Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Definition
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB: FE) is a standardized test that measures intelligence and cognitive abilities in children and adults, from age two through mature adulthood.
Purpose
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was originally developed to help place children in appropriate educational settings. It can help determine the level of intellectual and cognitive functioning in preschoolers, children, adolescents and adults, and assist in the diagnosis of a learning disability, developmental delay, mental retardation , or giftedness. It is used to provide educational planning and placement, neuropsychological assessment, and research. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is generally administered in a school or clinical setting.
Precautions
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is considered to be one of the best and most widely used intelligence tests available. It is especially useful in providing intellectual assessment in young children, adolescents, and young adults. The test has been criticized for not being comparable for all age ranges. This is because different age ranges are administered different subtests. Additionally, for very young preschoolers, it is not uncommon to receive a score of zero due to test difficulty or the child's unwillingness to cooperate. Consequently, it is difficult to discriminate abilities in this age group among the lower scorers.
Administration and interpretation of results of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale requires a competent examiner who is trained in psychology and individual intellectual assessment, preferably a psychologist .
Description
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale has a rich history. It is a descendant of the Binet-Simon scale which was developed in 1905 and became the first intelligence test. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was developed in 1916 and was revised in 1937, 1960, and 1986. The present edition was published in 1986. The Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale is currently being revised and the Fifth Edition is expected to be available in the spring of 2003.
Administration of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale typically takes between 45 to 90 minutes, but can take as long as two hours, 30 minutes. The older the child and the more subtests administered, the longer the test generally takes to complete. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is comprised of four cognitive area scores which together determine the composite score and factor scores. These area scores include: Verbal Reasoning, Abstract/Visual Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Short-Term Memory. The composite score is considered to be what the authors call the best estimate of "g" or "general reasoning ability" and is the sum of all of subtest scores. General reasoning ability or "g" is considered to represent a person's ability to solve novel problems. The composite score is a global estimate of a person's intellectual functioning.
The test consists of 15 subtests, which are grouped into the four area scores. Not all subtests are administered to each age group; but six subtests are administered to all age levels. These subtests are: Vocabulary, Comprehension, Pattern Analysis, Quantitative, Bead Memory, and Memory for Sentences. The number of tests administered and general test difficulty is adjusted based on the test taker's age and performance on the sub-test that measures word knowledge. The subtest measuring word knowledge is given to all test takers and is the first subtest administered.
The following is a review of the specific cognitive abilities that the four area scores measure. The Verbal Reasoning area score measures verbal knowledge and understanding obtained from the school and home learning environment and reflects the ability to apply verbal skills to new situations. Examples of subtests comprising this factor measure skills which include: word knowledge, social judgment and awareness, ability to isolate the inappropriate feature in visual material and social intelligence, and the ability to differentiate essential from non-essential detail.
The Abstract/Visual Reasoning area score examines the ability to interpret and perform mathematic operations, the ability to visualize patterns, visual/motor skills, and problem-solving skills through the use of reasoning. An example of a subtest which determines the Abstract/Visual Reasoning score is a timed test that involves tasks such as completing a basic puzzle and replicating black and white cube designs.
The Quantitative Reasoning area score measures: numerical reasoning, concentration, and knowledge and application of numerical concepts. The Quantitative Reasoning area is combined with the Abstract/Visual Reasoning area score to create an Abstract/Visual Reasoning Factor Score.
The Short-Term Memory score measures concentration skills, short-term memory, and sequencing skills. Subtests comprising this area score measure visual short-term memory and auditory short term memory involving both sentences and number sequences. In one subtest that measures visual short-term memory, the participant is presented with pictures of a bead design, and asked to replicate it from memory.
Results
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is a standardized test, which means that a large sample of children and adults were administered the exam as a means of developing test norms. The population in the sample was representative of the population of the United States based on age, gender, race or ethnic group, geographic region, community size, parental education, educational placement (normal versus special classes), etc. From this sample, norms were established. Norms are the performance of a comparison group of subjects—that nature of the group should be specified, and this usually constitutes a normal group so that the performance of the tested individual can be compared to this group and thus evaluated.
