JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS B. R. Buckingham, Editor Number 1 October, 1923 Psychological Tests and Guidance of Higfh- School Pupils (REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION) WILLIAM MARTIN PROCTOR PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING COMPANY BLOOMINGTON. ILUNOIS Hntt CfnUcge of S^gticulturc 3t^ara, N. % SItbtarti LB 1131 P7""*" ""'^'■si'y Library ^»™r.l?,'^)[.^!;°!°9i5.?l.«.e?ts in the ed 3 1924 013 410 604 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013410604 JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS B. R. BUCKINGHAM, Editor Number 1 October, 1923 The Use of Psychological Tests in the Educational and Vocational Guid- ance of High School Pupils (REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION) BY WILLIAM MARTIN JROCTOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING COMPANY BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS Copyright 1921 by Public School PubUshing Co. Bloomington, Illinois CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Editor's Introduction 5 I. Introduction 11 II. Psychological Tests as a Means of Measuring the Probable School Success of High-School Pupils 15 III. Use of Psychological Tests in the Educational Guidance of High-School Pupils 29 IV. Status of One Hundred Thirty-one Cases, Tested with Stan- ford Revision of Binet Scale, and Followed up for Period of Six Years 43 V. Use of Psychological Tests in the Vocational Guidance of High-School Pupils 63 VI. Relation of General Intelligence to the Persistence of Edu- cational and Vocational Plans of High-School Pupils 78 VII. Psychological Tests and College Entrance 91 VIII. Intelligence Tests as a Means of Admitting Special Students to Colleges and Universities 105 Appendix 115 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION When Professor Terman's book on The Intelligence of School Children appeared, it became evident that Leland Stan- ford Junior University was the center of a surprisingly extensive investigation of human mentahty. It was clear that records were being made, not once, but repeatedly, with reference to the same children and that many of these children were being kept under observation throughout their school careers and even beyond. In other words, the common curse of our educational inquiries, in virtue of which nothing is studied hard enough and long enough to reach fundamental results, seemed to have been lifted from the efforts of the Stanford group of men and women. One of the members of the Stanford group is Dr. William M. Proctor, the author df this book. He has given particular atten- tion to high-school pupils and to underclassmen in college and it is to these groups that he has applied his tests. These tests are for the most part such as may be given to large numbers of persons simultaneously. Instruments of this kind have been appropriately called group tests, in contradistinc- tion to the individual or interview tests in the use of which an examiner handles only one person at a time. The history of the development of these group tests to their present status has been sketched in a number of places. It is generally and correctly understood that the prototype of all the present group intelli- gence tests is the collection of examinations loosely termed the Army Tests. From the Army Tests, either in direct descent or by collat- eral branches, has sprung a large progeny in the form of group intelligence scales or tests. The use of these tests has already be- come enormous. To a certain extent the persons who have de- vised them have become victims of this popularity. When the school people will buy and use these tests by the miUions, there is a temptation for authors to rush them into print without suffi- cient preliminary analysis and without extensive trial in prac- tical situations. 5 6 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE Of course, this is only a temporary condition. Out of the competition among different tests and the trials of two or more of them on the same individuals will come a critical literature which will surely bring untrustworthy instruments into disrepute. This sort of literature is only just now coming through. The development of group intelligence tests has been so rapid that books on their use have not had time to appear. Magazine arti- cles involving the use of one or two of them have been published. Dr. Holley's monograph on the use of mental tests appeared dur- ing the past autumn. The present book is another of much the same sort. It deals with the Binet Scale, the Army Examina- tions a and b, and the Army Alpha Test. But Dr. Proctor's book, although incidentally concerned with the validity of the different scales, is primarily devoted to the practical uses to which the results of intelligence testing may be put. For example, upon testing the same pupils after an interval of two and a half years, Dr. Proctor is especially interested in the fact that "the person who made the original tests . . . would have been in a position to give very helpful advice to all of the pupils tested by him ; also that his predictions as to the possible educational future of each of these pupils would have deserved serious consideration by parents and teachers." Again, when it becomes possible to compare the success in high school of two groups of pupils of which one has received guidance on the basis in part of intelligence testing while the other has received no such guidance. Dr. Proctor is especially interested in this prac- tical demonstration. About a third of the unguided pupils, but only one-fifth of the guided pupils, failed in one subject. None of the pupils who had received the benefit of guidance failed in two or more subjects, while rather more than one in ten of the unguided pupils failed to that extent. In other directions his interest in the practical use of intelli- gence tests leads him into the field of vocational guidance. Here he makes good use of the work of the army psychologists by which the intelligence of recruits belonging to different occupa- tions was revealed. These he relates to the occupational prefer- EDITOR'S INTBODUCTION 7 ences which he obtained from over nine hundred high-school pupils. The lowest intelligence score made by the middle 50 per- cent of professional workers among the army recruits was 98. On the other hand, 50 of the high-school pupils who expressed their intention of becoming professional workers scored less than 90. Again, he points out the fact that over 60 percent of the high-school pupils aspired to join the ranks of the professional class while, according to the United States census, less than 5 percent of the gainful workers of the country belong to that class. Dr. Proctor, therefore, although not neglecting the theoretical and scientific aspects of his subject, gives particular attention to the practical bearings of it. Indeed, we should say that his mono- graph is a good example of a method of treatment, which, while it is competent from the point of view of research workers, is also of special interest to public school workers. With respect to vocational guidance Dr. Proctor's material supports his view that those who seek a ready means of deter- mining whether pupils should be telephone operators or pho- tographers, bakers or blacksmiths, farm workers or barbers, are likely to be disappointed. Nothing in our general intelligence tests will enable us to be specific to this degree. If, however, occupations are divided into five or six general classes, the data at hand regarding the range of intelligence among people belong- ing to these classes are such as to permit us to say something definite concerning the class of work in which a given pupil may, so far as intelligence is concerned, be successful. Perhaps even here we can say with greater certainty what the class of occupa- tions is in which the pupil will not be successful. For example, if a pupil's intelligence quotient is 90, we can be sure that his intelligence is not sufficient for professional work but that he may (if other conditions are favorable) successfully pursue some oc- cupation belonging to the class of skilled labor. Whether that occupation shall be that of a bricklayer or a painter, a plumber or a carpenter, cannot be determined on the basis of intelligence. Such a determination will depend upon individual aptitude, pref- 8 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE erences, and opportunities. In other words, we may with some safety advise pupils as to classes of occupations, but we cannot assume — at least on the basis of general intelligence — ^to advise them with respect to particular occupations within the occupa- tional classes. Those, therefore, who are looking to the intelligence test to determine whether a boy should be a bookkeeper or a telegrapher may as well know at the outset that these tests offer no basis for such determinations. This comes about from the very simple fact that the same degree of general intelligence is required and is now being exhibited by both bookkeepers and telegraphers. In other words, the difference between the qualifications for work- ers of these two sorts is not intellectual in the general sense. Perhaps we shall subsequently develop trade and occupational tests which will differentiate more sharply than is now possible between the aptitudes pertaining to occupations in the same class. Indeed, we can already mark out in a general way the lines along which such investigation will proceed. There will be, in the first place — to stick to our bookkeeper and telegrapher — an analysis of the bookkeeper's job and the telegrapher's job for the pur- pose of finding out what these workers have to do. From these data some inferences may be made as to the specific abilities required in learning and performing the operations incident to the occupation. Having determined these abilities, or the most important of them, tests may perhaps be devised for measuring such abilities. Many trials of these tests and a checking of the results obtained from them against the ultimate success of per- sons who have become bookkeepers and telegraphers will be re- quired in order to refine the tests to the point where they will be valid instruments. Meanwhile, one ought to point out that trade tests are quite different from guidance tests. For example, we have certain trade tests which have been developed in the army. We also have tests for clerks and stenographers. But all these tests are given to determine the ability of persons already belong- ing to the occupation or claiming to belong to it. A test to deter- EDITOB'S INTHODUCTION 9 mine whether a person, prior to studying about an occupation or entering upon it, has the ability to pursue it successfully is quite another matter. Dr. Proctor's chapter on the application of the Army Tests to freshmen upon entrance to college is especially interesting. It is worth noting how the different educational levels correspond to different intelligence levels. Dr. Proctor found, for example, that, expressed in terms of the intelligence quotient, the typical first-year high-school pupil has a mentality of 105. Three or four years later, when elimination throughout the high school has had its effect, the typical intelligence of high-school graduates has gone up 6 points — namely to 111. If the reader will recall Professor Terman's classification of intelligence quotients, he will observe that this means that more than half of the high-school graduates belong in the classification called "superior" or in a higher classification. Between graduation from high school and entering college another sharp elimination apparently takes place in virtue of which the mentality of typical students now moves up 4 points so that the median intelligence quotient for students entering college is 115. As Dr. Proctor points out, if the same process of selection takes place in college as in high school, "we should expect the median intelligence quotient of college gradu- ates to be 120 or over." This means that students of no more than average intelligence will be likely to be eliminated from col- lege before the senior year. In conclusion, we should like to point out that Dr. Proctor makes no inordinate claims for the intelligence test. Some of the results — ^particularly the correspondences between intelligence scores and teachers' estimates and between intelligence scores and official ratings — would be higher if better tests had been at his disposal. The Army Alpha Test was not intended for high- school or college students. On this ground, and also because it was a pioneer and is capable of improvement, it is to be expected that future workers will secure even more significant correspond- ences than Dr. Proctor found. But whether this is true or not. 10 FSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE the spirit of the author would no doubt remain the same — ^the spirit of scientific conservatism which refuses (to use his own words) "to place undue confidence in the results of a single psychological examination, however thoroughly it may have been standardized." t, -n r^ B. R. Buckingham January 22, ip2i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The secondary-school population of tlie United States has, since 1890, increased tliree times as fast as tlie general population. In tlie year 1915 tliere were 14.4 pupils of secondary grade for every l.(.X)0 persons of tlie general population, whereas in 1S90 tliere were only five. According to recent estimates there are in tlie United States 14.000 high schools caring for 1,500,000 pupils requiring tlie ser\ices of 80.000 teachers, and calling for tlie ex- penditure of $75,000,000 per year for salaries and maintenance. The problem of administering tlie physical side of this vast educational enterprise has occupied tlie attention of scliool autliorities to such an extent tliat small consideration has been given to tlie need for internal betteniient. The average Ameri- can community is willing to tax itself for material equipment An imposing high-school building becomes a matter of ci\-ic pride. It is a good talking point in chamber of commerce literature, and can be shown to visitors as an index of tlie progressive nature of tlie community. ]\Iany of our city high schools are housed in buildings supe- rior to those occupied by tlie best colleges and miiversities a gen- eration ago. Buildings costing from $500,000 to $1,000,000 are not uncommon ; and it is perfectly safe to say tliat no other nation has begun to spend as mucli upon its secondary-scliool buildings as has our own. \Mien. however, it comes to securing more money for teach- ers' salaries, for enriching the curriculum, or for other matters of internal improvement, tlie task is much more difficult The re- sults obtained by spending mone}' to make a better adjustment between tlie cliild and the curriculum, or between the child and his future place in tlie social order, are quite intangible. It is ver}- difficult to prove to the tax-pa}-ing public that money so spent will pay ascertainable di\-idends. 