AN I VE~'Tr?ATIL/l [,,'TO TilE ;:;FFEC1'J f CO ell NO or IjO~-';~Re,\L l[,1'f:U JC~IiC n . ;,-; 01. gCR,)Pr. \/1 ,
A
T H S 5 1 "
~~~
OF lJUCA I N
111 'fA
UNIV~/t •• rrY 01' tlA 'Al
B.A. ( 'AL )
UI,>. ;: • : 3YCH. (fII .. 'tlhCH M)
My tMnk. are due to the Natal Education Department and to the Depa rt ent of Bantu Education for their kind permission to allow m to use their schools for field work, and to the Principal and teachers of
theae schoole who at ch inconvenience to themselvos co-opermt ed so spontaneously. 1 .t record . y
appreciat ion to the Nationel Council for ~ocial
Research for a Front in ai d.
1.
2.
J .
4.
5.
7.
• 8.
9.
1 •
11 . 12 .
13.lie
-
~lon.
~•• "* ... ..
:.uropean
1 ,,",iIIl~lt:'Ion .....
-
.. '; .. J . . . ...... ..cation
.. ... ... ...
Hea l th .. . ..... .... .
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . . . .. .. . . . . ... ...
Oeacrlption
o r
tbo Jchoob Invol .. d •••••O0l1gn of tho xperbent
...
... ... . ... ... ...
r..
... . ... ... ... .. . ...
..
... ... .. ... . . .... . . .. .... . ... ..
Lurop. na, Iod! nl , ... Cric D5
... .. . .. . ....
References
... .. ... . ...
ppendlx 1 ... . ppe.nd1 x 2. ... ........ . .... ..
f!!l::.!!. •
14 -
JJ
JS5 1
64 -
10
32
37
43 5
57 6369 96 97 115
116 - 132 133 149 15
152
164
151
103 1>5
rowth 1n the nmlber of rul l and Fa rt. time st u1ent 15 in Tec\.IOl c 1
Cal l "if:1 1 the- Union . .•.• •.• ••••••
T.481t. 2. ~ro"t..h 1n '"Ie nutllber of 1"1.111 snd Part t,i:"l!e stujants in ~outh ,fric n
35
Cnlv""rc.lt ieB .•.. •. . . _, . •..•..• •.••• 30 1aBli.). .,ihowtn,f growth in nU':lbf':r · .. t 1ndian
schools , pt.:oils, teac era 1!nd
expetlditure . _.. . .. .... .. ... ... ... 41
'r/. ""~ ~. UU'lIbera of Full and P t1
st uJ.nt s at tenJin:- Technical rla!tges
1n t 1 ... ... ... . . ... . . .. .. 2
•
T,BLg 5. ber of Indian .tuJe/18 at tending
t be Un! ver~ity of ata1 . . . 43 ... oLL b. .>},owlng inc~a5e in n :1b t of .. :u~t\1
schools and tuplls . ... .. .. ... . . . 47 ,ho"dng expen t ure on tahtu
~ UC t. ion ... .... ... ... .. ... ... . . ... ..
T til t.
e.
Showing oW'lb. r of Bant u stude ISonrolled in \miversit18o 1n the
t 4b
Unl',n ... ... . .... .... .. . . . .. ... . 49 T ••. Li. 9.
T;.eL..:~
• 1.1.... 11, t..
12 .
~howllg ·<an.ality 1. •• for
i~ropea!l:J t Indlar.G ",rId frlcQ111 1n Durt>.n for 1956 ... . ... . ... . ..
~howin deaths fro=- sP'lc1flc causes for r;uropcans, InriL'!I.oS and Afric:ana
51 - 52 51., 55, 56 •
1.
"To have no errors 1s a prlvl1ape ~bov~ the condllions of h~r.Anity; under it happiest 18 he who has fewest of
them. "
Horace.
1. IlDa anJ 1 it Lions of res nt Invcstih.ation. It is proposed in this enquiry to:-
(al Jt udy the relative gains due to cocchin~ on non-verbal ~~wts of intell1s.nce of unb1ased .a pIe., of Buropean, IndiAn an Afrl,¥" ..
school children between t he a o. of 10:6 and
12 : 6.
(b) Invo.ti~.te ain. due to coacbine not only between. bu wit.hin, ethnic roupe.
ublildlary inveatJ.g tions are conc-e ad wi th :- (c
I
The lst ive &8in.made
by the.exe.
int he
three :orroup ••
(d) In the case of i:urOpe3l1a only, the relative
&ains m3de by pupils whose lnltial .core.
2.
2.
were above 100 pGints ot I an those wnosw scor s were below 100, later eslcnsted in
•
~he body of the t hesis as ·Upper I
's "
and"Lower
Ie '
art. In the casa of IndianG and Africans there were not enough resul ts above 10 IQ 1n t he tnitial t oots to warrant aninvesti~ation.
(e) The Phenomenon of a consistent increase in
!ltandard deviat.ion trou T05t 1 to Teal 2 in all th ree athnic croups.
(f) The pattern
o.f
e relatione bet" •• n Test 1and Test 2 in all three ethnIc ,.roups.
It ml( ht bo Just as well at this Juncture to state that t here is no intention of co~paring the relative per1:or::lance of europeana, Indians and
frleans on intellii ene. t eats - the lack of validity oJ such ·result e 10 realioed. Alt houPl somewhat len hy. 81esheuval '
i·
sueci ctly 8'tatedcase . ,aln8t ethnic co . r'isonB 10 well worth re4.. rding:
3.
"
ny aci.ntiftc atu len of interraciallff.renees in intelll&enee hay. been made. the
majority atte pti to co pere the innate abili y of ~he .:nerican nerro with th t of Indi"n, Coloured or Europe n groups. Tho rasw to noarly al ways
veal both quant1t.ative and qual1taU ve ifferences 1n favour of tba buropoan or near-white groups.
