General characteristics psychological testing
Psychological testing is a method of measuring and assessing a person's psychological characteristics using special techniques. The subject of testing can be any psychological characteristics human: mental processes, states, properties, relationships, etc. The basis of psychological testing is a psychological test - a standardized test system that allows you to detect and measure qualitative and quantitative individual psychological differences.
Initially, testing was considered as a type of experiment. However, to date, the specificity and independent significance of testing in psychology make it possible to distinguish it from the experiment itself.
The theory and practice of testing are summarized in independent scientific disciplines- psychological diagnostics and testology. Psychological diagnostics is the science of ways to identify and measure individual psychological and individual psychophysiological characteristics of a person. Thus, psychodiagnostics is an experimental psychological section of differential psychology. Testology is the science of developing and constructing tests.
The testing process typically includes three stages:
1) selection of a methodology adequate to the goals and objectives of testing;
2) testing itself, i.e. collecting data in accordance with instructions;
3) comparison of the obtained data with the “norm” or with each other and making an assessment.
Due to the presence of two ways of assessing the test, two types of psychological diagnosis are distinguished. The first type is to state the presence or absence of any sign. In this case, the data obtained individual characteristics the psyche of the person being tested corresponds to some given criterion. The second type of diagnosis allows you to compare several test takers with each other and find the place of each of them on a certain “axis” depending on the degree of expression of certain qualities. To do this, all respondents are ranked according to the degree of representation of the indicator under study, high, medium, low, etc. are entered. levels of the studied features in a given sample.
Strictly speaking, a psychological diagnosis is not only the result of comparing empirical data with a test scale or with each other, but also the result of a qualified interpretation, taking into account many factors involved (the mental state of the person being tested, his readiness to perceive tasks and report on his indicators, the testing situation, etc. ).
Psychological tests especially clearly demonstrate the connection between the research method and the methodological views of the psychologist. For example, depending on the preferred theory of personality, the researcher selects the type of personality questionnaire.
The use of tests is an integral feature of modern psychodiagnostics. Several areas can be selected practical use results of psychodiagnostics: the field of training and education, the field of professional selection and career guidance, advisory and psychotherapeutic practice and, finally, the field of expertise - medical, judicial, etc.
The emergence and development of the testing method
The emergence of the testing method, as mentioned above, occurred in late XIX V. based on the development of experimental methods for studying psychic phenomena. The ability to quantitatively assess mental phenomena and compare on this basis the results of different subjects with each other led to the rapid development of the testing method. At the same time, knowledge about the individual psychological characteristics of people was accumulated.
The differential psychological study of man was formed not only as a consequence of the development of experimental psychology. Differential psychology “grew up” from the tasks facing medical and pedagogical practice, where there was a great need for differentiation between mentally ill and mentally retarded people.
Development psychological tests was carried out in many European countries and in the USA. Initially, ordinary laboratory experiments were used as tests, but the meaning of their use was different. These experiments did not study differences in the subject's reactions to different stimuli, but individual differences in the subject's reactions under constant experimental conditions.
In 1905, the first intellectual test corresponding to the modern understanding of tests appeared. By order of the French Ministry of Education, French psychologist A. Binet developed an intelligence test to identify mentally handicapped children who are not able to study in regular schools. In 1907, this test was improved by compatriot A. Binet T. Simon and was called the scale mental development Binet - Simone. The developed scale contained 30 tasks, arranged according to the degree of increasing difficulty. For example, for a three-year-old child it was required: 1) show his eyes, nose, mouth; 2) repeat a sentence up to six words long; 3) repeat two numbers from memory; 4) name the drawn objects; 5) state your last name. If the child solved all the tasks, he was offered tasks of a higher age level. Tasks were considered appropriate for a certain age level if they were performed correctly by the majority (80-90%) of children of a given age.
The Binet-Simon scale in subsequent editions (1908 and 1911) was translated into English and German. In these editions, the age range was expanded - up to 13 years, the number of tasks was increased and the concept of mental age was introduced. Mental age was determined by the success of completing test tasks as follows: first, the child was offered tasks corresponding to his chronological age. If he coped with all the tasks, he was offered tasks of the next higher age group. If he did not complete the tasks of his age group, he was offered tasks of the previous younger age group. The basic mental age was considered to be the one for which all tasks were completed by the child. If the child performed, in addition to them, some tasks from the subsequent older age, then several “mental months” were added to his basic mental age.
