Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests– An intelligence test is a series of tasks designed to measure the capacity to make abstractions, to learn, and to deal with novel situations. Intelligence is defined as mental capability that involves the ability to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend complex ideas, to learn quickly, and to learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smartness.
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests are as following-
Individual Tests—These tests are administered to one individual at a time. The first tests that were prepared were individual. Individual tests are most reliable, but these consume more time and energy. These are, however, useful in making case studies or individual studies of behavior problems or backwardness. The tests prepared in the beginning were individual verbal, i.e., where some sort of language (the mother tongue of the child) was used. Each question in the Simon-Binet or Stanford Revision test is in verbal form. The child has to read the question or listen to the question and answer in language.
Some famous individual tests are as follows:
- The Binet-Simon Tests,
- Revised Tests by Terman,
- Mental Scholastic Tests of Burt, and
- Wechsler Test.
Group Tests—Group tests are administered to a group of people. Group tests had their birth in America—when the intelligence of the recruits who joined the army in the First World War was to be calculated. These are more helpful, as these deal with large masses of subjects, such as in schools, industry, the army, and the public. Under favorable administering conditions, these are reliable and have high predictive validity and can be compared favorably with individual tests.
Some famous group tests are as follows:
- The Army Alpha and Beta Test,
- Turman’s Group Tests, and
- Otis Self-Administrative Tests.
Among the group tests there are two types—
(i) Verbal, and
(ii) Non-Verbal.
Verbal or language tests These tests make use of language. Here the instructions are given in words (either in written or oral form or both). Individuals are required to use language as well as paper and pencil for giving the responses. The test content of these tests is loaded with verbal material.
Non-Verbal and non-language tests These tests involve such activities in which the use of language is not necessary. The use of language is eliminated from test content and responses except in giving directions.
Characteristics of group tests (Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests)
⮚ Most of the group tests have been standardized, and these are commonly used in educational institutions in the western countries. The directions and manuals for examiners have been worked out so that even a layman can administer these.
⮚ Most of the test items in group verbal tests are linguistic in character. Some of the test items include problems requiring reasoning about numbers or geometrical forms.
⮚ Some group verbal tests have been used in measuring scholastic aptitude also.
⮚ These are convenient in administration and scoring.
Performance Test
These tests are administered to the illiterate persons. These tests generally involve the construction of certain patterns or solving problems in terms of concrete material.
A number of performance tests have been prepared. The most important are
❖ Alexander’s Pass-a-long test.
❖ Koh’s Block Design test.
❖ Collin and Drever’s Performance Tests.
❖ Weschler’s Performance Test.
❖ Terman and Merrill’s Performance Test.
❖ Kent’s Performance Test.
Advantages of Performance Tests
⮚ These are generally useful for measuring specific abilities but particularly useful for testing some category of persons. These include deaf persons, those who are at a disadvantage in verbal tests due to language difficulties, those who are educationally
backward, and those who are discouraged in verbal talks due to school failures.
⮚ These are highly useful in vocational and educational guidance. Persons of practical and mechanical ability can be discovered by these tests alone. Alexander, therefore, suggested that verbal tests only should not be given.
⮚ For the study of pre-school children, who have not begun reading and writing these
are only suitable tests.
⮚ These are useful for clinical purposes, for testing neurotics and mentally defective (or
feeble-minded).
⮚ These are useful for adults over 30, who have lost interest in numbers and words.
➢ Performance tests are culture-free. No verbal test can boast of having no relation with the linguistic cultural background of the nation. That is why verbal tests in English prepared in the U.K. will not suit Indian children. The mention of tennis, spoon, fork, omnibus, and such other words in the verbal tests may not evoke a proper response from Indian students, because they may not be familiar with these things.
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests
Limitations of Performance Tests
➢Some test items do not have a connection with life situations. Some call for speed rather than the solution of problems. Slight differences in speed affect the scores. Enough of emphasis is not given to item difficulty.
➢ Performance tests do not measure exactly what Binet ‘s tests measure- reasoning, judgment and imagination.
➢ Most of these tests do not require above-average thinking, so these are not suitable
for higher levels.
➢ There are variations in the utility of different tests. Picture completion tests may suffer from poor material. Maze tests require continual adaptation and planning. Form- board tests tend to depend upon speed.
➢ Most of these tests need to be administered individually, in small groups, which entails expense. Again, single performance tests are not so reliable. A battery of tests is needed, which makes the task mere complex.
On the whole performance tests have to stay for measuring general ability. But these can simply supplement verbal tests rather than give independent results. These can, however, be used independently when some special practical ability is to be measured.
Uses of Intelligence Test
- Classification or Grouping pupils for school work– A teacher can use the intelligence tests together with all other information available about the child to place him with others of his ability in smaller groups, the composition of which will vary from subject to subject and from time to time. Students may be classified not according to C.A. but M.A.
- for diagnosing disabilities in school subjects– we can compare the score representing in a school subject and the mental age and find the retardation in the subject.
- for determining the optimum level of work-the primary aim of education is to assist each child to make the best possible use of all his capacities. It is a general measure of a pupil ‘s capacity to succeed in his school work. The mental age gives the mental level at which a child can be expected to work most efficiently in academic subjects.
- Identification of intellectual deviations-It is a problem to find who is bright and who is dull. This is to be found, otherwise a teacher may force adult child to do what is beyond his capacity, or fail to assist the gifted to make use of his exceptionally great capacity. So, the extreme cases are to be discovered. The very dull child is likely to be recognized sooner or later as also the gifted. One of the most important problems is giving education coping with mentally defective and identifying and cultivating the potential capacity for leadership which gifted children have.
- Educational and vocational guidance- the fact that intelligence is positively related to vocational competence and to attainments in college work has definite practical implications. The educational or vocational counselor can use the score on the intelligence test along with other data to predict a pupil ‘s success in college or in many vocations. Though vocational success depends upon other factors as well: health, persistence, interest and aptitudes, but intelligence is a potent factor.
- Estimating the range of abilities– in a class the teacher can note the range of ability in the class. A group may contain neither very bright, nor very dull. In others the range may be very large. This gives teacher a difficult task in adjusting assignments, methods of instruction. Achievements tests are, therefore, supplemented by intelligence tests to find the range.
- Determining the level of ability-in a class or school, the abilities of different teachers can be appraised in terms of the average attainments of their respective classes when these are
made equal in the level of intelligence. Similarly, comparisons of schools can be made only when the levels of ability of the students of the two schools are also determined. - Measuring special abilities– Aptitude tests can predict the ability to achieve in music, art and various mechanical and social lines.
- Predicting success in particular Academic Subjects– Readiness and prognoses tests have been designed to give a high prediction of success in specific subjects, and provide useful basis for the selection of courses. Intelligence tests do not help here much, as there is no fair degree of correlation between various subjects and I.Q.
- Diagnosing Subject-Matter Difficulties– At the elementary school level when a child has little choice of subjects, the readiness test is valuable as a diagnosis. It gives the teacher information about the areas in which the child needs more training.
- Combination of all informants for Educational Guidance– The teacher and counselor should get as much information as possible about the pupil. The prognosis test will be very valuable in predicting success in particular subjects, and when combined with intelligence test will be even more effective. The use of achievement test will increase the reliability of the prediction.
- Research– Intelligence test results can be pooled and utilized for research purposes.
- Selection-In the school children are chosen for various purposes and activities through intelligence tests.
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests
Intelligence & types of Intelligence Tests