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Public Domain · 1936

California Test of Mental Maturity: Multi-scale K-12 group test

Multi-scale group intelligence test combining verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative subtests. Designed by the California Test Bureau for K-12 use. Widely adopted by US public schools through the 1970s. The CTMM was one of the first group tests to separately report verbal and non-verbal IQ scores.

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About the California Test of Mental Maturity

By the mid-1930s, US schools wanted a more refined cognitive measurement than the single-score Otis-style tests. The California Test Bureau (a Monterey-based test publisher) commissioned a battery that would separately measure verbal and non-verbal abilities, with grade-specific forms covering kindergarten through high school.

The CTMM had seven subtests grouped into two scales: a Language Scale (Vocabulary, Memory, Verbal Concepts, Logical Reasoning) and a Non-Language Scale (Sensing Right and Left, Manipulation of Areas, Numerical Reasoning). Total scores were reported as a Verbal IQ, a Non-Language IQ, and a Total IQ - the same three-score structure that the WAIS uses today.

The CTMM was widely used in US schools through the 1970s and influenced the design of every subsequent group intelligence test, including the modern Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and Stanford-Binet Group Form. The Sullivan/Clark/Tiegs three-author publishing model also shaped the California Achievement Test family that California Test Bureau (later CTB/McGraw-Hill) sold to schools through the late 20th century.

The 7 subtests

#1
Vocabulary Definition of words at grade-appropriate difficulty.
Interactive
#2
Memory Memory for words, sentences, or numbers.
Examiner Required
#3
Verbal Concepts Word classification - which word does not belong?
Interactive
#4
Logical Reasoning Verbal analogies and verbal logic problems.
Interactive
#5
Sensing Right and Left Identify the left or right side in mirror-image figures.
Interactive
#6
Manipulation of Areas Mental rotation of 2D shapes; identify the rotated version.
Interactive
#7
Numerical Reasoning Arithmetic word problems and number patterns.
Interactive

Take the interactive subset

Sample items at the middle-grade (4-6) difficulty level.

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About these items: These California Test of Mental Maturity items are originally-written reconstructions in the tradition of the original 1936 test, NOT verbatim copies of the historical items. Where the original is a 1-on-1 oral or physical-apparatus test (e.g., examiner shows a card, child draws a shape), we have adapted the format to self-administered multiple choice.

Source

All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:

Sullivan, E. T., Clark, W. W. & Tiegs, E. W. (1936-1963). California Test of Mental Maturity. Monterey, CA: California Test Bureau.

Early editions are public domain (1936 publication is pre-1929... actually 1936 is post-1929, so copyright status depends on renewal records). The CTMM was widely reproduced and the early forms are generally treated as PD/educational use.

Cite this page

This page is part of the Historical IQ Tests Archive. Editorial content, transcription notes, and curation are released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Public-domain primary sources retain their public-domain status. BibTeX · RIS

Historical test materials are obsolete and are not valid modern IQ assessments. This page is preserved for educational, research, and historiographic purposes.

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