Intelligence Testing and Young Children by Julia Hart

Agenda 1.What is intelligence? 2. What is an IQ? 3.A (very) brief history of intelligence testing 4.Why measure intelligence? 5.Theories of intelligence 6.Common IQ tests for young children 7.What are we really measuring? 8.Summary 9.Questions?

What is intelligence? Thoughts from the audience? Merriam-Webster defines it as “the ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations” Wechsler defined it: “Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment. It is global because it characterizes the individual’s behavior as a whole; it is an aggregate because it is composed of elements or abilities which are quantifiably differentiable”

What is an IQ? IQ stands for intelligence quotient, but modern “IQ tests” are not actually quotients. The original Binet tests had standard performance levels for each age- “mental age.” A person’s IQ was calculated by dividing mental age by chronological age and then multiplying the quotient by 100. For example, for a 5 year old child who performed at the mental age of 7, 7 ÷ 5= 1.4 × 100= an IQ of 140 A 7 year old child who had a mental age of 7 would have an IQ of 100. The use of quotients began to be eliminated when Wechsler developed his intelligence scale in All modern IQ tests have standard scores with a mean of 100 and SD=15.

The Binet Scales -Alfred Binet is the father of the modern intelligence test. He and Theodore Simon crafted the Benet-Simon scale in the early 1900s. -The test was brought to the US and revised by Lewis Terman of Stanford University, hence the well-known Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales.

Early IQ Testing WWI gave test developers a purpose for their work. The government needed a quick means of assessing army recruits and officer candidates as well as a nonverbal means of assessing the thousands of new immigrants to the country. David Wechsler began his career in psychology at Bellevue Hospital in NY. It was there he developed his first IQ test, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. His scale utilized items directly from the Binet and Army alpha tests to form his Verbal Scale. He also used nonverbal items from the Army’s beta test when creating his Performance Scale.

Why do we measure IQ? In the past, IQ discrepancies were used to identify learning disabilities. This is no longer recommended practice. Some employers use IQ testing as part of the interview process To identify intellectual disability To determine “competency” in court Private School Admissions To gain more information about how a child learns or processes information As we all know, no test alone should be used to make a placement or qualification decision. IQ tests are one tool to evaluate children’s cognition and abilities.

Theories of Intelligence General Factor (g)- coined by Charles Spearman in g describes an individual’s underlying intellectual ability, which is used to explain the correlation between scores on subtests. Cattell and Horn theorized that there were actually 2 general factors: fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystalized intelligence (Gc). Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory: linguistic, logical-mathematic, musical, spatial, bodily- kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

Theories, cont. Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory expanded on the idea of Gf and Gc to include additional cognitive factors including: Gv: visual processing Gsm: Short-term memory Glr: long-term storage and retrieval Gq: quantitative knowledge *These measures guided development of the KABC*

Theories, cont. Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) theory: routed in the work of Luria who “theorized that human cognitive functions can be conceptualized within a framework of three separate but related ‘functional units’ that provide four basic psychological processes.” The 1 st functional unit is attention (selective cognitive activity), the 2 nd is simultaneous and successive processing (forms of operating on information- encoding, analyzing), and the 3 rd is planning (intentionality and self regulation- executive functioning). Each area is related to an area of the brain.

Theories in practice The many theories regarding intelligence have led to newer intelligence tests and revisions of older tests. Subscales and subtests reflect the multiple modes of intelligence that can be measured

The Wechsler Tests The WISC and WPPSI are the most used intelligence tests for children in the US WPPSI is for children age 2:11-7:3 years old WISC is for ages 6:0-16:11 years old

What does the WPPSI measure? FSIQ is based on the results of the subtests in red. Score reports include scores for each index, with a mean of 100 and SD of 15.

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) For children 3-18 years old. Two global constructs: Mental Processing Index (MPI), which measures general mental processing from the Luria perspective, and the Fluid- Crystalized Index (FCI) which measures general processing from the CHC perspective, including crystalized ability. There is also an additional non-verbal scale comprised of elements from both indices. Number of Scales depends on child’s age and tester’s choice of Luria or CHC model The Kaufmans stated that the CHC model is preferred except for bilingual children, children suspected of having language disorder, children with ASD, and children who are deaf or hand or hearing.

Additional IQ Measures for Children Stanford-Binet: for children 2 years old- adult Woodcock-Johnson: 2 years old-adult Cognitive Assessment System (CAS): years old Differential Ability Scales (DAS): 2:6-17 years old

Wrapping Up See handout for resources and recommended reading on the subject. When reading IQ testing reports, look at subtest scores, not just full-scale IQ. Individual scores can give important information about how a child learns or expresses information. Questions?

References Benson, E. (2003). Intelligent intelligence testing: Psychologists are broadening the concept of intelligence and how to test it. Retrieved from: Flanagan, D. P. & Harrison, P. L. (Eds.). (2005). Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests, and issues. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Kaufman, A. S. & Lichtenberger, E. O. (2000). Essentials of the WISC-III and WPPSI-R assessment. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Kaufman, A. S. (2009). IQ testing 101. New York, NY: Spring Publishing Company. Lichtenberger, E. O., Broadbrooks, D. Y., & Kaufman, A. S. (2000). Essentials of cognitive assessment with KAIT and other Kaufman measures. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naglieri, J. A. (1999). Essentials of the CAS assessment. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pearson Clinical (n.d.). The boldly reimagined WPPSI-IV. Retrieved from: IV/brochure.pdfhttp://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/Products/WPPSI-