Th usual inurpret t ion of these results as
indicating constitutional intellectual inferiority on t.he part of Afri can races, uat however, be
que tioned.
The
usual instrument of investigation is the ceneral intell i".nc. te.t, modified in .ucha way a. 0
""k .
it culturally equivulert. for tbei up. bolo. te cd. 50 far no test. haa been
desli ned which can pass muster on this score.
vOidance of linguistic t erial Bnd the use of pictures with
r ....
lliar cul tural cont ent 0 notmeet the case. It be. been shown that familiarit y with pencil and peper, and with the conventions underlying pictorial pre.entation, ~. well a. the perceptual and anipulativ. habits Invol v d in perfora..lnci test s of lntellll ence, are culturally
4.
d~ter.Din d ~ p~ace Lhe frican at isauv.r.tage.
~lotlvatlon Lawards and cor J denee 1n the t eat situation are also dirt erent for t he t 0 , roup,. o,1peed and bustle a re funda'l1cntal attr1bLt. 5 of the we ern way of l ife which llre foreign to African culture. Tho:; Euro can child eta uaec.1 fro., an early
are
to examinati ons, which involve t he SIJ eatLitud1n 1 cont ext as in elii?!! ce t~ .. 8; where 5 even the school-~oinr frican child 1s apt to be 1es3 con fldent io the int. Ul,.once test situation because of the presene of ~uropean testers anJ t he special 1 per c< which nttach •• to the occasion.
tt empt s have been 'U e to Oy reana SO"'Je of t hea J1f!'lcul t lo5 by the sel e::ct ion of cont rol groups 1n which these cultur 1 i nfluence.! wtl r"e
b~ corlllt. .. mt . A rt from the i nherent. di f.11eulty
o r
"quat.inl tel\. con tions in l ups w1t. ..different b. ek&rooIlQ and 11 v in,; under different
illVl w1a r¢.111 conditions (the cont rol group
tochnique has proved inadequate even i n the case of t he Americ De ra, whoso cult ure is C10DO to that or the Europe n. though at a lower econo Ie
5.
an sociolo;tcal leyel) other factors hAve to be considered which mak. co~parlaons lnvall . The f\rot of then is the intrinsic effect
ot
envir- onmental inf luencea on the &rowth of i ntelligence.hereas those which we have d1ecussed so rar .. erely aCfect the measure nt of intelligence, there are others, Buch as the nutrition of tho mother during pratnancy n the lactation perlod, he feedin,; of the child after weani • the sti~ulu. to ~.nt81
growth which emanate. from the chi ld'. environment particularly dur the first two YM rs of 11fo,
·hich lIay nave a perl!l.ln.nt effect on the growth of the nervous sy.tell and thus on the level of
intellectual devolopment whIch the individual may eventually rnach. So fit r DO experirn.onts have boen conducted in whlch this detemin nt of
intelli~enc8 haa been controlled.
A aocon.d disturber of t~e validity of inter- racial compariaona, 1n which en.ansive control
ot
extraneous environ rL £11 i nfluences has be n
at.t.empted, 1s the n:JrrQW and unrepre .•• ntat J ve ran • of oental bil1tIeo which is eventually left. over for cO!I:Ipariaon. sycholop;ical ~eory now holds
6 .
t hat the level of an individual ' s intelligence cannot be adequately stated in terms of one general factor. det8r-ninln, perforoance In any
38"!1ple of problem .ol vtog activities. It has
been shown .t':.a t t.here a re considerable number of pri 03ry mental abiliti •• , the Joint operation of which det er ine. power a. well a. qual1~y of intellect . Testa use for interracial
Int.t:ll i",·ence studies usually involve only a few
of these factors, the all important verbal fluency. ve rhal rel.a.t. 10 os and number factors
being virtually alwaY8 excluded. t best , therefore ouch studies can only reveal some
dirferenees in ntal att.ributes. they can prav! e no basis for generalizations ao')ut. the intellectual ability of • .Non-tiurop8&n race.
Th. third difficulty is the impossibility of finding truly repros.nt atlv population sSllples for controlled CO" risons. The nearer experimental and control ~roupa are brought to each other 1n
respect of environ nLal Circumstances, the further they tend to dovtat 0 from their rospective population
~eana.
).
7.
The •• d1ff icu i t ie s ha vo bean full y discussed by
Blesheuvel in a crit.ical exanina t,ion of interracial intelll tence studies by means of the centrol t:roup technique. He concludes : (a) that in Lhe present
state of our knowle:jge It 15 impossible to say
"'~lethe r t he innat.e intel lect.ual capacities of African races differ either quantitatively . or qualitativel y
f rom t ho •• of ~urope"".; (b) that their actual intelligence, as it shows itself 1n educational,
occupational and social situations, is lower than it could have been, on account of the 'depressing effects of a variet y of early environmental
InrI uences on it s growth."
Using culturally loaded te.t. in situul.ions alien 1.0 Indian and African children, it is obvious
that the result s mUBt be viewed wit.h re3erv8, but for all the 11n.lt atl ons of the invl"stl;tation certain
reneral and spec1f ic fa.ctors e,eree which if a.t any time in t.he future it 1s decided in ~,atal that
l nt.clliroence t.ests shall be used for selection or other purpos es, it 19 hoped will shed so:ne 11F;ht on reaction to the test situation of pupils from the different racial and cultural rroups .
4.
8.
hhen closer cont <jct with '.\est.ern :net-hods of eJt;cation i nt roduce a ; reater dCEree of sophisti- cat.ion Into the ta~ti:1f situa tion t hen the first need, if one accepts the nec95Glty for intelligence t ests for dl3.f no5tlC and select ion purposes, 1s properly standardi sed test a, the second 1s further Investlf.,Citlon into reaction to and per formance on
intelligence t e.t . by African and Indian children.