In 1912, the German psychologist W. Stern introduced the concept of intelligence quotient (10), defined as the ratio of mental age to chronological age, expressed as a percentage.
The improvement of A. Binet's scale was continued at Stanford University (USA) under the leadership of the American psychologist L.M. Theremin. In 1916, a new, standardized version of this scale was proposed, which became known as the Stanford-Binet scale. It had two significant differences from previous editions. Firstly, it used the IQ, and secondly, it introduced the concept of a statistical norm. For each age the most typical, average test performance was 100, and the statistical measure of spread was standard deviation - 16. Thus, all individual results ranging from 84 to 116 were considered normal. If the test score was above 116, the child was considered gifted, if below 84, the child was considered mentally retarded. The Stanford-Binet scale subsequently had several more editions (1937, 1960, 1972, 1986). Newly created intelligence tests are still tested for validity by comparison with the results of this scale.
At the beginning of the 20th century. the development of testing was also determined by the demands of industry and the army. Tests were created for selection in various branches of production and the service sector (Münsterberg tests for the professional selection of telephone operators, Friedrich tests for the selection of mechanics, Guth tests for typesetters, etc.), as well as for the distribution of recruits by branch of the military (tests “Army Alpha” and “Army Beta"). This led to the advent of group testing. Subsequently, army tests were used for civilian purposes.
In the first half of the 20th century. A number of techniques have emerged aimed at differential diagnosis various types of pathology. The German psychiatrist E. Kraepelin continued the work of F. Galton on the technique of free associations. Subsequently, the associative experiment was transformed into the “incomplete sentence method”, which is widely used to this day. In 1921, the Swiss psychiatrist G. Rorschach created the “inkblot test,” which is one of the most popular projective techniques.
In 1935, American psychologists H. Morgan and G. Murray developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), which currently has many modifications. Developed in parallel theoretical foundations construction of tests, methods of mathematical and statistical processing were improved. Correlation and factor analysis appeared (C. Spearman, T.L. Keeley, L. L. Thurston, etc.). This allowed the development of test standardization principles, which made it possible to create consistent test batteries. As a result, methods were proposed based on the factorial principle (R. Cattell's 16PF questionnaire, etc.), and new intelligence tests (1936 - J. Raven's test, 1949 - D. Wechsler's test, 1953 - Amthauer's test ). At the same time, occupational selection tests (GATB battery for the US Army in 1957) and clinical tests (MMPI questionnaire in the 1940s) were improved.
In 1950-1960 There have been important changes in testing ideology. If earlier tests were aimed at screening, selecting, typing people into various categories, then in the 1950-1960s. psychodiagnostics addressed the needs and problems of the individual. A huge number have appeared personality questionnaires, the purpose of which is an in-depth knowledge of the personality, identifying its characteristics (questionnaires by G. Eysenck, etc.).
A significant number of special ability and achievement tests have been created in response to requests from industry and education. In the middle of the 20th century, criterion-referenced tests appeared.
Currently, psychologists have more than ten thousand test methods in their arsenal.
Related information.
1. Scientist who received a prize in 1862 for an experiment proving the impossibility of
Option 1
spontaneous generation of life
A) L. Pasteur
B) V.I.Vernadsky
C) A.I.Oparin
D) S. Miller
E) F. Redi
2. Contributed to the synthesis of the first organic matter on Earth from inorganic
A) low temperature
B) high volcanic activity
C) attenuation of volcanic activity
D) people
E) plants
3. In order to experimentally test Oparin’s hypothesis, S. Miller modeled in his flask:
A) the primordial ocean
B) model of the Earth
C) DNA model
D) aquarium
E) a real ocean
4. Organic substances in the primordial “Broth” could exist indefinitely for
Earth due to:
A) the presence of plants
B) the presence of mushrooms
C) the presence of oxygen
D) lack of water
E) absence of bacteria and fungi
5. In the primary ocean of the Earth, clumps began to form, called:
A) prokaryotes
B) catalysts
C) vitamins
D) coacervates
E) eukaryotes
B) Metabolism.
