever of Indians. One or two assumed that the “lady” was out with her “boy friend,” and being slightly frightened, the gentleman was gallantly protecting her. (c) The Post Office picture brought a number of interpretations, not mere descriptions. One child suggested that it was war time and that the men were reading about a brave deed of one of the boys from the town. Frequently the answer was: ‘1 They are reading the comics.’’ The elaboration of description varied widely with different children. It was not always those of superior competency who answered the questions most satisfactorily. Test 5, the giving of differences, showed 60 per cent correct. This test is highly significant when compared with test 4 at the eight year level, the perception of similarities. A little over 50 per cent answered these questions correctly. Four hundred seventy-eight children were asked to give differences, and 458 to give similarities. The perception of differences is generally conceded to be a simpler operation than the perception of likenesses. E. Claparede says in an article “La Conscience de la Ressemblance et la Difference chez 1’Enfant” that the child has only a small number of reactions. Our modes of action are infinitely less diverse than our modes of feeling; thus a crowd of distinct objects will raise analogous reactions. It is the shock between the too general reactions and individual character of things which causes feelings of difference. The child has more chances of being shocked by unrecognized differences than by resemblances. The spontaneous discovery of resemblances seems to offer more difficulty. M. Claparede ends by saying that that which responds to no need is not perceived. Test 6, drawing of the diamond, was given to all the children, regardless of whether or not they reached this age level of the Binet test. Somewhat over 50 per cent of those given this test as a part of the Binet series, passed it successfully.

Year Eight

The eight year level, test 2, counting backwards from 20 to 1, proved difficult for about 53 per cent. This test appears to explore training and not native ability in any sense. Terman regards it as one of attention or prolonged thought control. If such be the case, the percentage of failure could be explained by the high distractability of first grade children. Test 3, comprehension, again fits in another portion of the sociological picture, (a) “What’s the thing for you to do when you have broken something which belongs to some one else?” The majority of the children made the correct suggestion of restitution or apology; the higher social class suggested apology more frequently, while the lower social strata recognized the old law of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” now the code of the streets. A great many of the colored children answered “run,” an instinctive expression of generations of such training. A number of children answered “Go to jail,” or “Get locked up.” Very few suggested mere confession, (b) “What is the thing for you to do, when you are on the way to school and notice that you are in danger of being tardy?” The word “late” was substituted for “tardy.” The answers to this question were varied. Some children said, “Go home,” and explained that lateness was marked in the same way as absence. A return home was therefore an intelligent method of meeting the situation. Others suggested getting in the ‘’ late line’’; some failing to get the exact shade of the question, suggested going to the office for an excuse. The predominant correct answer was “Run.” (c) “What’s the thing for you to do if a playmate hits you without meaning to do it?” Social training had a marked influence on the answers to this question. The doctrine of the streets dictated, “Hit him back.” In some neighborhoods the instinctive defense reaction is intelligent for purposes of self preservation, since hesitation might often mean annihilation. The suggestion of pardoning the playmate was infrequent; the usual correct response was, “Do nothing, go on playing.” Test 6, the vocabulary, proved to be another valuable qualitative test, and one which, according to Terman, explores the range of ideas.