I'Ihy, for inst ance, 1n the present invcstiptlft ton did the Indian cont 1"01 p"roup with only a n 11)1t.lal t est to its credit produce 9S much ~a.1ns in points of It. a 8 t he KxpE rimenta 1 ~ roup wno had h&d two sessions. of coach!n" 1n nddltio Ii 1.0 the i nlt1al
It. has oflly hoen possi ble to off er t entative reasons for tqis phenomenon.
One "ery relevant factor 15 apparent f rom a
survey of the pertinent literat ure anti it Ie the number of couflictinl rC3ults that enerf,e from t he invest i at 10ns. On the ~3jor issue of whether coaching produces ~rQ.lter result 5 t han practice
.. c .... rae 12 and !Je!!1p6ter7 1l3:ler t that c,oolcLing has
more offect. tn8n pract.ice and iseman 22ano . Yates 15 t hat pract ice has ClOre effect than coaching.
9 .
Tnic.. !...::I:ck of CO!.si5~(.n('y :'\CLy bt: Jue il4 /l'>.!'i '!l an
.... :H .. t s9 point. oul to a lac~ of c.lar1ty i f. the :n. .... _tnin;;
of tite t~rms ' cOE:tchlor:' 8n~ ' Pra, l ice' . l.i~t;rDan~2 has t r.is to 3ay on the !:llJ.tt er :
N'l'he crucial el ement 1,.. t he fi'.anche!3ter
e...<peri lDent 'W.J.S t.i1o! fact that the children had no t est pap€rs before thorn for the cOBer. in g pt ,.\000 . There s~ern8 no doubt t~at familiarity with the
lay- out of object ive t ast s and ... lth ~net.hOtls u!3cd
t o indi':::Jte t!~l! corr-eet ans.,.er i s of grp.!1t 17!port~ . ..rlce in ral!5inr: s.::orC's . Va rn.on t 5 concl;:. pt. of t at
sop~istic t..iQn i!. p~rhnps t.he 110St. i mportar.t single
ele~cnt in "raclice or coachj oe _ The ~:ar.c 1t~S tee
e.xperim~l1l snows t hat. if such :.tmiliariLY 1s not.
achiev~,j, i f t.he chiL!rcn do not actual) "! work throw. h a Le':.t., reaJing the il.'l3tr'1.;ctlor.a an:l t~e
ex:ar.pl tl5 t herr.:..;.el\'es dr:cJ aClucsll y ins£:rtir.r. the
answ~rSt tht:lfl t.nl:1' work in.::. of i1;~ms on t.ttr.: hlaCrtLmard
I.lr (.lIe ,join..!. 01 ij .. .olat oJ ito5ls "001 ~.ilper" ha~
litt-ie or no effect on t oe sccres i n later- t\,:.:..l s. ,\tlc'Upt,s by the tea.cher to get the chll Jren (aJ t.o i denti y certain type::!. of it.01lt3 and lb) to learn technique s of answur1n~:: p9rticular types sc.-ems t o be ineffective i f the children a re n()t 3.)60 r iven
"t ot.31 test ex~ riencen •
10.
It seems elttremely probabl e t.hat this 1s t he factor w!.ich is responsible for the r;reat er ;:art. of the t;ain s produced by coaching 1n other exper i r.1enta.
In ot her wOrd3 it is the practice ele!oont which produces gains. al t tll)ugh tho teacher -(by virtue of his t raining and hi s experience with t e5ts of attainment. - his ttprofessional mental sot") will tond to feel that his own activities with blackboard and chalk and word-of-::-:outh e.re the Qore i:nportant ".
Helm and Watt-5
9
"aimed to different-iil'..€! clearl ybet ween (a) practico (b) coaching, to cO!l\bi ne the t. chnique of giving tne Sdme test repeatedly with that
or
giving parallel te~t5t and to ensure that.the l atler were 1n fact ot.rictly parallel". They concluded that "coaching plus practice 1s ;nore
efficacious than practic-e alone, whet he r the pract ice ta sk be the re-taki llf of identical or parallel t est s".
In brief it would appcC.r that the rosult s on coachtng dopend on its subst ance and qual i ty. ,-there t.ho practice el em<:::nt predominate!.) then t.hat kind of coacnirllI 1s l ikcl}T t.o be {!lore ~lJcce!l3ful
than tho mere exposit-ion and expl anat.lcn of principl es.
5.
0.
11.
The lit'" ralu re on the su bJect a1 so reveals t hat the pcrforr.urlcc of children of different
level!] of '1:tbl11ty is anot her matter of controversy. kodge:r 17 says "clevE:T children
i;~ CJ. i :,ed
more t handul l chl ldren". Vernon20
":;tuder,ts wl1..h lOt,cst scores showed t:reat cilt 1 provement. t hose with highest score 5 the 1
ea ~t " ;
McIntosh l ) "norelationship between level of ability and practice effect '" Peel 16
.. ti ft' t d t i
, 'pra c ce e ec seeme 0 mprove
with the initial lovel of tntell lf';enee"; Vernon
d N h 21 !
an avat . : "Lar est. rains in '..l made
cy
those who normally constitute t.he boroer zone in all ocation procedures"j Mi semsn 22 "Larce!;t p,3ina as a result of coaching made by chi Idren tn the lower I.~' s but 1n thE' practice croups great cst rains by tnose with hi 'her I-<t 5. tIIn the pre:tcnt. inv~,t.ir:ation there W113 no slo:nlfl cant difference between the r-ains of the hit her and lowe r groups of I.,..
