Intelligence Quotient

Alfred Binet composed the first intelligence test. The test contained many questions designed to determine how well children understand the world around them. Because a child´s knowledge about the environment and ability to adapt to the environment changes with development, the intelligence test must be scored differently for various ages. Binet determined "average mental levels" for each age group by tallying the average number and type of questions answered correctly by each age group. The intelligence quotient was computed by dividing the child´s mental age by his or her chronological age. While the value of the IQ test is debated, the term "intelligence quotient" clearly is dated. IQ is a misnomer because the quotient hasn´t been used for more than 60 years.