The numbers of correct responses on the given subtests are converted to a SAS score or Standard Age Score which is based on the chronological age of the test subject. This score is similar to an I.Q. score. Based on these norms, the Area Scores and Test Composite on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale each have a mean or average score of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. For this test, as with most measures of intelligence, a score of 100 is in the normal or average range. The standard deviation indicates how above or below the norm a child's score is. For example, a score of 84 is one standard deviation below the norm score of 100. Based on the number of correct responses on a given subtest, an age-equivalent is available to help interpret the person's level of functioning.
Test scores provide an estimate of the level at which a child is functioning based on a combination of many different subtests or measures of skills. A trained psychologist is needed to evaluate and interpret the results, determine strengths and weaknesses, and make overall recommendations based on the findings and observed behavioral observations.
Resources
BOOKS
Sattler, Jerome. Assessment of Children. 3rd Edition. San Diego, CA, Jerome Sattler, Publisher Inc. 1992.
PERIODICALS
Caruso, J. "Reliable Component Analysis of the Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition for 2–6-Year Olds." Psychological Assessment 13, no. 2. (2001): 827–840.
Grunau, R., M. Whitfield, and J. Petrie. "Predicting IQ of Biologically 'At Risk' Children from Age 3 to School Entry." Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 21, no. 6 (2000): 401–407.
ORGANIZATIONS
The American Psychological Association. 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. (202) 336-5500 <www.apa.org>.
The National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. (301) 657-0270. <www.nasponline.com>.
Jenifer P. Marom, Ph.D.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
Stanford-Binet intelligence scales
Definition
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is a standardized test that assesses intelligence and cognitive abilities in children, beginning at age two, and in adults.
Purpose
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is used as a tool in school placement, in determining the presence of a learning disability or a developmental delay , and in tracking intellectual development. In addition, it is sometimes included in neuropsychological testing to assess the brain function of individuals with neurological impairments.
Description
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is a direct descendent of the Binet-Simon scale, the first intelligence scale created in 1905 by psychologist Alfred Binet (1857–1911) and Theophilus Simon. Lewis Terman (1877–1956) published the Stanford-Binet scale initially in 1916. As of 2004, the scale had been revised five times—in 1937, 1960 (with a scoring change of this version in 1973), 1986, and 2003.
Beginning with the fourth revision (1986), the test underwent design changes to include a larger, more diverse, representative sample in order to minimize the gender and racial inequities that had been criticized in earlier versions of the test. Originally designed for children only, with the fifth edition (2003) the Stanford-Binet can be used on anyone older than two years of age.
The Stanford-Binet scale tests intelligence across six areas: general intelligence, knowledge, fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory. These areas are covered by ten subtests that include activities measuring both verbal and non-verbal intelligence. Activities include verbal absurdities, picture absurdities, verbal analogies, form patterns, procedural knowledge, sentence and word memory, position and direction, early reasoning, and quantitative reasoning.
All test subjects take two initial routing tests: a vocabulary test and a matrices test (which assesses non-verbal reasoning). The results of these tests, along with the subject's age, determines the number and level of subtests to be administered.
Total testing time is around 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the child's age and the number of subtests given. Raw scores are based on the number of items answered and are converted into a standard age score corresponding to age group, similar to an IQ measure.
Precautions
Intelligence testing requires a clinically trained examiner. The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale should be administered, scored, and interpreted by a trained professional, preferably a psychologist.
Children with physical disabilities may require certain accommodations when taking the test, such as extra time for tasks, rest breaks, or instructions received in an alternate format (e.g., signing for a deaf child). The examiner should be made aware of a child's potential limitations before the day of the test so that appropriate accommodations are available.