\llot.her fact o r not ed and co-nmented on by
l~C C rij e16
..;...n,j r1 i :leman22
was t.he wide fluctuat.ion found in the
t~st r6Stllts of individual c~lildren. This phenomenon
7.
C,·d~
If.
12.
wa~ r.otec. in t.ne pre~H'r.t l =wt!sti ,~3t it) n uno ha. 5 been com,'tl£!nted on.
f inally, .. tseman 22 noted (aj a ht ,!"l deeree of accfJrd i n the ;:;3105 found frem !Ii .Olple practice (b) most di~crep9nt. re:Jwt:1 frOO1 the usc> of coac~lnf.
In t.he li"'ht of {~lC .!ifferert rnet ncd!J of coac:lillg
In t.!. is investi;:at ion it. i3 i:lt'ir~~.st1. i. to ,!'::'te
i nitial test cOl,.;l d bf: r-ogarded a3 a pract ice or,C'.
T (' reoponso of thE' rar:lal rroups to coaddn~: Wi;lS
vdstly dls31rnilar and can be seen 1n the fol10lloi .Har,;ram.
'\
14 ,
• /
,
\1) •
,
//
12 • /
,
\
/
11 • /
.t
10 • \
~ .. :'_.,I :.,,{,,: ,,1
1";
9
• (e " '!luG) \\
\'.r
I <'e ,
\ \7 •
-; ·I.,L
~ .,
".6 (I' ,
:,- ) --- .,
S
- -_._- - - -
.r t.I . \ .
.I' o,J i i.· Ltl. i
s .
1).
The react. ion and results of the ~uropttan group are not. greatl y dissimilar fro:n those of groups tested
in England and pro'lidad ths tests used were standardised locally t.here ::seems no reason why they shoL..i.d not b.
us d for seloctlon and diagnost.ic purposes.
In the cas. of African and Indllln children more
Investlf atlon is obviously needed. A ppropria ~e
tests nead to be constructed and standardised and a greater degree of sophisticat.ion 1s required before .t .bllity 1. reached.
";UhVeY Or' THE Pi."! Ilb !.'T U TE.r.,,!UrlE.
As ~odger point 4 out (see below) the lack-of rellabU 1 t y of the old t ype examination prompted :w.ny Loc31 educati on Authori t ies in the Unit ed K1nydo~ t o t urn to the use of st andardised Inte l l igcllco and
ttain .. ":'1ent Teot.s in t heir sel<!ct ion procedures, but perhaps not unexpr;ct.edly t he unofficial coaching of chIldren In t asts of int.el l ll cnc8 wa.::; substitut ed for t he cralltml~ of previous years.
he devaMt &ting effect t.hat wholesale unofficial coaching and/or practice could have on the re~ult. of the t ests pr1!l'.ipted a s&riea of invest igat ions int.o t.he effl:ct. of t his coaching anl.l practIce and it 1s a !Jwn.-nary of thusa investiv 4t ions that follow5 ;-
1.
on
".v. rlodj;er17 investit .. t 1nr- t he effect of practice
Int.~lll once Teste says
.tCareful enquiries 1n recent. yl::!ars h!lve sho .. ..,} that t he t radi tional type of eUl!llnation is often unreliable, and as a rc~\.lt many oouc9t i m1 com~itt.ees hav,,: t umed to
15.
Intelli.~encl! and i\chieve:ncnt t ests in connection wi th the i mport ant 8c:holar~hip and profjot ioll exa.JliMti ons which take place nor;,ally at the 11 stage . i:.xamining bodies, t hough not al 'Aays convinced of the val i dity of
Intelli gence Tests, haV€ hild ereat confidence in t.hei r
reliability, 8a almost all such t e.t s have reliaollity coefficient s in exceS5 of 0 .8 and SO::1C in eXCCSG of C.9. The incru:a od u~e of Intell1t;ence Te!Jts 1n schola r3hl p an::1 -other eX3mirutions ha-:: led, ho ... ever. to 0. new ~ .. '1nger • . ~ome teachern ~ith mi~dil'ectod zeal , ro .. y be giving children
practice in such t.ests."
In oroer to inve9ti,~ate .. t he effect s of this prdct,l ce kodf!,cr conducted an enquiry Rnd a sU!l'l'nB.r y is gi ven bel ow
".>iA Intel l1.t.ence Tl?'sts wen! ,,1 yen at fort,nh:ht.ly i nterval s t o 96 children of' ap"e 11 .... or 12+. Onl y 76 of the children .".ere pntsent on all occasi on9 and consequently al l t.ht!. results are baaed on the study of 76 cases.
The I", of the plJp11s tClided to rise f roo te:.-.t to test , the ri::ie per te st being a.bout half a point of 10../ i n the
case of ehi ldren of l~ SO t one point for eh ildren of 1 .... 100, emj one nnd a half point s for ch1.1dren 'of Ii..! 120.
Aft er practice effects had bf.:en el i-ninat ed and every care h .. H! been taken to render the standardizat ions of the
16.
t ests strictl y co'tiparable, it was found that , for llr.y child, t he avera,re of t.he devioti ons of hi s aeparat e 1 ...
f rom the avcrut'c of the six 'Was equal to .at-out two and a hal f or three r=oint 9 of
,
." .
and t.hat t his mean va.I'iation'Was ereater with cl evor children and less Io'<ith dull ch 11oron.
A chi ld' !! tot al r'c.tn,!'c of I ... over t.he si x t ests wa3
~onsiderable a:Jd. averaced 10 point s. the hi( best raIiee for any child bei<11' 24."
2.
