+
Assessing
Intelligence
AP Psychology
+
Alfred Binet
 Alfred
Binet and his
colleague Théodore
Simon practiced a more
modern form of
intelligence testing
 Developed questions
that would predict
children’s future
progress in the Paris
school system.
+
Alfred Binet—Mental Age
 Alfred
Binet was the first to develop a test to
classify children’s mental abilities Did
not test mastery of schoolwork or what
they should know after a specific class,
 Rather a child’s mental abilities that included
memory, attention, which he referred to as
mental age (definition to follow).
+
Alfred Binet—Mental Age
 There
are certain mental abilities
that a person should be able to
perform at a specific age- this is
referred to as mental age.
 This
mental age described where
a person should be intelligently.
 For example: a 9 year old should
have a mental age of 9.
 If a child who is 11, but has a
mental age of 5 would be
considered or may have a
disability
+
The Stanford-Binet Test and
Intelligent Quotient
 Lewis Terman
adapted Binet’s test for use in the
United States, which he called the Stanford-Binet
test
 William
Stern wrote the scoring criteria for the
Stanford-Binet test through the development of
the Intelligence quotient
+ Lewis Terman & William Stern
Stanford-Binet IQ Test
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test
IQ=(MA/CA)*100
IQ=Intelligence Quotient
MA=Mental Age
CA=Chronological Age
A
score of 100 would be considered
average
+
Calculating Intelligence
For an average 7 yr old…
 MA=7
 CA=7
 IQ=(MA/CA)*100
 IQ=(7/7)*100
 IQ=1*100
 IQ=100 (average)
+
Calculating Intelligence
For an average 11 yr old…
MA=11
CA=11
IQ=(MA/CA)*100
IQ=(11/11)*100
IQ=1*100
IQ=100
+
Calculating Intelligence
For an above average 10 yr old…
 MA=12
 CA=10
 IQ=(MA/CA)*100
 IQ=(12/10)*100
 IQ=1.2*100
 IQ=120
+
Calculating Intelligence
For a below average 8 yr old…
MA=6
CA=8
IQ=(MA/CA)*100
IQ=(6/8)*100
IQ=.75*100
IQ=75
+
Calculating Intelligence
Formula
has been replaced with modern
versions
A
glitch…
MA
levels off at about 18x
Average 18 yr old
MA=18
CA=18
IQ=(18/18)*100
IQ=(1/1)*100=100
Average 36 yr old
MA=18
CA=36
IQ=(18/36)*100
IQ=(1/2)*100=50
+
Intelligence Tests
How is intelligence measured?
+
Intelligence Tests
 Binet-Simon
scale
 First
test of intelligence, developed to identify
children who might have difficulty in school
 Binet developed the concept of mental age in
children
 Stanford-Binet
 L. M. Terman’s
scale
adaptation of the Binet-Simon scale
 Terman introduced the I.Q. score
 A score of 100 is considered average
+
Aptitude vs. Achievement
Aptitude Tests
 Designed
to make
predictions about
future performances
 An ACT test is
considered an
aptitude test because
the score is used as a
predictor for success
in college
Achievement Tests
 Designed
to reflect
what a person has
learned, or mastered
 A test you take in
history would be an
achievement test
because it is
assessing what you
have learned in
history
+
David Wechsler
 Wechsler
developed the
Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
 And
later the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for
Children (WISC), an
intelligence test for
preschoolers.
+
The WAIS
 The
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS),
the most widely used intelligence test in the
United States
 The WAIS has 2 sets of tests, verbal scale and
performance scale
 WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other
aspects related to intelligence that are designed
to assess clinical and educational problems.
+ WAIS
+
Intelligence Tests
 Group Tests
 Intelligence
tests that can be given to large
groups
 Advantages



Quick scoring
No examiner bias
Easier to establish norms
 Disadvantages



Less likely to detect someone who is ill or confused
Might make people nervous
Learning disabled children often perform worse
+
Intelligence Tests
 Performance
tests
 Tests
that minimize the use of language
 Used to test very young children or people with
retardation
 Also can be used to test those unfamiliar with English
 Culture-fair
 Tests
tests
designed to reduce cultural bias
 Minimize skills and values that vary from one culture
to another
+
Test Construction
How is test data analyzed?
+ Principles of test Construction
 Normal
Curve is a bell shaped curve that
includes a normal distribution of scores half above the average and half below the average
 with most scores falling right around the averagethe mean
+ Flynn Effect
 In
the past 60 years, intelligence scores
have risen steadily by an average of 27
points. This phenomenon is known as the
Flynn effect.
 What
might be contributing to this?
+
Principles of test Construction
 Mean
is the average score
 median
is score in the middle- the
high point of the curve
 mode
is the score or number that
appears the most
 standard
deviation is how the
scores deviate or spread from the
mean
 if the mean is 71 and a person
scores a 4 then that score would
have high, or great standard
deviation
+
Principles of test Construction
 Standardization
is defining present
scores through comparison to a group
who previously took the test that is
called the representative sample
A
teacher often compares present
class scores to past scores to ensure
students learning the material.
 For example if a class averaged 51
and the group who took the same
test last year averaged 75, then the
teacher may have not properly
taught the material to the present
group
+
Principles of test Construction
 Reliability
is the measure of
giving a test multiple times
and receiving similar scores
each time the test is given
 A test is considered
reliable if each time that
test is given similar results
are posted.
+
Principles of test Construction—
Testing Reliability
 Alternative
form- giving alternatives of the same test
 If you took test form B, you should get the same score if
you took form A test
 Split-half-
calculating a score by dividing the test into
different parts then comparing
 Comparing the odd and even questions would be an
example of split-half reliability.
 Test-retest-
giving the same test twice and then
comparing the scores
+
Principles of test Construction
 Validity
is the extent to
which a test measures or
predicts what it is supposed
to measure
+ Principles of test Construction—
Testing Validity
 Content
validity- test measures the content it is
supposed to measure

If you are studying psychology, then you should take a psychology
test- not a history test
 Construct
validity- test measures a specific theory, or
question

Certain questions may be written to test if students are paying
attention in class- based on lectures
 Predictive
validity- test makes predictions about future
performances

Certain questions may be written to test whether students will do
well on the following chapter