C) Breathing.
D) Photosynthesis.
6. The process that led to the formation of the atmosphere:
A) Reproduction.
E) Fertilization.
7. With the advent of photosynthesis, the following began to accumulate in the atmosphere:
A) Nitrogen.
B) Hydrogen.
C) Carbon.
D) Oxygen.
E) Carbon dioxide.
8. In 1953, he synthesized the simplest fatty acids and several amino acids from ammonia,
methane and hydrogen:
A) L. Pasteur.
B) F. Redi.
C) A.I. Oparin.
D) S. Miller.
E) V.I. Vernadsky.
9. Author of the hypothesis of the abiogenic origin of life on Earth:
A) F. Redi.
B) A.I. Oparin.
C) S. Miller.
D) L. Pasteur.
E) V.I. Vernadsky.
10. Synthesized the simplest fatty acids and several amino acids from ammonia, methane and
hydrogen:
A) S. Miller
B) L. Pasteur
C) A.I. Oparin
D) V.I. Vernadsky
E) F. Redi.
11. Florentine doctor empirically showed that spontaneous generation of flies in rotten meat
impossible:
A) F,Redi.
B) L. Pasteur.
C) A.I. Oparin.
D) S. Miller.
E) V.I.Vernadsky.
12. Multicellular organisms began
A) Mosses.
B) Green algae.
C) Mushrooms.
D) Ancient single-celled creatures.
E) Lichens.
13. In the primary ocean of the Earth, clumps began to form, called:
A) Prokaryotes.
B) Catalysts.
C) Vitamins.
D) Coacervates.
E) Eukaryotes.
14. In order to experimentally test Oparin’s hypothesis, S. Miller modeled in his
flask:
A) Primary ocean.
B) Model of the Earth.
C) DNA model.
D) Aquarium.
E) A real ocean.
15. Organic substances in the primary “broth” could
exist indefinitely on Earth due to:
A) Presence of plants.
B) Presence of fungi.
C) Presence of oxygen.
D) Lack of water.
E) Absence of bacteria and fungi.
Thematic test"The Origin of Life on Earth."
Option 2
1. Contributed to the synthesis of the first organic substances on Earth from inorganic to
process of photosynthesis:
A) Low temperature.
B) High volcanic activity.
C) People.
D) Decay of volcanic activity.
E) Plants.
2. The impossibility of spontaneous generation of microorganisms was proven by:
A) L. Pasteur.
B) S. Fox.
C) A.I. Oparin.
D) S. Miller.
E) F. Engels.
3. The first true living organisms:
A) Mushrooms.
B) Prokaryotes.
C) Animals.
D) Algae.
E) Plants.
4. Biogenesis is a theory
A) the origin of living things only from living things.
B) historical development organic world.
C) individual development.
D) development of living and non-living things.
E) the development of the organism from the moment of fertilization to the moment of death.
5. The impossibility of spontaneous generation of microorganisms was proven
A) F. Engels
B) L. Pasteur
C) A.I. Oparin
D) S. Miller
E) S. Fox
6. In the primary ocean of the Earth, clumps began to form, called:
A) prokaryotes
B) coacervates
C) vitamins
D) eukaryotes
E) catalysts
7. Within the framework of the theory of the origin of life on Earth, 2 hypotheses are most significant
A) Oogenesis, biogenesis
B) Phylogeny, abiogenesis
C) Abiogenesis, biogenesis
D) Ontogenesis, metamorphosis
E) Embryogenesis, phylogenesis
There is a close internal relationship between the theoretical principles developed within the framework of general psychology and the foundations of psychodiagnostics. Ideas about the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche are the starting point when choosing psychodiagnostic methodology, designing psychodiagnostic techniques, and their use in practice.
The history of psychodiagnostics is both the history of the emergence of basic psychodiagnostic methods and the development of approaches to their creation based on the evolution of views about the nature and functioning of the psyche. In this regard, it is interesting to trace how some important psychodiagnostic methods were formed within the framework of the main schools of psychology.