Vernon2CJ t dlscussir,g the effect. of sophi st icat.ion as opposed t.o practice 1n Inlelllv.er.ce Tests, says
'f 'hi s sophi stication is not quite t.he sa!!Ie as t he practice ef fet:t which h!ls oft-en teen shown t o exist ·.;Inen test ees tal.;.e identical or closely sl, ilar group t est s.
It i s .1. :ootter of tl~anefcr, not so ",uch of Com'iion ident ical element s as of :'M'Jt.hods and principles. lihet:-,c r it occurs to any ~rkcd ox·t ent 3'7lcn17 chi1 ron or adults of average
iut.t!lll. llnc.; I cannot say.
shows t hat it roy h,;3 va a cons1.Jerable effect &.n.)nF; ~Jl.:lts
of 5up(,r'ior ability."
Th invl''Jt i'p;3t. ion cons1"ted ?f a,-!'-'"Iinist erill · t,,;o
i~slt'lila(' Le6t 3 t.o 't.uuel:t5 at D t eachers Training
17.
College and "one or other tests waa applied near the beg1nnl.r1'- of tel'll when very f n of the student. knn anything at all about t •• tiug. Thereafte r the otudent. I rec.1~8d three hours lectures ~d t_o houre practical
.. ork each wo.k for four _eke .. hlch dealt with te.te, examlnat ionl, acifmtlflc ::lethod and stat15tlcs. The practice work. included an expe,.i"",,,,, on the :narkl"t of Cnr,llab cO!l\poeitlona and delDOnatratlons of the .:itanforcl-
~lnet and p4rfo~nc. ta3ls. At the end of the period t.hey t.ook t.he at.her group t ost."
In all t.he j;roup. lOud I/o exper1llent.al and 2 cOI.troll et.atist1c.uly algnificant. r;~ine were lII&d.. V.rnon "o.s OIl t.o .ay "thet. the results 1:ld1cate alar"ll1ng poaa1bll1tiea of d.eral\i;e.nt
ot
the nonaa for superior-adult teata.Tho)' IlUgp;est that at. lea,t two sets of ne ... should be published with enry int~lJ 4~nc. or new-type te.t, on.
set tor Davle.s. another for sop:,lstlcnted test •••• "
"The result s rsi se a number of fre sh problwma which reqt.1re further l.r.vc!Jti:.:at1oJl.
ex:t.!..'nt of t.he_ soph1.,tlcatlon .Cf(!let. in pl'Ol..pS of average
~o1J tty. My own data th row no li~ht upon the ",lat 100 of the effect. to lntt1.11 h -en<-e le.el since, owlnp: to the method of sl.::orinr" stu:1ent!' ... ·It.r. t h6: lowe.')\. "8cores
18.
inevi tably sho\:; J the p;rdat e:Jt l lSprov,,":lIent . t hos e wit h the hici'wst scores the l ea • :joeOf'} ly it is desl roble l.o stu y how far t ran sfor !1IlJ!)t be conscious iln-:1 hu'W far
it is acquired by persons 'Who not being students of
psychol ogy or educa~1on do not deliberat ely .tudy t esling principles and the ' lwiguai=e' of t e3t e.
Lantly this Investij,'iltlon may have r.tiled to reveal t he maJll~u.."!I extent of t.he effect . ror the stl..dents
recei ved m.erel y t wenty h')urs of 1mstruct lon sprC:ild over four t o elr:,ht \feek~, only a small proportion of ~lch ad any di reet beartnr, n te ~t t larq:;:uaget • The prof8s~iolU .. l psyc:i.ol o,::-lst ' s ad\" !"lta -t,: :nay lie- very !!luch I eat er than thaL d~onstrat~d."
3.
HU.l.~h ."cCrae12i n an introduction to l~lB o"'n Inqt.:.1.ry rtlpO t.s Lawson' s ... !ork in t.his fif::l .ar.d ~""y :3
'· .n i nqui ry i t ·J t.hE: effect.s of coar.'-.lr.!" and practice on ['rm.:.p Int.f'l l t, encc 1'e~ts had been i nitiated by the
.;icott i sh Counct 1 for r.e~ea r rn i n .. du~a.t. i ) Jl i ar;d a J~cport
on 'The Influenc .. • of Practi:-e on t~e r:s5ult.s of :-:i!otal
T"'~ts' W.t.l~ submitted to t:.e ".ental .lurvey COf'rr.itt.ee oC t.he ;{e:H~arch Council i ll 1934 by the l ate .Jr. Sheperd
{Ja .... ·son, e'i ving the r~sults of t hr ee eXJ>3rlmenta porforr:ted under his direction. !l however it h~ not been published
19 .
it :nay be advisable t o sum.:'\ilri~e it here for t ha seako of tile procedure a:Jopted. quite a3 :uu(;h e.lS for the result s reported. «
"The procl:'dure fol l.owed :"'/ ua)"son 1:1 the first 8.(periMcnt W"'S to ~ive t wo si ':Jil&.r t est.s, OIte a week lat er than tho ot!'H~r lin:i find if ti:ere wur'e ",ny
1"lprove:ment .. t the t:tecolld. Th~ t wo t e.5ts used had
hitiier to .... 1ven very si l':lilar res\,;lt~, but. in urder' to be
sure Lr.at. any Ji f ferer.ce vlat !'rIi:-ht appear at-li tlot be due t.o differences between the t ests the:15elve s. Llawson had rt:'CQur [;e t.o the follolJt'ing plan. ;.\pproxlmat t:ly 100
pupil s of a\Jout t.he $l.r:le a""e 't{f: re arraoKcJ ir. urder of i ntelli;- nee HS t!!::ti:nat ed by t.heir t oacners before the
e.'(a:Jii'~t1or. . 1hun tbt>y ,",ore divided into t \<;o parallel
[~PS (, and Y) . ~. /t.;p .\. ow .-,> , l.v~n the JaW30r. ~ lost
on 21." , rch , Gr"OU!)S
,.
