The Measurement of Intelligence | Page 9

of intelligence is possessed by about 2 children
out of 100, and is nearly as far above average intelligence as high-grade
feeble-mindedness is below. The supplementary information, which
was furnished in most cases by the teachers, may be summarized as
follows:--
1. Ability special or general. In the case of 20 out of 31 the ability is
decidedly general, and with 2 it is mainly general. The talents of 5 are
described as more or less special, but only in one case is it remarkably
so. Doubtful 4.
2. Health. 15 are said to be perfectly healthy; 13 have one or more
physical defects; 4 of the 13 are described as delicate; 4 have adenoids;
4 have eye-defects; 1 lisps; and 1 stutters. These figures are about the
same as one finds in any group of ordinary children.
3. Studiousness. "Extremely studious," 15; "usually studious" or "fairly
studious," 11; "not particularly studious," 5; "lazy," 0.

4. Moral traits. Favorable traits only, 19; one or more unfavorable traits,
8; no answer, 4. The eight with unfavorable moral traits are described
as follows: 2 are "very self-willed"; 1 "needs close watching"; 1 is
"cruel to animals"; 1 is "untruthful"; 1 is "unreliable"; 1 is "a bluffer"; 1
is "sexually abnormal," "perverted," and "vicious."
It will be noted that with the exception of the last child, the moral
irregularities mentioned can hardly be regarded, from the psychological
point of view, as essentially abnormal. It is perhaps a good rather than a
bad sign for a child to be self-willed; most children "need close
watching"; and a certain amount of untruthfulness in children is the rule
and not the exception.
5. Social adaptability. Socially adaptable, 25; not adaptable, 2; doubtful,
4.
6. Attitude of other children. "Favorable," "friendly," "liked by
everybody," "much admired," "popular," etc., 26; "not liked," 1;
"inspires repugnance," 1; no answer, 1.
7. Is child a leader? "Yes," 14; "no," or "not particularly," 12; doubtful,
5.
8. Is play life normal? "Yes," 26; "no," 1; "hardly," 1; doubtful, 3.
9. Is child spoiled or vain? "No," 22; "yes," 5; "somewhat," 2; no
answer, 2.
According to the above data, exceptionally intelligent children are fully
as likely to be healthy as ordinary children; their ability is far more
often general than special, they are studious above the average, really
serious faults are not common among them, they are nearly always
socially adaptable, are sought after as playmates and companions, their
play life is usually normal, they are leaders far oftener than other
children, and notwithstanding their many really superior qualities they
are seldom vain or spoiled.
It would be greatly to the advantage of such children if their superior

ability were more promptly and fully recognized, and if (under proper
medical supervision, of course) they were promoted as rapidly as their
mental development would warrant. Unless they are given the grade of
work which calls forth their best efforts, they run the risk of falling into
lifelong habits of submaximum efficiency. The danger in the case of
such children is not over-pressure, but under-pressure.
INTELLIGENCE TESTS AS A BASIS FOR GRADING. Not only in
the case of retarded or exceptionally bright children, but with many
others also, intelligence tests can aid in correctly placing the child in
school.
The pupil who enters one school system from another is a case in point.
Such a pupil nearly always suffers a loss of time. The indefensible
custom is to grade the newcomer down a little, because, forsooth, the
textbooks he has studied may have differed somewhat from those he is
about to take up, or because the school system from which he comes
may be looked upon as inferior. Teachers are too often suspicious of all
other educational methods besides their own. The present treatment
accorded such children, which so often does them injustice and injury,
should be replaced by an intelligence test. The hour of time required for
the test is a small matter in comparison with the loss of a school term
by the pupils.
Indeed, it would be desirable to make all promotions on the basis
chiefly of intellectual ability. Hitherto the school has had to rely on
tests of information because reliable tests of intelligence have not until
recently been available. As trained Binet examiners become more
plentiful, the information standard will have to give way to the criterion
which asks merely that the child shall be able to do the work of the next
higher grade. The brief intelligence test is not only more enlightening
than the examination; it is also more hygienic. The school examination
is often for the child a source of worry and anxiety; the mental test is an
interesting and pleasant experience.
INTELLIGENCE TESTS FOR VOCATIONAL FITNESS. The time is
probably not far distant when intelligence tests