The Army General Classification Test (AGCT) has a long history that runs parallel with research and means for attempting the assessment of intelligence or other abilities.[1]
World War I and World War II created the need for this type of testing and provided a large body of test subjects. The early emphasis (World War I) was on determining the level of literacy (Alpha test) among a heterogeneous group. Illiterates were given another test (Army Beta); some enrollees were interviewed. Subsequent testing targeted aptitude in order to better fill roles, such as those provided by officers who obtained commissions from other than the United States military academies, or to meet the need for increasingly complicated skills that came along with technological progress, especially after World War II.[2]
As with other measurement attempts, the AGCT ran into controversy during the era of the Vietnam War.[clarification needed][3][4] Yet, the requirement did not abate, leading to improvements in the application and use of the standard testing methodology.
Many high IQ societies, such as Mensa and Intertel, can map their entrance requirements to early AGCT scores.[6][7] The AGCT was of interest to researchers because of the breadth of the test taker sample (1.75 million men took the original test).
The first intelligence tests were created during World War I to screen the thousands of soldiers being recruited by the United States military.[8]
Robert Yerkes and a committee of six representatives developed two intelligence tests; the Army Alpha test and the Army Beta test to help the United States military screen incoming soldiers for "intellectual deficiencies, psychopathic tendencies, nervous intangibility, and inadequate self-control".[9] The Alpha test was a verbal test for literate recruits and was divided into eight test categories, which included: following oral directions, arithmetical problems, practical judgments, synonyms and antonyms, disarranged sentences, number series completion, analogies and information,[10] whereas the Beta test was a nonverbal test used for testing illiterate or non-English speaking recruits. The Beta test did not require those being tested to use written language, but rather the examinees completed tasks by using visual aids.[11] The Beta Intelligence test was divided into seven subtests, which included: "Test 1- assessed the ability of army recruits to trace the path of a maze; Test 2- assessed the ability of cube analysis; Test 3-assessed the ability of pattern analysis using an X-O series; Test 4- assessed the ability of coding digits with symbols; Test 5- assessed the ability of number checking; Test 6-assessed the ability of pictorial completion; and Test 7- assessed the ability of geometrical construction".
Overall, the Army Alpha and the Army Beta tests were designed to find the mental age of military recruits and to assess incoming recruits for success in the US Military by testing one's ability to understand language, to perform reasoning with semantic and quantitative relationships, to make practical judgments, to infer rules and regulations, and to recall general information.[12] The Army Alpha and the Army Beta tests have been criticized for being biased and for not predicting the actual success of incoming soldiers.[9]
^Paul F. Ballantyne, Psychology, Society, and Ability Testing (1859-2002): Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism "Chapter 4, Rise of Group Ability Testing ... (1918–1932)'
^Paul F. Ballantyne, Psychology, Society, and Ability Testing (1859-2002): Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism "Chapter 5, From Training Programs to World War II Testing ... (1933–1946)"
^Paul F. Ballantyne, Psychology, Society, and Ability Testing (1859-2002): Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism "Chapter 7, Questioning the Ideology of Testing ... (1964–1981)"
^USMEPCOM Your Future Begins Now, Testing March 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^American MENSA Qualifying Test Scores August 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^"A Brief History of the SAT". Frontline. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
^ abCarson, John (June 1993). "Alpha Army, Army Brass, and the Search for Army Intelligence". Isis. 84 (2): 278–309. doi:10.1086/356463. S2CID 143928356.
^Gould, S. J. "A nation of morons". Mark Holah. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
^Ernest R Hilgard, Ernest R (1965). "Robert M. Yerkes Biography". National Academy of Sciences: 1–43.
^"Pioneers in Standardized Testing". Issues in Science and Technology. 19 (9): 1–5. 2002.
