27/01/2020

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Early antecedents
Charles Darwin and Individual Differences
Experimental Psychology and Psychophysical
Measurement
The evolution of Intelligence and standardized
Achievement tests
WW1
Achievement Tests
Rising to the challenge
Personality Tests 1920-1940
The Emergence of New Approaches to Personality
Testing
The Period of Rapid Changes in the Status of Testing
The Current Environment

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Early antecedents
• 220 BCE
• Chinese set up civil service exams to
select Mandarins
-oral examinations – to determine work evaluations
and promotion decision
-Han and Ming Dynasty – test batteries (local-
provincial-regional level) – to hire government
employees)
- Chinese-East Indian-British-French-German-US-
Charles Darwin 1859 “individual differences”

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

500 BCE Greeks may have used assessments for

educational purposes
1219 AD English University administers first oral
examination
1510 Fiteherbert proposes first measure of mental
ability (identification of one’s age, counting 20
pence, etc.)
1540 Jesuit Universities administer first written exam
1575 Spanish Physician Huarte defines intelligence
in Examen de Ingenius (independent judgment,
meek compliance when learning)

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

1692 German Philosopher Thomasius advocates for

gaining knowledge of the mind through
objective, quantitative methods
1799 In working with the “Wild Boy of Aveyron”, Itard
differentiates between normal and abnormal
cognitive abilities
1837 Seguin develops the Seguin Form Board Test
and opens school for mentally retarded children
1838 Esquirol advocates differences between mental
retardation and mental illness, proposes that
mental retardation has several levels of severity

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Charles Darwin and Individual

Differences
• Charles Darwin 1859 “individual differences”
• 1869 - Galton, of Individual Psychology, authors
Hereditary Genius, sparking study on individual
differences and cognitive heritability.
-from the theory of Darwin, then developed his concept “survival of the fittest
and individual differences” – (human functioning and motor functioning)

• 1888 - J.M. Catell establishes assessment

laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania,
stimulating the study of mental measurements

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Experimental Psychology and

Psychophysical Measurement
J. E. Herbert – mathematical models of the mind for
education
E.H. Weber – demonstrate the existence of psychological
threshold, the minimum stimulus necessary to activate a
sensory system
G.T. Fechner – devised the law that strength of a
sensation grows as the logarithm of the stimulus
intensity
1879 – Wundt establishes worlds first psychological
laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany
Seminar with E. Thurstone – Carnegie Interest Inventory and
Strong Vocational Interest Blank

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Experimental Psychology and

Psychophysical Measurement
1837 Seguin develops the Seguin Form Board Test
and opens school for mentally retarded children (to
educate and evaluate mentally disabled)
1905 E.L Thorndike writes about test development
principles, later introduces one of the first textbooks
on the use of measurement in education.
First standardized group test of achievement
published.
Jung’s Word Association Test published.
Binet and Simon introduce first “intelligence tests”
to screen French public school children for mental
retardation

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

The evolution of Intelligence and

standardized Achievement tests
1916 Terman publishes the Stanford Revision
and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence
Scale (sampling turned to 1,000)

WW1
1917 Yerkes and Colleagues publishes the Army
Alpha and Army Beta tests, designed for the
intellectual assessment and screening of the U.S.
military recruits
– (alpha – reading ability, army – intelligence of illiterate
adults)

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

The evolution of Intelligence and

standardized Achievement tests
Achievement Tests
Standardized achievement test was
appreciated compare with essay test

Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

The evolution of Intelligence and

standardized Achievement tests
Rising to Challenge
Criticisms arises
1937 Terman and Merill revised their earlier work as
the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
– From 50-200-more than 200 – 1,000 to 3,000
1939 Wechsler introduces the Wechsler-Bellevue
Intelligence Scale
– Combination of abilities
1986 Stanford-Binet was drastically revised

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Personality Tests 1920-1940

• 1919 – 1931 Multiple standardized tests were published
including, but not limited to Rorschach Inkblot Test,
Draw-A-Person Test, Stanford Achievement Test,
etc.
• 1935 Murray and Morgan develop the Thematic
Apperception Test

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Emergence of New Approaches

to Personality Testing
• 1940 Hathaway and McKinley publish the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• 1963 R.B. Catell introduces theory of crystallized and
fluid intelligence

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

Personalit Tests 1920-1940

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

The Period of Rapid Changes in

the Status of Testing
1940s – clinically oriented psychologist
1954 – testing methods be taught to doctoral psychology
students
Psychologist could conduct testing independently but not
psychotherapy
WWII – psychologist felt frustrated
Testing declined

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Assessment Timeline
(Erford, 2013) (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2013)

The Current Environment

1980s Dramatic improvements on the published
standardized tests and introduction of the
Computer Assisted Psychological Assessments
1990s Revisions of tests were published; WISC-III
(1991), Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
(WAIT – 1992), WAIS-III (1997)
2000s Revisions of tests were published; Scholastic
Achievement Test (SAT – 2002), WPPSI-III
(2002),WISC-IV (2003), Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale-Fifth Ed. (2003), WAIS-IV
(2008), WAIT-II (2009), DSM 5 (2013)

Presented by R. Malabiga, MAED GC, Rpm, RGC

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