Binet Vocabulary Analysis No vocabulary?106 children Gown 310 Copper 59 Ramble 0 Tap 209 Curse 236 Civil 1 Scorch 90 Pork 238 Insure 31 Puddle 288 Outward 38 Nerve 59 Envelope 348 Southern 12 Juggler 3 Rule 358 Lecture 14 Regard 0 Health 192 Dungeon 6 Stave 0 Eyelash 269 Skill 1 Brunette 2 Twenty-one and two-tenths per cent of the children were not tested on vocabulary: i. e., their success did not carry them so high in the series. The majority of children knew the word gown, defining it most frequently as “something you wear to bed, a nightgown.” A common error was its definition as gallon. Tap was apparently less well known. The chief correct association was with the game, “Tap on the finger.” Scorch was a comparatively strange word, and was frequently misunderstood as “squirt.” Puddle was familiar. The failures occurred chiefly among children in the congested downtown sections where puddles seem to be rare. Envelope was well known, treading close upon rule, which received the greatest number of correct definitions. The meaning given for rule was an evidence of the specific training in the first grade, “something to draw lines with,” or “to measure with.” Only rarely was the more mature and abstract definition of rule as a pattern of conduct given. Health, demonstrated the effect of school influence in such definitions as “to be clean, to drink milk and be fat, to brush your teeth every day.” About 67 per cent knew the word eyelash. Of the first ten words, copper was the least known. The only correct answers were either “pennies” or “wire.” Curse was one of the words which was a part of the vocabulary of the child of lower social status. Its definition was usually “a bad word” or a “dirty word,” but it often carried with it additional explanations, which were enlightening or amusing. “The devil will get you if you curse” or “the priest will scold you if you say that.” Often a child did not realize what was asked, but remained virtuously silent, believing that he was being told to give an example. Some of the more bold even went so far as to supply the example. Pork was familiar as a common article of food. Such words as southern, lecture, dungeon, skill and civil were rarely known, and ramble had no associations. Oddly, insure was correctly defined by a number of children who were accustomed either to automobile insurance, or to the monthly visits of the insurance man. A slightly larger number of children knew the word nerve, although the majority of their definitions received only half credit, since the slang meaning was most common. A number attempted to define brunette. They associated it correctly with coloring, but were uncertain as to whether it was light or dark. There were no correct answers beyond the first twenty-four words. This scattering is significant, however, since it extends to double the number expected at the eight year level. Terman says: “We have not found one (English speaking child) testing significantly above age, who had a significantly low vocabulary; and correspondingly, those who test much below age never have a high vocabulary.” This confirms the idea that the Binet series is largely dependent on facility in the use and comprehension of language. The quality of the definitions give is widely diverse. Chronological age apparently has some bearing on the type of definition ; the younger child usually confines his meanings to those of concrete use. Guesses are often hazarded in case of ignorance. Twenty and nine-tenths per cent of those given the vocabulary test passed it successfully.

Year Nine and Year Ten At the nine year level, the ratio of success to failure in all the tests is practically in inverse order to that of the six year level. At the ten year level, the number of successes with test 6, the memory span, is dependent upon the fact that memory span may develop irrespective of experience. Above this level the few correct responses mean little except in consideration of the individual case.

RESULTS

The results of this investigation are presented statistically in a series of standard tables which are a part of the Witmer Diagnostic Standards. The data were first arranged in rank order distribution and divided into quintiles similar to those formulated by Dr Learning in her investigation of ” Tests and Norms at the Fifteen Year Level.” It was later discovered that more accurate diagnostic values could be secured from more finely graduated standards. The material was then deciled, each decile containing fifty subjects of the total group. For the comparatively limited number included in the investigation, any smaller division, such as percentiling, could have been of no further enlightenment. In addition to the deciles including the whole group, other tables were made of the males and females separately These again were divided into decile limits. The rank order distributions of all the results have been made, ranging from the lowest to the highest value. The first decile, therefore, always includes the lowest numerical value, irrespective of whether this is the highest or the lowest score. All of the five hundred cases examined have been included in the tables without reference to a diagnosis of normality. This is done on the supposition that in order to establish norms or standards for first grade children (the six year level) we must