History

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HISTORY OF MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

Measurement and evaluation are inseparable evolutionary processes. Starting from simple concepts of quantifying and
interpreting certain behavior, they have grown to be complex processes covering the entire personality measure and the
measure of various systems of work and operations.

The idea of how measurement and evaluation started could not exactly be traced. However, with few facts that are made
available by some psychologists and individuals it could be thought that the concepts of measurement and evaluation began
with the development of the different kinds of psychological tests.

The Development of Intelligence Tests

Jean Etienne Esquirol, a French Psychiatrist made the first efforts to draw the differences between mental deficiency and
insanity. He also anticipated a number of future developments in the study of mental retardation. Esquirol used language
capability a criterion rather than sensations in trying to classify individuals with mental retardation. In 1838, he wrote his
first book Des maladies mentalis, in which he explained an objective and rational view of mental disorders. He was known
as the "Leader of Abnormal Psychology."
Wilhelm Wundth, a German Philosopher and Psychologist established the first laboratory in the world, which he dedicated
to experimental psychology at Leipzig, Germany in the year 1879. This laboratory was intended for those students with a
serious interest in psychology. His primary preoccupation was on the measurement of powers of sensory discrimination,
which resulted in the science of psychophysics. He is known as the "Father of Experimental Psychology" and the "Founder
of Modern Psychology.""

Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German Experimental Psychologist, devised a word-completion test, which up to now, is still used
in intelligence tests. He investigated color vision and mental capacity. He was one of the first to demonstrate that learning
and memory could be studied experimentally. Although, some of his techniques have been subject to criticism, his
contributions to the quantitative study of higher mental processes, including intelligence tests, are vital. He is known as the
"Founder of Quantitative Study Memory."

Francis Galton, a British Psychologist, is noted as an early proponent of statistical analysis as applied to mental and
behavioral phenomena. He was an explorer and an inquirer of human intelligence. He was one of the first to use
questionnaire and survey methods in investigating mental imagery in different groups. Consequently, he was able to
improve the mental and the educational tests.

Karl Pearson, a British mathematician, developed techniques of modern statistics. In the early 1900's he became interested
in the work of Francis Galton, who wanted to find statistical relationships to explain how biological characteristics were
passed down through generations. Thus, Pearson extended Galton's ideas of regression and developed the methods of
correlation known as the "Pearson Product-Moment Coefficient of Correlation." His work partly became the foundation of
the 20th century statistics, Pearson was a student of Galton.

Charles Spearman, an English Psychologist, was influenced during his studies by the works of Francis Galton. With a strong
statistical knowledge, he made an estimate of the intelligence of a group of children. He eventually developed a two-factor
theory of intelligence. Like Pearson, he developed the method of correlation known as the "Spearman Rank-Difference
Coefficient of Correlation," Spearman was also a student of Galton.

Edward L. Thorndike, an American Psychologist developed psychological connectionism. Thorndike and his students used
objective measurements of intelligence on human subjects as early as 1903. During the 1920's he developed a test of
intelligence that consisted of completion, arithmetic, vocabulary, and directions test known as the "CAVD." His test became
the foundation of modern intelligence tests.

James McKeen Cattell figure was an American Psychologist considered as another important figure in psychology and the
study of human intelligence. His use of statistical methods and quantification of data helped in the development of
American psychology as an experimental science. He was one of the first psychologists in America to stress the importance
of quantification, ranking, and ratings. Because of his significant contribution, he was recognized as the "Father of Mental
Testing”.

Clark Wissler, an American Anthropologist, applied correlation factor to empirically disprove J.M. Cattell's method of
intelligence testing. After studying under Cattell, he evaluated the results of Cattell's attempts to measure the mental ability
of students by measuring their reaction time, movement time, and other simple mental and sensory processes. He found
very small correlation between academic standing and the tests.

Alfred Binet, a French psychologist, began to study science in 1878. Binet's research with his daughters helped him to further
refine his developing conception on intelligence, especially the importance of attention span and suggestibility in
intellectual development. While directing the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Theodore Simon applied to do
doctoral research under Binet's supervision. Both of them developed the Binet-Simon Scale. Binet and Simon were the first
researchers to use mental age as a measure of intelligence, but their idea was refined by other researchers in the ensuing
years.

Walter V. Bingham, an American Industrial and Applied Psychologist, believed that intelligence is a complex set of factors
that can be measured by looking at individual aptitudes for mathematical, verbal, mechanical, and social skills. He believed
that heredity is the most important factor in intellectual development, and that environmental influences serve only to
modify what is already present within the individual.

Henry Herbert Goddard, an American Psychologist, established the first laboratory for the psychological study of mentally
retarded persons in 1910. He translated the Binet-Simon Scale into English. His views on intelligence were derived from
Mendelian genetics. He believed that feeblemindedness was caused by the transmission of a single recessive gene. He was
known as the "Father of Intelligence Testing" in the United States.

