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Public Domain · 1918 · School-Use

Otis Group Intelligence Scale: First school-administered IQ test

The first widely-used group-administered intelligence test for schools. Arthur Otis (who helped design the Army Alpha) adapted that work into a civilian test for educational use. Published in 1918, formally released as the Otis Group Intelligence Scale in 1920.

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About the Otis Group Intelligence Scale

The Otis Group Intelligence Scale was the first IQ test designed specifically for group administration in schools. Arthur Otis, then a graduate student under Lewis Terman at Stanford, had served on the committee that designed the Army Alpha during World War I. After the war, he adapted the same group-testing principles for civilian use. The Otis Scale was released in 1918 and the formal manual was published by World Book Company in 1920.

The Scale has two examinations: a Primary Examination for grades 1-4 (mostly picture-based items administered with examiner instructions) and an Advanced Examination for grades 4-8 and high school (entirely paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice). The Advanced Examination is the one most cited in the literature and what people usually mean when they say 'the Otis test'.

The Otis Scale was significant for three reasons: it brought scientific intelligence testing into ordinary American schools, it pioneered the multiple-choice format that every standardized test still uses, and it was simple enough that a regular classroom teacher could administer it without specialized training. By the mid-1920s, the Otis Scale was being used in thousands of US school districts.

About this interactive version: The Otis Scale was administered with a printed test booklet that contained the actual items. The 1920 manual reproduces the directions for administering and scoring but the test items themselves were sold separately. Items shown below are representative of the format; for the full original test, see the Archive.org link.

The 10 subtests

#1
Following Directions (Advanced) Follow written directions to write specific letters of the alphabet in marked parentheses. Tests reading + following written instructions.
Paper Test
#2
Opposites (Advanced) For each word, underline the antonym from 5 choices. Vocabulary + antonym recognition.
Interactive
#3
Disarranged Sentences (Advanced) Words shown in mixed order; recruit determines if the sentence (when un-scrambled) is true or false. Same format as Army Alpha Test 5.
Interactive
#4
Proverbs (Advanced) Match each of 10 proverbs to the statement (from 12) that best explains it. Tests abstract reasoning + interpretation.
Interactive
#5
Arithmetic (Advanced) Standard arithmetic word problems. 6-minute timed.
Interactive
#6
Geometric Figures (Advanced) Find specified numbers in overlapping geometric figures (circles, rectangles). Tests visual scanning + spatial relations.
Visual
#7
Analogies (Advanced) Standard word analogies in 'A is to B as C is to ?' format. Pick from 5 options.
Interactive
#8
Similarities (Advanced) Find the way 3 things are alike, then pick the one of 5 other things most like them. Tests categorization.
Interactive
#9
Narrative Completion (Advanced) Story with blanks; choose the best word for each blank from 3 candidates. Tests reading + verbal judgment.
Paper Test
#10
Memory (Advanced) Examiner reads a story; recruit answers questions about it. Tests verbal memory.
Examiner Required

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Sample items in the original Otis format. These are representative items adapted from the 1920 manual's descriptions; the original test booklets are at Archive.org.

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Source

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

Otis, A. S. (1920). Otis Group Intelligence Scale: Manual of Directions for Primary and Advanced Examinations. Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY: World Book Company. 280 pp.

This work is in the public domain in the United States (published before 1929). Arthur Otis was a student of Lewis Terman at Stanford and worked on the Army Alpha committee during WWI; the Otis Scale is his adaptation of the Alpha for civilian school use. Read it on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/absolutepointsca00otis.

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