include in the group all those who are members of the group without any deliberately selective process. Our preliminary norms are, therefore, based on a six year standard of human competency, with no attempt to establish a six year standard of normal competency. The tables as described are presented as purely statistical and noninterpretative. In addition to this quantitative presentation, the tables have been rearranged in a qualitative scale for diagnostic purposes. It is generally accepted that with the performance tests preference is given to a low score. The child who completes the test in the shortest time is said to have given the best performance. On the other hand, the child who secures the highest intelligence quotient, the highest mental age, and highest memory span, is given the preference. The deciles have been renumbered according to these preferred patterns, the tenth decile always including the best scores, and the first decile the most inferior. The median, the maximum, and the minimum score and the 60 per cent mode have also been presented for each test. All those who have obtained a given score have been gathered into one group; the percentage of the whole which this group represents has then been determined. This percentage is given, accompanied by the percentage to which it is superior, and that to which it is inferior. For instance, 3.8 per cent of the children tested secured an auditory span of three, which was the lowest span given; this could then be expressed in the formula 3.8 per cent superior to 0, and inferior to 96.2 per cent. This is in accordance with the theory of Dr Witmer, that such percentage formulas make possible more accurate diagnosis in comparing any individual to the range of human competency. In a preliminary statistical study of these results a composite score on all the tests, called a proficiency rating, was made for each child. Every test was arbitrarily assigned the same value. The results were arranged in rank order distribution and quintiled. Each individual’s quintile rating in every test was added together and divided by the number of tests given. The figure obtained was considered the child’s proficiency rating. These ratings were then plotted on a graph, and it is interesting to know that the result was a normal curve of distribution. The procedure was abandoned as unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. In the first place, it is certain that all the tests of the clinical examination are not of equal difficulty, and since they are not, they should be assigned a proportionate value. There is then the difficulty of determining to which test the highest value should be given. In the second place, since the average score is not a real value but merely the product of an arithmetical process, it is improbable that it provides a really valuable index to the child’s general proficiency. In truth, the purpose of the psychologist is to devise a means of determining special abilities and defects. Why then, except on the basis of interest, should we defeat this end by furnishing a composite score which connotes none of the particularities of the child? The whole statistical presentation of results is prepared for clinical use and is, therefore, simplified and concentrated in such a manner as to be as practical and convenient as possible.

CONCLUSIONS

I. The battery of tests selected requires too much time for each examination. The tests as a group, however, proved fairly successful as a means of securing a clinical picture of each child. The Young’s Slot Maze A might be dropped from the performance tests most easily, if greater efficiency in testing is to be achieved. The reverse memory span is of doubtful value at this age level. A satisfactory school proficiency test with a definite means of scoring is needed for any further investigation.

II. The judgment of a first grade child’s performance is more significant when based on a qualitative estimate than on a mere quantitative score. Young children have no idea of striving for efficiency, and are not particularly roused by the competitive spirit. III. First grade children are far from a homogeneous group. They vary as to chronological age, physiological age, mental development, social and pedagogical proficiency. The variation among first grade children is wider and more conspicuous than among older children, because the former are not yet so thoroughly conformed to the social pattern. The environment and home training of the individual child affect his test results to a marked degree at this age level. His physical condition and his social orientation are both factors in success. A foreign language spoken in the home apparently influences the superiority of any child in all but the performance tests.

IV. The younger the child the more difficult is a final diagnosis of his mental status. His performance may be influenced by shyness, fright, or some whimsicality of mood.

V. All children in the first grade may be rated on the six year standard of human competency from the most inferior to the most superior. In order to establish a scale of six year normal competency, more cases must be examined. The minimum or least amount of competency necessary for a diagnosis of normality can be designated clearly only after an investigation of the range of infant competency.