William Stern, a German Psychologist, tried to classify people according to types, norms, and aberrations. He was influenced
by the work of Binet. Stern developed the idea of expressing intelligence test results in the form of a single number, the
intelligence quotient. He represented intelligence as the mental age divided by the chronological age. In equation form,

𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒
𝐼𝑄 =
𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒

Lewis Madison Terman, an American Cognitive Psychologist, decided to see what mental tests could do in distinguishing
unusually backward students from very bright ones. Later, in 1906 while at Standford, Terman published a perfect revision
of Binet-Simon scale known as the "Standford-Binet," which is the best available individual intelligence test. Then in 1916,
Terman suggested modifying the equation of intelligence quotient by multiplying it by 100 to eliminate decimals. The
resulting "intelligence quotient" equation is given by,

𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒
𝐼𝑄 = × 100
𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒

Robert Mearns Yerkes is an American Comparative Psychologist, who, immediately after the United States entered the First
World War, urged the American Psychological Association to contribute psychological expertise to the war effort. Yerkes
with the cooperation of Goodard, Terman, and Bingham developed a group intelligence test that would identify recruits
with low intelligence and allow the Army to recognize men who were particularly well-suited for special assignments and
officers' training schools. They constructed the verbal test and nonverbal test known as the Army Alpha and the Army Beta,
respectively, for illiterate and non-English speaking recruits. The final forms of the Army Alpha and Beta tests were published
in 1919.

David Wechsler, an American Psychologist, understood intelligence to be more of an effect, rather than a cause. In order
to determine a meaningful representation of adult intelligence, he introduced the Deviation Quotient, an IQ computed by
considering the individual's mental ability in comparison one who with the average individual of his or her own age. He was
the one who developed an individual intelligence test for adults to supplement the Standford-Binet Test in 1939, known as
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). In 1949, he published another intelligence test known as Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children (WISC).

Joy Paul Guilford, an American Psychologist, made a number of contributions to the study of human intellectual abilities.
His model of human intelligence known as "Structure of the Intellect" is a complex, three-dimensional model of intelligence
that can be used to guide educational instruction. Many existing tests were modified and developed under his guidance by
using factor analysis.

The Development of Achievement Test

Horace Mann introduced the written examination to the schools in Boston due to the weaknesses of the oral examination.
The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
Because of his noticeable contribution he was known as the "Father of American Public School Education."

Rev. George Fisher, an English schoolmaster, devised and used the first objective measure of achievement of pupils. In
1864, he devised an instrument which he called "Scale Book." His "Scale Book" was purposely for measuring the learners'
achievement in different school subjects, like scale in handwriting, spelling, mathematics, grammar, composition, and
others. These tests (Scale Books) were of course crude but served as the predecessors of the modern day proficiency tests.

J. M. Rice is known as the first inventor of comparative objective test in America. In 1894, he administered a list of spelling
words to measure differences between groups of students who were taught differently. Rice found out that those pupils
who studied spelling for thirty minutes every day for eight years did not show better spelling abilities than those pupils who
studied spelling for only fifteen minutes every day for eight years. He also prepared similar tests in language and in
arithmetic. These crude tests served as the predecessors of the modern objective tests in different school subjects.

Dr. Edward L. Thorndike had developed methods for measuring a wide variety of abilities and achievements by the time the
United States entered World War I. Ilis first book known as "Mental and Social Measurements" was published in 1904. The
book contains statistical procedures and principles upon which statistical techniques and tests of today are based. He
constructed the first handwriting scale to measure children's handwriting in 1909, which assigned qualitative values to
different qualities of handwriting. This scale was known as the "Thorndike Handwriting Scale." He was regarded as the
"Father of Educational Measurement."

Cliff W. Stone, a student of Thorndike, constructed two tests, one on four fundamental operations in arithmetic and the
second test on arithmetic reasoning in 1908. Stone was regarded as the first to publish standardized achievement test in
arithmetic. The test was known as the Stone Arithmetic Test in 1908. The reasoning test in arithmetic was Stone's distinct
contribution to educational testing and measurement.

S. A. Curtis was another student of Thorndike who, like Stone, was interested in measuring the growth of pupils in arithmetic
and in establishing a norm of attainment for each grade. He developed a series of standardized tests in Arithmetic available
for use in 1909. The concept of nouns and standards was originated by Curtis. The test he constructed was known as "Curtis’
Series of Tests in Arithmetic.”

M. Hillegas, also a student of Thorndike, constructed a series of standardized tests in Composition Scale by following the
principles in the construction of the Thorndike Handwriting Scale in 1912. This scale was known as "Hillegas Composition
Scale" and it served as the basis of the composition scale of today.

Ayres, Thorndike's student too, developed a series of standardized spelling scales in 1915. These scales were known as
Ayres' Spelling Scales" in 1915.

William A. McCall published his pioneer book dealing with test adaptation in 1924. The informal objective type of test that
he made as a new type of test is widely used today.

Ralph W. Tyler was responsible for the extension of achievement testing to the more intangible outcomes of instruction
which cannot be measured accurately like attitudes, appreciation, interests, ideals, and others. Tyler's contribution also
brought about the modern concept of testing.

The Development of Character and Personality Tests

Fernand was noted as the first to measure character by test, while Voelker invented some actual situations for testing
character.

Percival Symonds, a psychologist, developed a scientific study on personality.

Herman Rorschach introduced a multi-dimensional test of personality known as the Rorschach Test in 1921. This test
consists ofaseriesof10 inkblots used as projective techniques to appraise the global aspects of personality. The student
responds by reporting what he sees in the inkblot and his reactions determine his personality variables as impulsiveness,
sensitivity, and emotional stability.

Raymond B. Cattell, a British and American Psychologist contributed the application of advanced statistical techniques. He
searched for a comprehensive theory of human behavior through the use of multi-factor analysis since the beginning of his
career and was attracted to C. Spearman's factor analysis. His efforts in the development of a theory of personality fathered
many methodological innovations. His pursuit of a comprehensive theory of behavior through factor analysis methods has
produced a variety of theoretical models and psychometric instruments. His theoretical developments in the measurement
of personality by" question are embodied in the 16 PF (personality factor).

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