Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development

by Leta Stetter Hollingworth

CHAPTER FIVE CHILD B

Child B is a girl, born November 25, 1912. She was discovered in a private school in the course of a systematic survey made by Dr. E. H. Malherbe, who was at the time a graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. To Dr. Malherbe the present writer is indebted for introduction to this child, and also for data on first tests as well as for other information.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Child B is descended from colonial settlers in this country. Her ancestors came chiefly from the British Isles, as set forth in her family history. Her parents are not related by blood so far as can be known.

The paternal grandfather was of English descent; the paternal grandmother of Irish descent. No dependent or incompetent relatives of the father are known. All are self-sustaining.

The maternal grandfather was of Irish-Spanish blood. The maternal grandmother was of Irish descent. No incompetent or dependent relatives are known.

Father. Child B's father was born in Vermont and was 42 years old when B was born. He is a high school graduate and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He passed the entrance examinations for the latter institution at the age of 16 years and was at that time the youngest student ever admitted to the Academy. He has held posts of extraordinary trust in the pursuit of his profession, and is at the time of this writing an officer of high rank in the United States Army.

Mother. Child B's mother is a graduate of a Catholic parochial high school and of the College of Mount St. Vincent. She was married at an early age and her career has been that of housewife and mother, no profession having been followed previous to marriage. Although she is the mother of seven children and mistress of a large household, B's mother found time to attend courses in law and economics at Columbia University while the family lived in New York. She was 39 years old when B was born.

Noteworthy relatives. Relatives of note in the paternal branch include B's great-grandfather, who was a physician, founder of the Vermont Academy of Medicine in the early years of the nineteenth century, and a professor of surgery there. There are also among relatives an admiral of the United States Navy, [1] a physician of wide reputation, a commander of the United States Navy, [2] and a practical tin- and coppersmith who was an inventor. This family branch as a whole finds its average level of achievement in the professions.

The maternal branch includes a woman of extraordinary business ability, a priest who was a scholar and organizer of marked ability, and a mining engineer of unusual achievement. The performance level of the family lies, on the average, in business and the professions.

Immediate family. B is the sixth born of seven siblings. Of these children, two—the brother born two years before B and the brother born five years after B—have had mental tests. The older brother was measured in the course of the mental survey made by Dr. Malherbe. His IQ (S-B) at the age of 10 years 6 months was 167. This is not a full measure of his brother, as he passed many tests at the highest levels of performance provided by the scale. A still older brother passed the entrance examinations for the Columbia College, from which may be inferred intelligence above the average. The younger brother's IQ (S-B) at the age of 6 years 10 months was 138.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

The preschool history of B has been elicited from the parents. She cut her first tooth at 7 months. She began to talk at 9 months of age and to walk at 15 months. As soon as she was able to walk out with her nurse or her mother, at about the age of 24 months, B began to notice the letters on billboards and to spell out words. By the time she was in the third year of life she could read fluently in simple books. (The brother whose IQ is referred to above as 167 did not read until he was about 4 years 6 months of age.)

SCHOOL HISTORY

B has always attended private schools. She began her school life in kindergarten, at the age of 3 years, and attended the same school until the age of nearly 9 years. At the age of 8 years 4 months she had reached only the fourth grade, whereas in the battery of educational tests given as a part of the school survey she passed at that age the seventh-grade standards for public schools.

In appraising the great discrepancy between school progress and ability in this case, it is necessary to bear in mind that children in some private schools are highly selected as regards intellect. The median IQ in this particular school was shown by the survey to be much above 100; so that B was not so hopelessly misplaced in the fourth grade there as would have been the case had she attended public school. The fact of competition with selected children reduces the discrepancy, although it is still very great.

At the age of 8 years 9 months, B entered a private school in Washington, D. C. Here she was placed in the sixth grade, "skipping" the fifth grade. Her school reports have always been very excellent, "almost always E in every subject."

In the autumn of 1922 B entered the seventh grade, aged 9 years 9 months. She was the youngest pupil in a class of about 20 children, and held first rank. "She leads in every regular subject except catechism, geography, and history." B "likes all subjects except catechism, giving first place, at the age of 9 years, to arithmetic. Her school marks for 1922-1923 are as follows, the marks indicating as is usual: 100, perfect; 90, very good; 80, good; 70, fair; 60, deficient."

B'S MARKS, GRADE VII. AGE 9 YEARS 10 MONTHS.

SUBJECT 1922 1922 1923 1923
Oct. 31 Dec. 15 Jan. 31 Mar. 27
Catechism 95 90 80 94
Grammar 92 94 85 90
Composition 87 88 85
Spelling 93 95 100 98
Letter writing 85 85 80
American history 85 80 88 90
Geography 94 87 90 94
Arithmetic 90 90 100 90
Oral French 95 95 96 95
Penmanship D C 75
Reading 90 91 85
Choral singing 80 80 95
Drawing 90 90 90
Plain sewing 80 85 85
Rules of observance 90 100 97 94
Bible history 94 90 86 93

At the age of 11 years B entered high school and is doing good work there, but without much stimulus of competition, as there are but a few pupils in her grade.