VI. Considering eight years as the maximum age permitted for entrance into first grade, the percentage of over-ageness in this group of 500 children is 8.6 per cent. The investigators feel convinced that the examination of all children entering the first grade would be of the greatest possible value for the efficiency of any school system. This age level is a satisfactory one for the analysis of the competency necessary for normal academic progress.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abramson, J. ReCherclies sur les Fonctions Mentales de 1’Enfant a l’Age Scolaire. Annee Psychol., 1922, 20, 184-220. Baldwin, B. T. The Relation between Mental and Physical Growth. J. of Educ. Psychol., 1922, 13, 193-203. Claparede, E. La Conscience de la Ressemblance et la Difference chez l’enfant. Arch, de Psychol., 1919, 17, 325-334. Drever, J. The Vocabulary of a Free Kindergarten Child. J. of Exper. Ped., 1919, 5, 28-37. Gesell, A. A Clinical Psychology of Pre-School Children. Psych. Bull., 1923, 20, 104. Humpstone, H. J. The Analytical Diagnosis, Psych. Clinic, 1919, 12, 171173. Humpstone, H. J. Some Aspects of the Memory Span?A Study in Associability. Psych. Clinic Press, Philadelphia, Pa., 1917. Ide, G. G. The Educability Level. Psych. Clinic, 1919, 13, 179-195. Ide, G. G. The Educabiilty Level of Five Year Old Children. Psych. Clinic, 1920, 13, 146-172. Leaking, R. E. Tests and Norms for Vocational Guidance at the Fifteen Year Old Performance Level. Psych. Clinic, 1923, 14, No. 7. MacCarthy, F. H. The Healthy Child from Two to Seven. New York: Macmillan, 1922. Pressey, L. W. Influence of Inadequate Schooling and Poor Environment upon Results with Tests of Intelligence. Jour, of Appl. Psych., 1920, 4, 91-96. Paschal, F. C. The JVitmer Cylinders. Hersliey Press Co., Hershey, Pa., 1918. Terman, L. M. Measurement of Intelligence. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1916. Terman, L. M. The Intelligence of School Children. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1919. Town, C. H. Analytic Study of a Group of Five and Six Year Old Children. University of Iowa Studies in Child Welfare, 1921, I, No. 4. Whipple, G. M. Manual of Mental and Physical Tests. Warwick and York, Inc., 1914. Witmer, L. The Relation of Intelligence to Efficiency. Psych. Clinic, 1915, 9, 61. Witmer, L. Performance and Success. Psycii. Clinic, 1919, 12, 145. Witmer, L. The Problem of Educability. Psych. Clinic, 1919, 12, 174. Witmer, L. Efficiency and Other Factors of Success. Psych. Clinic, 1919, 12, 241. Witmer, L. The Analytical Diagnosis. Psych. Clinic, 1922, 14, 129. Witmer, L. Intelligence?A Definition. Psych. Clinic, 1922, 14, 65-67. Young, H. H. Slot Maze A. Psych. Clinic, 1922, 14, 73-82. Young, H. H. The Witmer Formboard, Psych. Clinic, 1916, 10, No. 4. For excellent full bibliography see General Review: Mental Development: B. T. Baldwin, 665-683, Psych. Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 12, 1923. THE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 291 PERCENTAGE TABLES OF SUPERIORITY AND INFERIORITY Formboakd First Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 20 ? 30 4.6 < 0 > 05.4 30 ? 70 72.4 < 4.6 > 23.0 70 ? 110 14.0 < 77.0 > 9.0 110 ? 150 3.2 < 91.0 > 5.8 150 ? 190 2.0 < 94.2 > 3.8 190 ? DNC 1.2 < 96.2 > 2.6 DNC 2.6 < 97.4 > 0 Minimum 21 seconds. Maximum 283 seconds plus 13 failures. Median 49 seconds. 60% Mode 35-76 seconds. Forhboard Second Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 15 ? 20 1.6 < 0 > 98.4 20 ? 60 91.4 < 1-6 > 7.0 60 ? 100 4.4 < 93.0 > 2.6 100 ? 140 1.6 < 97.4 > 1-0 140 ? 259 1.0 < 99.0 > 0 Minimum 15 seconds. Maximum 259 seconds. Median 35 seconds. 60% Mode 27-48 seconds. Cylinders First Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 20 ? 50 8 < 0 > 98-2 50 ? 90 4.8 < -8 > 94-4 90 ? 130 8.8 < 5.6 > 85.6 130 ? 170 12.0 < 14.4 > 73.6 170 ? 210 10.2 < 26.4 > 63.4 210 ? 250 8.4 < 36.6 > 55.0 250 ? 280 5.0 < 45.0 > 50.0 280 ? 290 1.4 < 50.0 > 48.6 290 ? DNC 1.0 < 51.4 > 47.6 DNC 47.6 < 52.47 > 0 Minimum 21 seconds. Maximum 300 seconds plus 238 failures. Median 278 seconds. 60% Mode 146-DNC. 292 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC Cylinders Second Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 20 ? 40 8 < 0 > 98.2 40 ? 80 13.0 < .8 > 86.2 80 ? 120 27.6 < 13.8 > 58.6 120 ? 160 19.0 < 41.4 > 39.6 160 ? 200 11.2 < 60.4 > 28.4 200 ? 240 6.8 < 67.2 > 21.6 240 ? 280 5.0 < 78.4 > 16.6 280 ? 290 1.6 < 83.4 > 15.0 290 ? DNC 3.0 < 85.0 > 12.0 DNC 12.0 < 88.0 > 0 Minimum 25 seconds. Maximum 300 seconds plus 60 failures. Median 135 seconds. 60% Mode 90-250 seconds. Maze A First Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 18?30 5.2 < 0 > 94.8 30 ? 70 30.0 < 5.2 > 64.8 70 ? 110 19.6 < 35.2 > 45.2 110 ? 150 10.6 < 54.8 > 34.6 150 ? 190 6.8 < 65.4 > 27.8 190 ? 230 5.4 < 72.2 > 22.4 230 ? 270 2.3 < 77.6 > 19.2 270 ? DNC 2.2 < 80 8 > 17.0 DNC 17.0 < 83.0 > 0 Minimum 18 seconds. Maximum 300 seconds plus 85 failures. Median 95 seconds. 60% Mode 48-255 seconds. Maze Second Trial Seconds Percentage Percentage Percentage 12 ? 20 6.0 < 0 > 94.0 20 ? 60 48.4 < 6.0 > 45.6 60 ? 100 13.2 < 54.4 > 32.4 100 ? 140 9.0 < 67.6 > 23.4 140 ? 