CHAPTER 8: INTELLIGENCE What is intelligence? The ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences The ability to solve problems The capacity to adapt and learn from experiences Includes characteristics such as creativity and interpersonal skills The mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment The ability to judge, comprehend, and reason The ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols The ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment As you think about what intelligence is, you should ask the following questions: To what extent is intelligence genetic? To what extent is intelligence stable? How do cognitive abilities interact with other aspects of functioning? Are there true sex differences? Is intelligence a global capacity (similar to “good health”) or can it be differentiated into various dimensions (called “factors” or “aptitudes”)? Are there a number of “intelligences”? How do you measure intelligence? Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Measure of intelligence that takes into account a child’s mental and chronological age IQ Score = MA / CA x 100 Mental age (MA): the typical intelligence level found for people at a given chronological age Chronological age (CA): the actual age of the child taking the intelligence test People whose mental age is equal to their chronological age will always have an IQ of 100. If the chronological age exceeds mental age – below- average intelligence (below 100). If the mental age exceed the chronological age – above-average intelligence (above 100). The normal distribution: most of the population falls in the middle range of scores between 84 and 116. • Very Superior Intelligence (gifted) - Above 130 • Superior Intelligence - 120 to 129 • High Average Intelligence - 110 to 119 • Average Intelligence - 90 to 109 • Low Average Intelligence - 80 to 89 • Borderline Intellectual Functioning - 71 to 79 • Mild Mental Retardation - 55 to 70 • Moderate Retardation - 40 to 54 • Severe Mental Retardation - 25 to 39 • Profound Mental Retardation - Below 25 Intelligence tests were developed for the practical function of selecting students for admission or placement in schools. Originally these tests were not based on any theory of intelligence. They defined intelligence as the ability to do well in school. Stanford-Binet This test was developed to identify children who had serious intellectual difficulties -- such that they would not succeed in the public school system and who should not be placed in the same classes with other students. This test measured things that were necessary for school success such as understanding and using language, computational skills, memory, and the ability to follow instructions. Individual responses in four content areas - Verbal reasoning Quantitative reasoning Abstract/visual reasoning Short-term memory Wechsler Scales Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III): Used with people 17 and older Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III): Used with children 6 to 16 Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner) Gardner thinks there are eight types of intelligence. He believes each of us have all of the eight types of intelligence to varying degrees. These multiple intelligences are related to how an individual prefers to learn and process information. Verbal skills: The ability to think in words and use language to express meaning o Sensitivity to the meanings and sounds of words, mastery of syntax, appreciation of the ways language can be used (authors, journalists, speakers, poets, teachers) Mathematical skills: The ability to carry out mathematical operations o Understanding of objects and symbols and of actions that be performed on them and of the relations between these actions, ability for abstraction, ability to identify problems and seek explanations (scientists, engineers, accountants) Spatial skills: The ability to think three-dimensionally o Capacity to perceive the visual world accurately, to perform transformations upon perceptions and to re-create aspects of visual experience in the absence of physical stimuli, sensitivity to tension, balance, and composition, ability to detect similar patterns (architects, artists, sailors, chess masters) Bodily-kinesthetic skills: The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept o Use of one’s body in highly skilled ways for expressive or goal-directed purposes, capacity to handle objects skillfully (surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes, actors) Musical skills: A sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone o Sensitivity to individual tones and phrases of music, an understanding of ways to combine tones and phrases into larger musical rhythms and structures, awareness of emotional aspects of music (musicians, composers, sensitive listeners) Interpersonal skills: The ability to understand and effectively interact with others o Ability to notice and make distinctions among the moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions of other people and potentially to act on this knowledge (teachers, mental health professionals, parents, religious and political leaders) Intrapersonal skills: The ability to understand oneself o Access to one’s own feelings, ability to draw on one’s emotions to guide and understand one’s behavior, recognition of personal strengths and weaknesses (theologians, novelists, psychologists, therapists) Naturalistic skills: The ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems o Sensitivity and understanding of plants, animals, and other aspects of nature (farmers, botanists, ecologists, landscapers, environmentalists) For fun – Figure out where you fall on the eight intelligences: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm Triarchic Theory (Robert Sternberg) Intelligence comes in three forms. Analytical intelligence: The ability to acquire and store information; to retain or retrieve information; to transfer information; to plan, make decisions, and solve problems; and to translate thoughts into performance o How efficiently people process information o How to solve problems, how to monitor solutions, and how to evaluate the results o The use of strategies, acquiring knowledge o Students high in analytical intelligence do well in class with lecture and objective tests. They are considered smart, get good grades, do well on traditional tests, and go to competitive colleges. Creative intelligence: The ability to solve new problems quickly; the ability to learn how to solve familiar problems in an automatic way so the mind is free to handle other problems that require insight and creativity o How people approach familiar or novel tasks o Compare new information with what they already know and to come up with new ways of putting facts together o To think originally o Students high in creative intelligence might not conform to traditional schools. They tend to give unique answers for which they might get reprimanded. Practical intelligence: The ability to get out of trouble; The ability to get along with other people o How people deal with their environment o How to size up a situation and decide what to do – to adapt to it, to change it, or to get out of it o Students high in practical intelligence don’t relate well in traditional schools. They do well outside the classroom walls with good social skills and common sense. Infant IQ Tests: Infant IQ tests are much less verbal than IQ tests for older children Developmental Quotient (DQ): An overall developmental score that combines subscores on motor, language, adaptive, and personal-social domains in the Gesell assessment of infants Bayley Scales of Infant Development: Scales that assess infant development – current version has three parts: a mental scale, a motor scale, and the infant behavior profile Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence: A test that focuses on the infant’s ability to process information in such ways as encoding the attributes of objects, detecting similarities and differences between objects, forming mental representations, and retrieving these mental representations The scores on the Gesell and Bayley tests DO NOT correlate highly with other IQ tests. The components of an infant IQ test are not the same as the components of other IQ tests. Unlike the other tests, the Fagan test is correlated with measures of IQ in older children (habituation and dishabituation in infancy predicts intelligence in childhood and adolescence - quicker habituation and greater amounts of looking in dishabituation reflect more efficient processing). Intelligence through adolescence: There is a strong relationship between IQ scores obtained at ages 6, 8, and 9 and IQ scores obtained at 10. There is still a strong relationship between IQ scores obtained in preadolescent years and those obtained at age 18. However, individual intelligence scores can fluctuate dramatically over childhood and adolescence Intelligence in adulthood: Intellectual Development (John Horn): Crystallized intelligence: accumulated information and verbal skills, which increase with age Fluid intelligence: the ability to reason abstractly, which steadily declines from middle adulthood Cognitive mechanics versus Cognitive pragmatics (Paul Bates): Cognitive mechanics decline during aging whereas cognitive pragmatics do not. Cognitive mechanic (hardware of the mind; speed and accuracy of processing; attention; visual and have a biological/genetic foundationmotor memory; discrimination; comparison; categorization) Cognitive pragmatics (culture-based software; reading and writing skills; language comprehension; have aneducational qualifications; professional skills; knowledge of the self and coping skills) experimental/ cultural foundation Factors Influencing Intelligence The Child’s Influence: Genetics Genotype– Environment Interaction Gender o Boys and girls tend to be equivalent in most aspects of intelligence The average IQ scores of boys and girls is virtually identical. The extremes (both low and high ends) are over- represented by boys. o Girls as a group: Tend to be stronger in verbal fluency, in writing, in perceptual speed (starting as early as. the toddler years) o Boys as a group: Tend to be stronger in visual-spatial processing, in science, and in mathematical problem. solving (starting as early as age 3) The Immediate Environment’s Influence Family Environment School Environment o Attending school makes children smarter Children from families of low SES and those from families of high SES make comparable. gains in school achievement during the school year o What about during summer break? During the academic year -- schools provide children of all backgrounds with the same. stimulating intellectual environment. Over the summer, children from low-SES families are less likely to have the kinds of. experiences that would maintain their academic achievement. The Society’s Influence Poverty o The more years children spend in poverty, the lower their IQs tend to be Children from lower- and working-class