Galton and those who built directly upon his pioneer thought about
ability were limited to the study of those who had passed the tests
of life itself, the study of the old and the dead, upon whom
developing theories and processes of education have no bearing.
Today one of the principal reasons for obtaining knowledge
concerning able persons is that they and others like them may be
properly educated for the social functions which they alone can
perform. Inferences from study of eminent adults are, therefore, of
negligible importance compared to the identification and education
of today's gifted children.
MODERN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF ABILITY
In 1905 Binet and Simon (3), announcing their scale for the
measurement of intelligence in children, rendered it possible
to know at the beginning of a human being's existence where—within
narrow limits of error—he or she, in comparison with all others,
grades in caliber of general intelligence. This work, relating
itself to work done also by others—notably Spearman (21) and
Thorndike (28, 30)—created a new epoch in the study of ability
and inaugurated the so-called modern, or present-day, approach
to the subject.
BINET'S METHOD
No extended discussion of what "general intelligence" is will be
undertaken in these pages, as it would not be germane to the
purposes of this monograph. It will be sufficient to refer to the
concept which Binet had in mind in standardizing his scale (4): "It
seems to us that there is a fundamental faculty, the alteration or
the lack of which is of the utmost importance for practical life."
It is this "fundamental faculty" which Binet named "judgment" that
is the variable upon which rests the extreme position of the
children who are to be studied herein.
The quantitative methods which make possible the study of the
status of these children when they have reached adulthood are those
developed in recent years by Thorndike (30) and his students. As
the children identified years ago by Binet's method grew to
adulthood, there were developed in the various laboratories of
Columbia University methods of measuring the intelligence of
superior adults, based on the fundamental principles which are the
same for mental measurement at all periods of development. Methods
have thus been made available for making quantitative statements
of the status of these individuals both during development and
at maturity.
THE RANGE OF INTELLECT ABOVE 180 IQ
It is pertinent to inquire what are the limits of variation
in terms of standard use in respect to human intelligence. How
far superior to the average person are the most highly intelligent
individuals currently produced? Galton's (9) X grade of man was
defined in terms of incidence as "one in a million." But this X
man was not a product of one variable. Galton's X man resulted from
an intellect in combination with "zeal and power of working." The
incidence of this combination of traits would probably be less
than the incidence of intellect alone in degree sufficient for X.
Our purpose in this chapter will be to consider investigations,
made by direct methods, of the origin and development of children
of a type extremely rare in occurrence, incidence being based on
one variable only; i.e., intelligence measured in terms of IQ
(S-B). For this purpose the line might be drawn at any point
farther than +7 PE or +8 PE from the mean. A choice of 180 IQ
(S-B) as a minimum insures a degree of plus deviation very rarely
found even in
metropolitan cities and their suburbs, as is clear from the
reports of mental surveys conducted during the present century.
The choice of 180 IQ (S-B), instead of 179 or 181 or some other
amount of IQ in the extreme upper range, is obviously arbitrary
and is adopted merely for the purpose of defining a point at and
above which there are very few children who score.
Frequency of occurrence. Just how often does a child testing
above 180 IQ (S-B) appear in the juvenile population of the United
States? We cannot tell exactly until we know more about the spread
of the distribution of IQ (S-B). In terms of PE (1 PE = ±8 IQ),
according to Terman's original findings (24) we should come upon
a deviate of +10 PE only once in more than a million times,
provided the distribution of IQ corresponds exactly or even
rather closely to Quetelet's (17) curve of probability as respects
spread; for on this curve cases above or below ±5 PE approach
zero in frequency.
It is certain, however, even from existing data, that the
distribution of IQ extends for at least ±10 PE (even assuming that
wider data will define 1 PE as ±10 instead of ±8 as found by
Terman. It is probable that children who test above 180 IQ are
actually present in our juvenile population in greater frequency
than at the rate of one in a million. This does not mean that
intellect when finally measured in true units may not conform
in variability to the mathematics of chance; it means only in
terms of IQ (in terms of ratio and not of absolute units) the
conformity is probably not exact, as respects the law of deviation.
There may be one, or two, or three, or more children among every
million born in the United States under present conditions who
test at or above 180 IQ (S-B). In any case, however, they are
extremely rare, and the study of their origin and development is
of correspondingly great interest. In the course of discovering
about 1000 children testing at or above 140 IQ (S-B) in the state
of California, Terman (26) found 15 who tested at or above 180
IQ (S-B). Children who test at and above 140 IQ (S-B) are as 1 in
250 of children in large California cities and environs. Thus 140
IQ (S-B) defines a frequency of about 4 in 1000 of urban juvenile
population in California. About 1.5 per cent, therefore, of those
children who are as 4 in 1000 reach the status of which we are
here treating; i.e., 180 IQ (S-B). [1] Nor can we take the children
of California urban districts as a true sample of the population
of the United States at large, since there is reason to believe
that among urban children there is an uncommon proportion of
intelligent individuals (8). Also it should be conceded that
California has a total population that is above the average of
the United States in general as regards mental ability (37). In
any case, it may be guessed with some degree of approximation
to fact how very few there are among American children who test
at or above 180 IQ (S-B).
CHILDREN OBSERVED BEFORE THE ERA OF BINET
Scattered observations of children estimated by more or less
competent persons as very unusual are to be found dating from
quite early years. In this period the literature of child psychology
was still in the state of narrative. The earliest of these
narrations bears the date of 1726 (1) and concerns the child
Heineken.
Christian Heinrich Heineken. Born February 6, 1721, the "Little
Heineken," of Lübeck, was the son of an artist. When the child was
10 months old, his elders first noticed that he was looking with
sustained attention at the figures wrought in gold on a grotesque
that decorated the walls of his room and that were also on a white
stove that stood therein.
Den 3 Dezember 1721 bemerkte man zuerst, dass das kind diese
Figuren hin und her, eine Zeitlang ohne Unterlass ansah und seine
Äugelchen auf eine derselben gleichsam anklebte. Man sagte ihm
daher die Namen dieser Figuren, das sei eine Katze, das ein
Turm, ein Schäfchen, ein Berg. Den andern Tag, den 4 Dezember,
fragte man es wieder, wo die Katze, der Berg, das Schäfchen wäre
und siehe da, das Kind deutete mit seinen kleinen Fingerchen
hin und traf immer das rechte Bild, das man ihm genannt hatte.
Noch mehr, nun gab es sich Mühe, die ihm vorgesagten Wörter:
Katze, Berg, Turm selbst nachzusprechen: es sah daher mit
unverwandten Blicken dem Redendend nach dem Munde, gab auf
die Bewegung der Lippen und der Zunge desselben beständig acht,
lallte das Wort nach und wiederholte dies so oft, bis es
endlich eine Silbe nach der andern herauspresste. [a]
By the time this child was 14 months old he had learned all the
stories in the New Testament. At this age he was still not weaned
from the breast of his nurse, and had an antipathy to other foods.
In order to get him accustomed to other forms of food, the family
took him to sit with them at meals, but instead of eating "he did
nothing but learn." When he saw the various appurtenances he asked
persistently how the dishes were named, where they came from, what
else could be made from the things, and did not rest until he
had discussed every piece of information.
In this mode of life the child remained always happy and in good
humor. He was lovable. Only when at times he was refused answers
to his questions, because it was feared that he might be injured
by too many remembrances, the child was "sorely grieved." The
extent of his learning in the fourth year of life was as follows:
Es konnte gedruckte und geschriebene Sachen lateinisch und
deutsch lesen.
Schreiben konnte es noch nicht, seine Fingerchen waren zu
schwach dazu.
Das Einmaleins konnte es in und ausser der Ordnung hersagen.
Auch numerieren, subtrahieren, addieren und multiplizieren
vermochte es.
In Französischen kam es soweit, dass es ganze Historien in
dieser Sprache erzählen konnte.
In Latein lernte es über 1500 gute Sprüche aus lateinischen
Autoren.
Plattdeutsch hatte das Kind von seiner Amme, von der es nicht
lassen wollte, gelernt.
