Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-07
DECLARES PARENTS
WANT KNOWLEDGE
OF MENTAL TESTS
Head of Parent-Teacher Con-
greSS Submits Brief to
School Association.
EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE
TO MAKE STUDY OF PLAN
Questions Designed to Give Au-
thorities an Opportunity to
Explain Practices.

Washington parents, according to
Mrs. Giles Scott Rafter, president of the
D. G. Congress of PARENT Teacher As
Soclatlons, want to know more about
the mental tests which are being adj
mnlstered to their children in the pub
! lie schools.
Mrs. Rafter, also member of the
Public School Association, has laid be-
fore that body's committee on educa-
tlonal methods and progress an extern
Sive brief, which, she frankly states,
was prepared by experts" in which a
series of queries, designed to bring out
virtually every question which has
arisen in the minds of parents since the
testing was begun, is included. The
| Public School Association Wednesday
night authorized its educational meth
DDS and progress committee to undertake
a study of the mental tests, and the
presentation of the brief to that body
marked the first step in the study.
Tests in Experimental Form.
The BRIEF described to be ''in petition
| for the evaluation of the mental tests
and achievement tests given in our pub
lie schools and of the results in the sys-
tenn from the use of their findings" is
headed by a preamble which assumes
| that the tests constitute 1.-The most SCI
| entif1c approach known at present for
more accurate method of evaluating
| intelligence and capacity" The pre-
amble, however, also expresses the view
that the tests still are in highly ex-
perimental form and that consideration
| OF them must be made with an open
| mind, regarding them and their use as
neither fixed nor final
The queries, which follow, are
grouped under three general heads:
| /. The giving of the mental tests
| 2. The use of the mental tests. 3. The
giving of the achievement tests. They
deal largely with the procedure which
labels a child "subnormal" and places
/ him in the 'z'', group class in school,
The brief concludes with the assertion
| that the questions are presented mot to
diScredit any practice now in USE but to
afford our school authorities an oppor-
tunity to explain definitely certain poll
c1es and practices which are now in use
| in our schools and which to a large
| number of parents may present many
perplexing problems"
Under the topic Giving the Mental
Tests" the brief contains the following:
Urge Physical Test.
I'm view of the fact that physical
and mental well-being are closely con-
nected should not thorough physical
examination accompany every mental
test?
"Inasmuch as some pre-eminent au-
| thorities hold that mental tests still are
out of balance with exceeding value
! placed on some one factor-vocabulary
| for inStance-should not many things
be considered in close relation with
these tests before labelling a child z or
| Subnormal?
I'm order that an additional check
| may be had on the findings of group
| tests, and in view of the fact that group
| tests cannot possibly consider individual
| problems, and finally, as so much i'm
| portance is attached to the findings of
| tests cannot possibly consider individual
| test be made, at least Of the child held
by the group test to be not an average
child?"
In this connection, the brief asks that
| If individual testing is considered to
take too long and the expense too great,
should we not either spend enough to-
| do the work properly, or else not use
this device at all?" Continuing, the
brief asks:
us not the q label of serious enough
! purport to force us to take every pre-
caution before giving it? Should we
not consider that when group test Is
given one child in ths group may be i'll,
one may have tootLache, one may be
seated too near radiator one may not
hear well and so not fully understand
the Instructions"
I'm view of the fact that neither of
the two standard intelligence tests given
in our schools now are thoroughly
| diagnostic, and further as they do not
allow adequate consideration of the
mental capacity of a child who has the
ability to think clearly and accurately
but whose response is slow, but class
such a child in somewhat the same
category as they do the child who cam
not think at all, should not all addi-
tional testS be used, or, If none is avail
| able, be devised by the research depart
ment of our public schools which could
| help evaluate more fairly the two types
Of children?
| eff tests were used which are more
/ truly diagnostic than those now used
apparently are, would they not indicate
| which children of higher as well as
lower intelligence were motor minded
| that is, which preferred to learn by
/ doing rather than by abstract thinking
| alone?"
Have Faith in Value.
| Under the topic use of the Mental
| Tests" the brief assumes first that the
| authorities who are authorizing the
use of these tests and their spplica-
ton in school organization have great
| ldiLI1 III llltII ODOtI IiAlo bo0AS
| the following questions are asked:
HAS the course of study been adapt
ed throughout the school system for
the so-called * ~ z groups? In
other words, after the tests reveal a
child to be an * 'Y' or e. is the
work of each grade adapted to the
particular needs of each group?"
The brief also asks why there Is so
much skipping" of grades by school
children. Under this topic it asks:
Should not the physical and the
social age of a child be considered as
well as his mental age? Is the very
young child in the senior high school
not very unhappy when she cannot
fully enjoy the social life of the high
school? Are there not vast physical
problems to be considered in the in
terest of the welfare of the child?
would it not be better for the child
If he who is of superior intelligence
be given additional work rather than
to have him denied even sketchy
approach to the work of any particu-
lar grade? Does not Skipping have
as many bad effects, psychologically
speaking, as it has advantages"
Commenting upon this phase OF
school life, the brief suggests recogni-
ton of the unhappy state of very bright
pupils who are obliged to work with
slower pupils and of the evil conse-
quences of this condition. The "eVil
consequences include, according to the
brief, laziness, indifference to work. de-
trouble making for occupation. The
question is asked if another and per-
haps better plan than skipping to
meet the situation would not he 10