Further readingEdit
Tuddenham, Read D. (1948), "Soldier intelligence in World Wars I and II", American Psychologist, 3 (2): 54–56, doi:10.1037/h0054962, PMID 18911933
October 23, 2023
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The Army General Classification Test AGCT has a long history that runs parallel with research and means for attempting the assessment of intelligence or other abilities 1 World War I and World War II created the need for this type of testing and provided a large body of test subjects The early emphasis World War I was on determining the level of literacy Alpha test among a heterogeneous group Illiterates were given another test Army Beta some enrollees were interviewed Subsequent testing targeted aptitude in order to better fill roles such as those provided by officers who obtained commissions from other than the United States military academies or to meet the need for increasingly complicated skills that came along with technological progress especially after World War II 2 As with other measurement attempts the AGCT ran into controversy during the era of the Vietnam War clarification needed 3 4 Yet the requirement did not abate leading to improvements in the application and use of the standard testing methodology The modern variant of this test is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery ASVAB that was first administered in 1960 5 Many high IQ societies such as Mensa and Intertel can map their entrance requirements to early AGCT scores 6 7 The AGCT was of interest to researchers because of the breadth of the test taker sample 1 75 million men took the original test Contents 1 The Army Alpha and Beta Intelligence Tests 2 Criticism 3 References 4 Further readingThe Army Alpha and Beta Intelligence Tests EditThe first intelligence tests were created during World War I to screen the thousands of soldiers being recruited by the United States military 8 Robert Yerkes and a committee of six representatives developed two intelligence tests the Army Alpha test and the Army Beta test to help the United States military screen incoming soldiers for intellectual deficiencies psychopathic tendencies nervous intangibility and inadequate self control 9 The Alpha test was a verbal test for literate recruits and was divided into eight test categories which included following oral directions arithmetical problems practical judgments synonyms and antonyms disarranged sentences number series completion analogies and information 10 whereas the Beta test was a nonverbal test used for testing illiterate or non English speaking recruits The Beta test did not require those being tested to use written language but rather the examinees completed tasks by using visual aids 11 The Beta Intelligence test was divided into seven subtests which included Test 1 assessed the ability of army recruits to trace the path of a maze Test 2 assessed the ability of cube analysis Test 3 assessed the ability of pattern analysis using an X O series Test 4 assessed the ability of coding digits with symbols Test 5 assessed the ability of number checking Test 6 assessed the ability of pictorial completion and Test 7 assessed the ability of geometrical construction Overall the Army Alpha and the Army Beta tests were designed to find the mental age of military recruits and to assess incoming recruits for success in the US Military by testing one s ability to understand language to perform reasoning with semantic and quantitative relationships to make practical judgments to infer rules and regulations and to recall general information 12 The Army Alpha and the Army Beta tests have been criticized for being biased and for not predicting the actual success of incoming soldiers 9 Criticism EditThe Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay GouldReferences Edit Paul F Ballantyne Psychology Society and Ability Testing 1859 2002 Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism Chapter 4 Rise of Group Ability Testing 1918 1932 Paul F Ballantyne Psychology Society and Ability Testing 1859 2002 Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism Chapter 5 From Training Programs to World War II Testing 1933 1946 Morris J MacGregor Jr Integration of the Armed Forces 1940 1965 United States Army Center of Military History Paul F Ballantyne Psychology Society and Ability Testing 1859 2002 Transformative alternatives to Mental Darwinism and Interactionism Chapter 7 Questioning the Ideology of Testing 1964 1981 USMEPCOM Your Future Begins Now Testing Archived March 20 2007 at the Wayback Machine American MENSA Qualifying Test Scores Archived August 19 2011 at the Wayback Machine Intertel Join us www intertel iq org Retrieved 2021 03 15 A Brief History of the SAT Frontline Retrieved March 10 2014 a b Carson John June 1993 Alpha Army Army Brass and the Search for Army Intelligence Isis 84 2 278 309 doi 10 1086 356463 S2CID 143928356 Gould S J A nation of morons Mark Holah Retrieved March 10 2014 Ernest R Hilgard Ernest R 1965 Robert M Yerkes Biography National Academy of Sciences 1 43 Pioneers in Standardized Testing Issues in Science and Technology 19 9 1 5 2002 Further reading EditTuddenham Read D 1948 Soldier intelligence in World Wars I and II American Psychologist 3 2 54 56 doi 10 1037 h0054962 PMID 18911933 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Army General Classification Test amp oldid 1163831153, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