In der Geographie fuhr es fort, das Merkwürdigste eines jeden
auf der Landkarte steheneden Ortes zu fassen. [b]
On a journey across the sea to Copenhagen, undertaken for the boy's
health, a storm arose and the passengers were badly frightened,
all but the child, who said, smiling "Qui nescit orare, discate
navigare." When subsequently the ship came safely to anchor, he
remarked, "Anchora navis sistitur; deserit ille suos nunquam, qui
cuncta gubernat."
When the boy was brought before the Danish king, he said of the
diamond order that the king gave him to hold, "C'est l'Ordre
d'Elephant, garni de diamant." And gazing at the diamonds, he
added, "Les bijoux sont precieux, mais la vie du Roi est plus
precieuse."
The "little Heineken" died at the age of 4 years 4 months, in
accordance with the popular superstition that early death awaits
the highly intelligent child, "a wonder for all time."
Karl Witte. The father of Karl Witte (35) has furnished a
somewhat elaborate account of his son's development, from which
we learn that the young Karl could read fluently before his fourth
birthday. He learned to write soon thereafter. At the age of
7 years 10 months a public demonstration of his ability to read
was given, covering Italian, French, Greek, and Latin. He passed
tests of preparedness to matriculate at the University of Leipsic
[Leipzig] when he was 9 years old. In the field of mathematics
he pursued analytical geometry at 11 and calculus at 12 years
of age. At 14 he achieved the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,
and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws at 16. At 23 he
became full professor of jurisprudence at the University of
Breslau. He was then called to Halle, and continued there for
the remainder of his life, teaching and writing. At the age of 83,
still vigorously engaged in mental tasks, he died, thus outliving
the melancholy promise of early death which had often been
prophesied to his father.
Pastor Witte, who directed his son's education, did not claim for
him extraordinary intelligence. "Any man normally well endowed
can become a great man if properly educated," he wrote (35). His
special method of educating the boy seems to have been simply to
afford him companionship. He describes the child as strong,
healthy, and playful, without vanity or conceit. From the total
record one must conclude that Karl Witte's intelligence quotient
in childhood was in excess of 180, comparing his history with
those studied in this monograph. His performances in childhood
compare favorably with those of the children we have known with
IQ (S-B) in the range above 185.
Otto Pöhler. IN 1910 Berkhan (2) recorded the performance of Otto
Pöhler, "the early reading child of Braunschweig," the son of a
master butcher (erstes und einziges Kind der Sclachtermeisters),
born August 20, 1892. This child learned to walk and talk and his
teeth erupted "at the right time." At the age of 1 year 3 months,
when his grandmother led him forth on short neighborhood walks,
she would read to him from signs on the streets. And at this
period she wrote for him his name, "Otto." Soon he could recognize
the word "Otto," when he saw it in the newspaper. Then the
grandmother explained to him the alphabet, and read him single
words. When Otto was taken to Dr. Berkhan, he was 1 year 9 months
old, and he could read incidental matter, such as "April 27,"
written in Latin across the calendar in Dr. Berkhan's office.
Otto Pöhler, geborn den 20 August 1892 zu Braunschweig,
erstes und einziges Kind des Schlachtermeisters, bekam zu
rechter zeit Zähne und lernte zu rechter Zeit laufen und
sprechen. Als er 5/4 Jahre alt war, führte ihn die Grossmutter
vor die Tür und in die nächsten Strassen und nannte ihm dabei
die Namen, welche auf den Haus- und Strassenschildern standen,
auch hatten ihm Angehörigen mehrfach seinen Vornamen Otto
aufgeschrieben. Als das Kind nun eine Zeitung in die Hände
bekam, zeigte es den mehrfach in derselben gedruckten Namen
Otto. Von da ab erklärte ihm die Grossmutter die Buchstaben
und las ihm einzelne Worte vor; dabei ergab sich, dass das
Kind ein ungeheures Gedächtnis für Buchstaben, Worte, und
Zahlen hatte.
Als mir der kleine Otto zugeführt wurde, war er wie ich
vorhin anführte 1 3/4 Jahre alt. Er tat sehr vertraut, kletterte
sofort mehrfach auf meine Kniee, zeigte sich überhaupt sehr
beweglich und unruhig. Als er einen neben dem Schreibtisch
hängenden Wandkalender erblickte, las er unaufgefordert laut
die auf demselben lateinisch gross gedruckte Anzeige: April 27
= "April zwei sieben. . . ."
Im Oktober, 1894, stellte ich den jungen Otto im Alter von
2 Jahren und 2 Monaten dem ärztlichen Landesverein vor. Als
derselbe nach Beendigung meines über ihn gehaltenen Vortrags
in den Sitzungssaal geführt wurde, zog einer der Ärzte den
Börnerschen Medizinal-Kalender hervor mit der Aufforderung,
die lateinische Aufschrift zu lesen. Er las fliessend: "Re—ichs
Medizinal-Kalender. Begründet von Dĕr Pa—ul Börnēr. Eins acht
neun vier." [c]
When Otto was 4 years old, Stumpf reported concerning him in the
Vossiche Zeitung, of January 10, 1897, describing him as "not
strongly yet not poorly developed, physically." The back of the
skull was said to be conspicuous; the face, delicate; and the eyes,
"wise and alive, taking on a remarkably concentrated expression
in thinking." The general impression was that made by a merry,
unspoiled youngster, seeing the world. His great passion was still
for reading, and the most important things in the world to him were
history, biography, and geography.
Er ist körperlich nicht stark, aber auch nicht schlecht
entwickelt. Auf den ersten Blick fällt der lange Schädel und der
starke Hinterkopf auf. In dem zierlichen Gesicht fesseln kluge,
lebhafte Augen, die beim Nachsinnen einen merkwürdig ernsten
konzentrierten Ausdruck annehmen. . . . Im ganzen macht er
keineswegs den Eindruck eines ungesunden, abgematteten, sondern
eines noch ganz frisch und lustig in die Welt schauenden
Jungen. . . .
Seine grösste Leidenschaft ist noch immer das Lesen, und
das Wichtigste in der Welt sind ihm historische, biographische
und geographische Daten. Er kennt die Geburts- und Todesjahre
vieler deutscher Kaiser, auch vieler Feldherren, Dichter,
Philosophen, zumeist sogar auch Geburtstag und Geburtsort;
ferner die Hauptstädte der meisten Staaten, die Flüsse, an
denen sie liegen u. dergl. Er weiss Bescheid vom Anfang und
Ende des dreissigjährigen und des siebenjährigen Krieges, von
den Hauptschlachten dieser und anderer Kriege. Das alles hat
er sich nach Aussage der Mutter ohne fremdes Zutun durch das
emsige Studium eines "patriotischen Kalenders" und ähnlicher im
Hause vorfindlicher Literatur, auch durch Entzifferung von
Denkmalsinschriften in den Städten (wofür er besondere
Leidenschaft hat) angeeignet. Als ihm auf zwei verschiedenen
Blättern nacheinander 2 zwölfstellige Zahlen gezeigt wurden,
die sich nur durch eine der mittleren Ziffern unterschieden,
las er sie sogleich als Milliarden und konnte dann, ohne die
Blätter wieder anzusehen, mit Sicherheit angeben, worin der
Unterschied lag. [d]
Stumpf further said:
. . . Dr. Placzek u.a. die den Knaben früher beobachteten,
den bestimmten Eindruck gewannen eines besonders geweckten,
rasch und scharf denkenden und zugleich eines gutartigen,
durchaus liebenswürdigen Kindes. An den Eltern und zumal
an der Mutter hängt er mit der grössten Zärtlichkeit. [e]
When Berkhan saw Pöhler in July, 1907, the boy was an Obersekundaner
in a gymnasium [f]. In April, 1909, aged 16 years 8 months, he
appeared as an intelligent, wonderfully retentive, cultured young
man, who oriented himself easily and who, although favored over
and above his contemporaries, had kept a modest and lovable nature.
