CONDENSED GUIDE

FOR

THE STANFORD REVISION

OF THE

BINET-SIMON INTELLIGENCE TESTS

LEWIS M. TERMAN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

PREFACE

Since the appearance of the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale I have been frequently urged to prepare a condensed guide which would make the application of the tests easier and more convenient. I have hesitated somewhat to act upon this suggestion because I have not wished to encourage the use of the scale without the supplementary directions and explanations which are set forth in the original text of the Stanford Revision.¹ The demand has become so insistent, however, that I have decided to heed it. I have been led to this decision largely by the fact that my revision is now so generally used by examiners who are sufficiently experienced to be trusted to follow the correct procedure without the necessity of constantly consulting the complete text. Those who are thoroughly familiar with the contents of the latter will find the Condensed Guide a convenient help. It is impossible, however, to warn the inexperienced examiner too emphatically against the dangers inherent in the routine application of mental tests without some knowledge of their derivation, meaning, and purpose. The necessary psychological background for the use of the Binet scale I have tried to supply in The Measurement of Intelligence, and in The Intelligence of School Children I have explained the practical uses of mental tests in the grading and classification of school children. It is only as a supplement to these books that the procedure of the Stanford Revision is here presented in abbreviated form.

¹ Lewis M. Terman: The Measurement of Intelligence. (Riverside Textbooks in Education.) Houghton Mifflin Company.

For the further aid of the experienced examiner a condensed record blank has also been prepared. Although this is considerably cheaper than the original Record Booklet and in certain respects perhaps somewhat more convenient, it is not recommended as a satisfactory substitute except when used by thoroughly trained examiners. Beginners, at least, should continue to use the complete Record Booklet both because of the accuracy of procedure which it fosters and because of the advantages of having a complete verbatim record of the responses. Besides being indispensable for the analytical study of the child's mental processes, the complete record makes possible the correction of errors in scoring and permits interesting qualitative comparisons between earlier and later performances by the same subject. It is believed that only for the veteran examiner, and perhaps even then only in special cases, are these advantages outweighed by the lower cost of the abbreviated blank.

The labor of preparing this Guide was made considerably lighter than it would otherwise have been by the fact that a similar guide had been prepared in the Office of the Surgeon-General for use in the army. I am greatly indebted to Dr. J. W. Bridges and to Major H. C. Bingham for assistance in the preparation of the latter. Their careful work has saved me many hours and has doubtless made the Condensed Guide more accurate and serviceable than it could otherwise have been.

    Stanford University, March 31, 1920

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

General directions for the use of the Stanford Revision have been fully set forth in chapter VIII of The Measurement of Intelligence. As this guide is only a handbook of procedure for the tests themselves, I shall not here undertake either to summarize that chapter or to add to it. I trust it may safely be assumed that no responsible person will attempt to apply the tests who is not familiar with the book which explains them and presents the general considerations which should govern their use.

However, extended observation of the difficulties which students and teachers encounter in learning to use the Stanford Revision has taught me that there are certain injunctions which cannot easily be too often repeated. Among these the following "ten commandments" have been selected for reëmphasis here:

1. The subject's attention and coöperation must be secured. Thanks to the novelty and inherent interest of the tests, this is usually not difficult to do. But there are degrees of rapport, and the examiner should not be satisfied with his efforts until the subject becomes wholly absorbed in the tasks set him by the tests. The importance of tactful encouragement and a kindly, genial manner cannot be too strongly emphasized, nor, on the other hand, the risk incurred in allowing a parent to witness the test. Hardly anything is more likely to spoil an examination than the presence of a critical or over-sympathetic parent. Sometimes the teacher's presence is hardly less objectionable.

2. The correct formulas should be thoroughly learned and strictly adhered to. Unless this is done the scale used is not the Stanford Revision, whatever else it may be. For the first fifty or hundred examinations the tests should be given directly from this guide. Little by little, as the procedure becomes memorized, the examiner should attempt to free himself of the necessity of reading the formulas, but for a long time it is necessary to check up one's procedure by frequent reference to the Guide if practice in error is to be avoided.

3. The examiner should early learn to withstand the temptation of wholesale coaxing and cross-questioning. To do so often robs the response of significance and is likely to interfere with the establishment of rapport. A simple "What do you mean?" or, "Explain what you mean," is sufficient to clarify most answers which are not clear. At the same time the examiner should be on guard against mistaking exceptional timidity for inability to respond. Persuasive encouragement is frequently necessary, but this should not be allowed to degenerate into a chronic habit of coaxing.

4. The record should always be made as the test proceeds. Memory should never be trusted. As a rule enough of each response should be recorded to enable one to score it at any time later. The great advantage of the Record Booklet is that it permits this. Only the most expert examiner should limit his record to pluses and minuses.

5. The examination should be thorough. It should include at least one year in which there is no failure and at least one year in which there is no success. When lack of time necessitates an abbreviation of the examination, this should be done by using only the starred tests rather than by shortening the range of the examination.

6. Success in alternative tests may not be substituted for failure