dod Y w6)'e i iv-.:n Lhe .)b Wth.'flto E. :It.. on 2,s t...l ;,:acc
•
anJ G r~.:>\.. p Y \o\.:lS l i V6 n t.ho liaWscn ,"cst 04"1 4Lh . \prl1. Thus it. wus po •• i Ula riot only tofLld t.hu effect of pract..ictt, out al~o to find whet her tor:a te3ta alffer ed appreciably and wtleti.er' t~e GrJups
.{ :.m Y eave appreciabl y ji ffercnt re3..11 t s. "
B .1
LJil.son co c]u.1es that flve perlvd~ of pract ice have vJry littl~ !!lOIt.! cff~ct than c1Le, \thich su.gge~t5 thoilt.. work
20.
on ... preliminary sbeet 1s advisable and perhaps all t hat 15 ner::e.ssarYt but a!] ~cCrile pol nt 3 out t :-.is o:>.n only be
a.ssumed to be valid "when t.he cornf.>i.lr1 50r; 10 bet ween al- ternatlve foC";'js of '.-he same t.i:!st 'l. The prncticc effect ls "cor.! i oed al "lost f;lit iroly to t-he I"'c~n:lts uf eX,9;ct.ly sil.:lil al' tests" .
;':<.:':riAe i n the f'lr~t. of t .... o cxvcrimcnt s and using a
ll1et:--,'Jd si"" ilar 0 tiHlt cA DCJwson arri ved at the fol lowing concl .... slons :-
(Il A definit.e pract ice effect appftars t o exist . It any raise the median of a group by 1iOr e t han six poi nt 3. (;olli1.1ct..1n;::; result S :""lake it. diff i cul t t.o roach B.ny ~ore 2.encro.l cOllclusious.
(il; COil.ch1ne aeoms t.o ha ve no ~ore effect. t han. pract.i ce unless, per haps , .. here t he altumat.ivc form i !J used i:n"lledtately before the examlna\..ion.
(i ii} ~':ven one preli minary te ~t .':be..~ c'1Uch to of (:set the effect of pn'Jviou8 coac)!il1( or prt:.ct icc.
(iv) Thd l"C arc l!Hlicat io ns tl':Rt t..ht ab.?vt: L'o;n;<;nsat. ion ir. -:ore :;U1rl<E!d in t,hi,;) cas!.: of t.~51;8 whi ch ,;l v-::
pract.ice, th.:1t is, in U·.~ C:as~ ot t u!it 3 wh ich in- ::..>r-por.'itE' practi ce ~:..:terlul 0 (' Bl"e pr~;;t:ue:i t.y a
pr·~l.:!.j('t- Sl1cet..
(vi Flllctuations in the ,c~r.$ (I~'~I of the
individual pupils of the Groups over thu 3erlo&
of te.t. occur to weh an extent •• to GUgc6.t thiot st"~,llity has not beeD at.taill6d •
• ~tcCra. was 60 cone drned with the lr.dlvlaual
variations in pupil, efforts in tbe nl':it ."porl_ne that h. d.c1:1.d to carry out aouther lar;;er ."porl .... nt with.
[roup who had alre.,iy been ir.<!l v1dually tootAd on the Terman-i-ierill ;.Ivla ion of tnta' ..It-boll f:ord-Elnot Jeal ••
ThtJ following cor-.clu~1ons w~"' drawn :-
(1) "The afrect or practice oyer & aories <>f teata 1. t.o proilUlC e an .. .,foraLo iRiprove,'DOnt.i taL
individual. at'" not. conautent., arid at ~ny te.:A;.
may acore evon 188.3 than on the pre\'iOU8 oues.
It canr.ot
be .~lu thatauccessive practic.
pro- duces equal 1~prov.~nt8, but an aver.a(a would he about two points of I'",.(11) It aas"", c10,",
t" ..
t the first anJ probubly alaecorrel .. t.lcli bQt.woen t.hta t(uta 1.s lItJl.'y ~il[.h) ,,"ct.
Ct5 a shock aosorber. In vlt'W of the f.l.ct t:Jat t.h. shock-absorb1nr, or p ... ctlce .rflct var1e:a consider'ally frOll individual to In:i1vlJllal one
(11i)
22.
cannot too stron ;-ly deprecate the ~ust om, where any st re S~ i. to be laid upon the result, of gl v ir.; only one £:roup t.est of intell1-."" ••
301118 pupil. vary defir itely from week
••
w week in their ability to perf o rill intd l1 Fence te ,ta. It a hard and faBt Mlle is made, bu.d upon intelli- (ence test scores, say. for the purpose of pro- moUon, it follows that sev.r~l of the p"plla accopted will in real10y be lese auitaU. than others who are rejected. The pe rs onnal of t~\ 18 unrortUDaU group will be different i f the telt or day of testing 10 altered."4.
;lclntoab1), discu •• 1nr the .ffect of practice on Intel11 -:er.ce Tests. states that:
"The PrQ.:lsnt enquiry was !S:tde ,,'lth a .10,," to eat.ab-
11s~,in;; t he effcc:tB of practice wiiEln Ii grou.p of <::i':lldren .at the sa:!. Int.Ellll,·cll~:e Test on .1x. oecaslol!3 at, lI. ... ekly
intervals. 1 .... 0 ;;ro .... ps. r.oncef:)rth noted as ~roup A and r;roup E. were t tutei in t , is ":lam.ar. Bot.h r,roups .... er.
drawn [ roO! Pri:u.ry V child rea in the 58!DEt school. Group A cOl.si ~t.~u of thlrly-oi~·:Jt. ~h11dren of iiiverd&e a~. t'We.lve
YS.Ia!'s, while 1n Group
a
t.of:!re were t nirty-sit. childrenot
u
12 • l" The Uort.t"ierrJ Test of IntelleCLualAb1l1tj WjlS used t.o find 1':'" s.