180 4.4 < 76.6 > 19.0 180 ? 220 4.8 < 81.0 > 14.2 THE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 293 220 ? 260 3.6 < 85.8 > 1?-6 260 ? DNC 3.0 < 89.4 > 7.6 DNC 7.6 < 92.4 > 0 Minimum 12 seconds. Maximum 300 seconds plus 38 failures. Median 50 seconds. 60% Mode 26-170 seconds. Memory Span Auditory Digits Percentage Percentage Percentage 3 . 3.8 > 0 < 96.2 4 …. 29.4 > 3.8 < 66.8 5 41.4 > 33.2 < 25.4 6 15.8 > 74.6 < 9.6 7 7.8 > 90.4 < 1,8 8 1.6 > 98.2 < -2 9 .2 > 99.8 < 0 Minimum (0) 3 Maximum 9 Median 5 60% Mode 4-6 Memory Span Visual Span Digits Percentage Percentage Percentage F … , 17.0 > 0 < 83-? 2 .2 > 17.0 < 82.8 J ‘. 6.2 > 17.2 < 76.6 4 ………………………… 31.2 > 23.4 < 45.4 5 30.4 > 54.6 < 15-? 6 11.0 > 85.0 < 4.0 7 2.8 > 96.0 < 8 … 1.0 > 98.2 < -2 9 2 > 99.8 < 0 Minimum 2 digits plus 85 failures. Maximum 9 digits. Median 4 digits. 60% Mode 3-5 digits. Memory Span Reverse Span Digits Percentage Percentage Percentage 0 42.4 > 0 < 57-<J 2 . 18.8 > 42.4 < 38.8 294 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC 3 31.0 > G1.2 < 7.8 4 7.2 > 92.2 < .6 5 6 > 99.4 < 0 Minimum 2 plus 212 failures. Maximum 5 Median 2 60% Mode 0?3 Memory Span Learning Span Kepetitions Percentage Percentage Percentage 2 10.6 < 0 > 89.4 3 13.6 < 10.6 > 75.8 4 11.6 < 24.2 > 64.2 5 12.6 < 35.8 > 51.6 6 10.2 < 48.4 > 41.4 7 4.4 < 58.6 > 37.0 8 4.2 < 63.0 > 32.8 9 3.6 < 67.2 > 29.2 10 2.8 < 70.8 > 26.4 F 26.4 < 73.6 > 0 Minimum 2 Maximum 10 plus 133 failures. Median 6 60% Mode 3-F Binet Tests Chronological Age Yrs. and Mos. Percentage Percentage Percentage 4-8 2 < 0 > 99.8 5-0: 6-0 9.6 < .2 > 90.2 6-0: 7-0 58.0 < 9.8 > 32.2 7-0: 8-0 22.0 < 67.8 > 10.2 8-0: 9-0 8.2 < 89.8 > 2.0 9-0:10-0 1.2 < 98.0 > .8 10-0:11-0 6 < 99.2 > .2 11-0 2 < 99.8 > .0 Minimum 4-8 Maximum 11-0 Median 6-7 60% Mode 6-1:7-4 Binet Test Mental Age Yrs. and Mos. Percentage Percentage Percentage 3-6: 5~? 1.8 > 0 < 98.2 5-0: 6-0 6.8 > 1.8 < 91.4 6-?: 7~? 32.2 > 8.6 < 59.2 T1IE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 295 7-0: 8-0 43-8 > 8-0: 9-0 13-8 > 40.8 < I5-4 97.6 < 1-6 9-0:10-0 !-6 > 98-4 Minimum 3-6 Maximum 10-0 Median 7-0 60% Mode 6-6:7-9 Binet Test Intelligence Quotient L 0 Percentage Percentage Percentage 16 > 0 < 98.4 58 > 1,6 92,6 80 ? 90 1L2 > 90 ? 100 16-? > 100?110 40 ? 70 70 ? 80 110 ? 120 120 ? 130 130 ? 140 140 - 150 - > 99.6 < -2 26.6 > 21.6 > 12.8 > 2.6 > 1.4 > 7.4 < 81.4 28.6 < 65.4 S4.6 < 38-8 61.2 < 17-2 82.8 < 4A 95.6 < I*8 98.2 < A 150 ? 160 160 .2 .2 > 99.8 < 0 Minimum 49.4 Maximum 160.0 Median 105.4 60% Mode 90.6-117.6 NON-INTERPRETIVE Formboard First Trial Time in Seconds STATISTICAL TABLES-DECILE DIVISIONS Total I. 21 ? 