11 12 P8TCE0L0GICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE Since the public is more willing to spend money on buildings that can be seen than on invisible internal betterments, reforms in our secondary schools have come very slowly. Natural con- ser\'atism as well as considerations of economy have combined to sustain the traditional curriculum in seventy-five out of every hundred high schools. So long as preparation for college was the chief end and aim of secondary education, the narrow, college-preparatory course of study was satisfactory. But since the high-school population now comes from every class of home, and since only 10 percent of those who enter high school ever reach college, the demand has come to be more and more insistent that secondary education shall prepare the youth of the land for citizenship and vocations. In the discussion of the proposed reorganization of secondary education large space is being given to the problem of educational and vocational guidance. The classical, college-preparatory high school of former days had no need of educational guidance. There was only one course of study. It was a case of take it or leave it. Xeither was there great need for vocational guid- ance. Those who could master the prescribed course of study were headed for the professions. Those who were unable to complete the course taught school or went back to the farm. The boy or girl in perplexity as to a life career could find wise and sympathetic counselors in the village mir^ster, doctor, or lawyer. The boy or girl of the present day faces a much more complex situation. The fields of vocational opportunity have been greatly multiplied. WTiere formerly there were six or seven possible lines of life work open to the educated man or woman, there are now literally hundreds. Some agency must take over the task of collecting, organizing, and imparting accurate information regarding possible vocational opportunities to the boys and girls in our high schools. The necessary information is no longer easily accessible to the inquiring boy or girl. The "Xo Admittance Except on Business" sign bars them from shop and office alike. They have become more and more dependent upon imparted, as against first-hand. INTEODrCTWX 13 infomiation concerning tlie qualifications necessary to success in tlie different fields of endeavor. The minister has been prac- tically eliminated as a faptor in vocational guidance, because tlie churcli reaches such a small fraction of the high-school popula- tion. A majority of parents have neitlier tlie disposition nor the means to acquire adequate infonnation regarding vocations to make tliem competent counselors. This means tliat the home is a mucli less important factor than it used to be in tlie vocational guidance of youdi. The high school, tlierefore. becomes the residuan,- legatee of tlie cliurcli and tlie home in tlie field of educational and vocational guidance. Wlietlier tlie high school meets its opportunity' for service in this new direction or fails entirely to function will de- pend upon the methods of educational and vocational guidance adopted. The vital nature of guidance in education is well stated by Truman Lee Kelley:* The modem idea of education is crv-stallizingj into an effort to guide ratlier tlian to instruct — to answer a need rather than to cater to a curriculum. The growing recognition of the need of vocational and educational guidance is resulting in tlie establishment of bureaus en- deavoring to give tlie fonner, and in the training of psychologists to solve the problems of tlie latter. Also by J. M. Brewer ;- The development of men ajid women is tlie purpose of the school. and tlie selection of and preparation for occupations is one of the important features of this developmerit. The school must therefore be organized witli the vocational g-uidance of tlie child as one of the aims in mind. This monograph embodies tlie results of a recent study by tlie writer involving tlie use of psycliological tests in tlie educational and vocational guidance of high-school pupils. The data gath- ered and tlie conclusions reached are presented in tlie hope that tliose interested in die adAnsement problem in tlie high scliool may find herein helpful suggestions or be stimulated to make con- structive criticisms in tlie light of tlieir owti experience. 'Kollev. Trnman Lee, Ecluf^twJMi guidhunbia TTniversitv, li>14, p. 1. 'Brewer. J. M. The fM>oitiona}-gHid Practical Judgment, (4) S\^lonA^ll-Anton^^^^, (3) Disarranged Sentences, (6) Xum- ber Series Completion, (7) Analog-ies, (S) Information. This test was given to all pupils present on the day of examination in tlie San ]\Iateo, Redwood City, Mountain \'iew, and Santa Clara union high sdiools. The total number of tliese pupils was 624. These group mental examinations were applied to all of tlie pupils in each of tlie high schools enumerated above at exactly the same time. A sufficient number of examiners, trained by Dr. Terman, was taken to each high school, to cover the entire high school in one fort\-fiAe minute period. The size of tlie groups ranged from 40 to 150. It took tlie writer and his as- sistant a total of 134 hours to test 107 high-scliool pupils b)' the individual metliod. Six trained examiners were able to give Ex- amination a to 350 Palo Alto high-scliooI pupils in 45 minutes. The test blanks were scored b}* university students. Their work was carefullv diecked and tlie results tabulated bv the wxiter. 18 pstceological tests and guidance Group Test Results Compared with Individuai, Test Results One hundred and sixteen of the high-school pupils tested with Examination a had previously been given the Stanford-Binet Scale. Table II makes comparison of the two kinds of mental examination. Although no Binet I.O.'s are found in the group 140-149, six Army Scale I.Q.'s are between 140 and 149. This is because a higher mental age is attainable on the Army Scale than on the Binet Scale. For example, a high-school boy fifteen years and two months old passed every test in the Stanford-Binet table n. RELATION BETWEEN THE I. Q.'S OF 116 HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS EARNED ON THE STANTORD-BINET SCALE AND THE I. Q.'S OF THE SAME PUPILS EARNED ON EXAMINA- TION a, ARMY SCALE L Q.'s on Examination a, Army Scale L Q.'S on Stanford-Binet Srale 80- 89 90- 99 100- 109 110- 119 {Median) 120- 129 130- 139 140- 149 Totals / 2 3 4 S « 7 S * 130-139 3 7 3 9 5 1 11 120-129 1 3 21 110-119 {Median) 2 8 11 9 2 32 100-109 13 11 3 8 4 20 90-99 7 S 26 80-«9 5 70-79 1 1 TntaU 1 14 33 25 23 14 6 116 Median for Binet I. Q.: group, 110-119 Median for Army Scale I. Q.: group, 110-119 Correlation, Pearson's formula, 0.736; P. E., 0.029 Scale, thus earning a mental age of nineteen years and six months, and an I.Q. of 129. On the Army Scale, Examination a, he made a raw score of 219, corresponding to a mental age score of TESTS AXD SCHOOL SVCCESS 19 twenty-one years and eleven months, and an I.O. of 144.^ In other words, tlie Stanford-Binet Scale does not give the superior high-school pupil an opportunity to eani as high an I.O. as he can earn on the Army Scale. This factor would tend to lower the correlation betwen the two sets of I.O.'s. The correlation ob- tained in Table II (+ 0.736) is a strong indication tliat if the Stanford-Binet Scale is a valid means of finding tlie mental level of high-school pupils, tlie Army Scale Examination j is also valid for the^ame purpose. Army Sc.xle Results Compared with High-School Marks The school work of all tlie high-scliool pupils examined b^• means of tlie two army group tests was carefully followed up for tlie school vears 1917-1918 and 1918-1919. The marks given were reduced to a comparable basis by assigning arbitrarv values to eacli t\-pe of mark employed by the various high schools. Thus an "A" or a "l" was given a value of 95 ; a "B" or a "2." a value of 85. etc. Letters or numbers with plus and minus signs were given intermediate values. All of the marks earned by a given pupil were averaged, but no case was included in the tables un- less tlie marks for at least two semesters of school work, tlie equivalent of one year, were available. 1. Aniiy Scale, d'oup Examination a. — Table III makes a comparison between tlie I.O.'s obtained from tlie Group Exami- nation and tlie quality of high-scliool work of 494 high-school pupils. The total number taking tlie test was 715. but only 494 cases had ratings for one year of school work. Since tlie correlation obtained (-f 0.34o) is 12. S times the indicated P. E.. it has considerable significance. Wliile it is not as high as the correlation between Binet I.O.'s and scliool marks found in Table I, there are several factors which may have tended * Mental age norms for boti tests of the Army Scale were worked out by Dr. Samuel Kohs and the writer. It was found that about fifteen points of raw score on Examination a and Examination Alpha corresponded roughly to a mental age year. Possible raw score. Examination u. 2S7. possible mer.tal sg^e twenty-three years ; possible raw score. Alpha 212. possible mental age 23 years and 2 months. See Appendix. 20 PSrCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE to lower the correlation. The army tests were designed for use with soldiers in cantonments. Many of the questions have to do with matters of common knowledge about a military camp, but with which high-school pupils have no acquaintance. This would especially afiFect the scores of high-school girls. There are twenty cases falling in I.Q. groups below 95, where the indicated school work is of a quality of 80 percent or above, and fifteen of these cases, or 75 percent, are girls. Another factor which may have tended to lower the correla- tion is the skewness of the school marks curve toward the high percents. The median school marks group in Table III is 80-84. TABI,E III. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE I. Q.'S OF ARMY GROUP EXAMINATION a AND THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL WORK OF 494 HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS Army Group Examination a I. Q.'s School Marks 84 or Lower 85- 89 90- 94 95- 99 100- 104 105- 109 (Median) 110- 114 115- 119 120- 124 125 or Above Totals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 s » 10 // 12 3 5 2 9 2 18 3 24 6 22 6 24 6 8 6 4 34 85-89 114 80-84 (Me- dian) .... 1 2 9 28 41 46 30 13 9 3 182 75-79 70-74 65-69 1 2 3 3 1 9 4 1 19 14 4 19 11 1 19 11 1 1 19 7 2 7 1 1 2 1 98 54 u 55-64 Totals 4 9 31 76 92 105 86 52 26 13 494 Medians: I. Q.'s, group, 105-109; school marks, group 80-84 Semi-interquartile ranges: I. Q.'s, 6 points; school marks, 4% percent Correlation, Pearson's formula, 0.343; P. E., 0.027 This represents a grade of "B" or "2." It is necessary for these high-school pupils to receive marks of "B" or "2" in all subjects required for university recommendation. The Palo Alto High TESTS AND SCHOOL SUCCESS 21 School is in close proximity to Stanford University, and the Oak- land high schools are in the immediate vicinity of the University of California. The fact that 68.8 percent of the grades given to these 494 high-school pupils were "B" or above is an indication tliat teachers were influenced in their marking by the demand for "B" grades for university recommendation. Many pupils with just average ability were given marks superior. Hence there might be a rather wide difference between their mental ability as shown by the tests and their school progress as shown by their marks. 2. Anity Scale, Group Examination Alplia. — Table IV com- pares the I.O.'s of 480 of the high-school pupils of San Mateo, Redwood City, Mountain \'iew, and Santa Clara with tlieir school marks. There were 624 pupils belonging to these high schools who took Examination Alpha, but only 480 cases came under the rule requiring ratings for one whole year of school work. TABLE IV. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE I. Q.'s OF THE ARMY GROUP EXAMINATION ALPHA AND THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL WORK OF 4S0 HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS Army Group Examination Alpha I. Q's. School Marks 84 or Lower 85- 89 90- 94 95- 99 100- 104 105- 109 110- 114 115- 119 120- 124 125 or Above Totals t 2 3 4 ' 6 7 S to 11 12 90 or over. 3 8 6 3 17 15 15 21 12 24 20 9 13 10 9 6 5 5 6 1 56 85-89 89 SO-84 4 89 75-79 (Me- dian) ... 7 25 ;^ 25 10 7 4 109 70-74 4 3 10 3 2 18 12 5 14 1 3 22 8 1 12 8 1 1 1 1 82 65-69 1 43 55hS4 12 Totals 1 7 26 77 99 105 87 41 25 12 480 Medians: I. Q.'s, group 105-109; school marks, groups 75-79 Semi-interquaxtile ranges: I. Q.'s. 6 points; school marks, 6^^ percent Correlation, Pearson's formula, 0.413; P. E., 0.026 22 PSTCSOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE The correlation obtained in Table IV (+ 0.413) is 15.9 times the indicated P. E. and 0.07 higher than the correlation found in Table III. The higher correlation found in this table may be due to the fact that Examination Alpha was the result of care- ful revision of the first series of tests in the light of preliminary experimentation in three army cantonments and of the returns from the tests of several thousand school children. Also, the high schools in which Examination Alpha was applied were not in such close proximity to universities as were the high schools rep- resented in Table III. The group median for school marks is 75-79, and only 48.8 percent of the ratings given in these four high schools ranged as high as "B" or over. When account is taken of the possible reasons for the differ- ence in the correlations as shown in Tables III and IV, it is safe to say that they are of approximately equal value. For use in the public schools Examination Alpha is the better scale, because it consists of but eight tests, can be given in less time, is scored more rapidly, and costs less to print. TABLE V. DISTRIBUTION ON APRIL 1, 1919, OF 107 HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS TESTED WITH STANFORD- BINET SCALE IN 1916-1917 Binet I. Q.'s Earned in 1916-1917 Total Number of Cases Distribution April 1, 1919, by Percents Out at Work (%) Out,Transfer'd to Other High Schools (%) Remaining in Same High School (%) / 2 3 ■1 5 79 or lower 80-89 1 7 29 27 22 IS 6 100 72 31 22 14 9 22 27 13 33 14 90-99 60 100-109 56 110-119 73 120-129 87 130 or above 67 No. of cases 107 21 20 66 Median I. Q.'s 94 110 110 tests and school success 23 Individual and Group Mentai. Tests as Means of Indicating Probable Retention or Elim- ination OE HiGH-ScHOOE PUPIES 1. Blimination among pupils tested with the Stanford-Binet Scale. — On the first day of April, 1919, it was found that 41 of the original 107 pupils tested in 1916-1917 with the Stanford- Binet Scale had dropped out of school, leaving 66 still in attend- ance. Table V gives the distribution of the 107 cases, showing the I.Q.'s of pupils who left high school to go to work, of pupils who were transferred to other high schools, and of pupils who still remain in the same high school. The only pupil testing below 80 I.Q dropped out at the end of the first semester of 1916-17 to go to work. All of those in group 80-89 who left school to go to work did so by the end of the first year. Failure in school work has been recognized as the most fruitful cause of elimination from high school, but the rela- tion between mental ability and failure in school work has not heretofore been given due consideration. At the end of two and one-half years none of those testing below 80 and only 28 per- cent of those testing 80-89 remain in high school. On the other hand, 100 percent of those testing 110 or over are pursuing their studies either in the Palo Alto High School or in other high schools. When the average school ratings of the different groups are taken into account the close connection between mentality and elimination will be still more apparent. The average school rat- ing of the 21 who left school to go to work was 72) percent; of the 20 transferred to other high schools, 77 percent; and of the 66 remaining in the Palo Alto High School, 79 percent. 