Test techniques are associated with the theoretical principles of behaviorism. The methodological concept of behaviorism was based on the fact that there are deterministic relationships between the organism and the environment. The body responds to stimuli external environment, strives to change the situation in a direction favorable to himself and adapts to it. Behaviorism introduced into psychology the leading category of behavior, understanding it as a set of reactions to stimuli accessible to objective observation. Behavior, according to the behaviorist concept, is the only object of study of psychology, and all internal mental processes must be interpreted by objectively observable behavioral reactions. In accordance with these ideas, the purpose of diagnosis was initially reduced to recording behavior. This is exactly what the first psychodiagnosticians did, who developed the test method (the term was introduced by F. Galton).
The first researcher to use the term intelligence test in psychological literature was J. Cattell. This term became widely known after J. Cattell's article “Intelligence Tests and Measurements,” published in 1890 in the journal Mind. In his article, J. Cattell wrote that applying a series of tests to a large number individuals will allow us to discover the patterns of mental processes and thereby lead to the transformation of psychology into an exact science. At the same time, he expressed the idea that the scientific and practical value of the tests would increase if the conditions for their conduct were uniform. Thus, for the first time, the need to standardize tests was proclaimed in order to make it possible to compare their results obtained by different researchers on different subjects.
J. Cattell proposed 50 tests as a sample, including various types of measurements:
- sensitivity;
- reaction time;
- time spent naming colors;
- time spent naming the number of sounds reproduced after a single listening, etc.
Returning to America after working in the laboratory of W. Wundt and lecturing in Cambridge, he immediately began to use tests in the laboratory he had set up at Columbia University (1891). Following J. Cattell, other American laboratories began to use the test method. There was a need to organize special coordination centers for the use of this method. In 1895-1896 In the USA, two national committees were created to unite the efforts of testologists and give a general direction to testological work.
Initially, ordinary experimental psychological tests were used as tests. In form they resembled receptions laboratory research, but the meaning of their use was fundamentally different. After all, the task Psychological experiment the independence of the mental act from external and internal factors, for example, the nature of perception - from external stimuli, memorization - from the frequency and time distribution of repetitions, etc.
During testing, the psychologist records individual differences in mental acts, assessing the results obtained using some criterion and in no case changing the conditions for the implementation of these mental acts.
The test method is becoming widespread. A new step in its development was taken by the French physician and psychologist A. Vinet (1857-1911), the creator of the most popular at the beginning of the 20th century. series of intellectual tests.
Before A. Wiene, as a rule, differences in sensorimotor qualities were tested - sensitivity, reaction speed, etc. But practice required information about higher mental functions, usually denoted by the terms “mind”, “intelligence”. It is these functions that ensure the acquisition of knowledge and the successful implementation of complex adaptive activities.
In 1904, the French Ministry of Education commissioned A. Vine to develop methods with which it would be possible to separate children capable of learning from those suffering from congenital defects and unable to study in a normal school. The need for this arose in connection with the introduction of universal education. At the same time it was necessary to create special schools for mentally handicapped children. A. Binet, in collaboration with T. Simon, conducted a series of experiments to study attention, memory, and thinking in children of different ages(starting from three years). Experimental tasks carried out on many subjects were tested according to statistical criteria and began to be considered as a means of determining intellectual level.
The first series of tests, the Binet-Simon Intelligence Development Echelle, appeared in 1905. It was then revised several times by the authors, who sought to remove from it all tasks that required special training. A. Binet proceeded from the idea that the development of intelligence occurs independently of learning, as a result of biological maturation.
The Binet scale in subsequent editions (1908,1911) was translated into German and English languages. The most widespread was the second edition of the Binet scale, which was distinguished by the fact that it expanded the age range of children - up to 13 years, increased the number of tasks and introduced the concept of mental age. The last (third) edition of the scale, published in the year of A. Binet’s death, did not introduce any significant changes.
The second edition of the Binet scale served as the basis for the translation, adaptation, verification and standardization work carried out at Stanford University (USA) by a team of employees led by L. M. Theremin (1877-1956). The first adaptation of the Binet test scale was proposed in 1916 and had so many serious changes compared to the main one that it was called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. There were two main innovations compared to the Binet tests:
- introduction of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as an indicator for the test, derived from the relationship between mental and chronological age;
- application of a new test evaluation criterion, for which the concept of a statistical norm is introduced.