31 II. 31 ? 35 Male Female 27 ? 33 21 - 32 33 -37 32 - 35 ,7 40 35 ? 40 m. 35 40 37 - 40 ^ ^ 4’J_43 tr~~To 45-49 V. 43 ? 47 46 ? 50 _ 55 V1* 48_ 53 55 “S 55-60 VII. 53 - 60 55 - 61 60_76 via. 60 - 75 62 80 ^ _uo IX’ 75-95 uo-DNO 103-DNC X. 95 ?DNC 110?DJNO 296 TEE PSYCEOLOGICAL CLINIC Formboard Second Trial Male Female Total I. 15 ? 24 16 ? 25 15 ? 24 11. 24 ? 26 25 ? 27 25 ? 27 III. 26 ? 30 27 ? 30 27 ? 30 IV. 30 ? 32 30 ? 33 30 ? 32 V. 32 ? 35 33 ? 37 32 ? 35 VI. 35 ? 37 37 ? 40 35 ? 39 VII. 38 ? 41 40 ? 45 39 ? 43 VIII. 41 ? 46 45 ? 49 43 ? 48 IX. 47 ? 60 50 ? 60 49 ? 59 X. 60 ?232 60 ?259 59 ?259 Cylinders First Trial Time in Seconds Male Female Total 1. 43 ? 105 21 ? 105 21 ? 112 II. 105 ? 131 128 ? 163 112 ? 145 III. 131 ? 158 165 ? 207 146 ? 182 IV. 163 ? 200 208 ? 250 184 ? 225 V. 200 ? 242 255 ?DNC 225 ? 278 VI. 245 ?DNC DNC?DNC 278 ?DNC VII. DNC?DNC DNC?DNC DNC?DNC VIII. DNC?DNC DNC?DNC DNC?DNC IX. DNC?DNC DNC?DNC DNC?DNC X. DNC?DNC DNC?DNC DNC?DNC Cylinders Second Trial Male Female Total I. 25 ? 68 36 ? 72 25 ? 70 II. 70 ? 87 72 ? 90 71 ? 90 III. 89 ? 97 90 ? 106 90 ? 102 IV. 98 ? 112 107 ? 120 102 ? 117 V. 113 ? 132 120 ? 137 118 ? 135 VI. 132 ? 158 137 ? 159 135 ? 157 VII. 160 ? 185 160 ? 196 158 ? 190 VIII. 190 ? 255 200 ? 255 192 ? 250 IX. 260 ?DNC 255 ?DNC 255 ?DNC X. DNC?DNC DNC?DNC DNC?DNC TEE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 297 Maze A First Trial. Time in Seconds Male Female Total I. 19 ? 31 18 ? 45 18 ? 36 II. 32 ? 40 45 ? 59 36 ? 47 III. 40 ? 50 60 ? 80 48 ? 60 IV. 50 ? 61 80 ? 95 60 ? 80 V. 62 ? 80 96 ? 130 80 ? 95 VI. 80 ? 96 130 ? 185 95 ? 125 VII. 96 ? 120 185 ? 262 125 170 VIII. 120 ? 165 267 ?DNC 170 ? 255 IX. 167 ? 260 DNC?DNC 257 DNC X. 299 ?DNC DNC?DNC DNC DNC Maze A Second Trial Male Female TotaI I. 12 ? 20 13 ? 24 12 ? 21 II. 20 ? 24 25 ? 30 21 III. 24 ? 26 30 ? 40 -6 IV* 26 - 31 t?~ f6 38 - 50 V. 31 ? 37 55 - 76 _ VI. 37 ? 48 76 ? 105 50 VII. 48 - 75 105 - 150 75 ^ VIII. 75 ? 120 150 ? 208 110 IX. 120 ? 210 209 ?DNC 170 X. 210 ?DNC DNC?DNC 27 Memory Span Audito?Vocal Span Digits -n Total Male Female 1. (o) 3 - 4 3-4 (0) ! Z 1 II. 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 III. 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 IV. 4 ? 5 4 ? 5 V. 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 VI. 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 VII. 5 ? 6 5 ? 5 VIII. 6 ? 6 5 ? 6 IX. 6 ? 6 6 ? 7 X. 6?8 7?9 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 4 ? 5 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 5 ? 