INTELLIGENCE TESTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18534, 19 October 1923, Page 12

INTELLIGENCE TESTS.

I • K H;'V A particularly interesting evening was spent at the Pioneer Club on Monday, when Miss ■ Valentine gave an address upon "Intelligence Tests" to the debating circle. Miss Valentine, almost immediately after her return from" America and England, was appointed by the Government to carry out these' tests in the different schools, and it was to learn something of this work that she was asked to lecture to ; the circle. Miss Valentine described how the Binet tests for sorting out normal,., sub-normal and i superior children (mentally) were evolved. For many years Binet had worked, at formulating a ; standard or scale by which intelligence could bo tested. - These tests were applied to . children usually from three years of age to twelve or more, . and then before he had finished his experiments and investigations he died. Others took the work up and the scale was extensively used in America, but not so much in England. In America Che Stan- j ford Revision of the Binet Scale camiv into use. ; The, principal objection of using the scale was to find out if the intelligence of a child corresponded to his jfears. It was an easy matter to grade the chili* by putting him in , the „ cl&j,.i 1 sy'"*od to his intelligence. .In this way in certain schools in ih«y were able to provide li;> child with superior int<? .Hgcnce. the normal and. r ;be sub- r>wma! j child. / The superior ' c'jitd. i'ai not kept back; he had his chance; too, in the s{Krcii»l' classes did the defective child. Miss Valentine said' that she would »iko v-jry much to see parents taking a greater interest in the public schools, in what was beins tfeiight in them, in the 'condition, -under v/TvJch their children studied, -Voti in very many other things concerning school life. She thor>b.t there was too much of | a tendency to leave everything to (lie I Government. In America many schools had parents' associations or organisations attached to them, and these associations interested themselves in the school life of the children, discussed matters, with the teachers, and often did very good work. She would like to see some of the schools specialise in certain things instance, some in art, others in music, others again in the teaching of mentally defective and physically defective children. Compared with Canada, the schools here were very far behind in their musical teaching. She would like to see some far-seeing philanthropic person come forward with a gift of £2000 to be expended upon sending half-a-dozen teachers away from this country to the proper centres to specialise in the training and teaching of sub-normal children. In no way could money be better expended. '