Jetzt, fast 17 Jahre alt, ist er ein intelligenter, mit einem
bewunderungswerten Gedächtnis ausgestatteter, kenntnisreicher,
sich auffallend leicht orientierender junger Mann, der, obgleich
in seiner Weise vor der Mitwelt bevorzugt, sich ein bescheidenes,
liebenswürdiges Wesen bewahrt hat. [g]
Pöhler's plan, when seen on this final occasion, April, 1909,
was to go at Easter, 1910, to the university, to become a student
of German history.
Other cases. General discussions of mental gifts in children
which bear interestingly upon the subject here under discussion
but fail to present any specific instances of individuals who
exemplify extreme status, are those by Dolbear (7) and by Hartlaub
(12), and the lectures given in 1930 before the Hungarian Society
for Child Research and Practical Psychology (31). Among the cases
cited by Waddle (33) there are none that belong to our study. In
the research of Cox (6), the following eminent persons were rated
as having been in childhood at or above 180 IQ (S-B): John Stuart
Mill, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Blaise
Pascal, Thomas Babington Macauly, and Hugo de Groot (Grotius). We
would, however, venture to guess, from what we have observed over
a long period of the work of persons who in childhood tested from
135 to 200 IQ (S-B), that a large number of the persons included
in Cox's study would have tested in childhood at or above 180 IQ
(S-B); and that the reasons why they failed of such rating as
studied by Cox were two: (1) the data of childhood requisite for
the valid rating were lacking; (2) the raters were not sufficiently
familiar with what is required in terms of IQ to make possible the
evaluation of those studies, because only a few children testing
so high could have been seen by any rater, and nothing was as yet
known of the performance of tested children at any stage of maturity.
Many of the persons studied by the methods of Cox were rated at
140, 150, 155 IQ (S-B), whose performances in early maturity were
far in excess of what can be expected of persons who represent
nothing better than what the upper quarter of American college
students can do (6). It is only when children test at least as
high as 170 IQ (S-B) that they render performance in early maturity
that suggests anything like the achievements of the persons studied
by Cox.
CHILDREN WHO TEST ABOVE 180 IQ BY BINET-SIMON TESTS
After the publication of the Binet-Simon tests (3), a few cases
of children testing very high by means of them were reported
in the literature which resulted from the tests before they
were revised by Terman (24). At that time, which was previous
to the appearance of the Stanford-Binet tests, the IQ was not used
in expressing mental status, but we are able to calculate what
this was from the data of Mental Age. These early cases, definitely
measured, are as follows:
Bush's daughter, B. In 1914 Bush (5) reported upon the mental
examination of his daughter, B, who at the age of 3 years 6 months
tested at 6 years by the Binet tests of 1911. Her IQ would thus
be proved at about 185, calculated from her father's detailed
record of responses. This report was rendered primarily to show
that the Binet tests were too easy, as no child could possibly
be really so advanced mentally as was B. "B's state is in no wise
extra-normal, or beyond what it should be. She represents the norm."
Additional data concerning B are that she "is of a happy disposition
. . . strong and well of body," and that her parents are both
teachers. This record clearly reveals a child of surpassing
intelligence, contrary to the father's belief that "she represents
the norm."
Elizabeth, recorded by Langenbeck. In 1915 Langenbeck (15)
contributed observations of a 5-year-old girl, Elizabeth, who
tested at a mental level of about 11 years by the Binet-Simon
tests of 1911, administered in the Psychological Laboratory at
John Hopkins University. This would yield an IQ of about 220
(assuming the tests of 1911 to be approximately comparable with
Stanford-Binet in power to distribute intellect).
Elizabeth is described as an only child. At 16 months she had a
speaking vocabulary of 229 words, some English and some German,
as she had a German nurse. At 5 years of age she had a speaking
vocabulary of 6837 words, which are inscribed in the record. The
observer writes of her as follows:
Her quickness of thought and readiness with an instant and
convincing answer were typified one dusty, blustering day
when we were out walking. A cloud of dust enveloped us, to
her great indignation, and being a very vehement character she
exclaimed, "I should like to kill the dust!" In answer to
my reproof, "Do not be so foolish. How can anyone kill the
dust?" she replied, "Very easily—pour a little water on it."
This was at the age of 4 years. . . . She is highly imaginative,
and lives largely in a dream world of her own creation.
Her games are nearly all pretense that she is someone else,
and that she is surrounded by companions, sometimes purely
fictitious, though often characters out of books that have been
read to her. . . . When being read to, she asks the meaning
of every unfamiliar word, and rarely forgets it, using it
thereafter in its proper place. . . . Many of her forebears
have been distinguished men and women, and on both sides her
family have been people of more than average capacity and
cultivation. . . . From an early age she has shown unusual
muscular coördination, using her fingers daintily and with
precision. From her eighth month she used a paper and pencil,
drawing recognizable figures. At 4 years she could illustrate
a little story composed by herself. . . . The source of much
of her knowledge is a mystery to her parents, and can only be
explained by her keen observation and retentive memory, as
well as by a power of comprehension much beyond her years.
However absorbed she may appear to be in her play, talking
vigorously to herself and to imaginary companions all the time,
she nevertheless hears everything that is said in her presence,
though months will often pass before she alludes to it. . . .
She taught herself her letters from street signs and books,
and could print them all before she was three, and during
the next few months would write letters of several pages,
of her own composition, having the words, of course, spelled for
her. . . . She has an accurate ear and could sing a tune
correctly before her second birthday, and dances in excellent
time. . . . Every new thought or impression is at once associated
with some previous idea. Hence, doubtless, her marvelous memory.
For example, in a country walk she noticed a typical Virginia
snake fence, having never seen one before. After a single
moment's hesitation she said, "You see that M or W fence?" . . .
At the age of five years she had coined twenty-three words—
e.g., laten, to make late; neaten, to make neat; plak,
to pretend; up-jar, pitcher.
Rusk's case, from Scotland. In 1917 Rusk (19) published an
account of a Scottish boy whose IQ, calculated from Rusk's detailed
record, was 166 on first test and about 200 on second test given
two and a half years later, the Binet-Simon tests of 1911 being
used. This child was the son of a widow in Dundee, who lived and
supported her two sons by letting rooms to lodgers. The young
brother of this boy was not judged to be remarkably intelligent,
but no test was given to substantiate this impression. Details
of family history are not recorded.
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.
The following is a letter from his aunt, describing his home
education:
At the age of three he learned his letters untaught by anyone
apparently, and was spelling words. It was felt that this
would interfere with his learning to read later on, so he was
taught to read by the phonic method. This was done with no
more time and personal attention than any first-grade teacher,
with ordinary numbers of pupils, could give to each one,
provided she were generously supplied with different books, and
not limited to one or two sets—state series or otherwise. A
few months after his fourth birthday he was reading with
independence and an almost perfect power to recognize new
words. His only noticed failures were such foreign words as
"Chevrolet" seen on billboards, and unusual words like "aisle,"
used without context, which he pronounced "alicie." His ease
in reading was, of course, made possible, or at least greatly
facilitated, by the fact that an effort had always been made to
use an extended vocabulary in talking to him. Even at two,
he would surprise acquaintances and strangers with expressions
which meant no greater effort to him than a child's baby-talk;
such as, "Oh, the spider has attached his web to the board."
This ability to read opened a new world, for he read car-signs,
billboards, newspapers, magazines, and books. His books and
magazines were carefully selected. His access to newspapers,
especially the funny sheets, had the most questionable results.
But The Child's Garden of Verses and others proved a veritable
dream world—as real as the everyday one. He once asked his
mother, "Does Robert Louis Stevenson know when I'm naughty?"
At another time he wrote a letter to some of the characters
in another book. At the age of six he read Swiss Family
Robinson and Champlin's Cyclopedia of Common Things—the two
books which have been and still are his favorites. Other books
which he read before entering school at seven years were:
Overall Boys, Brownie Book, Kipling's Just-So Stories
(read over and over for two or three years), Swift's Gulliver's
Travels, Kingsley's Heroes, Aesop's Fables, Tolstoy's
Stories for Children, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights,
Barrie's Peter Pan and Peter and Wendy.
