Review of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth edition
Jonathan Sandoval1988, Professional School Psychology
Psychologists using the Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986a) for the first time may be surprised to discover tKat the test resembles a new test more than a revision of the old instrument. No longer are testing tasks organized in age levels; nor is scoring done by mental age units that produce an "IQ." Rather, the Fourth Edition is organized by the placement of items in 15 subtests that are assigned to one of four areas or theoretical factors. Those psychologists familiar with The Manual for the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (McCarthy, 1972) will recognize the format and, perhaps, comparable theoretical rationale. Not all examinees take all the subtests on the Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition. In fact, the authors claim a valid administration of the test might include as few as four subtests; Thorndike et al. (1986a) suggested one subtest from each of the four areas could make up a quick screening battery. The administration manual suggests different batteries for different purposes. Each of these suggested batteries need to be validated in the future. Reliance on age levels is gone from the new test; however, the items in each subtest are arranged in pairs called levels that are designated by the letters A through Y. Each examinee, through an adaptive-testing process utilizing the Vocabulary subtest as the first administered, is assigned a letter that determines the beginning level and item on all subsequent subtests. Only on the Vocabulary subtest is the examinee's chronological age used as a guide to the appropriate beginning item; a basal and ceiling is still used to determine the range of items presented on each subtest. Although the rules for determining the basal and ceiling are different from those on the old Stanford-Binet, the experienced administrator will have little trouble adapting these concepts to the Fourth Edition. Users of the Fourth Edition will encounter a number of other changes in test format: Requests for reprints should be sent to