::clnt.oah ,s,,:"narise!l ~titJ cO:lcluaiona .s f ollows:
HA ~roup teet of Intelll~~r.c. was set on six occasions at wc(:;';'ly interva.ls to two g,l"O\.IpS of pri.w.ry school
children numberin ·~ thirty-el:~ht an:J thlt'"ty-sl,X respectively.
There wa.s a statically siynlficant increase in the nean 1 ... between the flr:o,t and tbr second t.e1>ts, but sub!5uquent testa .;ave little Or no increase 1n the mean I", of the groups •
.:.. child'!. r--:Jfl( e of I:.; OYer the six te !lta averar.ed
aoo~'t twelve point.s in .. eh ca~f!, 1n,.i the maxl~uG2 for any child was tve:lt.r-five.
There was no relationy. ip b;:tween le."l of at.l1it.y
p~.!16, 1n fA Not. on rract.lce ~tr9ct. in lntelligence
to"".'
has t d . to "1 :"'';omplet • .age group. of .~y a r"nJ ,~lrl& frO'R t.he Ilge group Ie-Il yedrs ~re t.ilsted on t.wo occa~1ons by different I-';oray HOUDe t esls. :;, ~riod of 4-5 weeiLa separated each april at-ion of' the test.s, and rroups of 50~.1Et 1,2CuO-l,cvO pUpU 3 w
.
ere te::t.ed in .11fi'ere;.t VClirs. The extra !Ilo:-.th21;, •
CO:lput.ed. There was no coaching bt!t \1ceu the t €3t S."
The conclusions no arrived at. ~;ere as i'ollow~:-
·'...,xaminatlon of sevt=ral set s of data ce:".i'iI'l:l t hat a lQ8an practice effect of anything up to f ive poiHts of I~
may be obt<:L!1 ad ~.,lten one vc rhal i nt ell i rrcnc I! t est follows a few weeks after li si:r;ilar te!:St.
The same set.s of data show t hat practice effect ap-
t o rea ch Ii :loil~l:auM effect at so-ne";~:e re ... bot...'t 120 to 130 point s of
r ... .
The:'l!a:'ter the effect set:m~d to di.7li nish ag<:Jin . This characterist.ic f~att:re of the di fferentialpr!lctice effect , as 3fW\HI i n all five set.s of lata. and
to~ts of 3i, nU'icance S !J ... ~J t.hat the t r"E:nu is ('enerall y sil'nif i cant ."
6.
V ernon all d
r
.nv.:t t" .• e 21 t i n t heir ir,ve~t..i:....-.t. iOrl ca:ne t o t he followinr CO!~:::lu_· i ) . .'13 :-~t and",r d seo re.
(b) l here was litt le diffe r.:,c. L~ the coachirlC effect of different teac;t.er~.
(c) The m in effect of cOClchin~ occars wi'\f.:i1 child:"en are coached on ~1ral lel tC ~t5.
(d) ?et'lods of coachil:l mode l 1ttle dlffere:lce. (oJ Lar~e::.1.. Lains in I....: made by cr.ose ""?10 normall y
constitut e t he bor·cter zone in allocation pl·ocejures. The .... al id.I.t.y of t.he resul t s .... cre qua .:It.ior.cd on the grounds that t he 30 r.ple w .... :. Jrawn fro:n a Prepa ratcry Jchool and not therefore t t"'.Jl ) repres8:1.t ative of tl'.e school pop- ulatio"!1.
7.
Der!1p.,t er' 97 i nvest 1;-: at lon in 30uthaClpton involved t he
use of t .... -o ex per imeCit al groups, (one practice and on(l
coaci.~d) and a. cont. ro1 group.
Al l t hroe eroupa were given tho initial test.. The practice group were hi ven a Moray House Test weekly for
sev~n w~ek!l, the cea ched group given a weekl y period of coachine.; in addition oSr"'..u !=>rior to a jl:oray House Test for seven .... ceka. The re suI t s we re :-
(;.;.) t ract1eed Group 1:nproved by 6 point.s . (b) Coached ·~ro\.i.p i mprove..! by 9 poi.nt s.
e.
2,~L5enc'ln2 in t he ;:.andlc:::it.er Sxper1t.~!.!nt set. out t o co-r.r::are thd rii.;J.,"Jt ~ 0: co.:s~·hi{!£" d,~:i pmct.icc. '''i'he
sa.!ple ... sed ~a3 Otlf! 0.1' Jf l ::hi l';ren fro.il thirteen pri.na.ry
h •
SC . .fJOJ.5. The ;. .... era ~ ure W,J5 9.9 an'l t.he cl:ildren were
al~ost entir~ly ' un!}opr,i <-t icat.ud' havin[~ nad rio pre vious
2().
1nLelli~eDce test experience. "
The 1"C!Sult of t.be ex.periment shows:-
(u) The ri5E 1n mean I:",.: for con tral group wa~j
4. 7
poi nt s.( b) " "
" "
• n pract.ice" "
11.1 point s.( c)
.. " ,
coached.. ..
0.4 poi r.ts.t. t2t. gain 8 for practice [ roup ",as b~ points.
.. ..
coachod ""
l~ point s.(Jj The oipiler
.
the l",. of the ~hll d the £t"eat.cr the r:ainas result of practice.