Normal results
Scoring for the Stanford-Binet generates a verbal IQ score (VIQ), a non-verbal IQ score (NIQ), and a full-scale IQ (FSIQ). It is a standardized test, meaning that norms are established during the design phase of the test by administering the test to a large, representative sample of the test population (in the case of the fifth edition, data from the 2000 U.S. census were used). The test has a mean, or average, standard score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 for composite scores (subtests have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3). The standard deviation indicates how far above or below the norm the subject's score is. For example, an eight-year-old is assessed with the Stanford-Binet scale and achieves a standard age score of 115. The mean score of 100 is the average level at which all eight-year-olds in the representative sample performed. This child's score would be one standard deviation above that norm.
While standard age scores provide a reference point for evaluation, they represent an average of a variety of skill areas. A trained psychologist evaluates and interprets an individual's performance on the scale's subtests to discover strengths and weaknesses and offer recommendations based upon these findings.
Parental concerns
Test anxiety can have a negative impact on a child's performance, so parents should attempt to take the stress off their child by making sure they understand that it is the effort and attention they give the test, not the final score, that matters. Parents can also ensure that their children are well-rested on the testing day and have a nutritious meal beforehand.
KEY TERMS
Norms —A fixed or ideal standard; a normative or mean score for a particular age group.
Representative sample —A random sample of people that adequately represents the test-taking population in age, gender, race, and socioeconomic standing.
Standard deviation —A measure of the distribution of scores around the average (mean). In a normal distribution, two standard deviations above and below the mean includes about 95% of all samples.
Standardization —The process of determining established norms and procedures for a test to act as a standard reference point for future test results.
Resources
BOOKS
Maddox, Taddy. Tests: A Comprehensive Reference for Assessments in Psychology, Education, and Business,5th ed. Austin, TX: Pro-ed, 2003.
Wortham, Sue. Assessment in Early Childhood Education,4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2004.
PERIODICALS
Becker, K. A. "History of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales: Content and Psychometrics." Stanford-BinetIntelligence Scales, Fifth Edition Assessment Service Bulletin, no. 1. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing, 2003.
Braden, Jeffery P., and Stephen N. Elliott. "Accommodations on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th edition." In Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition Assessment Service Bulletin, no. 2. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing, 2003.
ORGANIZATIONS
American Psychological Association (APA). 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002–4242. Web site: <www.apa.org>.
WEB SITES
Riverside Publishing. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th ed. Available online at <www.riverpub.com/products/clinical/sbis5/home.html> (accessed October 30, 2004).
Paula Ford-Martin
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Definition
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fifth Edition (SB: FE) is a standardized test that measures intelligence in children and adults, from age two through mature adulthood.
Purpose
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was originally developed to help place children in appropriate educational settings. It can help determine the level of intellectual and cognitive functioning in people ages 2 to 85-plus years and assist in the diagnosis of a learning disability, developmental delay, mental retardation , or giftedness. It is used to provide educational planning and placement, neuropsychological assessment, and research. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is generally administered in a school or clinical setting. For professionals working with younger children (i.e., under age 7), the Early Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition (Early SB5) is also available.
Description
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is generally considered to be one of the best and most widely used intelligence tests available. It was originally designed to measure general intelligence, but through various incarnations came to include factors beyond general intelligence that were assessed by “area scores.” This inclusion of area scores, however, has drawn criticism from some researchers. The fifth edition of this test has been significantly reformatted and now measures five factors believed to encompass intelligence. These factors are reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory (short-term memory). The addition of an assessment across nonverbal domains is new, and experts believe that it will be helpful to clinicians or trained educators in situations involving communication difficulties. Five of the test’s 10 subscales address verbal cognition and the other five address nonverbal skills. Each subscale has its own “testlet,” a brief (around five minutes) test for a given level of difficulty. As has been the standard, the test is scaled to a standard average score of 100.
Administration and interpretation of results of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale requires a competent examiner who is trained in psychology and individual intellectual assessment, preferably a psychologist .