2. Blimination among pupils tested with the Army Bxamitia- tion a and Alpha. — Only five of the eight high schools where the Army Scale was applied were selected for follow-up work in con- nection with elimination because the records of the three Oak- land high schools did not indicate whether the pupil leaving had been transferred to another high school or had gone to work. In the case of the Palo Alto, San Mateo, Redwood City, Mountain 24 PSTCSOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE View, and Santa Clara high schools, it was comparatively easy to secure reliable data with reference to every pupil who took the test. The principals of all these schools had served in their re- spective positions from four to fourteen years, knew their pupils thoroughly, and had on record information concerning the move- ments of those who had left school since the giving of the Army Tests in 1917-1918. Table VI gives for those tested with the Army Scale a dis- tribution similar to that contained in Table V for the 107 tested with the Stanford-Binet Scale. The 955 pupils of the five high schools above mentioned have been distributed by I.Q.'s into four groups : ( 1 ) those who left high school to go to work ; (2) those who transferred to some other high school ; (3) those who grad- uated ; (4) those remaining in high school on April 1, 1919. The follow-up work covered one and one-half years of school work. Figure 1 illustrates graphically the data of Table VI. TABLE VI. DISTRIBUTION OF 955 HIGH-SCHOOI, PUPILS ON APRIL 1, 1919, WHO WERE TESTED WITH ARMY TESTS IN 1917-1918 BY I. Q. GROUPS Total Number of Cases Distribution on April 1, 1919, by Percents Army Scale I. Q.'s Earned 1917-1918 Out at Work (%) Out, Trans- ferred to Other High School (%) Out by Graduation (%) Remaining in Same High School (%) 1 2 3 4 5 tf 79 or lower 80-89 90-99 13 73 202 283 221 101 62 61. S 34.3 26.2 12.3 4.0 6.9 1.6 7.7 8.2 8.9 8.8 14.5 11.8 9.8 0.0 5.5 11.4 14.1 23.0 19.8 24.6 30.8 52.0 53.5 100-109 110-119 120-129 130 or over 64.8 58.S 61.4 64.0 No. of Cases . . 955 138 100 153 546 Median I. Q.'s. 96 110 111 107 Percent I. Q.'s below 100... 62.4 25.0 17.6 26 5 TESTS AND SCBOOL SUCCESS 25 , I.i. '• ?y or Co - 69 90 - 99 ICO-109 110-119.120-1^9 13:;- or • lower ' 6i.cve d — ■■ ■ Cut 'at ■ork", I3B casea *^ ■ "trii-afdr-, 100 • K ■»-♦■•■■»-♦♦♦♦*" "frnd-jit ion" , 153 * FIGURE 1. ILLUSTRATING TABLE VI In tliis table there appears to be a strong confirmation of tlie findings of Table V, as the following comparison will show : TABLE VL\. MEDIAN I. Q.'S BY GROUPS Out at Work Out, Transferred to Other High School Remaining in Same High School 1 2 J 4 Table V 94 96 110 110 110 Table Xl 107 TABLE VIB. PERCENT OF PUPILS IX EACH GROUP WHOSE I Q.'S WERE BELOW 100 Out at Work Out, Transferred to other High Schools Remaining in Same High School / I 3 4 Table V 71.4 62.4 20.0 25.0 27.0 Table M; 26.5 26 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE The agreement between the two tables is the more striking when it is remembered that the 107 high-school pupils of Table V were all first-year pupils when the tests were given, while the 955 pupils of Table VI comprise all the classes of five different schools. The tendency, noted in the discussion of Table II, for girls to make lower scores on the Army Scale than boys accounts for the 5.5 percent of pupils with I.Q.'s of 80-89 who appear in the "out by graduation" group. These four pupils were all girls, and their average rating in school work was 83 percent. Table VII indicates how school marks tend to correspond to mental level as indicated by I.Q.'s earned in the Army Tests. Considering the "at work" cases, it appears that only the three highest I.Q. groups were doing a passing grade of work. Lack TABLE VII. AVERAGE SCHOOL MARKS OF 955 HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS, DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO THE CAUSES OF LEAVING Cause of Leaving 79 I. Q. or Lower 80- 89 LQ. 90- 99 LQ. lOO- 109 LQ. 110- 119 LQ. 120- 129 LQ. 130 I. Q. or Higher General Average 1 2 3 4 5 « 7 S 9 At work 65 59 64 67 83 72 76 79 66 72 84 70 82 85 75 85 84 87 86 92 71.3 75.3 Graduated 84 5 Average marks I. Q. groups. . by 62.0 71.3 75.6 74.0 79.0 81.3 88.3 77.3 of mental ability was perhaps the most potent cause of elimina- tion, but it was not the only cause operating in these cases. When interest in the subjects offered, application, and ambition are lack- ing, high scores in the mental tests are not necessarily a guarantee of school success. Turning now to the pupils transferred to other high schools, it appears that they made better average marks under every I.Q. group, except the very lowest, than did the "at work" pupils; but it is evident that some of them transferred to other high schools because of failure in school work. Later TESTS AND SCEOOL SUCCESS 27 checking up will no doubt find them out of school entirely. All of the cases in the "out by graduation" group show high aver- age school marks, even those whose I.O. is between 80 and 89. These are the same four cases discussed in connection with Table VI. They illustrate how necessary it is for those em- ploying mental tests to be conservative in accepting the results of any single test as final. When the school marks earned by all of these "out" groups are averaged a series of marks is obtained, ascending gradually from the lowest to the highest I.O. ratings, which indicates a definite tendency for the quality of school work to correspond to the mental level indicated by the Army Tests. A further following-up of the 153 who graduated from the five high schools between September, 1917, and April, 1919, brought out the fact that 94 of them were continuing their edu- cation in college, university, or normal school. The median I.Q. of those going on to higher educational institutions was found to be 116. One high-school girl, who earned an I.Q. of 140 on the Army Scale, graduated from the San Mateo High School at the age of fourteen years and five months. Because of the minimum age limit of fifteen years for entrance to the university, she was compelled to wait seven months before continuing her education. Had her case been included in the "at college" group, the median I.Q. would have been 118. Taking into account all of the cases of high-school pupils tested either by the individual or group method of mental exami- nation we find the following ascending scale of median I.Q.'s as a further indication that the psychological tests disclosed the approximate mental level of the cases discussed in the foregoing tables : first-year high-school pupils, median I.O. 105 ; high- school graduates, 111; those going on to college, 116. Summary 1. Individual and group mental tests of the types described have been shown to be sufficiently reliable to justify their use as aids in determining the mental level of high-school pupils. 28 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE 2. Group tests, such as Army Scale Examinations a and Alpha, make possible a preliminary mental survey of an entire high-school population at the beginning of a school year. The resulting raw scores will be found to be of great value in group- ing the pupils according to ability. Such tests should always be supplemented with every other possible means of discovering the mental level. The results should be considered tentative and subject to revision in the light of later developments. 3. The high-school principal who makes such a preliminary mental survey of his pupils can be reasonably sure that 50 per- cent of those who test below normal will be eliminated within the first two years ; that 25 percent additional of the subnormal group will have been transferred to other high schools because of failure in their school work ; and that a negligible number will ever graduate. With this information at hand he can plan the curriculums of his pupils more intelligently. Discovering at the outset that from 15 to 30 percent of his pupils are incapable of succeeding in the conventional high-school subjects, he will un- dertake to make new adjustments to meet the situation. There will be fewer failures ; more pupils will remain to take work that is adapted to their needs and capacities ; and the high school will be less open to the charge of catering only to the intellectual aristocracy among its pupils. CHAPTER III THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN THE EDU- CATIONAL GUIDANCE OF HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS In the previous chapter the writer has shown that there is a very close relationship between intelligence level and the elim- ination of pupils from high school. There are good grounds for the prediction that 75 percent of those who test below average, mentally, will fail in more than one-half of their studies during their first year of high school ; that 50 percent of them will leave school to go to work during the first two years ; and that none of them will remain to graduate. The members of this group demand special attention. If they are not carefully guided in the selection of their high-school work many of them will fail in all of their subjects during the first semester, with elimination as the inevitable result. Heretofore we have acted upon the assumption that the only way to discover tlie capabilities of high-school pupils was to per- mit them to try themselves out in various subjects of the high- school curriculum. It has even been a common practice to require all first-year high-school pupils to take an abstract subject such as algebra. Thus many a promising educational bark has gone down on the uncharted rocks of the first-year high-school subjects. Experimentation with psychological tests has now reached a stage where we can begin to hope that this wasteful trial and error method of procedure is to be discarded for a more scientific plan of educational guidance. No tests have yet been devised, either mental or pedagogical, which enable the adviser to chart unerr- ingly the educational possibilities of a given youth, but we have made sufficient progress in mental measurements to be able to estimate with approximate accuracy the probable school success of a given pupil. The results of a practical experiment in edu- cational guidance by means of mental tests will be described in the following pages. 29 30 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE Conditions Surrounding the Experiment The mid-year viii-a class of the Palo Alto intermediate school comprising 31 pupils was examined with the Stanford-Binet Scale in January, 1918. Figure 2 shows the distribution of in- i.v» 150 1*5 i«o 135 130 125 120 115 uo- 105 ipo 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 Chronolog- 16 Years IS Years 14 Years 13 Years ical Age 4 Cases 7 Cases 8 Cases 12 Cases FIGURE 2. II^IvUSTRATlNG DISTRIBUTION OF VIII-A^ PUPILS BY I.Q.'S AND CHRONOEOGICAI, AGES telligence quotients by chronological age groups. There were twelve thirteen-year-old pupils, eight fourteen-year-old, seven fifteen-year-old, and four sixteen-year-old pupils examined. The ^ In grade designations " A " means ' ' second half. ' ' EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE 31 lowest I.Q. discovered in the thirteen-year-old group was 110. All of the thirteen-year-olds were, therefore, accelerated mentally. None of the fourteen-year-old group fell below 95 I.Q. They were all at or above age mentally. One fifteen-year-old had an I.Q. of 90 and would be listed as "below average" in intelligence. Of the four sixteen-year-old pupils, all of whom would be ac- counted chronologically retarded, three had I.Q.'s of 88, and one an I.Q. of 96. That is to say, one of the sixteen-year-olds was normal and three would rate as "dull-normal." Of the 31 members of the viii-a class, 22 entered the Palo Alto High School in February, 1918. Four members of the class entered secondary schools elsewhere, two entered business col- leges, two went to work, and one, a girl with an I.Q. of 88, eloped with a soldier from a nearby encampment. Only four members of this viii-a class had earned I.Q.'s be- low 95. One of these, as just indicated, did not enter high school. The remaining three entered high school, but two of them dropped out before the end of the first year. The percent of elimination from the class of those who tested below 95 I.Q. was therefore 75.0. The one who remains in high school is mak- ing an average record in scholarship. She made a rating of "average" on an Army Test given a few weeks later, and has shown herself capable of diligent application to her school work. Each member of the class was questioned as to his or her vocational ambition, educational plans, and the subjects which he or she would like to take up during the first year of high school. These data, as well as results attained in Stanford-Binet and Army Mental Tests, were recorded on cards. Use Made; of Information Gathered The cooperation of the vice-principal and the adviser of the entering class was obtained in order that the members of the viii-a class might receive intelligent educational guidance when they entered the high school. Duplicate sets of cards were prepared for the use of these persons. On registration day all the newly 32 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE entered viii-a graduates were referred to the vice-principal or the class adviser for help in making out their curriculums. No one was permitted to file a study card without this conference. Following are samples of the cards used in this experiment in educational guidance. The only change from the original is in the case of the name. CARD NO. 1 Smith, Jane Chronological age: 13 yrs , , 9 mo. Score Army Scale. . . 