THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI BULLETIN Volume 17 Number 24 EXTENSION SERIES 21 EDITED BY CHARLES H. WILLIAMS A MANUAL FOR THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN BY WILLIAM HENRY PYLE \ "^, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA, MISSOUKI SEPTEMBER, 1916 tfonojB:npf The preparation of this manual has required an enormous amount of tedious work, and the writer is under obligation to the many people who have helped to do this work. Especial thanks are due to Mr. J. B. Steed, Miss Hazel Summerfield, and Miss Nell Rutledge. The graphs were prepared by Miss Blanche Lindsay. In grading so many papers and in dealing with such a large amount of data, it is difficult to keep the results free from error, but great pains have been taken to make the work as accurate as possible. D, of D- A MANUAL FOR THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN OBJECT OF MENTAL TESTS The object of mental tests is to assist tlie teacher in obtaining a knowledge of the individual child. Just as a dairyman, to be success- ful, must know his cows — ^the best breeds, the best feed, and the best kind of treatment — so a teacher must know her pupils. It is true that she learns about them from their regular work in their classes, but there are various factors besides ability that determine whether a child does well or poorly in school studies. Progress in school studies is not, therefore, an accurate indication of ability. The teacher needs an independent measure of ability. The tests constitute such a measure. A child often does poorly in a particular study because he was started wrong or at the wrong time or is poorly taught. The child may have come to believe, in such a case, that he has no ability in such a study, or perhaps in any study. The tests, being something new, arouse great interest; the child has no preconceived notion about his ability to perform them and is therefore very likely to do his best. A series of mental tests given at the beginning of the school year will give as good an idea of the pupils' ability as can be obtained ordinarily in a year in the ordinary school work. Moreover, the tests show in what aspects of the child's mind he is good and in what aspects, poor. However, too much reliance should not be placed on such differences unless several tests of the same kind are given. If each type of test were repeated about six times and the results of all the tests pooled, they would give an accurate indication of the abilities which the various tests measure.* Inasmuch as these abilities are those demanded in school work, the tests give an indication of the child's ability to do the school work. One could not know from the tests whether the child would do the school work or not. Doing the school work depends on ability and effort. The tests measure only ability. They enable us to prophesy success only to the extent that success depends on ability. This is one thing the teacher very ♦Additional tests will be found in the author's Examination of School Children. much needs to know, the child's ability. The tests, carefully given, will aid very much in determining this ability. Each child is, to some extent, a special problem. We must, therefore, use every means at our command to learn all possible about each child. It requires but an hour and a half to give the mental tests, and only a few days to grade the papers. The information obtained abundantly justifies the time and energy expended. USE TO BE MADE OF THE RESULTS The results of the tests will help the teacher in the classification and gradation of the pupils. This help is not much needed except in the doubtful cases. One often needs to know whether a pupil has failed because of lack of effort or lack of ability. The tests will help to answer this question. If a child fails because of lack of ability, he should probably not be promoted. If he fails because of lack of effort, he should probably be promoted and an attempt made to get him to do the work of which he is capable. The progress of children through the grades should be in accordance with their ability and with the rapidity of their development. Some children develop much faster than others and can therefore acquire the skill and knowledge of the school subjects much faster than others. The teffts will aid in de- termining the development of the children and should lead to greater economy of time and effort in dealing with them. An accurate knowledge of the child's ability and development will not only be