EARLY USES AND ABUSES
OF TESTS IN THE UNITED STATES
First Translation of the Binet-Simon Scale
In 1906, Henry H. Goddard was hired by the
Vineland Training School in New Jersey to do
research on the classification and education of
“feebleminded” children. He soon realized that a
diagnostic instrument would be required and was
therefore pleased to read of the 1908 Binet-Simon
scale. He quickly set about translating the scale,
making minor changes so that it would be applicable
to American children (Goddard, 1910a).
Goddard (1910b) tested 378 residents of the
Vineland facility and categorized them by diagnosis
and mental age. He classified 73 residents as idiots
because their mental age was 2 years or lower;
205 residents were termed imbeciles with mental
age of 3 to 7 years; and 100 residents were deemed
feebleminded with mental age of 8 to 12 years. It is
instructive to note that originally neutral and
descriptive terms for portraying levels of mental
retardation—idiot, imbecile, and feebleminded—have made their way into the everyday lexicon of
pejorative labels. In fact, Goddard made his own
contribution by coining the diagnostic term moron
(from the Greek moronia, meaning “foolish”).
Goddard (1911) also tested 1,547 normal children
with his translation of the Binet-Simon scales.
He considered children whose mental age was four
or more years behind their chronological age to be
feebleminded—these constituted 3 percent of his
sample. Considering that all of these children were
found outside of institutions for the retarded, 3 percent
is rather an alarming rate of mental deficiency.
Goddard (1911) was of the opinion that these children
should be segregated so that they would be
prevented from “contaminating society.” These
early studies piqued Goddard’s curiosity about
“feebleminded” citizenry and the societal burdens
they imposed. He also gained a reputation as one of
the leading experts on the use of intelligence tests
to identify persons with impaired intellect. His talents
were soon in heavy demand.