Coefficient<(ЙЙдаент/Qбыл предложен В. Штерном, считавшим существенным Недостатком показателя умственного возраста то, что одна и та же разность между умственным и хронологическим возрастом для различных возрастных ступеней имеет неодинаковое значение. Чтобы устранить этот недостаток, В. Штерн предложил определять частное, получаемое при делении умственного возраста на хронологический. Этот показатель, умноженный на 100, он и назвал коэффициентом интеллектуальности. Используя этот показатель, можно классифицировать нормальных детей по степени умственного развития.
Another innovation of Stanford psychologists was the concept of a statistical norm. The norm became the criterion with which it was possible to compare individual test indicators and thereby evaluate them and give them a psychological interpretation.
The Stanford-Binet scale is designed for children aged 2.5 to 18 years. It consisted of tasks of varying difficulty, grouped according to age criteria. For each age, the most typical, average performance indicator was equal to 100, and the statistical measure of dispersion, deviation of individual values from this average (o) was equal to 16. All individual indicators on the test that fell within the interval x ± a, i.e., limited by the numbers 84 and 116 were considered normal, corresponding to the age norm of performance. If the test score was above the test norm (more than 116), the child was considered gifted, and if below 84, then mentally retarded.
The Stanford-Binet scale has gained popularity all over the world. It had several editions (1937,1960,1972,1986). In the latest edition, it is still used today. The IQ score, obtained on the Stanford-Binet scale, has become synonymous with intelligence for many years. The newly created intelligence tests began to be tested by comparison with the results of the Stanford-Binet scale.
At the beginning of the 20th century, in the system of special schools for children with mental retardation and mental retardation, a diagnostic system was needed to separate normal children.
Simon and Binet conducted a series of experiments to study thinking, memory, and perception in children from 3 years old.
In 1905 he created a system intelligence tests, then the tasks were improved, and in 1908 the second edition of the tests was published Binet-Simone, in 1911 the last edition was published.
The most significant changes occurred in 1908. The range of subjects by age was expanded (from 3 to 13 years), the number of tasks was increased, and the concept "mental age" Intellectual development was assessed with its help.
These tests are individual intelligence tests(with only one child).
Each age category has its own tasks.
Of all the developed tasks, the test system included those that were completed by 80-90% of children of this age.
Children under 6 years old - 4 tasks, older - 6 tasks.
3 years - show your nose, ear, carry out a simple order (give a key), ability to repeat a word.
6 years - discrimination between right and left; task of several links, repeat the phrase.
8 years - repeat all the months of the year, retelling a simple text.
13 years old - ability to operate with abstract concepts (the difference between happiness and pleasure).
Diagnosis using Binet-Simon tests.
Presentation of all tasks corresponds to chronological age. If you completed yours, then you were given tasks of an older age.
The maximum age was determined - basic mental age(when all tasks were solved)
Mental months were awarded for those that were solved for the next age.
If the mental age is lower than chronological, then the child was considered to have mental retardation or mental retardation. Or vice versa, then it was considered that the child was gifted to some extent.
Binet saw the disadvantage that his problems were not solved by children who developed in an unfavorable environment. They could not know the names of some objects.
The attentiveness of a psychologist is required: replace an unfamiliar word, use the observation method.
In general, this technique is very effective and has been beneficial in the department of children who are unable to study in a regular school.
Gained popularity all over the world. Translation and adaptation of this technique at Stanford University.
Stanford-Binet test (American method)
1. For the first time, they began to use IQ - intelligence quotient.
2. The concept was introduced "statistical norm".
Instead of mental age, Americans began to use the concept of IQ, since mental age had a significant drawback (in 1912, Stern pointed out): the same difference between the mental age of two people at different age levels had different meaning. For example, at 3 and 4 years old, at 13 and 14 years old.
Relative indicator: divide mental age by chronological and multiply by 100:
IQ= (mental age: chronological age) x 100
1916 - first edition by Stanford-Binet.
The statistical norm is a criterion used in psychodiagnostic methods for comparing individual indicators and their evaluation.
In 1937 - second edition Stanford-Binet.
Ages from 2 to 18 years, a scale of 17 tests. One test for children from 2 to 14 years old and 4 more tests for average adults (16-18 years old).