He entered school at seven and a half years and was put in the
B1 (beginner's) class. In the two days he was kept there, he
developed a distinct aversion to school since nobody discovered
he could do anything and the class confinement and need for
sitting still (coupled with the fact that he did not find the
toilet for over a week) made school most disagreeable to him.
On the third day a member of the family intervened and the
teacher very reluctantly allowed him to enter the second grade.
She insisted that he could not do the work, as he did not know
his sounds. Of course he did "know his sounds," but perhaps he
refused to do such baby-work, although he never expressed his
unwillingness at home, and seemed quite afraid of displeasing
his teacher. In the second grade he was forced to sit for
20 to 25 minutes, studying a reading book, which he could have
read through in that time. At home he was told to take some work
to school, but the teacher refused to let him read in school,
even the Cyclopedia of Common Things. At the end of a week
and a half he was in absolute rebellion and was taken out
of school.
The family then took this child to a teacher of fourth grade,
who was personally acquainted with him, and asked her to examine
him for proper placement. This resulted in a more appropriate
adjustment. By February of his first year in school he had reached
Grade 5A in school placement, and had had thirteen different
teachers, including those for special subjects such as music,
nature study, and the like. His initial aversion to school
lessened, but he found no positive joy in attending. Root describes
the temperament of the boy as "somewhat irascible." This case
illustrates in extreme degree the maladjustment to school which
is characteristic of children testing above 180 IQ (S-B).
Twins A and B. In 1922 Gesell (10) reported the case of twin
girls, both of IQ 183 (S-B). Gesell was interested but incidentally
in the IQ ratings of these girls, his main interest centering
in the condition of twinning. Measurements were taken with a view
to comparing twins, and therefore many details that would be
of interest for our present purpose—for instance, those of family
history—are omitted from the report.
A and B were born by Caesarean section, somewhat prematurely,
weighing 4.3 pounds and 5.3 pounds, respectively. Notwithstanding
their premature birth, in six months A was able to rise spontaneously
to a sitting posture in her mother's lap, and very soon thereafter
B did likewise. At 11 months both had begun to walk, and to talk
in sentences. At the age of 3 years they began the study of
French, and in less than a year from that time they were reading
elementary English, French, and Esperanto. At the age of 4 they
could distinguish parts of speech. They entered the third grade
in school at the age of 6 years, and at the time of report they
had achieved the seventh grade and were engaged in junior high
school work at the age of 9 years.
They are not prigs: they are attractive, animated, sociable
children, with a bubbling sense of humor. They are popular
with their playmates. They can take charge of a gymnasium
class in which most of the members are two to four years their
seniors, and preserve excellent attention and discipline. They
speak mature but not pedantic English, and they speak French
with the fluency of a native. They have read the Book of
Knowledge in its entirety in French; and a year ago embarked
on Russian. They play duets on the piano, but not with rare
distinction. They swim; they ride horseback; they write jingles;
and they read by the hour. Their school work does not tax them;
they do not worry about it; and they are far from fastidious
in regard to the form of their written work.
A complete family chart of the twin sisters, A and B, would
show evidence of superior endowment in the immediate ancestry
on both the maternal sides. Scientific and linguistic ability
of high order and physical energy are some of the traits which
are found in the two immediate generations. The trait of
twinning likewise has a hereditary basis in this instance, for
the mother also bore two boys, twins who died in infancy.
Measurements of physique show A and B to be slightly smaller
than children of their age in good private schools, but very
well nourished. The children have no living brothers or sisters.
Elizabeth, reported by Hirt. Elizabeth was reported from the
public schools of Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1922, by Hirt (13). She
was born January 16, 1914, and was tested June 14, 1921, aged 7
years 5 months. Her Mental Age was found to be 14 years, 0 months,
yielding an IQ of 189 (S-B).
Elizabeth's mother was a member of a large family of children
brought from Germany to America by their parents. The father
(Elizabeth's maternal grandfather) died soon after their arrival
in America, and the mother (Elizabeth's maternal grandmother)
worked hard to keep her family together and to give them all an
elementary school education. Elizabeth's father is of Pennsylvania
German descent. He has a high school education, and attended a
business college. His occupation in 1922 was that of a postal
mail clerk.
This child weighed 10 pounds at birth, 22 pounds at 6 months,
28 1/2 pounds at 12 months, and at the age of 7 years 5 months
she weighed 61 pounds and was 51 inches tall. Superior size was
thus consistently maintained from birth to the time of first
report, in 1921. Two teeth erupted before she was 5 months old.
She was not quite a year old when she began to repeat words.
He first sentence was, "Open the door, Daddy," uttered at the age
of 17 months. The parents remembered this sentence as a sudden
transition from one-word communications into sentence structure.
The only illness Elizabeth had ever had until she was 7 years
4 months old was mumps, which came on at that age.
Hirt's report continues as follows:
Among Elizabeth's first toys was a set of cubical blocks with
letters and numbers on four sides. One of the baby's favorite
amusements was to hold up a block and point to one side after
the other for her entertainer to tell what was on the side of
the block indicated. Gradually the game changed, and the
baby held up the block and pointed to the picture called for by
the entertainer. At the age of 15 months she made no mistakes
in finding the animals called for, and very soon afterwards
she could find the letters in the same way.
One of her first books was The Story of the Naughty Piggies.
The child seemed never to tire of hearing the story read,
and by the time she was two and a half years old, when she
sat in the lap of the reader, she could turn the page at just
the right place in the story. About that time the two leaves
in the center of the book loosened and dropped out. The
German grandma made a mistake in sewing them in, putting
the second first. Elizabeth quickly discovered the mistake and
was very unhappy about it. She followed her grandmother
about, asking her to fix it. The grandmother could not understand
what the child meant, and finally appealed to the child's
mother, who discovered what was wrong. Elizabeth was not yet
three years old, and they could not believe that the child
detected the difference between these two pages of the book.
But after the grandmother ripped out the stitches and replaced
the leaves in their proper sequence, the little girl showed
unmistakable satisfaction and content.
At three and a half years of age, Elizabeth was spelling
everything she saw printed and asking what the letters spelled,
and she could recognize many words. At four years, she read
the advertisements in the streetcars, as well as everything in
all the books she possessed. During all this time there was no
attempt on the part of the parents to make their daughter
precocious. They were pleased with her readiness to learn,
but they did not look upon her as an unusual child.
In September, 1920, Elizabeth was enrolled in the first grade,
in the public schools of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was then
6 years, 8 months old. On her second day in school her teacher
discovered that should could read anything that was placed
before her. The principal put her in the second grade until
she had time to investigate her case. She spent forty-two days
in the second grade, during which time the principal observed
her closely, and decided to place her in the fourth grade.
Elizabeth had no trouble in completing that grade in the
remainder of the school year, the principal giving her some special
help in spelling and arithmetic. . . . Elizabeth is not a skillful
writer, as far as penmanship goes, but she seldom makes a mistake
in either spelling or punctuation, and the content of her
letters and compositions is superior, even for the advanced grade
in which she is now working. . . . Intellectually speaking,
this child takes everything to which she is exposed, and she is
not satisfied unless she understands the subject fully.
Unfamiliar words or terms bring from her the question, "Just
what does that mean?" She has a cheery disposition, and laughs
often and heartily. She is contented in any environment,
because her imagination makes it as she wishes it. . . .
When she is reading or studying, she becomes so engrossed that
it is hard to attract her attention to anything outside her
book. . . . She is slow in her written work, and she is slow and
rather awkward in some of her motor coördinations.
After less than a month in the fifth grade, in September, 1921
(age 7 years 8 months), Elizabeth was promoted to the sixth
grade, where she is doing superior work. In the examinations
at the end of the last semester she ranked about the middle
of the class, due to the fact that she is still slow in her
written work. But in comprehension she easily leads the class.
Thus far nothing has been done for this exceptional child
except to move her along from grade to grade five times as
rapidly as the average child can go. When we see her at times
very evidently bored while a teacher is trying to make a subject
clear to pupils of average ability, we wonder what would have
happened if Elizabeth were now in the second or third grade
where most eight-year-old children are found.
