The Stanford-Binet intelligence scales assess five cognitive areas using 10 verbal and nonverbal subtests. Developed by Alfred Binet in France, it was later revised by Lewis Terman. Scoring involves summing scores for each subtest and converting into a scaled score, with a range of total IQ between 40 and 160. The test is appropriate for people at least two years old and has various uses, including educational placement and neuropsychological evaluation.
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scales comprise an intelligence test that assesses five types of cognitive skills and abilities using 10 verbal and nonverbal tasks or subtests. The cognitive areas tested are cognition, fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, working memory and visuo-spatial processing. The Stanford-Binet intelligence scales assess both verbal and nonverbal areas with 10 subtests, and there are verbal and nonverbal tasks for each of the cognitive areas. Each subtest takes about five minutes to administer, and scores can be calculated for a total IQ or a result for each cognitive area.
This intelligence test was first developed in France by Alfred Binet, in collaboration with Victor Henri. Binet and Henri outlined an assessment tool that would differentiate a person’s mental abilities, such as memory, imagination and attention. Binet later refined his design with the help of physician Theodore Simon, leading to the 1905 publication of the Binet-Simon scale. Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman later revised Binet’s initial version and published the first edition of the Stanford-Binet intelligence scales in 1916.
The contemporary version of the Stanford-Binet intelligence scales focuses on the five factors considered most important in intellectual functioning: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory. Each of these cognitive areas is measured by a verbal and nonverbal subtest. Because each of these 10 smaller exams takes about five minutes to administer, the total test time is usually about an hour.
Each of the five factors tested represents a specific cognitive area. For example, fluid reasoning is novel problem solving, while knowledge encompasses what a person learns in formal and informal educational settings. Quantitative reasoning focuses on mathematical thinking, as visuospatial processing tests the subject’s ability to see patterns and relationships, as well as spatial orientation. Finally, working memory evaluates how well the subject temporarily stores and sorts information.
Testing typically begins with the object/matrix series subtest that evaluates fluid nonverbal reasoning. The subject’s score on this first test determines where the examiner begins testing on the other nonverbal subtests. The next subtest is vocabulary and involves identifying facial features, toys, and pictures. Additional subtests include math problems, giving directions, and remembering patterns of objects. Each subtest is adapted to the subject’s level of development and becomes progressively more difficult.
Scoring involves summing the scores for each subtest and converting this sum into a scaled score. Nonverbal IQ, Verbal IQ, and Total IQ can also be calculated separately. The range of total IQ is between 40 and 160. A person with a score between 145 and 160 is considered highly gifted, while a person with a score below 54 would be moderately impaired. The Stanford-Binet intelligence scales are appropriate for people who are at least two years old.
Stanford-Binet intelligence scales have a wide variety of uses. The test may be administered as part of a neuropsychological evaluation or treatment. It is also used to determine appropriate educational placement. Attitude-focused researchers also often rely on this tool.
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