(e) LD.r~er galr.5 85 3 result of coachlng mde by
.• ise.a:asnts and Vernon' . deduct-ions on the value of co&chil.g from parallel and dl sslrai laI t st..s will 00 d1a- cussed lLit.er an:.i in rcl .ll ion La t ne results of t nia 1n-
. iseL'UJn 5uJ'urnarisod his iny~sti:--t.1t ion as follows ;- (i} "The :~anchcstoI' c,.(perLnent showed tha t. coachi ng
fr:J!:l a co:n!"'lol'cially published coachi.t'l£ tJook 'ft'.en the chl1dl'en " .. er" :lOt 'iven any t..1= !J"t.s to ","ork was uf little effect. 1n raisi.rur t he level of test ed I .... (il; It. l ei :i\., ,we;;t.>:!d t.hat r°t.ot al t8:st experience" is the
f.:t~tor fn t..Jt.h practice ar: 1 cOdc}Ling Wllich 1s re- sjJlJ!.o.iLle for t.he r,r~;.jt.cr port of t.h~ improvement
27.
(iiI) ;, prOi rai1r.!l.B of pract.ice tU5tG 'l:i th c:hi lJ::--en
f.'Iu.-y.lr1~ t h:!ir own "'ork 1s 5Ulf:C5t.ed as the uest way to SW1.:ilP t.he effects of unofficial coachi ng.
(iv; ,;lde fluctuations al«:! found in the te3t re.JU~t.5 of indi vidual ch 11Jran. i,es.::arch results 'rlou1 be ::tore u3eful to t eac.:'l.crs if An 8.lIalysi3 of irldlvidual chtlj rcn' s T"Esult.s wore ir'cluaed i n additi on to
;;J:vefil[.C ~core5 for cl aS3es anJ groups".
~.
The ne303ilrch Team of the National 1 ounda t.ioll for
"';duc",t lonal l1esearch carr l eJ out two expE:rl:';II!Hts :- (a) A Pilot Coachin- Cxperl l!lCrt.15
( b)
( a
i
The London r..xpe .rirlllmt 15
., ?ilot Coach
.
inl; L'(peri:'lent, as the name i:1plles, wasa pilot inv8!:t1:"llL ion fer t ho LO"lrlf'\n ";xper lment, and
~.'iS cO' dueted 1n a ~\1ddl~s~x Jchool v:ith a 3a'1pl e of 11!2.
The p\.lr·pC)~e 1IoI3 "i :' C c'1"lpare t.hp. effpct or Jlfferent
on t he perror~mce
0:·
a f.rr.)u;, intel l i (.~n..·t' u · ... '"t.28.
(ll j c.t'.!-e::-t. of coachinr on Jifl'ardnt. iLo.ns of the
t r St. •
The rc :31.11 t~ sno ~·,ed:-
{i l Gains nade aft er
3
Enti 9 hours coachinf', was sij;ni;.'i ca::tl y p;~at.er t.r.ur: ~hat after6
hoursCOllcn in;;..
(1i) A mean ,.;ai n of 8~ points of standdrdised score for t.he eXD\lr iment.a l t f'OUp as oppoS{lQ to a gain of
6
polrlt.~ by the cor:t rol group.(iii) ,\ tendency fa r the rai n. in in<lh ldual ch IlJren t o rise as t he inlt lal li'!vel of abil i ty i.~cr·eased.
(b) The London Experiment .
,\ lart:e oxperlff1f-nt. i~volv1 nr 20 nd'.Qo15 dlviJ<.:d. 1: to The rer.;1.I1ts ,..lJra as fullcws ;-
(1 ) ~~ooched ,*roups ::>noweJ :::eac fdins v1' betw'1en 5 and 6 points of sta;.dardi scd 9,,:0,'e as op- posed t o lfl.S :or:t rol r.:roup, I ,~ai II of 2 t.o 3 poit:t s .'
(11) ?ract ice f.r'oup a v~cd "':1e..1n J i !lEl 01 {; po1..ts of stan,j6rdi::lCd !Jcon, c()npared -. i.th (;~r.t. rol
S,;-rOI..P f...:i.ins of 2 po.i:,ts .
liii/ The:: r-ractice: 6 J"'OUp wnLJ. 'IIIoI'keG. S .. oray Hou:se ',est ~ :3howeu i;rudtt)~H, -!ains between the first
10.
and 5econd t est , no chanr.;e between second and !i xt h t t:1st and furt.:1er ,-81:15 between
si xt h and eieht h t ests.
(iv) A.s in t.ne . llat Experiment t hfl!"8 was no 51t nificant gain bet ween t he I:roups coachl_d for) and 9 nou[,5 , but the gal ns :::lade by t hese [ I'OUpS wt!.re gre.at er ti~n t.hose :uado by t.ile ~i.A hour grot...p.
lvj In the coached groups the boys' gains Here significantly hlehe r t han the girls' . In the prdctice group the posit ion r~vf}rsed.
(vi ) Tendency for coachinf erroct. to rise ~'ith
i r:1ti&.1 lev~l of abil Ity roac.~.i ,,; its peak at aOOl.:.t 125 ! >(.
:::xt .
.lets fro'') t he JU'r:I."1ar y 0 Lh~ : •••.•. ~ .... pt;L..lic .. tion'"jecon;lary ':'<:hool.3 .A.1m!.!lati o.'ls··15 whi cci are relevant to this i nve.'lL.i ~I lcn an .. liS folloW:5 :_ .
la} nl'he 3tl...loJY or <in ul..tl:al oxa"11r:.:ttion .!:)l:O\'l~a that t he perfcr.n.:::mcc c!"" c:-.i l ':ire:, if: obj."ctivEI t t!ots of
Al'i t.hmetic, _n. l ish ar.,i lnl c·1J i e;1c:e 'tie:->:! l ikely t o 0'_ c.f1 <.!cteJ not cr.1 y ~y spt: ci f ic prep:.:'ati ofl in the fOfll c.l" cva .. hlr.~ ani practice, out al :so by t ne type