In 1925 Hirt again reported upon the child, Elizabeth, as follows:
By February, 1923, she had completed the work of the six
elementary grades, and she was promoted to the junior high
school. Now, at the end of her fifth year in school, she is
ready for the second semester's work in the ninth grade. . . .
After her promotion to the junior high school, some of her
teachers complained that she was lazy; others said that she was
very inattentive; and all declared that she was "very silly."
The school psychologist had a conference with these teachers,
and it was decided that Elizabeth should be given a heavier
schedule, and Latin was added to her program. She has been
enthusiastic over this subject from the very first. . . . During
the past year there has been a steady improvement in Elizabeth's
attitude toward her school work as well as in her behavior
in general. Though some of her teachers still consider her
"silly," they all recognize her unusual mental ability. While
they give her B and C grades in most of her subjects, they
realize that she could easily do A work in every subject if she
cared to. They say that she wastes much time, though her mind
seems always to be busy. Her mother says that when she is at
home "she writes, and writes, and writes, covering reams
of paper." Elizabeth has told her mother that she is writing
a book and a play.
In the spring of 1925, when a friend asked Elizabeth where
she was going to spend her summer vacation, the child replied,
"Why, I expect to take a trip around the world." Then seeing
the surprise in her friend's face, she explained, "Of course,
it is not probable that I shall go far from our porch swing, but
I find the swing a very satisfactory conveyance; it is perfectly
safe, and it always takes me exactly where I want to go."
When Elizabeth entered the tenth grade, in senior high school,
in 1926, she was 12 years 8 months old. Her social behavior was
at about the level for this age, and her teachers were coldly
critical, unable or unwilling to reconcile her conduct with
her physical size and intellectual maturity. She made very few
friends. She was graduated from high school in June, 1929, with
the reputation of being lazy. She excelled in the languages, but
her work in other subjects was mediocre.
After she was graduated from high school, funds were not available
for Elizabeth to attend college away from home or to pay tuition.
Consequently, because she must live at home she enrolled in a State
Teachers College, though she had no desire to become a teacher.
She was 15 years 8 months old at this time, and her work was very
uneven in excellence. When the time arrived for practice teaching,
she was assigned to teach high school pupils of about her own
age, and failed in this branch of the work, so that she was not
graduated. She received, however, an honorable discharge from the
college. During these years, 1929-1933, her situation was further
complicated by the passing of a state law prohibiting students
below 17 years of age from attending the State Teachers College.
As Elizabeth was then still below the age specified in the new
law, she was forced to withdraw and wait for time to pass, resuming
her studies as soon as she fell within the law.
When Elizabeth was discharged from the Teachers College, interested
friends made attempts to secure for her a subsistence and tuition
scholarship at some good liberal arts college, but no such
opportunities were found. One college otherwise interested in
granting a tuition scholarship now found her "too old," she being
then aged 19 years.
The scholastic history of Elizabeth is too long to be told here
in greater detail. It affords an instructive and tragic example
of the blindness of current educational practice in dealing with
children who test in the highest ranges of intellect. At 22 years
of age Elizabeth lives at home, without suitable occupation,
writing poetry and helping with the tasks of the household. Her
education as conducted has not provided her with any recognized
equipment for enter for entering into the intellectual life of
her world, although she possesses one of the best intellects
of her generation.
The case of J. M. The history of J. M., a 10-year-old girl
of IQ 190 (S-B), was presented by Washburne (34) in 1924. This
girl was a pupil in the public schools of Winnetka, Illinois,
where the plan of individualized instruction is followed, with
individual subject promotions.
At the age of 10 years 6 months, J. M. was 54.5 inches tall and
weighed 88.5 pounds. This is decidedly in excess of the standards
for average children, as regards size. She was doing work of good
quality in the eighth grade, and could have been in high school
had not the school authorities checked her progress in the seventh
grade by giving her a large amount of extra work to do. Her school
record shows that she entered the public schools of Chicago in the
first grade, in September, 1919. The teacher of first grade
immediately discovered that she knew too much for that grade and
brought about her placement in the second grade. There she remained
until the following April, when her family moved to Winnetka.
In Winnetka, J. M. entered the second grade and was promoted
in June. Her reading, tested by the Monroe and Gray tests, was
up to fifth-grade standard when she reached third grade, and had
reached the sixth-grade standard by December, 1920. Her progress
in other school subjects was such that in September, 1921, she
entered the fifth grade. Her rapid progress was halted somewhat,
as she "was carrying a double language course, finishing the fourth
grade and beginning fifth-grade work simultaneously." When in
May, 1922, she began the sixth-grade work, she completed it
in two weeks. "June, 1922, found her, therefore, doing advanced
sixth-grade reading, through with sixth grade spelling, almost
through with sixth-grade arithmetic, and promoted to the seventh
grade in language. She was then nine years old." In the course
of this progress, the grade standard in penmanship was last to be
achieved. The perplexities which now arose in connection with this
child's education are set forth as follows, by Washburne:
In spite of the fact that she was so clearly ready for
seventh-grade work in the fall of 1922, we hesitated about
having her come from the lower grade school to our junior
high school. She was smaller and younger than any of the
children in the junior high, and we felt that she was already so
far advanced that still more progress was perhaps undesirable.
But she had formed a warm attachment for two girls a year or
so older than herself, both possessed of high IQ's, and she
felt that there would be nothing for her to do in the sixth
grade if we held her back. This was so obviously true that
we admitted her to the junior high school with an agreement
that she would remain there until she was twelve years old.
We felt that while she doubtless could do the work of the
junior high school within a year, or at the most in a year and
a half, since our junior high contains only the seventh and
eighth grades, she ought not to go to the senior high school too
young. We agreed to give her a widely enriched curriculum
of electives and special courses, to keep her active and happy
for three years. But it didn't work!
When she found that no effort on her part would get her through
any sooner, she stopped making effort. The end of the first year
(June, 1923) found her with seventh-grade cooking, seventh-grade
art, and seventh-grade pottery, all incomplete. She had taken up
general science toward the end of the year, and of course had
not finished it either. She had, on the other hand, completed
all of the seventh-grade English and arithmetic, including some
advanced work; had done exceptionally well in French. In
dramatics she first had a know-it-all attitude, owing to her
mother's success in amateur theatricals, but later did very good
work. In social studies she had been inclined to superficiality,
trusting to her quick grasp on a single reading of the material
(Rugg's Social Science Pamphlets) and doing little real
thinking. But she was interested, and finished the course
within the year.
The general feeling of the teachers, and of J. M. herself
. . . was that she had "loafed on the job" a good deal, had
been over-confident, and had "let down" generally when the
stimulus of rapid advancement was taken away. This gives
us some inkling as to what would have happened to her in a
regular school system, where the class lockstep is the rule.
This year J. M. is taking a straight eighth-grade course with
one elective, and is tying up the loose ends left undone at the
end of last year.
. . . The child's strong desire to move forward with the
children who are now her friends, and the undesirable effect
on her of our last year's experiment in holding her back
regardless of her effort or ability to go forward, have resulted
in our decision to let her graduate this coming June.
Her parents, however, have requested that we keep her in
our junior high school for a postgraduate year, because they
feel that the influence of this school is needed by J. M. We
shall, therefore, try to provide a special course for her next
fall. If we found out that it does not work out successfully, we
will enter her in the senior high school in February, 1925. If,
on the other hand, we find that we can give her the sort of
education that will be helpful to her in our junior high school
and that she responds rightly, we shall hold her here until
June, letting her enter the senior high school at the age of
twelve and one half years.
Interpreting and summarizing our experience with J. M.: Our
system of individual instruction has permitted her to make
full use of her intellectual ability. When we tried to depart
from it to prevent her progress from becoming too rapid, she
showed a lack of interest and in some parts of her school work
she did not work up to capacity, and even became to a slight
extent a discipline problem. Given, however, an incentive to
first-class work and the training in social behavior which we
are trying to give in our junior high school, J. M. developed
successfully and well. On the whole, our system has enabled
us to deal with her flexibly and as an individual. It has
prevented us from prolonging our mistakes. Probably no system,
or uniform plan, can be made to fit children of such exceptional
mental endowments. The most we can hope for is a flexibility
which will enable us to deal with such children as individuals,
feeling our way as we go along.
