WW1 U.S. Army IQ test — beta test
I wrote a blog-post showing how an alpha test looked like in 1917 to 1918.
https://medium.com/@jurij.fedorov/ww1-u-s-army-iq-test-40a18c9f8839
But the army also used a beta test based on figures instead of language. Everyone who couldn’t understand English would be given a beta test instead of the alpha test. Anyone scoring under 15 on the alpha test would be given a beta test.
“Nearly 30 per cent of the 1,556,011 men for whom statistics are available were found to be unable to “read and understand newspapers and write letters home,” and were given a special examination prepared for illiterates.”(Yoakum & Yerkes, 1920).
If recruits failed the beta test they would be given tests to conclusively make sure they really were weak-minded. That group could be given Point-scale, Stanford-Binet, Performance-scale and maybe mechanical skill examination.
The beta test is much easier than the alpha test. Meaning that it is made to test on a lower IQ range. It’s also made to be given with minimum language instructions so the examinator illustrates how each test is solved on a blackboard and thereafter corrects a helper solving the example tests on the blackboard.
Images I use
The beta test images are taken from this site. They are the brown pages in this blog-post:
The explanation pages I copied are from this book by the creator of the test. They are the white pages in this blog-post. There is more to the instructions but I’ll only post the most important instructions in this blog-post:
Yoakum, C. S., & Yerkes, R. M. (Eds.). (1920). Army mental tests. Henry Holt and Company. https://doi.org/10.1037/11054-000
Extra info
You can read even more info about the test and how to conduct it in “Brigman, 1922”. This free book also has images of the test. The author looks into the test results and mainly focuses on ethnic groups and how they will influence the national IQ long-term:
Brigham, C. C. (1922). A study of American intelligence. Princeton: Princeton University Press; London: Oxford University Press, c1922, tp 1923..
Link:
https://archive.org/details/studyofamericani00briguoft/page/32/mode/2up
For a short intro read the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Beta
Beneath is a table from the Wikipedia page. They use the same source I use, Yoakum & Yerkes 1920:
Frontpage
The frontpage had Test 8 on it but it was not used to test the recruits. The tests that were used were on the next pages so that one couldn’t solve them before time.
Examination beta consists of 7 tests:
test 1, maze test
test 2, cube analysis
test 3, X-0 series
test 4, digit-symbol
test 5, number checking
test 6, pictorial completion
test 7, geometrical construction.
The test took 50 to 60 minutes with groups of up to 60 men.
Test 1 — Maze
Test 1 is very easy and most recruits pass it.
Test 2 — Cube analysis and Test 3 — X-O Series
Test 2 and 3 were also very easy.
Test 4— Digit-Symbol and Test 5 — Number Checking
Test 4 and test 5 were on a good level. Fitting to test recruits.
Test 6 — Pictorial Completion and Test 7 — Geometrical Construction
Test 6 was an excellent test. Test 7 is faulty as it doesn’t test low or high IQ subjects well.
Scoring
