The boy was brought to attention at the age of 5 years by his teachers, who noted particularly his aptitude for mathematics. The mother was unaware of her son's extraordinary intelligence, but she had noticed that he spent a considerable amount of time on the floor, counting. He would count such objects as cigarette coupons begged from lodgers. Also the mother observed that he "had learned before going to school, or being taught to read, to recognize certain words."
CHILDREN WHO TEST ABOVE 180 IQ BY STANFORD-BINET TESTS
Beatrice. Terman and Fenton (25) first described Beatrice in 1921 under her own name. In 1930 Terman (27) again described this child, under the name of Beatrice (evidently being then convinced that pseudonyms are to be preferred in designating children studied), adding data about development.
The child's four grandparents were respectively of Swedish, German-French, English, and Scottish descent. "The mother is a woman of more than average intelligence, and of considerable musical ability. The father's line of ancestry includes several notables, among them a Lord Mayor of London. The father is a physician, and the author of the Ford Stitch, favorably mentioned in standard texts on surgery. Betty [Beatrice] has no sisters or brothers."
Beatrice was born in San Francisco, January 21, 1912, and was first tested six weeks before her eighth birthday, by Stanford-Binet, yielding then a mental age of 14 years 10 months and an IQ of 188. Her speaking vocabulary was at that time 13,000 words. A variety of mental tests gave nearly the same composite result as that achieved by Stanford-Binet. At the time of testing, the child had never attended school but had been given a little private instruction at home. Her scores on standard tests of scholastic knowledge ranged, nevertheless, from fifth-grade norms (in the four fundamental processes in arithmetic) to second year of college (in tests of poetic appreciation). Her median score in eight scholastic tests was about eighth grade (where the median birthday age of pupils is about 14 years, and where pupils have been in school on an average of eight years).
Ratings for traits of character and for physique gave this child a score much above average in both respects. She weighed 11 pounds and 15 ounces at birth, and at the age of 8 years 2 months corresponded to the standard for 9 years 6 months in weight and for 10 years 6 months in stature. Her hand grip at this time was equal to that of the average 10-year-old. She began to walk at 7 months of age, which is the earliest age of walking recorded for any of the children so far studied, including those who are the special subjects of this monograph. At 19 months she talked clearly and knew the alphabet; and at the age of 4 years 6 months she was discovered reading Heidi, a book of about fourth-grade degree of difficulty. Her parents did not know that she could read, and they have no idea when or how she learned. By her eighth birthday Beatrice had read approximately seven hundred books, many of them twice. At that age it was one of her favorite pastimes to write stories or poems and to illustrate them with original drawings. Her health was said by her parents to be excellent. The measurements given show her to be large and strong for her age.
Beatrice was not entered at school until she was 11 years old, but studied at home under her mother's guidance. There was little formal instruction—as a rule there was arithmetic, from ten to twenty minutes daily. At 11 years of age Beatrice entered the ninth grade of a private school for girls, which she attended for two years. She entered the university when she was 14 years 8 months old, and graduated at 17. In college Beatrice earned A and B grades in English and languages and C's in science. She fell barely short of Phi Beta Kappa Election. Throughout her life she has had few playmates and few intimate friends. Her desire is for a literary career.
Root's case, VIII A. In 1921 Root (18) described a boy who at the age of 8 years 0 months scored at a Mental Age of 16 years 0 months, with an IQ (S-B) of 200. Other tests agreed in placing this boy near an average adult level in processes of thought. The stature of the child at this time was 4 feet, and the weight 59 pounds.
The ancestry in the case is predominantly English. Father and mother both graduated from high school. The father was a railroad engineer. Two maternal aunts held prominent places in the public schools. The family had "all comforts but few luxuries." "The aunt who has guided the [boy's] education seems a rare combination; her educational ideas are a happy union of radical, common sense, and practical factors." "Nervous temperament" is judged by Root to be characteristic of the family on the mother's side.
This boy was an only child. His mother stated that he had never been ill, but it is to be considered that she was a Christian Scientist. He was educated at home until he was 7 years 6 months old, learning reading and arithmetical processes through multiplication. He had read the Young Folks' Cyclopaedia of Common Things "over and over." His chief interests were at this time games and reading and, to a lesser degree, animals and flowers.