a help in gradation and classification but should also help in the actual teaching. Every bit of information that a teacher can get about a child should be a help in dealing with that child. Studies made by the author indicate that there is a wide difference of ability possessed by the children ordinarily found in the same grade. It will usually be found that there are children in the third grade with as great ability as that of some pupils in the high school. A more careful system of gradation will lead to more nearly equal ability in the same grade and should make better teaching possible. If mental tests were given in a school every year, the development of the child could be traced and the rapidity of this development determined. This information would be a great help in dealing with the individual child. It must be remembered that the mental tests are measures of the abilities possessed by individual children and are not measures of the efficiency of the teacher, except to the extent that the teaching may have affected the development of the child. PHYSICAL MEASURES AND TESTS It has been found that there is a close relation t)etween mental and physical development. Therefore, it is important to know of the physical development of every child. If all the children of the same age in the schools are studied, it is found that the heavier ones, the taller ones, the stronger ones, etc., are in the upper grades. Therefore, the physical development of the child should be studied, and the records of this development from year to year kept. Norms of the more important physical measures and tests are given in this manual. GENERAL DIRECTIONS The results of the mental tests in the school will be worse than useless unless the tests are given with the greatest care and scientific precision. Every test should be most carefully explained to the children so that they will know exactly what they are to do. The matter must be so presented to them that they will put forth all possible effort. They must take the tests seriously. Great care must be taken to see that there is no cheating. The work of each child should be his own work. In those tests in which time is an important element, the time must be carefully kept, with a stop watch if one is available. The papers should be distributed for the tests and turned face downward on the pupil's desk. The pupil, when all is ready to begin, should take the paper in his hand and at the signal "begin" turn it over and begin work, and when the signal "stop" is given, should quit work in- stantly and turn the paper over. Before the work begins, the necessary information should be placed on each paper. This information should be the pupil's name, age, grade, sex, and school. This should be on every paper. When the test is over the papers should be immediately collected. LOGICAL MEMORY Object. — The purpose of this test is to determine the pupil's facility in remembering and reproducing ideas. A pupil's standing in the test may serve as an indication of his ability to remember the subject matter of the school studies. Method. — The procedure in this test is for the teacher to read slowly and distinctly the story to be reproduced. Immediately after the reading the pupils are to write down all of the story that they can recall. They must not begin to write till after the reading. Ten minutes should be allowed for the reproduction. This is ample time, and each pupil should be told to use the whole time in working on his reproduction. At the end of ten minutes, collect the papers. Care should be taken to see that each pupil does his own work, that there is no copying. Before reading the story, the teacher should give the following instructions: I shall read to you a story entitled Willie Jones and His Dog (or A Farmer's Son, or A Costly Temper, as the case may be). After I have read the story you are to write down all you can re- member of it. You are not to use the exact words that I read unless you wish. You are to use your own words. Try to recall / as much as possible and write all you recall. Try to get all the details, not merely the main facts. Material. — For grades three, four, and five, use Willie Jones and His Dog; for grades six, seven, and eight, use A Farmer's Son; for the high school, use A Costly Temper. The norms for the latter are based on eighth grade and high school pupils. WILLIE JONES AND HIS DOG Willie I Jones I was a little I boy I only I five years old. I He had a dog I whose name was Buster. I Buster was a large I dog I with