As for family background, J. M. originates from ancestors of very
superior intelligence. Her parents were both tested by means of
Army Alpha and both scored far above the generality of adults.
Her father was educated as an electrical engineer but subsequently
went into investment banking. J. M.'s paternal grandfather
was an architect, trained in Manchester School of Science.
He also attended the University of Edinburgh. The paternal
great-grandfather was an architect and shipbuilder, expert in
laying out factories, and he was descended from a line of builders.
The paternal grandmother was an English woman, educated by her
aunt, "who had advanced ideas on what a girl should study."
The father of this grandmother was a dealer in building materials.
On the maternal side, J. M.'s grandfather was first a teacher,
then a merchant, who became very wealthy, and a mayor of a Southern
town for eighteen years. The line of his descent was through
Southern planters. The maternal grandmother was the daughter
of a college professor, who in turn was the son of a physician
and surgeon, coming from a long line of physicians. The mother
of the maternal grandmother was descended from wealthy farmers.
It is of some interest that for three generations at least,
J. M. and her immediate progenitors were born when the parents
were thirty years or older, in some cases being more than sixty
years old.
The case of E. B. This child was described in 1924, by Stedman
(22), as having "the highest IQ yet reported." Exception was
taken some years ago by the present writer to this description,
on the ground that the test by which E. B. registered an IQ of 214
was not first given to the child. She had been tested previously
by Stanford-Binet, at the age of 5 years 9 months, earning an IQ
of 175. When tested in the Psychological Department of the Los
Angeles city schools at the age of 8 years 11 months, E. B. made
the record of a superior adult, earning an IQ of 214 (S-B). The
record is thus ambiguous, and will be included here only because
we cannot say how much allowance should be made for "test wisdom"
on second test. However, subsequent history points to 175 IQ as
the more probably correct status for this child, since when she was
tested at the age of 21 years 1 month, by Lorge and Hollingworth
(16), using CAVD, Levels M, N, O, P, and Q, and other tests of
cultural and specifically scientific knowledge, the result placed
her among individuals who in childhood had tested between 170 and
180 IQ (S-B).
E. B. was born on September 21, 1913. When 4 years 6 months old
she was placed in a convent school on account of her mother's
departure for France. She was not enrolled as a pupil but was
allowed to sit with the high first grade when she wished, because
her chum sat there. In four months, at the close of the school
year, it was discovered that she could read any page in the reader
which had been used as a text, and any page in the public school
first reader, which she had never seen before. Accordingly, though
not yet 5 years old, she was "promoted" to the second grade.
At the close of the next school year she was promoted to the
fourth grade, aged 5 years 9 months. Before E.B. was 6 years
old she had read practically every book listed by the public
library at Des Moines for children of the first six grades. At
the age of 9 years 4 months she was doing eighth-grade and
post-eighth grade work. Her favorite books at the age of 9
years include Barrie's The Little Minister, Sentimental
Tommy and Tommy and Grizel; Hugo's Les Misérables;
Dickens's Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, and David
Copperfield; Eliot's Silas Marner and Mill on the Floss;
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; Hutchinson's If Winter Comes
and This Freedom. . . . Until she entered the opportunity
room, E. B. never had a child companion, and was unpopular with
children. She was friendly but shy, and was unable to comply
with the play standards of other children. In the opportunity
room she made better social adjustments. She is cheerful,
affectionate, and considerate to the point of self-denial.
She obeys implicitly, but is forgetful in the commission of
small duties, perhaps because engrossed with more interesting
matters. She thinks along economic and political lines, and
can hold her own even with many adults in conversing on these
subjects. . . . Health is excellent. She has had the usual
children's diseases, but has recuperated very quickly. . . .
E. B. is of French, English, and Scotch descent. The father
finished high school at 13, and was an A and B student at
the University, taking gold medals for original composition.
He is a writer and an editor. . . . The paternal grandfather
is a lawyer, teacher, and author. The paternal grandmother
has mathematical ability. E. B.'s mother entered school at
8 years, and completed high school at 15. She then entered
business college, and completed the course in less than three
months. She then entered college, working her way through with
consistently A records. She was editor of a national magazine
at 25, and at the time of investigation was an editorial writer
on Screenland. . . . The maternal grandfather's history is
unknown. It is thought that he was average; but the maternal
great-grandfather was probably superior. At 21 he could neither
read nor write, but just at this time a public school was
established near his home. He entered, and finished the
course for the entire eight grades in sixteen months. . . .
E. B.'s mother states that E. B. first spoke words with meaning
at 7 or 8 months of age, and that she walked at 10 months.
When she was 3 years old her parents discovered that she
knew the alphabet, which she seems to have learned by asking
questions about printed signs. She has had very little formal
instruction at home, for her mother has been active in newspaper
work most of the time, usually working at night.
E. B. entered college in a large city at 12 years 0 months of age.
The girls in this college are very highly selected for intellect,
and E. B. did not do outstanding work among them. She encountered
many difficulties, but graduated at the age of 16 years 9 months
with a creditable rating. At the age of 20 years she married,
holding also at that age a very responsible post in charge of cash
for the metropolitan branch of one of the largest manufacturing
and distributing companies in the United States. It is her aim
to become a writer.
Verda. In 1925 Terman (26) reported two children not elsewhere
described, with IQ's above 180 (S-B), Verda and Madeline [below],
both discovered during the census of the gifted taken in California.
The occupational level among Verda's male ancestors has been
largely in the professions and in business. Her father is a
successful life insurance salesman, and shows musical, mechanical,
and literary ability. He is of Scotch-Irish extraction. Her mother
is of French and English ancestry, a descendant in direct line
from Governor Bradford, of colonial New England, and is related
to many notables. Verda has no brothers or sisters.
The child's first words were articulated at 7 months, and she
talked in sentences at 15 months. She hummed a tune at 17 months'
could name all the primary colors at 22 months; could count to 13
at 25 months. Her first poem (said in rhyme and meter) was composed
at the age of 2 years 9 months. This was recorded by her mother.
She did not herself put on paper her literary compositions until
the age of 5 years, when she learned to print. After this the
stories she composed were no longer recorded by her mother. Soon
after she was 4 years old she brought a book to her parents and
read to them. Up to that time she had had no formal instruction
in reading but she had been read to.
Verda did not enter school until she was 8 years 7 months old,
beginning in the high fourth grade.
Her IQ was first determined at the age of 11 years 1 month by
an incomplete test, made as a demonstration before by an incomplete
test, made as a demonstration before a group of teachers in
the limited time of fifty minutes, and was calculated at 175.
When at age 11 years 7 months she was fully tested in a standard
situation, she passed every test provided on Stanford-Binet,
proving at an IQ ("corrected" [2]) of 186. Through four years
of high school she received an "A" grade in every academic subject,
with the exception of one semester of French and one of biology,
in which the grade was "B." She was graduated from high school
at age of 16 years 9 months.
According to her own testimony, Verda's usual amount of study
during her senior year was only six hours a week outside of school
hours. "She is fond of parties and dances, and is very active
in student life, particulary through her literary contributions.
She rates herself as rather disliking study. She would rather read,
play the piano, compose music, stories, or plays, or spend time
with her friends." (In 1926 she won a gold medal in a piano-playing
contest.) She has shown a wide margin of energy and ability
over and above what is necessary for a "straight A" record in
high school.
There is much more in the description of this child that is
interesting, but the case cannot here be quoted in full.
Madeline. At the age of 6 years 7 months Madeline yielded an IQ
of 192 (S-B). She was then in the third grade, but her scores on
Stanford Achievement Tests corresponded to fifth- and sixth-grade
norms. At 7 years of age, her parents' chief concern in regard
to her was to prevent her from reading too much.
At 7 months of age Madeline was able to distinguish all the
pictures on the walls of her home when they were named to her. She
could identify the pictures of six American poets when she was a
little over a year old. She knew the common flowers by name before
the age of 3. Her mother reported that "reading seemed to be born
in her." She could count to 100 at 3 years, played parchesi at
4 years, and "carried the powers of 2 mentally to the 20th,
as a Sunday afternoon pastime before the age of 6." At 7 years
of age she was writing poetry with religious thought expressed.
