One volume, three memoranda
The bar shows the book by page count. Select a memorandum to see its contents, taken from the 1922 table of contents [1].
- General nature of the Binet-Simon tests1
- General directions for the use of the scale9
- Special directions for the individual tests24
- Other versions68
- List of materials needed75
- Illustrations needed for particular tests79
Why Burt's scale had 65 tests
Binet's 1908 scale had 59 tests and his 1911 scale 54. Some examiners preferred each, so Burt kept every test from both, so results could be compared with either. Then he filled a gap in the memory series [1].
He kept Binet's procedure as close to the French as he could. What he changed was the order of difficulty and the ages tests were assigned to: with Binet's ages, he found, many normal older London children looked defective [1].
The trouble with translating a franc
Burt's case for a single English standard opens with coins. Binet's change test asked for change for four sous out of a franc. English examiners each invented an equivalent, and they weren't equally hard [1]. Pick a version and give the change.
Count the tests, not the years
Burt's rule: take the number of the test just before the first failure, then add one for every later success [1]. A key in the book then turned that total into a mental age. His worked example scored 36 + 4 = 40. Tap tests 31–45 to change the record.
Rearranging mixed sentences
One of Binet's tests, placed at age XII in Burt's revised order [1]. Tap the words in the order that makes a sentence. Making a sentence that has no sense was one of the errors Burt told examiners to write down.
What the Education Officer took from it
Sir Robert Blair's preface, dated July 1921, picks out three of Burt's findings [1].
Cyril Burt, 1883–1971, and the later affair
Burt took a part-time post as the LCC's psychologist in 1913 and resigned in 1931 for a chair at University College London [5]. He succeeded Spearman as head of the department in 1932 and retired in 1950 [6]. He was knighted in 1946 [5].
In 1976, five years after his death, he was accused of faking data in his later twin studies [6]. Leslie Hearnshaw's 1979 biography is credited with persuading the British Psychological Society to accept that he had committed fraud [7]. Some researchers have since argued the case remains unproven [5].
Those charges concern the twin research. We found no allegation aimed specifically at this 1921 report.
References
- [1]Burt, C. (1921/1922). Mental and Scholastic Tests. London County Council; London: P. S. King & Son. First issued December 1921; second impression September 1922. Full text, Internet Archive.archive.org
- [2]Catalogue record for the same scan (xv + 432 pp.; first-issue title "report by the education officer, submitting three memoranda"). Internet Archive.archive.org
- [3]Mental and Scholastic Tests, 3rd edition (King, 1927; 452 pp.). Google Books.books.google.com
- [4]Review: Mental and Scholastic Tests, revised edition (Staples). Describes the three memoranda and the new appendices.semanticscholar.org
- [5]Cyril L Burt. Psi Encyclopedia, Society for Psychical Research.psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk
- [6]Jensen, A. R. (1991). IQ and science: the mysterious Burt affair. The Public Interest.arthurjensen.net
- [7]L. S. Hearnshaw. Wikipedia.en.wikipedia.org
- [8]Faber, D. (2003). Archival note: An inquiry into the relationship between Alfred Binet and Cyril Burt. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Related historical tests
Burt's Memorandum I follows Binet and Simon's procedure as closely as he could. He kept every test from the 1908 and 1911 versions.
Burt deliberately didn't build on Terman's revision, so London results could be compared with the original French scales. The preface notes he criticises Terman's, Goddard's and Yerkes's changes.
Burt names Yerkes's point scale as the main example of partial credits. He refused them because they would raise totals and upset the Binet norms.
Goddard's Vineland translation was one of the American adaptations Burt set his London version against. Both were aimed at diagnosing mental deficiency.
Burt's supplementary oral tests include Porteus mazes, printed for ages III to XIV. They are one of the few non-Binet intelligence tests in the volume.
Raven's matrices came out of London a generation later, as a non-verbal test of general ability. Burt's book had relied on Binet's largely verbal items.