6 6 ? 6 6 ? 9 298 TEE PSYCEOLOGICAL CLINIC Memory Span Visual Span Digits Male Female Total I. 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 II. 0 ? 3 0 ? 3 0 ? 3 III. 3 ? 4 3 ? 4 3 ? 4 IV. 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 V. 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 4 ? 4 VI. 4 ? 5 4 ? 5 4 ? 5 VII. 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 VIII. 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 5 ? 5 IX. 5 ? 6 5 ? 6 5 ? 6 X. 6 ? 9 6 ? 8 6 ? 9 Memory Span Reverse Span Digits Male Female Total I. 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 II. 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 III. 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 IV. 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 0 V. 0 ? 2 0 ? 2 0 ? 2 VI. 2 ? 2 2 ? 3 2 ? 2 VII. 2 ? 3 3 ? 3 2 ? 3 VIII. 3 ? 3 3 ? 3 3 ? 3 IX. 3 ? 3 3 ? 3 3 ? 3 X. 3 ? 5 3 ? 5 3 ? 5 Memory Span Learning Span Repetitions Male Female Total I. 2 ? 2 2 ? 2 2 ? 2 II. 2 ? 3 3 ? 3 2 ? 3 III. 3 ? 4 3 ? 4 3 ? 4 IV. 4 ? 5 4 ? 5 4 ? 5 V. 5 ? 6 5 ? 6 5 ? 6 VI. 6 ? 7 6 ? 7 6 ? 7 VII. 7 ? 9 7 ?10 7 ?10 VIII. 9 ? F 10?F 9?F IX. F? F F ? F F ? F X. F? F F ?F F ?F THE SIX YEAR OLD PERFORMANCE LEVEL 299 IV v. Binet Tests Chronological Age Years and Months Male Female 1. 4? 8 : 5?11 5? 8 11. 5?11 : 6? 1 6? 0 III. 6?1:6?3 6?2 IV. 6? 3:6?5 6?4 V. (j? 5:6?8 6?5 VI. 6? 8 : 6?10 6? 7 Vll. 6?10 : 7? 2 6?9 Vlll. 7? 2 : 7?6 6?11 IX. 7?7:8?0 7?3 X. 8? 0 : 10? 3 7?9 6? 4 6? 5 7? 3 7? 9 11? 0 Mental Age Years and Months IV. 6–9 : 7?0 6? 6 V. 7?0 : 7?3 6? 9 VI. 7?3 : 7?6 7? 0 Vll. 7?6 : 7?6 7? 3 Vlll. 7?6 : 7?9 7? 6 IX. 7?9 : 8?3 7? 9 X. 8?3 : 9?4 8? 0 7? 3 7? 6 7? 9 Intelligence Quotient Male Female Total 6? 0 4? 8 : 6 0 6? 2 ^? 0 : 6 1 6? 1 : 6? 4 6? 4 : 6? 5 6 7 6? 5 : 6? 7 6? 9 6? 7 : 6?10 g 11 6?10 : 7 0 7? 0 : 7?4 7? 4 : 8? 0 s? 0 : 11? 0 Male Female 1. 3?6 : 6?0 4? 0 : 6?0 11. 6?0 : 6?3 6? 0 111. 6?6 : 6?9 6? 6 6?5 6?0 6?6 6?6 6?9 6?9 7?0 6?9 8? 0 < 10? 0 7? 0 7- 3 7? 6 7? 9 I? 0 Total 6? 0 6? 6 6? 9 6? 9 7? 0 7? 3 7? 6 7? 9 8? 0 10? 0 Total 49.4 ? 82.5 I. 49.4 ? 82.5 54.5 ? 81.? g(U II. 82.8 - 90.3 81.8 - 9 - ^ 96-8 111. 90.4 - 97.8 9” ; 97.4-101.4 97.9 _ 102.1 95.7 - 101.2 ^ ^ .. 102.2 - 105.6 1M-2 ? 1?. 10M _ 109.4 VI. 105.6 - 109.4 ^4-M- m4 _ 113.5 VII. 109.7-113.4 113.5 ? 117.0 ‘111. 113.5-116.8 24 3 117.5 - 123.3 IX. 117.5 - 123.2 17.7 - 12 - 124.2 - 160.0 V 192 7 ? 147.7 124.3 10U.U Drawing tiie Diamond Total 278 plus 222 minus Male 155 plus 101 minus Female 123 plus 121 minus

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