long, I black, I curly | hair. | His fore ] feet | and the tip ] of his tail | were white. I One day | Willie's mother | sent him | to the store | which was only | a short | distance away. 1 Buster went with him, | fol- lowing behind. ] As Buster was turning | at the corner, | a car | struck him I and broke 1 one I hind I leg | and hurt I one I eye. I Willie was I very | sorry | and cried | a long | time. | Willie's father ] came| and carried I the poor | idog I home. [ The broken leg I, got well I in five I weeks I but the eye I that was hurt I became blind. I A FARMER'S SON Will I was a farmer's I son I who attended school I in town. | His clothes I were poor and his boots | often smelled | of the farmyard I although he took great I care of them. I Since Will had not gone to school I as much I as his classmates, I he was often I at a disadvantage, I although his mind I was as good I as theirs, — I in fact, he was brighter I than most | of them. I James, I the wit I of the class, I never lost an opportunity | to ridicule | Will's mistakes, | his bright | red ] hair, | and his patched [clothes. 1 Will I took the ridicule I in good part land never I lost his temper. 1 One Saturday | as Will I was driving I his cows | to pasture, I he met James I teasing I a young | child, I a cripple. I Will's I indignation I was aroused I by the sight. I He asked I the bully j to stop, I but when he would not, I Will pounced | upon him | and gave him I a good i beating, I and he would not I let James go I until he prom- ised I not to tease I the crippled I child | again. 1 A COSTLY TEMPER A man | named John I Murdock I had a servant | who worried him I much by his stupidity. I One day I when this servant was more | stu- pid I than usual, I the angry I master I of the house I threw a book I at his head.] The servant | ducked | and the book flew | out of the window.] "Now go I and pick that book up!" I ordered the master. | The servant | started I to obey, I but a passerby I had saved him I the trou- ble, I and had walked off I with the book. | The scientist | thereupon | began to wonder I what book I he had thrown away, I and to his hor- ror, I discovered I that it was a quaint | and rare I little I volume j of poems, I which he had purchased I in London I for fifty I dollars. I But his troubles I were not over. I The weeks went by | and the man had almost | forgot his loss, I when strolling j into a second hand | bookshop, I he saw, I to his great delight, [a copy of the book | he had lost. I He asked the price. | "Well," I said the dealer, | reflectively, | "I guess we can let you have it I for forty | dollars. I It is a very | rare book, | and I am sure | that I could get seventy-five | dollars for it j by holding on a while." | The man of science I pulled out his purse I and produced the Aoe a 9 I 10 // /2 29 ?9 G/r/s ^ 3/ Norm 3 9 ^4 2 54 4- 54< 34 33 1 1 1 1 32 1 1 1 1 1 / 3/ ^ / / 30 1 1 1 1 / 29 1 i 28 1 27 / ' .„ ^6 6 27 Boys 5 29 Norm 3 9 3/ .7 32 .6 526 Plate I. Logical Memory — Willie Jones money, I delighted at the opportunity of replacing | his lost | treasure. | When he reached home, | a card 1 dropped out I of the leaves. [ The card was his own, land further I examination I showed that he had bought back I his own property. | "Forty dollars | worth of temper," | exclaimed the man. | "I think I shall mend my ways." I His disposition I afterward I became so I good I that I the servant became worried, [ thinking the man I must be ill. I The Results. — The material for the test is divided into units as indicated by the vertical lines. The pupil's written reproduction should be compared unit by unit with the story as printed, and given one credit for each unit adequately reproduced. The norms for the three tests are shown in the graphs which follow, I, II and III. In these and all the graphs which follow, the actual ages are shown in the first horizontal column. The norms for girls are shown in the second horizontal column, the norms for boys are shown in the column at the bottom. By the norm for an age is meant the average per- formance of all the pupils of that age examined. By age ten is meant the pupils that have passed their tenth birthday and have not reached /A^IR II 1?