ID# 342:
"Delinquent girls tested by the Binet scale," by Dr. Louise Morrow and Dr. Olga Bridgman, Reprint from The Training School
Date:
1912
Pages: (1|2|3|4)
Source:
American Philosophical Society, ERO, MSC77,Ser1,Box35: Trait Files

&quote;Delinquent girls tested by the Binet scale,&quote; by Dr. Louise Morrow and Dr. Olga Bridgman, Reprint from The Training School

example of this is seen in Bertha A., who was admitted to this school a little more than two years ago at the age of fifteen years. She had been found in an old stable with two other children and a group of men and women, all of whom were living together there. Bertha could neither read nor write, was a timid, shrinking child and seemed very listless and stupid when questioned. Physical examination showed her to be very poorly nourished, but otherwise apparently normal. She was placed in school immediately, and having made very little progress, a year later was put in the industrial department because the teachers considered her absolutely incapable of doing even the simplest grade school work. In December, 1911, she was examined by the Binet method, and to the surprise of all, tested fifteen years. The result of this examination was reported to the school principal, who immediately put her back into the grade school to see what the girl could accomplish if watched and encouraged. Since that time she has progressed, so that, from being scarcely able to read and write she is now doing successfully fourth-grade work. So it may be seen that this child, because of her ill health, timidity and lack of training did not at all show what she was capable of doing and only when tested in a detailed way and induced to do her best was it realized that perhaps after all she might be capable of deriving much benefit from her school work. One of the low-grade girls, Aurelia G., aged fourteen years, was tested with rather striking results. She entered the institution two years ago, did not know her own age, and although she was placed in school at once, and given considerable individual attention, was never able to do even the kindergarten work in a satisfactory way. The Binet test showed her mental age to be six and a half years; she could not be made to comprehend the weight of the three- and twelve-gram boxes, saying they were both heavy; she could not copy a square, nor put together the two pieces of a rectangle in the proper way. Enumeration of the objects was all she attempted to do with the pictures; and she had no conception of left and right. Yet this child was placed here to receive a training, and at the age of twenty-one to be discharged from this institution, presumably equipped to take her place in the world. She is one of the many here who should be kept in an institution all her life. Of the sixty cases tested, six were normal; fourteen, retarded one to three years; eleven, four to five years; twenty-nine, six to thirteen years. Of the six normal children, one was delinquent because of her family surroundings, two were simply dependent, and three were incorrigible, due to lack of proper home discipline. All six have been in this institution for more than two years, are capable and trustworthy, and seem normal in every way. Of the feeble-minded, that is, those testing less than twelve years, and with a retardation of more than three years, seventeen might be called imbeciles; that is, they test between three and eight years, and twenty-three Morons,

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