Description
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale has a long history. It is a descendant of the Binet-Simon scale, which was developed in 1905 and became the first intelligence test. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was developed in 1916 and was revised in 1937, 1960, 1986, and 2003.
Administration of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale typically takes between 45 to 90 minutes, but can take as long as two and a half hours. The older the child and the more subtests administered, the longer the test generally takes to complete. The composite score is considered to be what the authors call the best estimate of “g” or “general reasoning ability” and is the sum of all of subtest scores. General reasoning ability is considered to represent a person’s ability to solve novel problems. The composite score is a global estimate of a person’s intellectual functioning. The previous version of the test contained four measures of g; the fifth edition uses the five listed above, with visual-spatial processing as the added factor.
Results
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is a standardized test, which means that a large sample of children and adults were administered the exam as a means of developing test norms. In the case of the fifth edition, this sample consisted of more than 4,800 people, a population group representative of the population of the United States based on age, gender, race or ethnic group, geographic region, community size, parental education, and educational placement (normal versus special classes). From this sample, norms were established. Norms are set from the performance of a comparison group of subjects so that the performance of the tested individual can be compared to this group and thus evaluated.
The numbers of correct responses on the given subtests are converted to a Standard Age Score (SAS), which is based on the chronological age of the person taking the test. This score is similar to an I.Q. score. Based on these norms, the area scores and test composite on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale each have a mean or average score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. For this test, as with most measures of intelligence, a score of 100 is in the normal or average range. The standard deviation indicates how far above or below the norm a child’s score is. For example, a score of 85 is one standard deviation below the norm score of 100. Based on the number of correct responses on a given subtest, an age equivalent is available to help interpret the person’s level of functioning.
Test scores provide an estimate of the level at which a child is functioning based on a combination of many different subtests or measures of skills. A trained psychologist is needed to evaluate and interpret the results, determine strengths and weaknesses, and make overall recommendations based on the findings and observed behavioral observations.
Resources
BOOKS
Sattler, Jerome. Assessment of Children, 3rd ed. San Diego, CA: Jerome Sattler, 1992.
PERIODICALS
Caruso, J. “Reliable Component Analysis of the Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition for 2–6-Year Olds.” Psychological Assessment 13.2 (2001): 827–40.
DiStefano, Christine, and Stefan C. Dombrowski. “Investigating the Theoretical Structure of the Stanford-Binet—Fifth Edition.” Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 24, (2006): 123–36.
Grunau, R., M. Whitfield, and J. Petrie. “Predicting IQ of Biologically ‘At Risk’ Children from Age 3 to School Entry.” Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 21.6 (2000): 401–407.
ORGANIZATIONS
The American Psychological Association. 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. (202) 336-5500 www.apa.org
The National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. (301) 657-0270. www.nasponline.com
WEB SITES
From the publisher of the test: “FAQ about the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition.” http://www.assess.nelson.com/pdf/sb5-faq.pdf
Jenifer P. Marom, PhD
Emily Jane Willingham, PhD
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
Definition
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is a standardized test that assesses intelligence and cognitive abilities in children and adults aged two to 23.
Purpose
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is used as a tool in school placement, in determining the presence of a learning disability or a developmental delay, and in tracking intellectual development. In addition, it is sometimes included in neuropsychological testing to assess the brain function of individuals with neurological impairments.
Precautions
Although the Stanford-Binet was developed for children as young as two, examiners should be cautious in using the test to screen very young children for developmental delays or disabilities. The test cannot be used to diagnose mental retardation in children aged three and under, and the scoring design may not detect developmental problems in preschool-age children.
Intelligence testing requires a clinically trained examiner. The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale should be administered and interpreted by a trained professional, preferably a psychologist.
Description
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is a direct descendent of the Binet-Simon scale, the first intelligence scale created in 1905 by psychologist Alfred Binet and Dr. Theophilus Simon. This revised edition, released in 1986, was designed with a larger, more diverse, representative sample to minimize the gender and racial inequities that had been criticized in earlier versions of the test.