Unlike several of the children who have an IQ of more than 180, B has never been a school problem. She has always been a "good mixer" with children of her school grade, and has taken part in their activities. Being a very large, strong child, she has not been so much "out of it" in motor skill as to be conspicuous among older schoolmates. As evidences of unusual manual dexterity the following may be mentioned: at the age of 5 years B knitted on steel needles a pair of socks which were worn by her little brother; at 6 years she made edible rice puddings; at 7 years of age she made cookies.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

No one among parents and teachers has mentioned any character trait considered faulty. The virtues most frequently mentioned and emphasized are modesty, reliability, self-direction, poise, good humor, amiability, and "being a good sport."

JUDGMENT OF TEACHERS

It is remarkable that no adverse comments have been offered by any of B's teachers. All teachers have rated B high in character and intellect. The chief error in judgment lies in not ranking her as high as she really stands. This error arises partly from the fact that teachers in the private schools B attended deal with selected children whom they may come to think of as representing the average of child ability. The judgments of B's teachers may be quoted as follows:

Remembered in our kindergarten chiefly for her vivid imagination. From the head mistress of the school.

One of the most popular children in the school. From a teacher.

It is some time since I had B as a pupil, but I am glad to tell you my impressions of the child as I remember her.

She was a very quiet, unassuming member of the class. She had remarkable powers of concentration, always finished her work well in advance of the others and then found work for herself until the class was ready to go on with a new subject.

With the children in both work and play she made no effort to lead them, and although they recognized the fact that her work was superior to theirs, they showed no resentment toward B because she never made them feel her superiority.

B showed a mental poise that I have rarely, if ever, found in a child. It was not so much a matter of a sudden keen grasp of a subject, which might or might not be permanent. She seemed to have the power, which is usually met only in mature minds, of weighing, reasoning, and then placing for permanent use the matter with which she was dealing. [3]

Always B appealed to me as a normal child, with unusual mental poise. She was not at all uncanny or tiresomely intelligent. From a former classroom teacher.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

Measurements of general intelligence of B have been made as follows:

DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD ARMY ALPHA
AGE -BINET POINTS
OF B MA IQ B Norm
Mar. 3, 1921 8-3 15-8 189
Apr. 8, 1922 9-4 17-6 188 84 (Form 5) 0
Dec. 29, 1924 12-1 142 (Form 5)

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

B was measured at the age of 9 years 4 months and again at the age of 12 years 1 month, in light indoor clothing, with the following results:

Height and weight.

[PART 1 OF 2]

DATE WT. (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.)
B Norm [4] B Norm [5]
April 8, 1922 106.0 61.5 56.0 52.0
December 29, 1924 123.0 82.8 61.6 57.7

[PART 2 OF 2]

HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF. CRANIAL CIR. (IN.)
B Norm [5] B Norm B
56.0 52.0 1.88 1.18 22.4
61.6 57.7 1.99 1.44 22.5

B greatly surpasses Badlwin's norms (making the usual allowance for heels and clothing).

Grip measurements. Measured with Smedley's dynamometer, B's hand grip scores as follows:

DATE GRIP (KG.)
Right Hand Left Hand
April 8, 1922 13.0 11.0
December 29, 1924 20.0 18.0

Superior size is therefore accompanied by superior strength.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Diversions. At the age of 9 years B listed her favorite diversions thus: "All sorts of outdoor games; then reading; then drawing; then playing with dolls, sometimes."

Imaginary land. "When I was 8 years old my imaginary countries were generally of grownupness, where I figured as chief actress and queen."

Career ideas. At the age of 9 years B was asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" B responded promptly, "A doctor." Then she added, "I will learn to sing, too. Perhaps I'll sing to the patients. There are so many things to do. I'll try to combine several things." Now, at the age of 12 [1925], she is ambitious to become "a celebrated authoress, actress, artist, and musician."

Reading interests. When asked how many books she had read (April 8, 1922), B replied, "Oh, hundreds and hundreds. We have plenty of books." It is characteristic of her that she reads over and over again a book that especially pleases her. Thus she had read nearly all of Louisa Alcott's books twice each, and had read Lady Luck—at that date her favorite book—several times. She had read a great many books written for boys, and remarked, in trying to describe her preferences, "I like boys' books best. They have more in them than girls' books."

Tendency to organize other children. B is the only one of the children here reported who shows any success or interest in leading or organizing fellow children. She organizes "clubs" and games. When shown the Civil War code, in the course of mental tests, she remarked, "I must remember that, for it will be fine for my Clip-Clap-Club."

[1] Rear Admiral John W. Phillip. (Callahan, E. W. List of Officers of the United States Navy and of the Marine Corps. Hamersley & Co., New York; 1901.)

[2] Commander E. T. Woodward.

[3] At this time B's intelligence was about that of the average adult, according to mental tests, though the teacher made this comment without having that knowledge.

[4] Baldwin's norms for children 9 years 6 months old. [Transcriber's note: The second row is clearly from a different, and likely the corresponding, age norm].

[5] Without shoes.