homes average 10-15 points below their middleclass age mates on IQ tests. o In many countries, children from wealthier homes score better on IQ test than children from poorer homes The greater the gap in wealth in a country the greater the difference in IQ scores. o Chronic inadequate diet can disrupt brain development Chronic or short-term inadequate diet at any point in life can impair immediate. intellectual functioning o Reduced access to health service, poor parenting, and insufficient stimulation and emotional support can impair intellectual growth Race/Ethnicity o Overall, differences in IQ scores of children from different racial and ethnic groups describe children’s performance ONLY in the environments in which the children live. These findings do not indicate potential, nor do they tell us what these children would do if they live someplace else. The current group differences in IQ are due to environmental differences -- as discrimination and inequality decrease -- IQ differences decrease. The average IQ score of Euro-American children is 10-15 points higher than that of. African-American children The average IQ score of Latino and American-Indian children fall somewhere in between. those of Euro-American and African-American children The average IQ score of Asian-American children tend to be higher than any other. group in the US American-Indian children: Better on the performance part than the verbal part of an IQ. test Latino children: Better on the performance part than the verbal part of an IQ test. Asian-American children: Better on the performance part than the verbal part of an IQ. test African-American children: Better on the verbal part than the performance part of an IQ. test Are IQ tests culturally biased? Culture-Free: Describing an intelligence test that, if it were possible to design, would have no culturally linked content Culture-Fair: Describing an intelligence test that deals with experiences common to various cultures, in an attempt to avoid cultural bias Raven’s Progressive Matrices A “culture-fair” or culture-reduced test that would make minimal use of language and not ask for any specific facts These matrices progress from easy to difficult items -- measures abstract reasoning Culture can influence aEven on culture-fair tests, Euro-American and African- American children still differ child’s familiarity with the entire testing situation Even pictures can produce bias – some cultures have more experience with pictures than others (K.H. Bearce, 2009, personal communication). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents.[1] The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale, released in 1939.[2] It is currently in its fourth edition (WAIS-IV) released in 2008 by Pearson, and is the most widely used IQ test, for both adults and older adolescents, in the world. Data collection for the next version (WAIS 5) began in 2016 and is expected to end in spring 2020. [3] The test is projected to publish in 2021.
History
The WAIS is founded on Wechsler's definition of intelligence, which he defined as "... the global capacity of a person to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment."[4] He believed that intelligence was made up of specific elements that could be isolated, defined, and subsequently measured. However, these individual elements were not entirely independent, but were all interrelated. His argument, in other words, is that general intelligence is composed of various specific and interrelated functions or elements that can be individually measured.[5] This theory differed greatly from the Binet scale which, in Wechsler's day, was generally considered the supreme authority with regard to intelligence testing. A drastically revised new version of the Binet scale, released in 1937, received a great deal of criticism from David Wechsler (after whom the original Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence scale and the modern Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale IV are named).[5]
Wechsler was a very influential advocate for the concept of non-intellective factors, and he felt that the 1937 Binet scale did not do a good job of incorporating these factors into the scale (non-intellective factors are variables that contribute to the overall score in intelligence, but are not made up of intelligence-related items. These include things such as lack of confidence, fear of failure, attitudes, etc.). Wechsler did not agree with the idea of a single score that the Binet test gave.[5] Wechsler argued that the Binet scale items were not valid for adult test-takers because the items were chosen specifically for use with children.[5] The "Binet scale's emphasis on speed, with timed tasks scattered throughout the scale, tended to unduly handicap older adults."[5] Wechsler believed that "mental age norms clearly did not apply to adults."[5] Wechsler criticized the then existing Binet scale because "it did not consider that intellectual performance could deteriorate as a person grew older."[5] These criticisms of the 1937 Binet test helped produce the Wechsler–Bellevue scale, released in 1939. While this scale has been revised (resulting in the present day WAIS-IV), many of the original concepts Wechsler argued for, have become standards in psychological testing, including the point- scale concept and the performance-scale concept.[5]
Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler–Bellevue tests were innovative in the 1930s because they:
1. gathered tasks created for nonclinical purposes for administration as a "clinical test battery",[6] 2. used the point scale concept instead of the age scale, and 3. included a non-verbal performance scale.[7][8] Point scale concept In the Binet scales (prior to the 1986 version) items were grouped according to age level. Each of these age levels was composed of a group of tasks that could be passed by two-thirds to three- quarters of the individuals in that level. This meant that items were not arranged according to content. Additionally, an individual taking a Binet test would only receive credit if a certain number of the tasks were completed. This meant that falling short just one task required for the credit, resulted in no credit at all (for example, if passing three out of four tasks was required to receive credit, then passing two yielded no credit).[5] The point scale concept significantly changed the way testing was done by assigning credits or points to each item. This had two large effects. First, this allowed items to be grouped according to content. Second, participants were able to receive a set number of points or credits for each item passed.[9] The result was a test that could be made up of different content areas (or subtests) with both an overall score and a score for each content area. In turn, this allowed for an analysis to be made of an individual's ability in a variety of content areas (as opposed to one general score).[5] The Non-Verbal Performance Scale The non-verbal performance scale was also a critical difference from the Binet scale. Since, the early Binet scale had been persistently and consistently criticized for its emphasis on language and verbal skills.[5] Wechsler made an entire scale that allowed the measurement of non-verbal intelligence. This became known as a performance scale. Essentially, this scale required a subject to do something. Such as, copying symbols or point to a missing detail, rather than just answer questions. This was an important development, as it attempted to overcome biases that were caused by "language, culture, and education."[5] Further, this scale also provided an opportunity to observe a different type of behavior, because something physical was required. Clinicians were able to observe how a participant reacted to the "longer interval of sustained effort, concentration, and attention"; that the performance tasks required.[5] While the Wechsler–Bellevue scale was the first to effectively use the performance scale. Therefore, meaning that (1) there was a, "possibility of directly comparing an individual's verbal and nonverbal intelligence".[5]So that, "the results of both scales were expressed in comparable units".[5]The idea had been around for a while. The Binet scale did have performance tasks. Although, they were geared towards children. Also, there were entire tests that were considered supplements or alternatives. Such an example of a performance test, is the Leiter International Performance Scale.[5]
WAIS
The WAIS was initially created as a revision of the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale (WBIS), which was a battery of tests published by Wechsler in 1939. The WBIS was composed of subtests that could be found in various other intelligence tests of the time, such as Robert Yerkes' army testing program and the Binet-Simon scale. The WAIS was first released in February 1955 by David Wechsler. Because the Wechsler tests included non-verbal items (known as performance scales) as well as verbal items for all test-takers, and because the 1960 form of Lewis Terman's Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales was less carefully developed than previous versions, Form I of the WAIS surpassed the Stanford–Binet tests in popularity by the 1960s.[2]
WAIS-R
The WAIS-R, a revised form of the WAIS, was released in 1981 and consisted of six verbal and five performance subtests. The verbal tests were: Information, Comprehension, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Similarities, and Vocabulary. The Performance subtests were: Picture Arrangement, Picture Completion, Block Design, Object Assembly, and Digit Symbol. A verbal IQ, performance IQ and full scale IQ were obtained.[10] This revised edition did not provide new validity data, but used the data from the original WAIS; however new norms were provided, carefully stratified.[10]
WAIS-III
The WAIS-III, a subsequent revision of the WAIS and the WAIS-R, was released in 1997. It provided scores for Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, along with four secondary indices (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Organization, and Processing Speed). Verbal IQ (VIQ)[edit] Included seven tests and provided two subindexes; verbal comprehension and working memory. The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) included the following tests:
Information Similarities Vocabulary The Working Memory Index (WMI) included:
Arithmetic Digit Span Letter-Number Sequencing and Comprehension are not included in these indices, but are used as substitutions for spoiled subtests within the WMI and VCI, respectively. Performance IQ (PIQ)[edit] Included six tests and it also provided two subindexes; perceptual organization and processing speed. The Perceptual Organization Index (POI) included:
Block Design Matrix Reasoning Picture Completion The Processing Speed Index (PSI) included:
Digit Symbol-Coding Symbol Search Two tests; Picture Arrangement and Object Assembly were not included in the indexes. Object Assembly is not included in the PIQ.