The Stanford-Binet scale tests intelligence across four areas: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, and short-term memory. The areas are covered by 15 subtests, including vocabulary, comprehension, verbal absurdities, pattern analysis, matrices, paper folding and cutting, copying, quantitative, number series, equation building, memory for sentences, memory for digits, memory for objects, and bead memory.
All test subjects take an initial vocabulary test, which along with the subject's age, determines the number and level of subtests to be administered. Total testing time is 45-90 minutes, depending on the subject's age and the number of subtests given. Raw scores are based on the number of items answered, and are converted into a standard age score corresponding to age group, similar to an IQ measure.
The 1997 Medicare reimbursement rate for psychological and neuropsychological testing, including intelligence testing, is $58.35 an hour. Billing time typically includes test administration, scoring and interpretation, and reporting. Many insurance plans cover all or a portion of diagnostic psychological testing.
Normal results
The Stanford-Binet is a standardized test, meaning that norms were established during the design phase of the test by administering the test to a large, representative sample of the test population. The test has a mean, or average, standard score of 100 and a standard deviation of 16 (subtests have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 8). The standard deviation indicates how far above or below the norm the subject's score is. For example, an eight-year-old is assessed with the Stanford-Binet scale and achieves a standard age score of 116. The mean score of 100 is the average level at which all eight-year-olds in the representative sample performed. This child's score would be one standard deviation above that norm.
While standard age scores provide a reference point for evaluation, they represent an average of a variety of skill areas. A trained psychologist will evaluate and interpret an individual's performance on the scale's subtests to discover strengths and weaknesses and offer recommendations based upon these findings.
Resources
ORGANIZATIONS
American Psychological Association (APA). 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. (202) 336-5700. 〈ttp://www.apa.org〉.
KEY TERMS
Norms— Normative or mean score for a particular age group.
Representative sample— A random sample of people that adequately represents the test-taking population in age, gender, race, and socioeconomic standing.
Standard deviation— A measure of the distribution of scores around the average (mean). In a normal distribution, two standard deviations above and below the mean includes about 95% of all samples.
Standardization— The process of determining established norms and procedures for a test to act as a standard reference point for future test results. The Stanford-Binet test was standardized on a national representative sample of 5,000 subjects.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
Stanford-Binet intelligence scales
The oldest and most influential intelligence test, devised in 1916 by Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman.
Consisting of questions and short tasks arranged from easy to difficult, the Stanford-Binet measures a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal skills. Its fifteen tests are divided into the following four cognitive areas:1) verbal reasoning (vocabulary, comprehension, absurdities, verbal relations); 2) quantitative reasoning (math, number series, equation building); 3) abstract/visual reasoning (pattern analysis, matrices, paper folding and cutting, copying); and 4) short-term memory (memory for sentences, digits, and objects, and bead memory). While the child's attitude and behavior during the test are noted, they are not used to determine the result, which is arrived at by converting a single raw score for the entire test to a figure indicating "mental age" (the average age of a child achieving that score). A formula is then used to arrive at the intelligence quotient, or I.Q. An I.Q. of 100 means that the child's chronological and mental ages match. Traditionally, I.Q. scores of 90-109 are considered average, scores below 70 indicate mental retardation . Gifted children achieve scores of 140 or above. Most recently revised in 1986, the Stanford-Binet intelligence test can be used with children from age two, as well as with adults. Although some of its concepts— such as mental age and intelligence quotient—are being questioned, the test is still widely used to assess cognitive development and often to determine placement in special education classes.
See also Terman, Lewis; Wechsler Intelligence Scales.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test
A number of other similar intelligence tests are also now in use. However, all such instruments have been subject to criticisms of cultural, class, racial, or sexual bias, and the whole area of intelligence testing remains highly controversial, in both academic and political circles.