Abstract:
The Culture Fair Intelligence Tests are intended to measure intelligence in children and adults in such a way that the influence of verbal fluency, cultural climate, and educational level have the least effect possible. To this end, the tests focus on fluid intelligence (the ability to perceive patterns and relationships between things) rather than on crystallized ability which is the collection of skilled judgements a person has acquired by applying his fluid intelligence to his educational opportunities. The tests should be used to compare an individual's achievement level with his potential, to assess an applicant's potential to perform tasks requiring cognitive ability, to aid in special education placement decisions, to identify gifted students, and to assist guidance counselors as they advise students. Scale 1 is for children 4-8 years old as well as older mentally handicapped individuals. Its eight subtests are not all group administrable as some involve verbal responses. Scale 2 can be used for children as young as 8 as well as adults, although higher ranges of intelligence are measured better with Scale 3 because of its higher difficulty level. Scale 3 may be used with examinees 13 years of age and older. Scales 2 and 3 may be administered to groups and take approximately 30 minutes. Items on the tests are mostly non-verbal and involve series completion, classification, matrix completion, and conditions. No items require translation, but administration instructions are available in several languages including Spanish. Raw scores are converted to normalized standard scores expressed by age group and scoring is done by test administrators using score key overlays with the response forms. Factor analysis shows validity in the .70s and .80s when the "general ability" (intelligence) factor is correlated with the concepts featured in the subtests. Cross-validation with Raven's Progressive Matrices shows coefficients in the .50s and .60s, and correlations with the WISC are in the .60s and .70s. The culture-fairness of the tests was demonstrated by researchers who administered both the California Test of Mental Maturity (CTMM) and the Culture Fair Tests to a group of 420 subjects. African American subjects' scores were 2.5 IQ points higher on the Culture Fair Tests than on the CTMM, while the scores of whites remained stable across tests.