WAIS-IV The current version of the test, the WAIS-IV, which was released in 2008, is composed of 10 core subtests and five supplemental subtests, with the 10 core subtests yielding scaled scores that sum to derive the Full Scale IQ. With the WAIS-IV, the verbal/performance IQ scores from previous versions were removed and replaced by the index scores. The General Ability Index (GAI) was included, which consists of the Similarities, Vocabulary and Information subtests from the Verbal Comprehension Index and the Block Design, Matrix Reasoning and Visual Puzzles subtests from the Perceptual Reasoning Index. The GAI is clinically useful because it can be used as a measure of cognitive abilities that are less vulnerable to impairments of processing speed and working memory. Index scores and scales There are four index scores representing major components of intelligence:
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) Working Memory Index (WMI) Processing Speed Index (PSI) Two broad scores, which can be used to summarize general intellectual ability, can also be derived:
Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), based on the total combined performance of the VCI, PRI, WMI, and PSI General Ability Index (GAI), based only on the six subtests that the VCI and PRI comprise. Standardization The WAIS-IV was standardized on a sample of 2,200 people in the United States ranging in age from 16 to 90.[11] An extension of the standardization has been conducted with 688 Canadians in the same age range.
Age range and uses
The WAIS-IV measure is appropriate for use with individuals aged 16–90 years. For individuals under 16 years, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC, 6–16 years) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI, 2½–7 years, 7 months) are used. Intelligence tests may be utilized in populations with psychiatric illness or brain injury, in order to assess level of cognitive functioning. Rehabilitation psychologists and neuropsychologists use the WAIS-IV and other neuropsychological tests to assess how the brain is functioning after injury. Specific subtests provide information on a specific cognitive function. For example, digit span may be used to get a sense of attentional difficulties. Each subtest score is tallied and calculated with respect to neurotypical norms.
WASI-II
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II) is a very short form used to estimate intellectual functioning.[12]
Aptitudes A natural ability to do something. An aptitude is a component of a competence to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Outstanding aptitude can be considered "talent". An aptitude may be physical or mental.
Definition of Aptitude Tests: Next to intelligence, aptitude is considered to be another important characteristic of an individual which can predict success in a course of study or career. It is asserted that aptitudes are related to vocational success as intelligence is related to success in life in general.
Along with the measurement of general intelligence, the measurement of aptitude is also necessary because both these measures provide sufficient information about the potentialities of an individual.
Before thinking about aptitude tests it is obvious to know about the meaning of aptitude. The word aptitude is derived from the word “aptos” which means ‘ fitted for”.
To explore the meaning and nature of aptitude few definitions are cited below: Dictionary of Education – Aptitude is defined as a “Pronounced innate capacity for or ability in a given line of endeavour such as a particular art, school subject or vocation.”
Van Dusen has defined the term in a rather strict manner. “Aptitude is a measure of the probable rate of learning which results in interest and satisfaction and is relatively specific and narrow.”
English and English – “Aptitude may be regarded as the capacity to acquire proficiency with a given amount of training.”
Traxler – “Aptitude is a condition, a quality or a set of qualities which is indicative of the probable extent to which an individual may be able to acquire, under suitable training, some knowledge, understanding, or skill.” To sum up these definitions, certain facts regarding the meaning of aptitude have come to the floor of discussions: (i) Aptitude is symptomatic or indicative of one’s potentialities.
(ii) An understanding of one’s aptitude helps us to know what he can do in the future.
(iii) It is the combination of both inborn capacities and developed abilities and skills etc.
(iv) Aptitude can be developed by practice and training.
(v) It is considered to be unique or unusual potential of an individual.
(vi) Aptitude opens the ways of interest and satisfaction in life,
(vii) It connotes more than potential ability in performance,
(viii) It is a present condition but with a forward reference.
Measurement of Aptitude: A number of aptitude tests have been developed. Apart from general aptitude batteries, aptitude tests in special areas, aptitude tests for different professions and tests of artistic aptitude (or talent) are now available for us.
Aptitude tests can be broadly categorised under two heads viz.: (i) Differential Aptitude Test Battery, and
(ii) Special Aptitude tests.