The technique is of very high quality, is still used today and is considered an example of an intellectual test..
All new tests are validated using the Stanford-Binet test.
The Binet-Simon and Stanford-Binet tests are individual.
Then they began to appear group intelligence tests. This is due to the limited use of individual tests.
During the First World War, it was necessary to evaluate the intellectual development of recruits in order to distribute them to different branches of the military and institutions.
Arthur Otis- developed the first system of group intellectual tests - army. First published in 1917-1919.
Two forms: Alpha form - for those who know English (tasks, words); Beta form - for illiterate and foreigners (graphic images).
Army tests still exist for professional selection purposes, updated.
Group tests- mass testing tools (dramatic reduction in time). We simplified the instructions, the procedure and the processing of results.
Not psychologists, but specially trained people were involved in testing.
They are used in education, industry and the army.
Limitations of intellectual testing - it is impossible to predict the success of performing narrow types of activities.
It is impossible to select a narrow focus; other psychological characteristics must also be assessed.
A direction has appeared diagnostics of special abilities. The impetus was the powerful development of professional consultation.
Tests of special abilities - musical, artistic.
The theoretical basis was factor analysis- highlighting the general things that were required in narrowly focused activities.
Especially developed psychotechnics- use of psychology data in industry and economics.
The impetus for its development was the system of labor intensification (Taylor).
We need accurate knowledge about the psychological characteristics of workers.
Munstenberg proposed 2 methods of testing special abilities:
analytical direction- methods for diagnosing each mental function using separate techniques.
synthetic modeling- the most crucial moments of professional work, the most essential things were modeled.
Individual tests of special abilities were combined and batteries of tests of special abilities were created for a limited number of professional activities.
Batteries are used to select people for appropriate professional activities.
An individual profile of the candidate is drawn, which correlates with the normative profile.
Achievement tests (learning success). Special group. Instead of teacher grades, it is assessed how successfully the program has been mastered.
Replacement of oral examinations with written ones in 1845.
They are now used to evaluate student performance instead of regular exams.
Stanford Achievement Test(since 1923) - a combined test, used in schools to assess the level of learning in various subjects (understanding of spoken language, written text).
1.1. The origins of testology.
1.2. Tests by J. Cattell, A. Binet, T. Simon and others.
1.1. The origins of testology date back to the second half of the 19th century, when psychologists began to study individual differences in the physical, physiological and mental characteristics of a person.
In the mid-nineteenth century, researchers paid special attention to the study of mental retardation, which during this period was first considered as a disease. The French doctor E. Seguin developed his own methodology and founded the first school for teaching the mentally retarded. Subsequently, many of the techniques he developed were included in tests to identify the level of intelligence.
One of the first to use test technologies to measure individual characteristics was the English biologist Francis Galton. He studied the issue of heredity, and developed a number of methods for determining visual, auditory and tactile sensitivity, as well as for determining muscle strength, reaction speed, etc. In the course of collecting empirical data, Galton examined many institutions in the educational system in order to obtain systematic measurements of anthropometric characteristics students. In 1884, he organized an anthropometric laboratory at the World Exhibition in London, where everyone, for a small fee, could measure their physical capabilities using 17 indicators: height, weight, hand strength, impact force, color discrimination, visual acuity, etc. Thus, accumulated the first systematic data on individual characteristics of simple psychophysical functions. According to F. Galton, sensory discrimination tests can be used as a means of assessing human intelligence.
F. Galton was the first to use rating scales, questionnaires and free association techniques.
He formulated three principles of testing, these conclusions remain relevant to this day:
1) applying a series of identical tests to a large number of subjects;
2) the need to accumulate and process statistical results;
3) establishing evaluation standards.
The most important contribution of F. Galton to the development of testology is the development and use of methods of mathematical statistics for processing the data obtained on individual differences. He introduces a method for comparing two series of variables; to evaluate this relationship, a special value is used - the index-correlation coefficient. He also studies the relationship between variables, for the first time using the construction of regression lines of one variable on another.
1.2. Particularly notable contribution The development of testing was contributed by the work of James Cattell (1860 - 1944). The American psychologist developed about fifty sets of tasks that were called “mental tests”, practically these were tests of sensory discrimination and reaction speed, which, according to J. Cattell, could be used to measure intelligence. J. Cattell considered testing as a scientific method and put forward a number of requirements for testing so that the results were close to objective.
