TABLE 29.-Distribution, by chronological and mental ages, of 289 children who have not repeated grades. 889 63 64 Mental ages. 83 74 84 number Total Total 993-10-103-11-113-12- of chil 94 102 104 22 112 114 122 dren. BGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBG BGBGBG B at age. Total. GBGBGBGBGBGBGB GBGBGBGBGBG BG BG 125 14 14 22 40 40 10 14 13 18 6 10 8 4 5 41217 7 4 1.. 141 148 72 60 52 57 35 42 811 6 3 3 1 17 31 10 17 5 7.. 4.. 2 1. 21.. 1 1. 11 2 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 1.... 31 21 6 7 1 1 1 12. 21 1. 6 9 1. 16 9 610 11 22 533 2 233 TL 723 45331 2333 Mental ages. TABLE 30.-Distribution, by chronological and mental ages, of 444 children who have repeated grades. Chronological ages. 53-54 6-62 63-64 7-72 73-74 8-82 83-84 9-92 93-94 10-102 103-104 11-112 113-114 12-122 B G B G B G B G B G B G BG B G B G B G B G B GBG B GBG 5 9 10 2 32 4 2 5 1 1 1 2 3 26 15 16 15 50 42 35 261 23 21 23 8 28 13 14 12 24 29 5 3 TABLE 30.-Distribution, by chronological and mental ages, of 444 children who have repeated grades-Continued. Total at Over age. age. Total. 1 15 Total. Total. 90 66 24 10 19 8 4 2 1... 12 to 13 9 to 1 10 to 10 10 to 11 12 3 139 115 31 30 42 41 18 10 23 12 9 5 12 The results of this test used to examine these 743 children ar given in Tables 28, 29, and 30 in terms of mental and chronological ages. The units used for scoring the chronological ages are half years; the units used for scoring the mental ages are slightly different. For example, children are divided into groups as follows: 7 years to 72 years, which would include all those children who are 7 years mentally, 71 years mentally, and 72 years mentally; the next unit is 73 to 74. It is seen, then, that one unit contains three-fifths, while the next contains only two-fifths. This was the best simple classification into half years which the Binet-Simon tests offered. The total percentages, however, are in whole-year units instead of half-year units, as it was thought the results in such percentages would be of more service for comparison. The totals for the accelerated group were not put into percentages on account of the small number of individuals. By combining the totals of the three groups of children-those who are accelerated, those who have repeated, and those who have not repeated the following percentages are secured: At age, 39.2 per cent; over age, 19.6 per cent; under age, 41.2 per cent. By a comparison of the percentages of the children who are of normal age, under age or accelerated, and over age or retarded, according to their chronological ages, with the percentages of the same children who are at age, over age, and under age, according to their mental ages, the following data are secured: Chronological agesNormal, 48 per cent; accelerated, 16 per cent; retarded, 36 per cent. Mental ages-At age, 39.2 per cent; over age, 19.6 per cent; under age, 41.2 per cent. From an analysis of these data it is seen that the percentage of children who are of normal age chronologically is larger than the percentage of children testing at age mentally. Furthermore, 16 per cent of these children are under age or accelerated on the chronological-age basis, while in relation to their mental ages, 19.6 per cent are over age or capable of doing more advanced work; likewise, 36 per cent of these children are over age or retarded on the chronological-age basis, while in relation to their mental ages, 41.2 per cent are under age. Manifestly, then, if the Binet-Simon test is a reliable criterion, a large number of these children are misplaced on the chronological-age basis. Some are capable of doing more advanced work and are not placed high enough, while there are others who can not do the work where they are placed. They ought to be in special classes. If these 743 children are divided according to normal, precocious, retarded, and deficient mentality, the following classification is secured: Precocious, 1.7 per cent; normal, 81.8 per cent; retarded, 13.7 per cent; mentally deficient, 2.8 per cent. By comparing the percentages of children at age, over age, and under age mentally who have repeated or not repeated a grade, it is seen, too, that the group which has repeated is the one which has received the higher percentage of children under age, and the group which has not repeated received the higher percentage of children over age. This comparison is as follows: Percentage of repeaters and nonrepeaters, according to age. It is seen from these percentages that 57.2 per cent of those who repeated are under age as opposed to 16.6 per cent under age for the nonrepeaters, and that 7.7 per cent of the repeaters are over age as opposed to 37.7 per cent over age for the nonrepeaters. The difference between the percentages of children at age for the two groups is not so large. These facts describe the conditions in this group of children with reference to their mental ages in terms of under-age, over-age, and at-age mentality, or in terms of precocious, normal, retarded, and deficient mentality; and with reference to their chronological ages in terms of normal, accelerated, and retarded progress. Therefore a very large percentage of the children who are mentally over age have not repeated, and a very large percentage of children who are mentally under age have repeated at some time or another. |