(i) Differential Aptitude Test Battery: This is a comprehensive and carefully developed Battery. It has been developed by George K. Bennett, Harold G. Seashore and Alexander G. Wesman. It was developed principally for use in educational and vocational counseling of high school students.
It was designed for grades 8 through 12. The Battery consists of 7 subtests.
These subtests are: (i) Verbal reasoning test,
(ii) Numerical ability test,
(iii) Abstract reasoning test,
(iv) Space relations tests,
(v) Mechanical reasoning test,
(vi) Clerical speed and accuracy test, and
(vii) Language usage test.
(ii) Special Aptitude Tests: We shall discuss the different Special Aptitude Tests under following headings: (A) Mechanical Aptitude Test: Mechanical ability is an ability involved in manipulating concrete objects, such as tools, and in dealing mentally with mechanical movements.
A number of tests are available for measuring mechanical aptitude for a fairly large field of occupations rather than for a single occupation.
1. Minnesota Mechanical Assembly Test. 2. Minnesota Spatial Relations Test.
3. Minnesota Paper Form Board.
4. Johnson O’Connor’s Wiggly Blocks.
5. Sharma’s Mechanical Aptitude Test Battery.
6. Stenguist Mechanical Aptitude Tests.
(B) Clerical Aptitude Tests: Different opinions are held regarding the term clerical aptitude. Super opines that it refers to the ability of routine clerical work. Bills points out clerical duties “include the gathering, classification, and presentation of data of all sorts, and analysis and use of these data in planning, executing and determining the results of operation.” A number of tests are available for measuring clerical aptitude: 1. Minnesota Clerical Aptitude Test.
2. General Clerical Aptitude.
3. The Detroit Clerical Aptitude Examination.
4. P.R.W. Test.
5. Orissa Test of Clerical Aptitude.
6. Clerical Aptitude Test.
(C) Tests of Artistic Aptitude: Some tests have been devised to measure the artistic aptitudes. Some such tests are listed below: 1. Graphic Arts Test: These tests measure the art and aesthetic aptitudes.
2. Musical Aptitude Tests: These tests measure the various components of musical talent.
3. Literary Aptitude Tests: Some examples of such tests are Abbot Traube Test, Rigg Poetry Judgement Test.
(D) Professional Aptitude Tests: These tests primarily measure aptitude for different professions. Such tests are administered before admission into professional institutions like medical, legal, engineering institutions.
There are many tests to measure aptitude in medicine, science, mathematics, law, engineering, teaching etc.
(E) Scholastic Aptitude Tests: These tests measure the scholastic aptitudes. Some examples of such tests are Scholastic Aptitude Tests of C.E.E. Board, Graduate Record Examination.
(F) Other Tests like Motor Dexterity Tests: Other Tests like Motor Dexterity Tests, Sensory Tests, Visual Tests and Auditory Tests.
Uses of Aptitude Tests: (i) Aptitude tests are used for the purpose of prediction for future success both in educational and vocational careers.
(ii) These tests are used to help the students in the proper choice of courses, subjects and careers. (iii) They are used as they supplement other psychological test.
(iv) Aptitude tests are used to help the students in the improvement of certain special traits.
(v) They are used for the purpose of admission and selection of students in the college and technical institutions. Achievement Tests
Achievement refers to the degree of ability that have already attained. Achievement test are direct measures of what they are designed to measure. Achievement tests serve many of the sane functions as tests of general intelligence and special abilities. Uses of achievement test: Achievement test serve numerous functions that are described in the following:
1. To determining how much an individual knows about a particular topic or how well he can perform a particular skill. 2. The results of an achievement test inform the pupil and his parents about his academic accomplishments. 3. Achievement test motivate students to learn. 4. Achievement tests result provide teachers and school administrators with information to plan or modify the curriculum for a pupil or group of pupils. 5. Achievement test serves as a means of evaluating the instructional program and staff and thus contributes to its improvement.