J. Cattell's tests were typical of a large number of test series developed in the last decade of the 19th century. Such series were used for schoolchildren, students and adults everywhere in America. They were mainly aimed at measuring simple sensory and motor processes, although their authors stated that the tests were intended to measure intelligence. The first test of these tests showed their weak internal consistency and that their results did not correspond to the assessment of the subjects' intelligence by independent experts.
In Europe at this time, tests, for example, the E. Kraepelin and G. Ebbinghaus tests, were more complex and objective.
J. Cattell actively promoted new measurement methods. During 1895 - 1896 In America, two national committees are being created to organize testologists in the field of theoretical research and practice in creating quality tests and their application.
A new stage in the development of testology is associated with the activities of the French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857 - 1911). He develops original methods for measuring intelligence. A. Binet was not satisfied with attempts to assess the level of intelligence through measuring elementary mental processes. It follows the path of measuring complex intellectual functions. Work on the Commission for the Study of Methods of Teaching Mentally Retarded Children since 1904 gave A. Binet the opportunity to put his ideas into practice. Together with Theodore Simon A. Binet, he creates test tasks aimed at differentiating children who are capable of learning, but are lazy or retarded, and children who are mentally retarded.
The Binet-Simon scale (1905 scale) consisted of 30 items, which were arranged in order of increasing difficulty. The level of difficulty was determined by examining 50 normal children aged 3 to 11 years and a small number of mentally retarded children. The tests were designed to assess the ability to judge, understand and reason, which, according to A. Binet, are the main components of intelligence. The probability of successful completion was determined by the increasing difficulty of the test tasks and increased depending on the age of the subject.
In 1908, a new revised version of the scale appeared: the number of tasks was increased, unsuccessful tasks were removed, and the sample of standardization was expanded. Binet and Simon also declare a new goal of the scale: now it is not only the differentiation of children into normal and mentally retarded, but also the identification of different age levels of intellectual development among normal children. Grouping tests by age level made it possible to determine norms for children of different age categories. Further modification of the scale focused on standardizing it and determining its validity.
Binet-Simon tests have attracted the attention of psychologists from different countries. They were actively translated and adapted. In America, many revised versions of the Binet-Simon tests have appeared. One of the successful options is the test developed by Lewis Madison Theremin (Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale). In this version, intelligence quotient was used for the first time - an indicator of mental development (IQ).
Active work on the creation, improvement and use of tests was accompanied by the development of statistical methods for processing the results obtained (K. Pearson, Ch. Spearman).
At the beginning of its emergence and development, the test as a measuring tool was used only as part of an experiment and was intended exclusively for individual measurement. Group tests first appeared in the United States in 1917, when America entered World War I and there was a need to quickly determine the intellectual level of one and a half million entering the army. Arthur Sinton Otis intelligence tests were used for this purpose. The Otis tests included two types: the alpha verbal test for English speakers and the beta test, a nonverbal test designed for illiterate and foreign-born recruits. At the end of the First World War, after some reworking, these tests began to be widely used as group intelligence tests in educational institutions among the adult population.
In 1915, the American R.M. Yerkes proposes a new system for calculating test subjects' results. He introduces a point system (for a correctly solved test task, the test taker receives a certain number of points) instead of the age proportions that were used by A. Binet. The resulting number of points was then converted into a coefficient of giftedness or success in accordance with the developed standards.
2. Psychological and pedagogical tests
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea of using testing to measure the level of educational achievement also emerged. American psychologist V.A. McCall suggests dividing tests into psychological (determining the level of mental development) and pedagogical (measuring the success of students in subjects over a certain period of study). The purpose of pedagogical testing, according to McCall, should be to identify and unite students with similar levels of learning.
The founder of pedagogical measurements is considered to be the American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike, who created the first pedagogical test (ability tests). The first tests of educational achievements were tests on solving arithmetic problems, spelling, handwriting assessment, and reasoning. Thorndike summarizes his conclusions on the use of test methods in pedagogy in the book “Introduction to the Theory of Psychology and Social Measurement” (1904).