- U 13 14- IS 33 33 G'r/5 5 34. Norm 5 35 .1 35 & 585 38 / 37 / / 1 36 1 1 1 1 / 35 ¥^' 1 / 34 / ^^ y^ -g^^ 33 --'' / • y/^ 32 / -52 3 33 Boy^ 2 :i3 Norm 9 3^ a 35 3(53 Tlate II. Logical Memory — A Farmer's Son their eleventh birthday, and the other ages are to be similarly inter- preted. The vertical lines in the graphs indicate birthdays and the scores written on these lines indicate ability at these exact ages. The column marked ten, for example, includes all the children that are over ten and not yet eleven. The graphs show the development from age to age. In general, it will be noticed, there is an improvement of memory with age, but in the high school, in the Costly Temper test, there is a decline. This may not indicate a real decline in ability to remember ideas, but a change in attitude. The high school pupil prob- ably acquires a habit of remembering only significant facts. His mem- ory is selective, while in the earlier ages, the memory may be more 8 parrot-like, one idea being reproduced with about as much fidelity as another. This statement is made not as a lact, but as a probable ex- planation. Aqe (Z /3 14- m 15 16 /? JB 49 1 45 / 49 6 50 Cris 4S Norms 7 47 & 47 6 "^0 f9 x' "X -''' 4-6 \ \ \ \ 47 ^ ^ \ 46 \ 45 \ SO 5 ?^ Z7 y / . 26 y' / 2? ' 54 / ^ 2? // Wi- 22 ,/ / S/ / '"/ / ao./ ''' / /9i 5 /9 ' .2/. L R2 e, ^?- 7 ^^ Soys 1 ?4 Nor mi ? P5 ^? % ?e ^ ^7 f Plate Y. Abstract Rote Memory the five squares which follow the number you are to write the let- ters which correspond to the digits. Work as fast as you can and fill as many of the squares as you can without making mistakes When I say "stop," quit work instantly and turn the paper over Before beginning the test the teacher should explain on the black- board the exact nature of the test. This can be done by using other letters instead of those used in the key. Make sure that the pupils understand what they are to do. Allow eight minutes in grades three, four, and five, and five minutes above the fifth grade. 11 Material. — For material use the substitution test-sheets. Besults. — In grading the work, count each square correctly filled in as one point, and reduce the score to speed per minute by dividing by eight in grades three, four, and five, and by five in the grades above. The norms are shown in plate VI. ^oe 9 /O // /2 /J W /4 15 16 n IB /5 23 14 7/ n .27 19 .69 21 Girls 49 22 ,98 25 1 21 2 28 .4- 28 5 2 7.-y .^' 25 • • 2.2 5 0^> ^ ZO. • / ^ ■I7S / • / IS / /2 5 y r /C / /o .93 /2 T 14 5 /6 55 /7 Bo^s 7 /d Normz 25 0-2 ./ ?3 Til 25 .08 25 77 Plate YI. Substitution Test FREE ASSOCIATION Object. — This test determines the speed of the free flow of ideas. The result of the test is a criterion of the quickness of the flow of ideas when no restriction or limitation is put on this flow. Method. — The procedure in this test is to give the pupils a word, and tell them to write this word down and all the other words that come into their minds. Make it clear to them that they are to write whatever word comes to mind, whether it has any relation to the word that is given them or not. Start them with the word cloud. Give the following instructions: I wish to see how many words you can think of and write down in three minutes. I shall name a word, you may write it 12 down and then all the other words that come into your mind. Do not write sentences, merely the words that come into your mind. Work as fast as you can. Results.— Score the work by counting the number of words that have been written. The norms are shown in plate VII. OPPOSITES Object.— This is a test of controlled association. It tests one as- pect of the association of ideas. All thinking is a matter of associa- Aofl a 9 lO // /2 /J /4 15 16 17 /& F4 2 25 6 29 35 40 3 43 Girls 46 Norma / 48 .6 49 ■4- 48 5 48 Z 4-7 ^ "^""r-*-. .42. c.^"" -^^ ^ ^7 / / y -f!# / 32 / / y ?7 ■y / g^ y • y^ 17 /9 d ^^ 3 2.6 9 Ho 8 34 7 3S Boys 39 Norms 9 44 6 47 8 48 t 48 Plate VII. Free Association Test tion of ideas. Reasoning is controlled association. The test may there- fore be taken as a measure of speed in reasoning. Method. — Distribute the opposites lists to the pupils and turn them face down on the desks. Use list one in grades three, four, and five, and list two in grades above. Allow two minutes in grades three, four, and five and one minute in grades above. Give the following in- structions: On the sheets that have been distributed to you are fifty words. After each word you are to write a word that has the opposite meaning. For example, if one word were iar, you could write near. 13 Work as fast as you can, and when I say "stop," quit work in- stantly and turn your paper over. Results. — The score is the number of opposites correctly written. The norms are shown in plate VIII. Aqe fl 9 10 II 12. VIM /3 /4- 15 /6 11 18 II G/rA 2 /^ Nor/773 15 LstI .2 16 5 JS 2