Chapter THREE: Published Reports on Tested Children (1)

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.