Entering school in the first grade at the age of 4 years 11 months,
Madeline was held in the ordinary course on account of her age
and in order to improve in handwork, in which she seemed deficient.
She was listless and bored at school, and developed habits of
procrastination and time-wasting. In high school, however, she
began to take an interest in the work offered, and at the time
of report she was finishing the ninth grade with "A" ratings in all
except an occasional course which she regarded as uninteresting
or meaningless.
Often when she is sent out to the back yard at night to dispose
of kitchen refuse, she fails to return until her mother goes
in search of her. Her mother always finds her studying the
heavens. Madeline has recently developed a strong interest in
astronomy, has devoured several books on the subject, and is
planning to become an astronomer.
The health of this child has always been good. She has had the
usual children's diseases, and contracts colds, but has never been
seriously ill.
Madeline's ancestry is very superior. On the paternal side, the
grandfather was of English-Irish descent; the grandmother, of
Scottish-French descent. Teaching and preaching have been the
usual occupations. On the maternal side, the grandfather was of
German-Dutch descent; the grandmother, of English descent. The
child's parents are both university graduates, and they have done
graduate work. She has two younger sisters, of 167 and 162 IQ
(S-B), respectively. The family is in very moderate financial
circumstances, having taken responsibility in the care of relatives.
Rosemarie. In 1928, Schorn (20) reported upon a girl aged 4 years
6 months, who tested at 8 years Mental Age in the Psychologisches
Institut at Würzberg. This report gives her an IQ of 184. She
was brought to attention because she could read fluently at the age
of 3 years 6 months, without having been schooled.
The case of this child illustrates some of the points of
misunderstanding of such children by those who have not seen
several like them. Because she could not perform motor tasks
in advance of her years, it was concluded that she "was not
generally bright."
The case of K. In 1934 Goldberg (11) described the case of K,
a boy who achieved an IQ of 196 (S-B) when tested at the age
of 6 years 7 months.
K was born June 25, 1927, in New York City, of Jewish parents,
and is an only child. The parents state from memory that K started
to walk at 14 months of age, and could talk rather fluently at
the age of 1 year 6 months. Dentition began at 8 months of age.
His health has been very good, and he has had no serious illnesses.
When K was 20 months old, he knew his alphabet and within a
short while after that he was able to recite it backwards.
At about the same time he had a set of blocks, which offered
him additional opportunity for developing a well-nigh astounding
feat. He could by looking at one of the figures on a given
block call off from memory the other five objects on the
remaining sides. This he was able to do for almost the entire
set. At about 2 years of age K knew his own name and address
and what is more significant the addresses and telephone numbers
of the entire family, numbering about a dozen.
By studying a calendar he learned to tell on what particular
day a certain date would fall. For example, if he were asked
on what day of the week July 16 would fall he would indicate
Thursday. . . .
K began to read at about 4 years of age. He was given no
formal training in the beginning mechanics of reading. The
only assistance he received was a suggestion that he "pronounce
words by syllables." At this time he was already reading simple
words easily.
K is of Jewish origin. Mr. K at the time of K's birth was
32 years of age, and Mrs. K was 35. Neither K's mother
nor his father has had the benefit of college training. They
are for the most part self-educated. Mr. K is a proprietor of
a small retail business.
At the age of 6 years 7 months K's height with shoes was 47.3
inches, and his weight was 52 pounds. He is well nourished, and
his physical condition was found negative for all unfavorable
indications. When asked for the year, in the test at year IX (S-B),
K said, "It is 1934, but if you believe in the Jewish calendar,
it is 5694."
The case of B. Witty and Jenkins (36) have reported the case
of B, a gifted Negro girl, who was tested at the age of 9 years
4 months, earning an IQ of 200 (S-B), "corrected" score, and of
187, "uncorrected" score. [3] At the time of testing, B was in
the low fifth grade at school, her mental age being 17 years
5 months at least ("uncorrected" score). She had received but one
double promotion though others were offered by the school, because
B's mother is afraid that the child will get too far from her
age group.
B was discovered by asking a teacher to nominate the "most
intelligent" and "best student" among children in her class.
B was nominated as "best student," while a girl four years older,
whose IQ turned out to be below 100, was nominated as "most
intelligent." This circumstance is illustrative of the lack of
insight which necessarily exists in relation to such children where
teachers have no special instruction in regard to them. The report
continues:
The following items were secured from B's baby book, and
from the mother's reports. B, an only child, was born November
18, 1924. The mother was then 27 years of age, and the father
31. B weighed 6 3/4 pounds at birth, 14 pounds at 3 months, and
17 1/2 pounds at 9 months. At 9 years and 5 months, B weighed
60 pounds and was 50 inches in height; this is normal for a
child of her height and age (Baldwin-Wood norms).
B walked a few steps at 8 months (under the excitement of
running after a dog), but walked no more till she was 12
months old. She employed short sentences when she was about 16
months of age. Her mother reports that B expressed her thought
in sentences, rather than in isolated words, almost from the
beginning of language development; she excited considerable
comment among friends by displaying an extensive vocabulary
and by using nursery rhymes at age 2.
B was taught to read by her mother at age 4, by the "picture-story"
method. (She knew the alphabet long before.) A few lessons only
were given her and thereafter B read and has continued to read
independently.
B has had no serious illnesses or accidents; her health history
appears normal and her physical condition at the present time
is excellent. Furthermore, she seems unusually well balanced
from the standpoint of mental hygiene. B exhibits regularity
in habits, sleeps soundly, seldom reports dreams, displays no
unusual fears, and adapts herself quickly and successfully to
the demands of her child-group.
B's parents appear distinctly above the average both in
intelligence and in academic training. The mother finished a
two-year normal course and taught for a number of years in
a metropolitan school system. The father is an electrical
engineer, a graduate of Case College of Applied Science; he has
pursued graduate studies at Cornell University, and has done
some college teaching. At present he is a practicing electrical
engineer. . . . Her maternal great-grandfather (who is still
active and robust at age 82) was private secretary to each of
four executives of a large railroad system. . . . Her paternal
grandfather was an inventor and manufacturer of polishes and
waxes. . . .
The mother reports B to be of pure Negro stock. There is
no record of any white ancestors on either the maternal or
paternal side.
B has not much ability or interest in music. Her favorite subject
is science, and chemistry attracts her to the extent that she
wishes to become a chemist.
Child R. In 1936, Zorbaugh and Boardman (38) described a boy,
R, of IQ 204 (S-B). They mention also three other children of IQ
above 180, tested at New York University's Clinic for the Social
Adjustment of the Gifted, but R is the only one described.
R was brought to the Clinic when he was 8 years old, and
at that time he had on the Stanford-Binet an IQ of 204. His
father, an engineer, is a well-known writer in the scientific
field. His mother holds a doctor's degree in physical chemistry
from a foreign university. Neither the father nor the mother
has been tested, but they are both persons of very unusual
mental ability. R's two younger brothers are also of very
superior mentality. The family is of Jewish origin and both
the father and the mother were born in a foreign country.
R, their first child, was born when the mother was thirty
and the father was thirty-five. His early development was
exceedingly precocious. His first tooth erupted at five months
of age; he began to walk at nine months and was running at
eleven months; he was talking in sentences at eleven months;
he learned to read at four years of age, and was reading
omnivorously before he entered school. When he entered school
he had an unusual vocabulary, using such words as "casuistry"
and "disproportionate." At the age of 2 he was modeling in
clay, and at the age of 3 he began to design and make machines.
He applied through his father to the United States Patent Office
for two patents before he was 8 years old. At 8 years of age
he had a large library in his home composed mostly of books
of science, history, and biography, which he had catalogued
himself, on the Dewey decimal system. At this age he was writing
a book on electricity. Also at the age of 8 he had a small
machine shop in which he was working on his machines. At the age
of 6 he enjoyed discussing philosophy. At the age of 7 he would
debate on the significance of religion in world development.