151 Stanford-Binet mental age: Army Scale mental age: 16 JTS . , 3 mO . 17 yrs . , 5 mo . Army Scale I. Q 124 Stanford-Binet I. Q 118 High school subjects which Educational plans: pupil desires to take: To finish, high Sewing school and take Jrench business college Hi s 1 ry c ours e . Typewriting Vocational ambition: To he Piano a stenographer or hookkeeper. Grade of work done in intermediate and grammar schools: "B" and "B+" Comment of Examiner: If assigned to al- gehra can safely "be placed in first "rapid progress" division. Jane Smith was advised to take subjects that would make it possible for her to go on to college as well as to carry out her ambition to become a stenographer. She took up English, Ger- man, algebra, and typewriting. During the first semester of her high-school course she made an average of "B" in all of her subjects. Card No. 2 relates to Mary Jones who took exactly the sub- jects outlined on her card, except that being a first-year pupil she EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE 33 was permitted to take four subjects only and had to wait until her second year for drawing. At the end of the first semester in high school she had earned three "A" grades and a "B+," with an average of 93 percent. CARD NO. 2 Jones, Mary Chronological age: 13 yrs ., 1 mo . Score Army Scale. . .148 Stanford-Binet mental age: 17 yrs . , 2 mo. Army Scale, mental age: 17 yrs . , 2 mo. Army Scale I. Q 131 Stanford-Binet I. Q 131 High school subjects which Educational plans: pupil desires to take: To finish high English school and attend Alge"bra a university or Latin normal school. History Vocational ambition: To Drawing become a drawing teacher. Grade of work done in grammar and intermediate schools : " A " Comment of Examiner: KnOWS jUSt Where She is going and how to get there. May safely be permitted to select her own course of study. Assign to first division in algebra. Here was the case of a girl with very superior ability as in- dicated by two different mental examinations, by her school rec- ord and by the estimates of her elementary and intermediate school teachers. She gave evidence of being an independent thinker, of knowing just what she wanted to make of herself, and just what she would have to do by way of preparation. The necessity for educational and vocational guidance in her case 34 FSTCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE might well be questioned. However, it was a real advantage to her teachers to know at the very beginning of her high-school CARD NO. 3 Roe, Richard chronological age: 14 yrs., 4 mos . Score Army Scale ... 1 5 Stanf ord-Binet mental age: Army Scale mental age: 16 jrs . 9 mO . 17 yrs . , 4 mo . Army Scale I. Q 120 Stanford-Binet I. Q 117 High school subjects which Educational plans: pupil desires to take: To finish high English school then at- History tend a university Algebra or the U. S. French naval academy. Vocational ambition: Chemi- cal engineer or naval officer. Grade of work done in elementary and intermediate schools: Very poor. Estimated as "average" by some grade teachers , and as "below average" by others. Comment of Examiner: Boy has ability but needs to be waked up. Suggest that he take general science in place of history for first year. Also suggest that he be placed in first division in alge- bra where he will have to work. He will need to develop ability in both science and mathematics if he is to follow his vocational ambition. career the quality of her ability and something of her life plans in order thet they might give immediate and sympathetic co- EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE 35 operation. Without this knowledge they might have made the mistake of holding her back to the pace of the "average" pupil. Fortified by the facts relative to her mental gifts and vocational ambitions, she is to be permitted to complete her high-school course in three years. CARD NO. 4 Brown, Carrie Chronological age: 15 yrs . , Score Army Scale. . . 100 7 mO . Army Scale mental age: Stanford-Binet mental age: 14 yrs., mo., 14 yrs. , 2 mo . Army Scale I. Q 89 Stanford-Binet I. Q 90 High school subjects which pupil desires to take: Educational plans: English To go to Mills Algelora College Latin Vocational ambition : T be Typing a Chemist. Drawing Grade of work done in intermediate and grammar schools: Grades in 8A class only fair, even in work that is "being repeated. Estimates of elementary and inter- mediate teachers: "slow" but a conscientious worker. Comment of Examiner: Should be discour- aged as to taking Latin. Algebra doubtful, but if she insists in view of desire to go to college, assign to second division. There is just as much danger that the bright pupil will not be given enough to do, as that the dull pupil will be given tasks that are too difficult to perform. The boy whose card is set forth above enrolled fpr English, algebra, history, and general science, upon entering high school. During his first half year he made grades of "C" in English, and 36 FSTCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE "B" in each of his other subjects. This was a great improve- ment over the grades earned by him in the eighth grade. A re- cent checking up shows that he has brought up his English grade and is maintaining college recommendation standing in all his work. The mental tests were an aid to his advisers in discovering how to spur him on to creditable achievement in his school work. The program finally worked out by Carrie Brown and the class adviser included English, algebra, free-hand drawing, and typing. Her grades at the end of the first semester in high school were: English, "C"; algebra, "E" (failure); free-hand draw- ing, "C" ; typing, "B." She had failed in algebra, the subject counted as doubtful by the examiner, and had earned less than college recommendation grades in the only other subjects that would be counted toward entrance to Mills College. Even if she completes high school her chance of continuing in college is not at all bright. A suflficient number of sample cards has been described to illustrate the method employed. There was no coercion. Coun- sel and advice in the selection of subjects were all that was at- tempted, but the counsel and advice offered were based on all the significant information with regard to mental ability, school suc- cess, vocational ambition, and teachers' estimates of ability that could be obtained. Certain pupils elected to take subjects which the advisers felt sure they would fail in and made passing grades. Others taking subjects on the advice of the counselors failed. Such cases simply illustrate the truth that no human agency, however fortified with information or however careful to mix common sense with theories, can hope to be infallible. The gen- eral results of the experiment, however, were very satisfactory. Resui,ts Attained by "Guided" and "Unguided" HiGH-ScHoot Pupils The original group of 107 high-school pupils which entered the Palo Alto High School in September, 1916, were examined with the Stanford-Binet Scale after entering high school. They EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE 37 had already selected their courses of study at the time of being examined. They may therefore properly be designated as the "unguided" group. A comparison of the first year's work done by the members of the "unguided" group with the work done by the group of 22 that entered high school in February, 1918, and which had the benefit of counsel based on mental tests and other significant data, will illustrate the value of careful guidance as against the trial and error method of selecting high-school courses of study. TABIDS VIII. COMPARATIVE FACTS REGARDING "GUIDEd" AND "unguided" groups of HIGH-sgHOOE PUPIES Group Out at Work Per- cent Out by Transfer Per- cent Failed 1 Subject Per- cent Failed 2 or More Per- cent Guided Unguided . . 1 13 4.5 12.1 2 14 9.1 13.1 4 33 18.2 30.8 11 0.0 10.3 It is not exactly true to fact to designate the original group of 107 as the "unguided" group. Most of them had been examined with the Stanford-Binet before the end of the first six-week period. Whenever the results of the first six weeks of school work confirmed the indications of the mental tests that a pupil >vould probably fail in such abstract subjects as algebra, Latin, etc., that pupil was permitted to drop the subject and continue the semester carrying but three subjects. The subject dropped at the end of the first six-week period was not counted as a fail- ure in compiling the data for Table VIII. The mental tests were utilized to aid in correcting the mistakes made by the pupils in the unguided selection of their subjects. To this extent, then, the original group was guided, but the guidance came after, not before school work was begun. The number of failures registered against the "unguided" group at the end of their first year in high school would undoubt- edly have been greatly increased if it had not been for the lim- ited guidance above described. This fact gives greater signifi- cance to the data presented in Table VIII. 38 FSYCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE The median I.Q. of the unguided group was 105, and the median I.Q. of the guided group was 108, a difiference of three points in favor of the guided group, but this is not in itself an adequate explanation of the superior record made by the guided group during its first year in high school. The most significant facts to be found in Table VIII are those relating to number of failures in one subject, and in two or more subjects. It appears that 30.8 percent of the unguided group failed in one subject, and 10.3 percent failed in two or more sub- jects during their first year in high school, while of the guided group only 18.2 percent failed in one subject and none of them failed in two subjects. Since it has been shown that failures in school work tend to increase the percent of elimination it is rea- sonable to attribute the small percent of elimination due to leav- ing high school to go to work, in the case of the guided group, to entire absence of failures in two or more subjects. The results of the above described experiment in educational guidance by means of mental tests would seem to justify the con- clusion that such tests may be of material assistance to the high- school administrator, if used in connection with other significant data. It is certain that the methods applied in this instance, if employed in any high school, would prove greatly superior to the wasteful "trial and error" methods that now prevail. TABLE IX. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN I.Q. S AND GRADES IN AEGEBRA OE 113 HIGH-SCHOOE PUPIES Algebra Grades I. Q.'s (Stanford-Binet) 80- 84 85- 89 90- 94 9&- 99 100- 104 105- 109 110- 114 115- 119 120- 124 125- over Totals "A" 2 1 3 1 7 5 1 2 5 3 1 2 5 3 3 5 2 3 1 11 "B+"... 10 "B" 2 1 2 4 3 5 1 2 3 7 6 ..... 3 2 1 1 1 36 "C" 32 "C-" 3 "D" 1 3 '"'5' i 2 6 "E" 1 15 Totals. . 1 7 H 16 15 11 16 11 11 14 113 Correlation (Pearson): 0.46 Probable error: 0.05 educational guidance 39 Relation op General Level of Intelligence to Success IN A Given Subject In Table IX is shown the correlation between general levels of intelligence and high-school grades in algebra. The algebra grades are recorded under the letters A, B+, B, C, C — , D, and E. The I.O.'s come under the groups 85-89, 90-94, 95-99, etc- The correlation obtained, 0.46, which is nine times the prob- able error, can be counted as having considerable significance. An examination of the data contained in Table IX will show that twelve of tlie fifteen failures in algebra, or 80.0 percent of the total number of failures, were earned by pupils with I.Q.'s below 100. There were 35 pupils having I.O.'s below 100, and 26 of them, or 74.3 percent earned marks below "B," which is the col- lege recommendation grade in California. On the other hand there were 78 pupils with I.O.'s above 100, and 45 of these, or 63.0 percent, earned marks of "B" or above. An I.O. of 120 or over denotes very superior intelligence. There are 25 cases with I.Q.'s 120 or over in Table IX. All of these succeeded in earning pass- ing grades in algebra. Only one received a mark as low as "C — ." High-school statistics show that algebra is responsible for more failures of first-year pupils than any other subject. Table IX suggests that probable success or failure in algebra can be inferred from the general level of intelligence as disclosed by mental tests. It follows that the high percent of failure in algebra could be materially reduced if only those were encouraged to take the subject whose general level of intelligence measured up to average or better. Relation of Score in a Particular Mental Test to Suc- cess IN A Given High-School Subject Test No. 9, in Army Scale, Group Examinations a and h, is a "word relations" test. It involves a knowledge of word meanings and also the ability to use words intelligently in their proper re- lations to one another. Table X compares the scores made by 171 first-year pupils of the Palo Alto High School in Test No. 9 40 PSTCSOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE with the grades made by the same pupils in English during their first high-school year. The directions for giving the test are as follows : In each of the lines below, the first two words have a certain rela- tion. Notice that relation and draw a line under the one word in the parenthesis which has that particular relation to the third word; Begin with No. I and mark as many sets as you can before time is called. TABI,E X. C0RREI 102 c 69 105 107 B + 70 105 D 71 104 124 c+ 72 104 107 B 73 104 101 c+ 74 103 121 B 75 103 104 B 76 103 101 B 77 103 97 B 78 102 114 B + 79 102 112 C SO 102 C 81 101 ii? B 82 101 ... B 83 100 122 B + 84 100 120 D+ 85 100 109 D+ m KHI 104 B 87 100 101 Inc. 88 100 101 B 89 KKI 101 B- 9(1 99 108 C+ 91 99 C+ 92 HS 115 B- 93 98 112 B 94 98 112 D + 95 98 110 B flfi 98 100 C- 97 97 104 S- 98 97 103 C 99 97 102 B- Gr. HS. Mar. Gr. HS. Lab. University HS. lyr. Bus. University Gr. HS. Mar. Gr. HS. Mar. University University HS.2Hyr. Bus. University Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Mech. Gr. HS. Bus. University University University HS. lyr. Mar. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Mar. HS. Myr. Lab. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Bus. HS. lyr. Hm. Gr. HS. Mech. Gr. HS. Bus. HS. 2yT. Bus. Gr.HS.Bk-kp. University Normal Sch. Gr. HS. Bus. University FOTTRTF QtTARTER 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 97 97 97 96 96 95 95 94 94 94 93 93 93 93 92 91 91 91 90 90 90 90 89 88 88 87 87 85 85 83 82 79 B- 92 C+ HI (', 99 B C- 110 R- 97 B 115 <;+ 107 n D 125 B 112 (;+ 101 C+ H5 B a 103 H 97 B- C- 102 H- 90 c+ Inc. 89 O- H7 B- c+ 80 D+ D + 95 D+ u+ HO B D C- C+ HS. lyr. Lab. HS. ^. Hm. HS. lyr. Lab. Gr.HS. Nurse HS. lyr. Mar. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Bus. HS.2Myr.Sew HS. lyr. Lab. University University University University HS. Kyr. Hm. Gr. HS. Bus. HS. 3yr. Bus. HS. lyr. Mar. Gr. HS. Bus. Gr. HS. Bus. HS. Hyr. Lab. HS. Hyr. Mar. Gr. HS. Bus. HS.J4yr.Bus. HS.2yr.Mar. HS.3Jiyr.Lab, HS. lyr. Lab. HS.2yr.Carp. HS.2yr.Mar. HS.lMyr.Hm. HS.Hyr.Mar. HS. Hyr. Hm, Explanation o/abbreciaiiant in Tabu XI. "University," means any standard College or Umversitar. Specific institution* named in Tables XII and XIII. "Gr. HS. Bus.", means graduated from High School and now engaged in some Trade or Commercial occupation. "HS. lyr. Bus.", means left high school at end of one year and now engaged (in Trade or Commer- cial occupation. "Mar.", means, married. "Hm.", means at home, occupation not known "Mech.", means engaged m some mechanical occupation. "HS. lyr. Lab.'', means, left high school at the end of one year and now engaged in unskilled labor. CASES FOLLOWED UP 47 quarter is B ; that of the girls is B +. In the second quarter the median mark of the boys is B — ; that of the girls B. Consid- ering all the cases, we find the median high-school mark of the boys to be B — , equivalent to 80 percent, and that of the girls to be B, equivalent to 85 percent. Eleven percent of the boys and seven percent of the girls made straight A or A — records during their high-school courses. It should be noted that all of these A and A — records w^ere made by pupils in the top half of the distribution, and that 75 percent of such records were made by those in the top quarter. 2. Discussion of Table XII (a). — Data regarding high- school pupils who did not finish their high-school education are gene;rai< summary of table xi by quarters (Showing number and percent of cases in each quarter unth- drazving from H. S., graduating from H. S., in higher institutions, etc.) Did not Grad'ted Now in Median H. S. Marks Number of Cases QUABTBB t^aduate from H. S. from H. higher institu- tion Meaian I.Q. Boys Girls Total No. % No. % No. % Binet Group % Letter No. % No. % 1st. (top).. 2nd 3rd 4th 4 6 20 00. 13. 20. 67. 3 7 16 8 9, 20. 47. 24. 30 22 11 4 45. 33. 16. 6. 125 113 100 91 128 112 107 97 87. 85. 80. 78. B + B B- C+ 23 19 14 16 32. 26. 20. 22. 10 14 19 16 17. 23. 33. 27. 33 33 33 32 30 100. 34 100. 67 100. 106 109 84. B 72 100. 59 100. 131 SUMMARY OF HIGH-SCH00I< MARKS (table XI) BY QUARTERS Boys Girls Mabks Quarters Total Quarters Total Total ] 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 A, A- B-H B B- g+ C- D+, D E, Inc. 5 5 7 5 1 3 2 4 4 3 3 1 2 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 4 4 1 4 1 8 8 15 15 10 7 1 6 2 3 3 3 1 1 6 3 2 2 2 9 2 3 1 2 4 1 3 2 4 2 i 6 8 3 4 4 12 19 34 21 18 10 5 10 2 Totals 23 19 14 16 72 10 14 19 16 59 131 Median H. S Median I. Q. Mark, Boys, Boys "B — ", Binet, "109". r80%. Median H. S. Mark, Girls "B", or 85%. Median I Q , Girls, Binet. ■■103". 48 PSTCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE assembled in Table XII (a). In the summary of Table XI it appeared that 87 percent of those who did not complete their high-school course were found in the lower half of the ability- distribution. In Table XII (a) we note that the median I.Q. of the group is 94, with the range of the middle 50 percent from 88 to 99. If an intelligence quotient of 95 is taken as the lower limit of average ability, then 50 percent of the cases in this table have less than average ability. Achievement in high-school subjects is likewise found to be below average. On a percentile basis the median mark for the entire 131 cases falls at 84 percent, which is nearer a B than a B — . The median mark for the 30 cases in Table XII (a) is C — , or 70 percent — 14 points below the average for the entire group. Thirty percent of the pupils in this group have marks of D-|-, D, E, or Incomplete. An average of D4- implies failure in about one-half of the subjects taken, where the pupils were in school more than one-half of a school year, or a very low grade of work in all subjects taken. The relation of school progress and intelligence to social status will be taken up later, but it should be observed in passing that 30 percent of the pupils reported in Table XII (a) did not give their fathers' occupations, and that 63 percent did not give either vocational ambitions or educational plans, although they were asked to give all these data at the time the mental tests were given. A final point of interest in this table is the length of time spent in high school. Six dropped out at the end of the first half year, and five of these had I.Q.'s below 94. An additional 11 dropped out by the end of the first year, making 57 percent of elimination after one school year. Seven more were eliminated by the end of the second year, making a total elimination of 80 percent up to that time. The remaining six pupils secured 2}^, 3, or 3j/2 years of high-school training before dropping out. Investigation of individual cases fails to reveal any pronounced relationship between the economic status of the home and the elimination of the pupil. The outstanding causes appear to be : CASES FOLLOWED UP 49 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hJ ^ ^ t^ ti ^ ^ »^ o fleo ca -» oi c3 c3 ca * 03 o ocs ■ . a " . . a J, .a, a. -a. a. W ^2 m .ja m., OS mm,, S ■i a "rT'm'Tf ^m^^ir . P^ ? a |i2i|ll infill ii a 3 K o U 3 J -tJ-rt 3_Q 3,2 Srj 3 K t7-*^ a -i^ osa oia oSa oia oi S 00 K _^ ►J 2;om^3wow*jaoo;z;wz ■4 a .^ OjCQ H :?! :s :^ :?;:ij:s :s :s :^ l«s '^^5M(^^|^^'-c ^ ^iNco-H-nrt c^i i-H COrt (N CO (N I-H N •-I rt 8^ 1 ^ tr ■^ o ^ "o 2 s 3 3 a a^ 000 .00 . a a .ea^-aaa aaao . (U VTi Q> ^rR £; **o £.£; Si's £; & ^ ^r^ 'S;'-''3!'3) 'Sb'Sii'S) g "Sc'Sd'mSd'-^ Q 5 ° IV -*j H 0300-- 000000003 am^|z;§2;!z;^z:z;^2;Zpa 02 "3 c . a>>daa -t?a a a a^ a a aa aaa aaaa h-T *■*— » .S -*J,' aiS(DQj^^^a)Qj "^iJo^oa Q) ">>>ga>> 9!>>a S'Sb .'Sb'M'aa.S'a'Sbg^'a'EbS > '3d .> !i,>.>.2.>.>.£: S.>.>.>.> M be M M a MM M^ M bO M bO t,oaoojaa->o-gaa "" a! 0^ S 3 a S a 00 oj S 'm to &i Q -»^ Sfc.a-eaa .-g&3ao3-*e-s c303oOoO-^^OOMOa>OO -S ^ foOOlziOO^^HHOrt^;^ bC . cc gGQ^ ++ S++++ 1 1 \ \ i\ +++ ++ 1 + 5 "^ oooocqQtSooPaomoo Q OmOwOOOQmQQQQO ^1 OOC^lCC ■ i-» -i-IO ■ C -— ' 1-Hi— (r- ojojoioiasooooooooooooooooi^ HH w wmopQOnmoomopQmoo CQ ooocqomocQOnmooo S ^ .-llNro-*lOtDt>0005O-HNC<3T)-(C<)C-l O -OOOOr-i -rt T— ( r-t 1-H r-(i-H I— ( tH tH F- ( • fH iH T-t i-H 1— ( • tH OS o ■*T-lrtOOONiffl«05t-0"5CONON OOOOi-ii-M»-(O0S05i-0i l-H 1-H 1— ( IH I— 1 T-( F-( 1— I 1— (I— (i-4tH 2S3S5SSSSIi2s°°°° 8 00005000000t^cDlOlO-*rHOOO> oooosG30)03030s03C>^a^oaooo 1 mooooonoop3P50oop;oo o OOcqmOmpQMOOpqOO««m 1 a rtCqpS'^WtOb-ooaiO— iNto-^iotOb- 1 00 050'-(c^coTjt--ooaio»-(NM-* •-t>t2t3t>P>t>Pp)p Vocational ambition in H. S. .>|i§|§o|ii||||^|||||| CI DQ O ^ ^a-|.^.g.^p:i|.>^ g^^-^^-a ^-g «^ Average H. S. marks +11 +II++I 1+ II Mfq<iO^"*C0M.-li-I^OSt-~l>>O'OTj(Tf(C0C0C0IN .*COCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOIMIM(N(MIMC^o-^ 54 PSTCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE ++ +11 I ++ + +1 111+ oomQmonupQOooQoopsooopQooo 4-1 ^i ^1 ^p ^jf ^1 ^j^ **^ '(^ ^ji ^1 ^1 ^p ^1 ^1 ^^ ^^ Tji ^}i ^5^ ^31 ^31 ^jf •(ji X ^ (U >• > •3 -a +3 ."S .t2 i"*^ .■*^ .'*^ .'*^ ^ .'*^ .■*^ ."ts .ts .1h ."S '"ts ■ti S •-J 5 .ti .ts S ."ts 'o'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a'a a c a o so a a ©a S * a . Ji.a a a o o a tn o o 2 2 - 0^ < 0) 1 + M +1+++11 I +11+ ++ ^2 1-155 a5ooooooto>oinu5'*iNn— lOOootoraMi-cocoMeo ^rtTH,-irtrt,-lrti-(-H.-lrtrti-ioOOOOO050>05 OS PQO m 0aPQmOOP3OPQ«OP5O«OpqpqM«OC!P3«pq ^ o u5tOt^OOOSO'He0'HN*5'*«5«Dt- CASES FOLLOWED UP 55 •T3 S S •.e w .3 Mieo < Col. of Pac. Annapolis U. of CaUf. U. of Calif. S. J. Normal Davis Farm Sch. U. of Cahf. U. of CaUf. S. J. Normal S. J. Normal (a '3 S. J. Jr. Col. Hopkins Art Sc. U. of Calif. MiUs College Col. of Pac. U. of CaUf. S. J. Normal U. of CaUf. Col. of. Pac. Graduated from H. S. in: "(J1 ^51 '^1 ^lf\ ^J1 ^51 ^J1 ^J1 ^!J1 '^H •<* ^^^^^^^^^ 5> 1 ! s Educational plan in H.S. University Nav. Academy University University Not given Agri. Col. University Agri. Col. Cons. Music University a •a i University Tech. Sch. University Cons. Music Med. Sch. Not given Normal Univ. or Norm. Sch. of Eng. Vocational ambition in H. S. Scientist Naval Off. Lawyer Civ. Eng. Not given Sci. Farmer Civ. Eng. Farmer Mus. Teacher Nurse 1 Musician Civ. Eng. Priv. Secy. Mus. Teacher Tr. Nurse Not given Teacher Teacher Mech. Eng. -a: o '.a s •** Lawyer Real estate Civ. Eng. Salesman Salesman Minister Creamery Wh'sl. Mer. Physician Cement Cent. a 'm Salesman Transfer Bus. Salesman (Hdw.) Not given Minister Not given Orchardist Banker Merchant Average H.S. marks + 11 + + « + + 11 + *Q ■*r-lTi000 g 0000003050505 02 fq«OP50wmfqOO m mwooocqoow ■-l(NCO'*lOtOI>00050 3 1-H IMC<3-*'OtDt^000>O 66 PSTCnOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE (a) Thirty-three of the Stanford cases were boys and 14 were girls. The median I.Q. of the boys was 121 ; of the girls, 116; of both together, 119. The median high-school mark of the Stanford boys was B, 85 percent; of the girls, B-f-, 88 per- cent, of both, B-|-, 88 percent. The median university mark of the boys was C+, 78 percent; of the girls, C+, 78 percent; of both together, the same. In explanation of the relatively low university marks, compared with the high-school marks, it may be said that most of the Stanford cases are just completing their first year of university work and have had many new adjustments to make. The three boys making A — records in the university are of the first group tested in 1916-17. Two of them completed high school in Sj^ years and are now juniors. The other one has completed his sophomore year. (b) Eleven of the 20 pupils attending other higher institu- tions than Stanford were boys and nine girls. The boys attained a median I.Q. of 115; the girls, 103; both, 109. The median high-school mark of the boys was B — , 80 percent ; of the girls, B, 85 percent; of both, B — , 80 percent. Combining the two sections, we have 44 boys with a median I.Q. of 119 and a median high-school mark of B, 85 percent ; and 23 girls with a median I.Q. of 112 and a high-school mark of B, 85 percent. The median I.Q. of the entire group of 67 boys and girls in higher institutions was 118, and the median high-school mark, B, or 85 percent. The influence of social status on tendency to go on to higher institutions is much more evident in the case of the group under discussion than in relation to either of the other groups. We have noted above that only 15 percent of the left-high-school group and 38 percent of the high-school-graduation group had fathers whose occupations ranked I or II. Forty-four of the students now in Stanford gave fathers' occupation, and 42 of these, or 95 percent, ranked I or II. Seventeen of those in other institutions gave fathers' occupation, and 12 of these, or 70 per- cent, ranked I or II. Sixty-one of the combined groups gave fathers' occupations, and 54, or 89 percent, had occupations CASES FOLLOWED UP 57 ranking I or II. The difference between the first two groups and the third, in the matter of social status, is so striking as to leave little doubt concerning the part played by that factor in the selection of those who go on to higher institutions. In other words, when we find that eight out of ten of those who left school before completing the course and six out of ten of those who just graduated from high school come from a social status rep- resented by fathers' occupational rank of III or IV, while ap- proximately nine out of ten of those continuing their education SUMMARY OF TABI.ES XII (a) AND (b) AND XIII (a) AND (b), WITH REFERENCE To INTEEEIGENCE OF FUFIES AND RANK OF fathers' occupations on the barr scaee FOR measuring VOCATIONAE STATUS I. Q. OF Pupils Rank of Fathers' Occupation ON Barr Scale Total Median Rank V IV III II I 125 or over 115-124 1 1 2 7 9 14 9 10 8 9 11 7 7 10 3 2 18 25 21 28 18 II II 105-114 II 95-104 III 79-94 III Totals Percents 0.0 4 3.6 39 35.4 45 41.0 22 20.0 110 100.0 II beyond high school come from a social status represented by fathers' occupational rank of I or II, we are warranted in ac- cording social status a prominent place among the factors which determine the probable educational future of a given high-school pupil. The tendency, frequently noted by investigators, for a posi- tive correlation to be found between general intelligence and social status, is discoverable in the data presented in the three tables already discussed. This will be evident from the follow- ing summary: None of the 110 giving fathers' occupation has a father with an occupational ranking of V. Only 3.6 percent have occupa- tions ranking IV. Sixty-four of the pupils have I.Q.'s ranging 58 PSTCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE FIGURE 3. COMPARISONS OP GROUPS "nOT COMPLETING HIGH school, completing high school only, "going to higher institutions" AND (a) Mental LcTelB. Ilediian 1.