Types of Standardized Achievement Tests: There are four general types of achievement tests. The characteristics of each type are discussed below: 1. Survey test Batteries: Survey test battery is a group of subject-matter tests designed for particular grade levels. The major purpose of administering a battery of test is to determine an individual’s general standing in a group rather than his specific strengths and weakness. Advantages:
1. This is the most comprehensive way of assessing achievement. 2. Various tests in a battery are standardized on the same sample of examinees and the scores are expressed on the same numerical scale, so an individual’s performances in different subject areas can be compared directly. 3. It gives an overall picture of an examinees standing in various objects.
Criticisms:
1. Each of the tests in a survey battery contains a rather limited sample of the content and skills in a given subject 2. Survey test batteries are time consuming. 3. The reliability of this text is very low.
2. Single Survey Tests: Not all of the tests comprising a battery need to administered to a group of examines; the examiner may administer only those tests that he needs. In addition to the individual subject tests in a survey battery, an examiner has a choice of a number of ingle-matter tests that do not constitute part of a larger battery. Advantages:
1. Survey test are usually longer and more detailed than the comparable tests from a battery. 2. This test permits a more thorough evaluation of an examinee’s achievement in a particular area.
Criticisms: They typically yield only one overall score and make no attempt to determine the specific causes of ability or disability in the subject. 3. Diagnostic tests: To construct a diagnostic test in a basic skill such as reading, arithmetic, or spelling, performance on the subject as a whole must be analyzed into sub-skills and then groups of items must be devised to measure performance on these sub-skills. A diagnostic test yields a score on each of the several sub-skills comprising the test. Advantages:
1. To make a detailed analysis of an individual’s disability in reading or mathematics and to determine the causes of the disability, a diagnostic test should be administered. 2. It may also involve special apparatus such as a tachistoscope and an eye-movement camera.
Criticisms:
1. It is detailed so it is time consuming. 2. As it uses special apparatus, so it is costly.
4. Prognostic Test: Prognostic tests are designed to predict achievement in specific school subjects. A prognostic test contains a wider variety of items than the usual achievement test, in the subjects. It is like an aptitude4 test in its function as a predictor of later achievement. Advantages:
1. At a higher grade level there are prognostic tests in mathematics and foreign languages that are designed to predict facility in learning those subjects.
Criticism:
1. Its uses are quiet limited such as school subjects.
The differential aptitude test
The Differential AptitudeTest (DAT), first published in 1947 byThe Psychological Corporation, is a battery of tests whose goal is to assess multiple separate aptitudes of students and adults.The latest (fifth) version of the DAT, published in 1990.
Differential Aptitude Tests is designed to measure an individual's ability to learn or to succeed in a number of different areas such as mechanical reasoning, verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and space relations. Verbal Reasoning Numerical Ability Abstract Reasoning Mechanical Reasoning Language Usage
Importance of DAT
For the experience, some courses/careers have similar type tests.
. Supplementing existing achievement data to facilitate admission to educational courses or apprenticeships.
. Motivate an underachiever by identifying strengths that were unrecognised or underestimated.
. Raise the level of occupational aspirations or change their direction.
. Broaden student’s horizons by suggesting new and expanded career options consistent with tested abilities.
. Help students to understand better why they do well/poorly in some subjects.
. Help students to choose educational and career options on the basis of strengths and weaknesses.
What is Measured
. Language Usage
. Spelling
. Space Relations
. Mechanical Reasoning
. Perceptual Speed and Accuracy
. Abstract Reasoning
. Numerical Reasoning
. Verbal Reasoning .{Educational Aptitude}
Verbal Reasoning
Highly important in academic courses.. Important for work involving communicating ideas or understanding written material. . This test measures the ability to reason with words and to think logically.
Numerical Reasoning
In order to ensure that the reasoning rather than the computational facility is stressed, the computational level of the problem is low.. Measures the ability to reason with numbers and to deal intelligently with quantitative measures.
Numerical Ability
Abstract Reasoning
It assesses how well one can reason with geometric figures or designs.. Non-Verbal/Non-Numerical measure of reasoning power.
Perceptual Speed & Accuracy
Important for scientific or technical work where precision is necessary.. Test items do not call for reasoning skills the emphasis is on speed. . Measures the ability to compare and mark written lists quickly and accurately.