The day he first came to the Clinic, Claudel's experiments
on developing power by raising the colder water from the lower
levels of the sea had just been reported in the scientific
section of the New York Times. R explained the theory involved
much more clearly than had the scientific writer of the Times.
R is well developed physically, above average in height, and
considerably above average in weight, likes the outdoors,
especially hiking and riding horseback. At the age of 9 he showed
the first symptoms of the approach of puberty. R is well adjusted
to his school and his playmates, plays on their soccer and
baseball teams, is well liked, and is a leader in many of their
activities.
Other cases. In addition to these children who have been somewhat
fully described, a few others testing above 180 IQ (S-B) have
been mentioned in the literature of gifted children or their
records have appeared in tabulations. In 1923 Dvorak told of a boy
of IQ 183 (S-B) who was examined at the University of Minnesota.
This boy was conspicuously maladjusted at school. He "hated
school," and did poor work there. He was 8 years 7 months old
at the time of examination, and passed the tests at a mental
level of 15 years 9 months. The educational authorities were
unsympathetic and resistant to advice, but finally placed the
child in the fifth grade, where both work and conduct improved
greatly. This observer also mentions a boy of 189 IQ (S-B) who was
tested at the same University.
Cyril Burt, writing of mental tests in the schools of London,
cites an English boy of 190 IQ, but does not give a description
of him. The value of these mere mentions is slight because there
is no elaboration and no subsequent history of the cases which
would be useful for purposes of generalizations.
GENERALIZATIONS
The preceding [cases] describe in some detail 19 cases rating
180 IQ or better, if those be included (3 cases) that were reported
before the Stanford Revision came into use. Although the reports
are lacking in uniformity and vary in emphasis, it is possible
to glean from them a few generalizations concerning origin and
development among the gifted.
Origin is extremely varied as regards racial stock. In describing
the 14 American children, German descent is mentioned 3 times,
French 3, Scottish 5, English 5, Swedish 1, Scotch-Irish 1,
Dutch 1, Jewish 1, Negro 1. There is one German child.
The occupational status of the fathers all fall in Class 1 or
Class 2 of Taussig's rating—professional, clerical, or business
proprietors. Social-economic status wherever mentioned is said
to be moderate. None is stated to be very wealthy or very poor.
Age of parents at birth of the exceptional child covers a wide range.
Development is decidedly ahead of schedule for the group in all
respects. Reported age of walking (7 cases stated) ranges from
7 months to 14 months. Talking in sentences, in the 10 cases in
which it is given, ranges from 8 months to 19 months. In 13 cases
the age of reading is assigned, this being always 3.5 or 4 years.
General health is, whenever mentioned, always reported as good,
and except for the twins, born prematurely, physique is superior.
In the array of 19 cases there are 12 girls and 7 boys, whereas
of the 12 cases to be [later] reported [in] this study only 4 are
girls. In the grand total there are 16 girls and 15 boys.
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4. ——— "The Development of Intelligence in the Child."L'Année
Psychologique, 1908, pages 1-90.
5. BUSH, A. D. "Binet-Simon Tests of a Thirty-nine-Months-Old
Child." Psychological Clinic, 1914.
6. COX, C. M. The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses.
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Stanford University, California; 1926.
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[1] It is not absolutely clear from Terman's text whether the 15
children above 180 IQ (S-B) are to be thought of as representing
the 643 children statistically treated in Genetic Studies of
Genius: Vol. I, or whether they rest upon the "nearly one thousand"
as a base, who were located. [[In a personal communication Professor
Terman writes that it was 15 out of 643.]]
[2] Correction is attempted according to a formula for records
exceeding the top of S-B, but this formula has never been actually
validated.
[3] See previous footnote.
[a] "On December 3rd, 1721, someone first noticed that the child
watched these figures here and there for a long time without
stopping, and his little eyes at the same time stuck [upon them].
Someone said to him the names of these figures: that would be
a cat, that a tower, a little sheep, a mountain. The following
[lit. "other"] day, the 4th of December, someone asked him again,
where the cat, the mountain, the little sheep were and [to] look
there; the child indicated with his little tiny fingers there,
and always hit upon the right picture, that they had named to him.
Even more, now he gave effort himself to repeat the previously
said words: cat, mountain, tower: hence, he saw with unrelated
glances [likely, unrelated to the figures he was previously
transfixed on] the speaking from the mouth [likely, of whoever
named the objects], got the movement of the lips and the tongue
[with] the same steady attending, slurred the word afterward and
repeated this so often, until he finally pressed out one syllable
after another.
[b] He [pronoun is literally "it," derived from neut. case noun
"das Kind" i.e., "the child"] could read printed things in Latin
and German.
He could not also write them; his little fingers were too weak
to do so.
He could recite times tables both in and out of order. He could
also count, subtract, add, and multiply.
In French, he got so far, that he could recount entire histories
in this language.
In Latin, he learned over 1,500 good sayings from Latin-language
authors.
He learned Low German from his nurse, of whom he didn't want to
let go.
In geography, he continued to grasp the most curious things on each
of the maps of existing places.
[c] Otto Pöhler, born the 20th of August, 1892 to Braunschweig,
first and only child of a master butcher, got teeth at the correct
time and learned to walk and speak at the right time. When he
was five fourths of a year old, his grandmother led him outside
the door and into the next streets and in the course of this
named to him the names which were on the house and street signs,
and also relatives wrote down him first name, Otto, multiple times.
When the child then got a newspaper in his hands, he showed
the same printed name, Otto. From then on, the grandmother
explained to him the letters and read aloud to him single words;
in the process, it resulted that the child had a prodigious
memory for letters, words, and numbers.
When the little Otto was brought to me, he was, as I previously
cited, 1_3/4 years old. He was very conversant, climbed immediately
multiple times onto my knees, showed himself, overall, very mobile
and restless. When he caught sight of one of the hanging wall
calendars next to the writing table, he read loudly, unprompted,
the large-print, Latin display on the same (April 27): "April
two-seven…"
In October, 1894, I brought the young Otto, at the age of 2 years
and 2 months, before the physician's country club. When the end of
my delivered lecture about him came, which was led in the boardroom,
one of the doctors showed the Börner's Medicinal-Calendar, with
the request to read the Latin inscription. He read fluently:
"Imperial Medicinal-Calender. Founded by Pa-ul Börner. One, eight,
nine, four."
[d] He is not physically strong, but also not badly developed. At
first glance the long skull and the strong back of the head stand
out. In the delicate face clever, expressive eyes are captivating,
which, with pondering, take on at first a curiously serious,
concentrated expression. In the whole, he does not at all make an
impression of an unhealthy, jaded child, but rather of a boy with
a completely fresh and merry view of the world.
His biggest passion is still always reading, and the most important
thing in the world to him are historic, biographic, and geographic
dates. He knows the birth and death years of many German Kaisers,
also many generals, poets, philosophers, mostly also birthdays and
places of birth; furthermore the capitals of most states, rivers
on which they lie and the like. He knows decisions of the beginning
and end of the Thirty Year's and Seven Year's Wars, of the main
battles of these and other wars. From statements of the mother,
everything he picked up on without outside help, through the
diligent study of a "patriotic calendar" and similarly discoverable
literature in the house, also through the deciphering of monument
inscriptions in the cities (for which he especially has passion).
When two different pages with two 12-digit numbers were shown to
him in succession, [the numbers of] which differed by one of the
middle digits, he read them as far as the billons and could then,
without looking at the pages again, with certainty, specify
wherein the difference lay.
[e] Dr. Placzek et al. who earlier observed the boy, the definitive
impression prevailed of a specially aroused, rapid, and sharp-thinking
and, at the same time, a benign, quite loveable child. With the
parents and particularly with the mother he's involved with the
greatest affection.
[f] An Obersekundaner is a pupil in seventh year of a German
secondary school. "Gymnasium" here means secondary school.
[g] "Now, almost 17 years old, he is an intelligent, young man,
equipped with an admirable memory, full of knowledge; a young man
easily getting noticed, orienting, who, although in his way
preferred before his contemporaries, has proven [to have] a humble,
lovable nature."