(1. of group (■b) Social Statue. Per cent, whose fathers* occupations ranked X or ZJ-a Entered higher Institu- tion Sid not finish H. S. Did con- Entered plote higher H. S. institu- tion (•e) Veeational AmbitionB Per cent of cases having Vocational ambitions. (d) Educational Plans. Per cent, of cases having Educational jlsns Did not Bid com- flnlsh plete H. S. H. S. Entered Did not Sid coin- Entered higher finish plete higjier institur H. S. ■ H. S. Institu- tion tion from 105 to 142, comprising the groups, "better than average," "superior," and "very superior." The fathers' occupation in 47 of these cases, or 75 percent, ranks I or II. There are 46 cases with I.Q.'s ranging from 79 to 104, embracing the average and below average groups in ability. Twenty of these have fathers CASES FOLLOWED UP 5d with occupational ranking of I and II, making 43 percent for the "average" and "below average" I.Q. groups, compared with 75 percent for the three upper groups. While the range of fathers' occupations is too limited to yield a high coefficient of correlation between social status and the intelligence of children, these data at least support the conclusion that where there is a combination of high intelligence and superior social status great impetus is given to the "go-on-to-coUege" idea. When we compare the vocational ambitions of the in-higher- institutions group with those of the graduation-from-high-school group, we find 82 percent of the latter indicating vocational pref- erences, and 78 percent of the former. But when it comes to signifying definite educational plans, 91 percent of the college group and only 73 percent of the high-school group outlined plans for education beyond high school. Again, of those among the college group who told of their educational plans, 89 percent are now carrying out the identical plans mentioned by them when they were first-year high-school students. This is a still further confirmation of the previously suggested conclusion that definite plans, in mind at the begiiming of a high-school course, tend to stimulate those expressing them to continue in training until the plans are consummated. When to definiteness of vocational and educational plans are added the further factors of better than average ability and superior social status the chances become eight or nine to one that the plans and ambitions will be carried out successfully. 5. The value of two mental scales. — A word should be added regarding the advantage of having at least two tests of mental ability before assvuning that anything approaching an accurate indication of the individual's mental ability has been discovered. In 105 of the 131 cases discussed in this chapter, both the Binet and a group test were given. A glance at Table XI, where all the cases are assembled according to rank on the Binet Scale, will indicate a very marked agreement between the two tests; but a sufficient amount of disagreement will also be found to suggest caution in basing judgments on a single test. Fifteen 60 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AUTD GUIDANCE points on the Alpha Scale, according to the Kohs-Proctor norms, constitute the equivalent of a mental-age year. Using this stand- ard of variation on the 105 cases in Table XI, where both tests were applied, we find that in only 13 cases, or 12 percent of the total, was there a difference greater than the equivalent of one mental-age year. One or two illustrations will suffice to show the advantage of the two tests from a guidance point of view. Cases 110, 111, 112 and 113, Table XI, all tested I.Q., 93 on the Binet Scale, and an assumption might have seemed valid that they did not rep- resent promising university material. On the group test, how- ever, they earned I.Q.'s of 125, 112, 101, and 95, respectively. All of them came from homes where the rank of the fathers' occupation was I or II, and they are all now in college — three of them in Stanford and one in the College of the Pacific, at San Jose, California. On the other hand, where both tests agree either on the high or the low I.Q. basis, the school work and educational destiny revealed by the sixth year follow-up usually correspond. Cases 2 to 11, inclusive, all stood high on both tests, and all of them are now found in the university. Cases 121, 124, 126, and 128, all made low scores on both tests. None of them completed more than two years of high school. In any event, whether the tests agree or not, the test results should be considered as tentative, not final, and the counselor's attitude should constantly be that of open-mindedness. Test results must themselves be thoroughly tested against other valid criteria. Summary and Conci^usions 1. The discussion covers cases of 131 high-school pupils, tested with Binet and group scales in 1916-17 and 1917-18, and followed up until June 1, 1923. 2. The influence of a university community is evident in the fact that 77 percent of the 131 graduated from high school and 66 percent of the high-school graduates went on to higher insti- tutions, compared with 35 percent graduating and 42 percent of CASES FOLLOWED UP 61 high-school graduates going to higher institutions in the country at large. 3. Arrangement of all cases in rank order, Table XI, brings out the fact that 87 percent of the cases in the did-not-complete- high-school group were in the lower half of the distribution; that 67 percent of those who did not go beyond high school were found in the second and third quarter; and that 78 percent of those going to higher institutions were found in the top half. 4. The. median I.O. of those who did not complete high school, Table XII (a), was found to be 94. The median high- school mark was 14 points below the median for the entire group of 131. Neither educational nor vocational plans were indicated by 63 percent of this group. Elimination of 80 percent had taken place by the end of the second high-school year. Lack of mental ability, lack of interest, and social status were the most potent causes of elimination. 5. The group completing high school only, Table XII (b), had a median I.Q. of 100 and a median school mark of 80 per- cent. Occupations of 38 percent of the fathers ranked I or II. Vocational ambitions were expressed by 82 percent and educa- tional plans by 73 percent of the cases. Average ability and bet- ter than average social status were factors in ensuring high-school graduation. 6. The 67 cases continuing education in higher institutions, Table XIII, were found to have a median I.Q. of 118 and an average high-school mark of 85 percent. The occupations of fathers ranked I and II in 89 percent of the cases. Positive cor- relation was also found between the father's occupation and the intelligence of the child. Average or better than average ability and superior social status appear to be the most vital factors in determining continuation of education beyond high school. 7. Marked agreement between Binet and Group I.Q.'s was found. In 92 of 105 cases where both tests were applied — 88 per- cent — there was agreement within one mental-age year. Cases where one test indicated a low level of ability and the other an average or higher level are found doing college work success- 62 PSTCBOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE fully. Where both tests agree, either high or low, subsequent educational progress tends to bear out the diagnostic implica- tions of the mental tests. In any event, tests should be measured against other valid criteria. CHAPTER V THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN THE VOCA- TIONAL GUIDANCE OF HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS The use of psychological tests as a basis for the prediction of probable school success, and in the educational guidance of high-school pupils has been discussed in Chapters II, III and IV. The use of such tests in the vocational guidance of high-school pupils will be discussed in this chapter. The Employment Manager and the Vocational Counselor The application of psychological tests to the selection of men for particular jobs is well along in the experimental stage.^ The employment manager has demonstrated the value of such tests when used in the selection of employees. If the tests are carefully devised to discover whether the applicants have certain essen- tial mental qualifications for the kind of work they will be called upon to perform, and if final selection is made from the few who make high scores in the tests, the results are likely to be satisfactory to the employer. When in addition to specific mental tests, appropriate trade or performance tests are given, the em- ployment manager or personnel expert can select from the highest 25 percent of applicants with reasonable assurance that they will make good at the tasks assigned to them. These tests tend ef- fectively to sift out the undesirables, to reduce the amount of labor turnover, and to secure for the employer a higher grade of employees. The person who selects men for a particular occupation needs only to know the qualifications for success in that occupation. He can plan his tests with a view to eliminating all those who do not measure up to the established standard. If only five out of one hundred applicants are selected and they all prove to be 'Link, H. C. Employment psychology. New Totk: Macmillan Co., 1919. 63 64 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE adapted to their work the tests by which they were selected are counted as satisfactory. The ninety-five rejected applicants do not concern the employment manager. The vocational counselor, however, has to think of the ninety- five as well as the five. His field is a broad one. He is called upon to advise people possessing every variety of fitness to enter every possible kind of occupation. It would be manifestly im- possible for the vocational counselor to give adequate trade or psychological tests corresponding to the infinite variety of occu- pations open to American youths. It is true that he must avail himself of every possible scientific aid in arriving at his conclusions. His preparation will neces- sarily include a wide knowledge of occupations, and special train- ing in the discovery of occupational aptitudes. But he should never persuade himself or lead others to believe that he is able to chart unerringly their abilities and give them an absolute voca- tional classification. The successful counselor will understand at the outset that he is a guide and not a dictator, and that he is dealing with probabilities and not with certainties.^ Occupational Levels of Intelligence Among the factors which the counselor must take into ac- count in estimating the probability of a person's success in an occupation, the intelligence level is one of the most important. If we accept Stern's definition of intelligence as a working basis for the discussion of the subject, there can be no question of the vital connection between intelligence and vocational success. Stern says ■? "Intelligence is a general capacity of an individual consciously to adjust his thinking to new requirements : it is gen- eral mental adaptability to new problems and conditions of life." Given a high degree "of mental adaptability to new problems and conditions of life" coupled with energy, persistence, and reliabil- "Kitaou, H. D. "Vocational guidance and the theory of probability," School Review, 28:143-50, February, 1920. ' Stem, William. The psychological methods of testing intelligence. Bal- timore, Warwick & York, 1914, p. 3. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 65 ity, it would be reasonable to assume that one's range of possible vocational success would be wide. Conversely, gi^^en a low level of intelligence, even though the other qualities mentioned are present, one's range of possible vocational success would be greatly restricted. We have already gone far enough in the development of in- telligence tests to justify the statement that individual levels of intelligence can be discovered with approximate accuracy. The next step, so far as vocational guidance is concerned, is to dis- cover whether or not there are occupational intelligence levels, i.e. levels of intelligence more or less characteristic of the workers in a given occupation. That there are discoverable differences in the intelligence levels of workers in the various occupations is suggested by the findings of the Division of Psychology, Sanitary Corps, United States Army.* Table XIV is derived from the chart found on page 23 of the pamphlet, Army Mental Tests. The median ratings of this chart are changed from the letters "A," "B," etc., to the raw scores on the Alpha Army Scale (which range from to 212). For each of the 43 occupations selected from the 72 shown on the chart, the median score is given, as well as the range of the middle 50 percent of the scores. The top line of the table would then read : laborers, median score, 35 ; range of scores made by the middle 50 percent, 21-63. It should then be understood that 25 percent of the laborers scored less than 21 points, while the top 25 percent scored over 63 points out of a possible 212 points. The chart was made up from the returns of approximately 36,500 men, and the data were taken from the soldiers' qualification cards. Figure 4 illustrates graphically the spread of the middle 50 percent of the scores on Army Alpha by occupational groups. There is considerable overlapping. The unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled labor groups differ but little as to the beginning of the middle 50 percent of scores (21, 23, and 26 respectively). But there is a distinct difference in the upper limits, which are * Army mental tests, methods, typical results, and practical applications. Washington: Government Printing OfiBce, November, 1918. 66 FSYCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE 63, 70, and 95 respectively. The beginning of the middle 50 per- cent of the business and clerical group is nearly as high as the upper limit for the unskilled labor group, and the beginning of the middle 50 percent of the professional group is higher than the upper limit of the skilled labor group. If the scores of the entire number of men examined by the Division of Psychology, Sanitary Corps, of the United States Army could be grouped by occupations the final results of com- pilation would probably show some deviations from the medians and middle 50 percents given in Table XIV. But the general tendencies therein indicated would no doubt be confirmed. There would be found more or less clearly defined levels of intelligence in the various occupations, corresponding roughly to the amount of intelligence necessary to succeed in them. There would be much overlapping and within each occupation a wide range of in- telligence would be found. But in the occupational groups above unskilled labor one would expect to find critical scores^ or points below which occupational success could not be expected.® In the professional group, for example, one would expect to find the greatest number of occupational failures among the lowest 25 percent, i.e., among those who made scores ranging from to 98. Application to Guidance op High-School Pupils How a knowledge of individual and occupational intelligence levels may be utilized in the vocational guidance of high-school pupils can be illustrated by the data presented in Table XV. In this table 930 pupils in eight high schools are distributed accord- ing to vocational ambition and scores made on Army Scale Alpha and Examinations a and b. The different occupational choices have been divided into five groups : agriculture, mechanical and industrial, business and clerical, unclassified,'^ and professional. "Thurstone, L. L. "Mental tests for college entrance," Journal of Edu- cational Fsychology, 10:129-41, March, 1919. 