ADVENTURES IN STUPIDITY: A PARTIAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTELLECTUAL INFERIORITY OF A COLLEGE STUDENT
By Professor LEWIS M. TERMAN
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
A youth whom we will designate as "K" entered Stanford University with credentials showing graduation from a small but accredited California high school. On matriculation he presented 15 units of high school work, all of which were of "recommended" grade. The only suspicious circumstance was the fact that he had spent five years in high school and was almost 20 years old. He registered in mechanical engineering (woodwork), psychology (mental hygiene), drawing (still life, perspective). Three weeks later the instructor in drawing asked me to give the boy a mental examination, because of suspected mental deficiency. This instructor stated that he had never had a student who seemed so completely unable to grasp the principles of perspective or who made such foolish and absurd mistakes in trying to draw simple objects.
A Stanford-Binet test gave K a mental age of 12½ years. Some of the results of this test were so incredible that in the next few weeks I devoted about twenty hours to a further study of the case, applying a large assortment of standardized educational and mental tests. As we shall see later, his scores on the various intelligence scales ranged from 12 to 13½ years, and on the educational tests from the median for grade 5 to the median for grade 9 or 10. Average achievement in the educational tests was not far from grade 7.
K was of course not told the results of the tests. Effort was made, however, to impress him with the fact that he would have to work very hard in order to pass his courses. From time to time I gave him advice on use of references, methods of study, note taking, etc., partly to see whether it would be possible for an individual so lacking in intelligence to pass a college course. K responded with willing, even dogged, industry. He refrained from participation in the usual freshman frivolities and studied every night until 10 or 11 o clock. It is not surprising, however, that at the end of the term he failed in all his courses and was dismissed from the university. His examination in psychology had included such questions as "Explain how anything is (a) retained, and