'Cowdery, K. M. "A statistical study of intelligence as a factor in voca- tional success," Journal of Delinquency, 4:227, November, 1919. ' Most of the occupations belonging to this group are called ' ' pro- fessional" by the United States Census Bureau. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 67 TABt,E XIV. OCCUPATIONAL INTELWGENCE LEVEIES, BASED ON ARMY PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS OF 36,500 MEN. ALPHA SCALE Occupations Median Score Range of Middle 50 Percent Laborers (Unskilled) Semi-seilled Labor Cobblers Teamsters Farm workers Barbers Horse-shoers Skilled Labor R. R. shop-mechanics. . . Bricklayers Cooks Bakers Painters Blacksmiths Biidge-carpenters General carpenters Butchers Locomotive enginemen. . . Machinists R. R. conductors Plumbers Tool-makers Auto-repairmen Chauffeurs Tool-room-experts Policemen-detectives . . . . Auto-assemblers Ship-carpenters Business and Clerical Telephone operators Concrete const'n foremen Photographer General electrician Telegraphers R. R. clerks General clerks Mechanical engineers. . . . Bookkeepers Dental officers Mechanical draughtsmen. Stenographers Accountants PROrESSIONAL Civil engineers Medical officers Army chaplains Engineer officers 35 21 to 63 39 23 to 67 41 23 to 68 42 24 to 70 43 22 to 70 44 25 to 70 45 26 to 83 48 23 to 81 49 28 to 79 S3 35 to 83 53 31 to 79 54 29 to 83 55 27 to 84 57 33 to 85 58 33 to 85 59 33 to 82 61 33 to 86 62 40 to 84 62 38 to 87 63 41 to 88 63 41 to 89 63 38 to 90 64 43 to 88 64 44 to 89 65 44 to 97 66 49 to 95 70 58 to 99 75 48 to 116 77 52 to 104 82 58 to 110 84 59 to 107 92 66 to 116 V 96 74 to 123 98 63 to 133 99 78 to 126 106 84 to 130 112 79 to 134 115 93 to 142 117 101 to 145 125 98 to 147 130 101 to 165 150 109 to 173 157 134 to 184 68 FSTCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE The professional group covers 50.5 percent of the choices, 470 cases; unclassified, 11.2 percent, 104 cases; business and clerical, Approximate occupational intelligence levels: 1. Unskilled labor Median 35, Middle 50% 21 to 63 2. Semi-skilled J J 42, 7t J J 23 to 70 3. Skilled labor J3 61, fj t J 26 to 95 4. Business and clerical tt 96, tt >t 58 to 145 5. Professional Jt 140, J > >t 98 to 184 190 Business and Professions I Clerical FIGURE 4. SHOWING SPREAD OF MIDDEE 50 PERCENT OF CASES, TABEE XIV, BY OCCUPATIONS VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 69 TABLE XV. VOCATIONAI, AMBITIONS OF 930 HIGH-SCHOOI, PUPILS DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO INTELLIGENCE RATINGS ON ARMY SCALE ALPHA AND GROUP EXAMINATIONS a AND b Letter rating . . . - C— c C + B A 25^4 45-59 60-74 75-89 904104 105-119 120-134 135-212 Total 25-49 50-«7 68-84 85-99 100-119 120-137 138-154 155-237 Choice of Occupatioa Agiucultuue 2 1 5 4 1 7 10 12 1 1 2 4 46 Mecrakical and In- dustrial Aiitn-iTiM-'hnTiir 4 4 2 3 1 2 5 8 3 1 Contractor 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Aviator 1 2 34 Business and Cler- ical Banker 1 10 6 I 6 5 2 ■Rr»rttVf*pppT . . 3 I 5 2 22 5 9 3 7 1 1 62 Business manager . 23 1 Clerk (sales) 1 1 1 2 41 38 3 2 Real estate 1 1 33 1 25 3 Salesman (Tr) 4 Stenographer 2 2 11 24 176 276 Unclassified 2 1 3 10 1 3 5 4 2 6 1 6 3 14 ^rttitic i-arppr 2 2 28 1 1 1 10 1 1 1 4 7 1 11 1 8 1 6 5 46 1 1 1 1 1 2 Writer 2 104 Professional 3 3 1 3 2 32 9 2 1 10 47 1 7 2 3 44 5 7 2 10 33 2 Chemist .... 1 2 3 3 1 2 30 3 2 1 14 DeDtist 1 11 5 2 12 20 2 2 140 10 Law 20 5 I 1 23 4 44 11 68 36 TeacbinK 8 223 470 Totals 2 9 40 103 185 215 189 187 930 70 PSYCBOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE 29.7 percent, 276 cases ; mechanical and industrial, 3.6 percent, 34 cases; and agricultural, 5.0 percent, 46 cases. The need for vocational guidance of high-school pupils is brought out very clearly by the way in which the choices are con- 1 ^ a 55; I ^ ^ p4 Q> 02 03 ^ a a n 1.2 O -4^ ^ OS 3 ■" a . o .iH S'3 .id ■g i .9 O 'O ^ ^1 bo 3 O a < < o I— I Sh <; o o > X iz; o o ft. o 2; o o o fti W5 ^ VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 71 centrated in the professional, semi-professional (i.e. unclassified), and business and clerical divisions of Table XV. These include 31 different occupations, popularly known as "white collar jobs," and comprise 91.2 percent of the 930 choices. Agricultural, mechanical and industrial occupations include 11 different em- ployments, and 8.8 percent of the choices. See Figure 5. Vocational opportunities, as shown by the United States cen- sus reports,® are just about the reverse of the distribution of high-school pupils' occupational choices. Agriculture and the mechanical and industrial arts engage the energies of 61.1 per- cent of the gainful workers in the United States, and only 8.8 percent of the high-school pupils had ambitions looking toward these fields. Business and clerical employments enlist only 14.1 percent of the gainful workers of the country; and yet 29.7 per- cent of the high-school pupils plan to enter these fields of effort. In the United States census reports practically all of the occupa- tions designated in Table XV as unclassified are included under the caption "professional service." In spite of this liberal inter- pretation of the term "professional" only 4.4 percent of the gain- ful workers are found to be engaged in professional service in this country. Nevertheless the professional and unclassified divi- sions of Table XV include 574 choices, or 61.7 percent of the total number. Although it is a fact that the high school represents a rather highly selected group of young people from whose ranks the clerical, business, and professional occupations are very largely recruited, it is apparent that by no means 91.2 percent of high- school pupils will ultimately find their way into these occupational fields.* Furthermore for their own best good and the best good of the nation a great many of them should be directed toward the agricultural, mechanical, and industrial fields. The question may be raised as to the use that a vocational counselor might make of facts regarding the intelligence of high- ' Thirteenth census of the United States, 1910. Volume 4: population: occupation statistics. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1914, p. 40. "See Table XIX (a) and (b), p. 82. 72 PSYCHOLOGICAZ TESTS AND GUIDANCE school pupils such as are shown in Table XV. Assuming that occupational levels approximating those found in Table XIV have been established, the counselor could proceed on the theory that those falling within the lowest quarter of intelligence rat- ings, i. e., who make scores lower than the beginning score for the middle 50 percent of a given occupation, would probably have small chances of success as workers in that occupation. Take the professional group. The intelligence-score limits of the middle 50 percent as shown in Table XIV are from 98 to 184 (Alpha) . There are fifty cases in the professional group. Table XV, who made an intelligence score of less than 90 points on the Alpha Scale. The counselor could safely consider the cases fall- ing in this quarter of the professional group as doubtful. If teachers' estimates of intelligence and school marks confirmed the findings of the mental tests, he would be justified in making an effort to direct the thoughts of those boys and girls toward some other life career. Specific occupations treated in the manner just outlined for the entire professional group would yield the following percents of doubtful cases : draughtsmen, 23.8 percent ; bookkeepers, 21 percent; stenographers, 22.1 percent; dentists, 18.1 percent; engineers, 24.3 percent; lawyers, 15 percent; doctors, 13.9 per- cent ; and teachers, 33.6 percent. If by making use of intelligence ratings of individual pupils in connection with the intelligence levels of the occupations which they are ambitious to enter the vocational counselor can give them more accurate advice as to the life career in which they are most apt to succeed he should by all means make use of such ratings. But it will probably be pointed out that intelligence rat- ings are not in themselves sufficiently reliable to justify their use in vocational guidance. To this objection it may be replied that the high-school counselor has at hand means of verifying the results of the mental tests. He is able to secure the esti- mates of teachers and others who know the pupils and he has access to the record of their success in school tasks. Agreement between teachers' estimates of intelligence and mental tests, or VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 73 M M -( i-i 1-1 H H !z; o H O o « o o o < Q :z; o o K u O o o M H m > w J- « < ^ S & g lO r^ CO O O t^ r^ t^ CN r^ CN o o o r^ 00 O O CO ro 00 lO =a § § ° ° ° On 5< w o s <; 3 9 I.Q. Above Average O VO T-i ID O O ro ui es 1 2 cc ^O OO CN O O I.Q. Average O lO -^ ro O O (N 00 U-) m CN t^ OO O O (D Ol ^ 7 I.Q. Below Average o 00 Ti< c^ o o ^ to ■*** lO t^ o o <2 > < < S I.Q. Above Average o f^ -* -o ^O rrj o o ^ 5 I.Q. Average o ro TjH o O O " OO O uo O O 4 I.Q. Below Average o ■* MJ ^ o o On PQ Xr^ ^ m <=> < s S w 3 I.Q. Above Average o ^D t^ O O O O pa r^ ^ lo o o I.Q. Average o -^ oo so o o 00 p ro On '^ O O I.Q. Below Average o o -; O O O m = r- r^ \0 O O o Rank oj Vocational Ambition '-' a ti > > '-' R 1-1 74 P8YCS0L0GICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE agreement between school marks and mental tests, would greatly strengthen the presumption that the tests had succeeded in dis- covering the pupil's mental level. Discovery of Agreement Between Mentai, Tests, Schogi, Marks, and Vocational Ambition The cases of the high-school pupils whose mental ratings and vocational ambitions are set forth in Table XV are redistributed in Table XVI in accordance with standing in school subjects, intelligence tests, and rank of vocational ambition. For the purposes of the three-way distribution, vocational ambitions are ranked as follows: Rank I: higher professional and executive positions ; Rank II : business, semi-professional, higher clerical positions ; Rank III : general clerical, skilled labor, etc. ; Rank IV : semi-skilled labor ; Rank V : unskilled labor. Mental age equivalents for the Army Scale ratings were worked out by Dr. Samuel C. Kohs and the writer,^" and from them intelligence quotients (I.Q.'s) were computed. The mental level of a child is more nearly represented by the I.Q. than by the raw scores on an absolute point scale because the latter take no account of the chronological age. Sex differences in rank of vocational ambition are indicated in column 10. There are 189 boys, or 45.1 percent of the total number of boys, but only 86 girls, or 16.8 percent of the girls, who chose vocations of the first rank. The vocational ambitions of 33.4 percent of the boys and 46.3 percent of the girls are rep- resented by Rank II, and those of 21.5 percent of the boys and 36.9 percent of the girls by Rank III. There were none of the 930 who chose vocations of less than Rank III. The most nu- merous choices of the boys were for the engineering profession and of the girls for stenography and teaching. How those whose ambitions come in the different ranks would probably measure up in mental ability to the demands of the occupations chosen can be estimated by reference to the nine pos- " See Appendix, p. 117. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 75 sible combinations of I.Q. and school marks. Entries in column 1 show those who have I.Q.'s and school marks both below aver- age. There are 51 pupils in this group. Seven of them have chosen occupations of Rank I, and 18 of Rank II. Since school marks confirm indications of mental tests as to low mental level in these cases the success of these pupils in occupations of Ranks I or II would be open to question. In column 7 there are 57 cases, 16 boys and 41 girls, having marks above average and I.Q.'s below average. Here is an indi- cation that the tests did not register the full ability of the pupils, or that they possess qualities of persistence and other attributes tending to supplement intelligence as factors in successful school work. Columns 2 and 3 indicate that there are many pupils whose intelligence is average or above average but who do poor school work. Teachers are apt to rate such pupils low in intelligence. The mental tests give the counselor an insight into their true ability and enable him to employ methods of waking them up through the discovery of the right life-career motive. The cases entered in columns 6 or 9 where the I.Q.'s are above average and school success is average or above average can be considered as satisfactory, so far as intelligence is con- cerned, for the occupations chosen. However, the counselor can be of great service to the pupils in these groups through his abil- ity to give information as to the demand for workers, the oppor- tunities for advancement, the qualifications as to health, tempera- ment, training, etc., expected of those who enter the occupations selected for consideration. There is no purpose here to suggest that a counselor should always advise those who have superior ability to enter high rank- ing occupations. If a bright boy or girl would be more contented in an occupation ranking low on the rating scale, there is no occa- tion to urge him or her to select another simply because it ranks higher in popular estimation. There is room for superior intelli- gence in every occupation, and it would be well for the country if young people of superior ability were encouraged to follow agri- 76 FSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE cultural, mechanical, and industrial pursuits, in order that they might become leaders therein. The professions are overcrowded, but there is always room for young people with ideas and energy in the food producing and industrially creative occupations. Summary and Conclusions 1. The use of psychological and trade tests in the selection of employees can be more easily shown to be effective than can the use of such tests in vocational guidance. The employment manager can "play safe" by rejecting all but the most promising applicants, while the vocational counselor must needs endeavor to give sound advice to all comers. 2. Minute charting of abilities by means of psychological and trade tests is not practicable at the present time for the pub- lic school vocational counselor. There are far too many differ- ent occupations and the specific abilities of individual pupils are much too various to permit of accurate "pigeon-holing" accord- ing to manual, conceptual, and other types. Likewise a given combination of abilities might mean successful participation in any one of a wide range of occupations. 3. The discovery of the levels of intelligence of individuals and of occupational groups may prove to be of great assistance to the high-school counselor. The data on army mental tests, arranged in Table XIV, indicate that there are rather definitely marked occupational levels of intelligence. The norms already suggested would probably be confirmed by a compilation of all available data. 4. Application of the Army Intelligence Scale to 930 high- school pupils and the distribution of the cases according to intel- ligence rating and vocational ambitions is shown in Table XV. Illustration is also given of the way in which this knowledge might be applied to the vocational guidance of the group tested. 5. Need of vocational guidance of high-school pupils is shown by the fact that the concentration of choices in the pro- fessional, business, and clerical occupations is out of all propor- tion to the opportunities in those lines as shown by the United VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 77 States census. The demands for workers in agricultural, indus- trial, and mechanical pursuits should be emphasized by the counselor. 6. The need for supplementary information to verify the findings of the intelligence tests is shown in Table XVI. The 930 cases are distributed according to sex, school marks, voca- tional ambition, and intelligence. Where intelligence rating and school marks agree the presumption is that the intelligence level was approximated by the mental test. Where they do not agree it is a warning to make further inquiry into the matter. 7. The employment of psychological tests as an aid in voca- tional guidance is in the early experimental stage, but sufficient progress has been made to justify their use in a negative way, i. e., as a means of discovering to the counselor the kinds of occupa- tions that a given high-school pupil would probably better avoid. They are useful also as a means of satisfying a counselor that a given pupil has the mental ability to engage in the occupation which he has chosen, providing other necessary factors condi- tioning success are present. In any case the counselor will do well to remember that he is dealing with probabilities and not with certainties. The mental tests, if conservatively employed, will increase the probability that the counselor will give really helpful advice. CHAPTER VI RELATION OF GENERAL INTELLIGENCE TO THE PERSISTENCE OF EDUCATIONAL AND VOCA- TIONAL PLANS OF HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS The question is frequently raised as to the value of data concerning the present ambitions of high-school pupils. The claim is made that the answers to questions regarding vocational and educational plans are unreliable either because the pupil has no definite ideas regarding his life work or because he does not take the question seriously. It is therefore of genuine in- terest to all who attempt the advisement of youth to know whether and to what extent the vocational ambitions and edu- cational plans of boys and girls in the high school represent significant and abiding life interests. This chapter will treat the data gathered in a fourth-year follow-up of the groups of high-school pupils whose vocational ambitions, educational plans, school success, and general intelli- gence scores on the group scales. Army Alpha and Examinations a and b, were secured during the academic year 1917-18. The results of the first check-up, made two years after the original data were obtained, are set forth in Chapters II, III, and V of this monograph. In the chapters just mentioned mental tests were discussed from the viewpoint of their adaptability in the educational and vocational guidance of high-school pupils. The fourth year follow-up presents the situation as it appeared in the year 1921-22, and furnishes the basis for tentative deductions in regard to the persistence of educational and vocational plans an- nounced by high-school pupils. Only those pupils who attended the Palo Alto, San Mateo, Redwood City, Mountain View, and Santa Clara high schools are considered in the study presented in this chapter. It was found to be difficult to secure information concerning cases from the other high schools which were included in the original inves- tigation. An additional item in favor of confining the fourth- 78 PESSISTENCE OF FLANS 79 year check-up to the five high schools we have named was the fact that there had not been a change in administrative head in any of these high schools during the four-year period. In these high schools 771 pupils had originally filled out the questionnaires in full and had taken the mental tests. Some 88 of these could not be located, leaving 683 concerning whom reliable information could be had. The 683 cases were dis- tributed as follows: (a) in occupations, 272; (b) in educa- tional institutions beyond the high school, 290; (c) still in the high school, 33; (d) married, 47; (e) just graduated, plans indefinite, 27; (f) prevented from carrying out plans by ill health, 10; (g) died, 4. The mental age and I.Q. values hereafter referred to are those found in the original examination. No new tests were given. The Army Alpha scale was the group test employed, and the mental-age equivalents were derived from the Kohs-Proctor mental-age norms for the Alpha scale.^ Persistence of Vocationai, Plans of Cases Now IN Occupations Table XVII gives the distribution of the 272 cases found to be engaged in occupations, according to their intelligence levels and also as to the relation of the present occupation to the vocational preference expressed four years ago. Sex differences are indi- cated under the captions "B" and "G." Wherever in this and in subsequent tables the rank of vocations is referred to it is to be understood that occupations are ranked from I to V as fol- lows: Rank I, higher professional and executive positions; Rank II, semi-professional, managerial, and higher commercial positions; Rank III, general clerical and commercial positions, skilled labor, etc.; Rank IV, semi-skilled labor; Rank V, un- skilled labor. ^ When the data of Table XVII are summarized and expressed in the form of percents, the meaning of the table becomes more ' See Appendix, p. 117. ■ See Barr Scale, Appendix III, p. 122. 80 FSTCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE TABIDS XVII. RBISee Chapter Vm. ' See Appendix, p. 120. * See Appendix, p. 119. 'See Appendix, p. 120. ' See Appendix, p. 119. 91 92 FS¥CH0L06ICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE means of predicting possible success in college work, psychologi- cal tests have at least equal value with the record of the four years of preparatory work now required. The writer's contribu- tion to this discussion will consist of the presentation of the data regarding 93 young people who were given the Alpha Army Test in 1917-18 while still in high school and who entered Stan- ford University after graduation from high school. In Table XXIV the cases of these students are arranged in quarters according to rank in intelligence quotients.® Column 1 gives this rank order ; column 2, the intelligence quotients ; col- umn 3, the high-school scholarship rating. (All high-school grades were given numerical values — 1 for "A," 2 for "B," etc. — and averaged. ) Columns 4 to 9 inclusive indicate the quar- ter hours of university marks earned by each student while at Stanford. Column 10 shows the total number of hours taken; column 11, the number of honor points; and column 12, the scholarship rating in university work.^ The period of university work covered was that of the first three quarters (or that of the freshman year). Rei,ation of Rank in InteIvUGEncs to Scholarship in ColIvEGE The summary of the 23 cases falling in the first quarter indi- cates that the median intelligence quotient was 127; that the median high-school scholarship was 1.9 (or a trifle better than B) ; and that as to ratings at the university 47 percent of the A's but only 7 percent of the failures, belonging to the entire 93 stu- dents, were allotted to the first quarter. In addition to this, 33 percent of the honor points came to the students in this quar- ter, and their average scholarship rating in university courses was 1.89. •All I.Q.'s are computed on the basis of the Kohs-Proctor jnental age norms for the Alpha test. See Appendix, p. 117. ' This scholarship rating is secured by dividing the total number of reg- istered hours into the honor points earned. Three honor points are given for a grade of "A"; two for a grade of " B " ; one for a "C"; none for "D" or "E". The highest possible rating (all "A's") would be 3.00; the lowest (all "D's" or "E's") would be 0.0. A rating of "1.0" is average. COLLEGE ENTRANCE 93 TABLE XXIV. RELATION BETWEEN RANK ORDER IN PSYCHOEOGI- CAE EXAMINATION AND SCHOEARSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOE AND UNIVERSITY (work of THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS) Rank H. S. Number of Hours Indicated Univer- Accord- I.Q. Schol- Grades at University Total Honor sity ing to ar- Hours Points Schol- I Q. ship* arship A B C D Cond. Fail. Rating" 1 O 3 •4 5 6 / 8 9 10 11 12 1 138 1.7 5 29 11 3 48 84 1.75 2 136 2.2 23 8 9 40 94 2.35 3 135 1.8 5 30 10 45 85 1.89 4 134 2.2 8 15 12 4 39 66 1.69 5 133 1.8 29 6 3 38 29 0.76 6 132 1.6 3 13 10 15 41 45 1.10 7 131 1.0 31 19 50 131 2.62 8 130 1.3 20 10 30 80 2.66 9 129 1.2 33 13 46 125 2.71 10 128 2.4 5 19 15 5 44 68 1.54 11 128 2.2 5 4 16 5 5 2 37 39 1.05 12 127 1.9 15 33 48 111 2.31 13 127 1.7 11 21 14 46 89 1.93 14 126 1.3 25 11 8 44 105 2.40 15 126 2.9 1 25 17 3 46 70 1.52 16 125 2.6 9 26 7 4 46 44 0.95 17 125 2 5 7 23 8 1 5 44 75 1.70 18 125 1.9 6 8 17 31 51 1.66 19 125 2.8 5 34 5 44 88 2.00 20 124 2.9 1 20 16 5 42 59 1.40 21 123 1.4 14 16 7 8 45 81 2.80 22 122 1.5 15 18 11 44 92 2.09 23 122 2.6 24 22 3 49 119 2.43 Totals, First Quarter 262 400 244 52 20 9 987 1,830 1.89° 24 122 1.8 5 11 19 11 46 56 1.22 25 121 1.3 17 6 2 25 65 2.60 26 121 2.2 14 22 8 44 99 2.25 27 120 1.1 28 14 42 112 2.57 28 120 1.1 6 29 5 5 45 81 1.80 29 120 2.8 2 23 17 5 47 69 1.47 30 120 2.7 15 20 5 5 45 50 1.10 31 119 17 5 8 14 s 5 5 45 45 1.00 32 118 2.4 15 19 4 3 1 42 49 1.16 33 118 1.0 8 35 4 47 98 2.08 34 118 1.5 12 25 37 86 2.32 35 117 2.4 8 8 29 1 46 69 1.50 36 117 2.0 25 13 5 43 63 1.46 37 116 2.1 18 22 40 58 1.45 38 116 2.1 28 11 5 44 67 1.52 39 116 2.5 5 5 5 15 15 1.00 40 116 1.7 10 21 8 3 42 80 1.90 41 116 2.4 3 12 18 10 4 47 51 1.08 42 115 1.9 20 17 7 44 101 2.29 94 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE TABtE XXIV (Continued) Rank H.S. Number of Hours Indicated Univer- Accord- Schol- Grades at University Total Honor sity ing to !.Q. I. Q. ar*" ISours Points Schol- ship' arship A B C D Cond. Fail. Ratrng' 1 2 3 4 B 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 43 115 2.0 30 11 41 71 1.77 44 115 3.0 24 12 10 46 60 1.30 45 115 2.3 5 26 14 45 81 1.80 46 113 2.2 17 21 11 49 104 2.12 Totals, Second Quarter 165 433 264 62 23 20 967 1630 1.52° 47 113 2.7 10 7 23 8 48 67 1.40 (Medbxny 48 113 3.0 6 15 8 29 27 0.93 49 112 2.1 6 9 24 4 43 60 1.40 50 112 2.0 6 8 10 8 12 44 20 0.45 51 112 2.6 19 16 5 5 45 54 1.20 52 111 3.2 9 18 9 10 46 72 1.56 53 111 3.0 8 27 8 43 43 1.00 54 111 3.0 2 9 11 2 0.18 55 110 1.8 10 28 5 43 91 2.11 56 110 2.8 7 11 13 10 7 48 56 1.16 57 110 2.4 3 24 19 4 50 76 1.53 58 110 1.0 16 18 8 42 92 2.20 59 110 2.3 5 13 29 47 70 1.49 60 110 3.0 9 22 12 3 46 40 0.87 61 110 2.0 7 18 10 35 67 1.91 62 110 3.1 9 19 5 8 41 37 0.81 63 109 2.2 13 10 7 30 36 1.20 64 109 3.3 2 10 4 16 16 1.00 65 109 3.0 10 1 8 5 9 33 21 0.63 66 108 3.3 3 4 16 10 33 33 1.00 67 108 3.0 15 32 3 50 62 1.24 68 107 3.0 15 8 10 3 36 38 1.06 69 107 3.0 23 10 10 43 56 1.30 70 107 2.7 10 35 45 55 1.22 Totals, Third Quarter 68 286 348 116 35 46 899 1124 1.20' 71 106 2.2 5 13 18 10 0.55 72 106 2.6 38 3 4 45 38 0.84 73 106 3.0 5 11 2 3 21 5 0.24 74 106 2.9 9 29 5 43 47 1.09 75 106 2.2 9 17 14 3 43 75 1.74 76 106 2.5 10 15 9 7 41 69 1.70 77 105 2.2 13 31 5 49 106 2.16 78 105 2.7 5 34 5 44 44 1.00 79 105 3.0 2 16 5 5 17 45 20 0.44 80 105 3.3 10 26 7 43 89 2.07 81 105 3.3 6 8 14 6 0.43 COLLEGE ENTBANCE TABLE XXIV (Continued) 95 Rank I.Q. Number of Hours Indicated Univer- Accord- Schol- Grades at University Total Honor sity ing to I. Q. I. Q. Schol- ship arship A B U D Cond. i'ail. Rating"" 1 3 S 4 6 6 7 8 9 10 11 1$ 82 104 2.6 10 .5 8 7 30 25 0.83 83 104 3.0 18 13 9 4 44 49 1.11 84 103 3,0 3 24 19 46 76 1.65 85 102 4.0 6 17 5 3 31 29 0.93 86 100 1.0 12 26 5 ■ 43 50 1.16 87 100 4.0 3 19 14 1 5 42 25 0.59 88 100 1.0 7 25 4 36 75 2.09 89 96 2.8 13 30 3 46 56 1.22 90 95 3.6 3 18 9 30 24 0.80 91 92 2.9 6 10 16 8 5 45 54 1.20 92 90 4.0 10 16 15 5 46 36 0.78 93 82 2.7 3 10 13 6 0.46 Totals, Fourth Quarter 58 247 346 117 26 64 858 1014 1.18° Grand Totals 563 1373 1225 355 104 139 3759 5665 *1.0 Is the highest and 4.0 the lowest high-school scholarship rating. ^3.0 is the highest and the lowest university scholarship rating. ^Median scholarship rating for quartile. <*No. 47 is the median student according to intelligence quotients. The corresponding figures for the fourth quarter contrast with those of the first quarter. For example, only 10 percent of the A's awarded to the 93 students were earned by the 23 stu- dents whose intelligence quotients were in the lowest quarter. On the other hand, 46 percent of all the failures occurred among these students. The general condition with respect to university marks is shown in Figure 5. Curve I is for the students whose I.Q.'s were in the first or highest quarter ; curve II is for those whose I.Q.'s were in the second quarter; and so on. The sig- nificant fact to be observed is that curves I and II tend strongly to slope downward and to the right, while curves III and IV slope upward. Indeed, the pairs of curves form a rude X. This X is obscured by two perfectly explainable causes. The first is the tendency to "condition" capable students who have technically failed — generally because of some unusual circumstance. This tendency causes curves I and II to show an irregular rise at the 96 FSTCEOLOGICAL TESTS AND GUIDANCE m W < O! n > t— I w ij pq <; o < t3 > X X 1 gl-& OSNOC u- o o 'O ^ u-^ OOOINC t^ ■* I— t T-H tH r~ T— ( 1— I •s ~i^ mcBoo IN t- T-H £ o o'S CO IN IN I- CC co & wt2 +3 Ms C0 50-*IM cq CO IN g o o o C^lNINlM ": ■* £ ^w 3 (^ t^-*«ICC CTi O H i-HCO'* ? t~ o <; « O TJ a oiiN ttiif: T-H o> o M o r-tlNMCM ■* lO S O !^ ' O Q »OI>CO« (N CO IN « i-ti-H cocc m «? 1^ g P O OINOOOC IN to IN h:i INININCT ^ "3 .t^o-* IN I> ^ l-H si l-H 3 I— , ■73 O" i '•i l-HI— IHHh:* HH