UTILIZATION OF BRAIN POWER IN ARMY 197 



English language. These two groups must necessarily be 

 treated somewhat differently, therefore the literates are 

 given a group examination known as Alpha, which con- 

 sists of eight markedly different tests. This examination, 

 although it requires almost no writing on the part of the 

 subject, does demand facility in using written and oral 

 instructions. The illiterate group is given an examination 

 known as Beta, which is in effect Alpha translated into 

 pictorial form. In this examination pantomime and dem- 

 onstration supplant written and oral instructions. 



Each group examination requires approximately fifty 

 minutes. Subjects who fail in Alpha are ordinarily given 

 opportunity to improve their ratings by taking Beta, and 

 subjects who fail in Beta are given individual examina- 

 tion in order that they may be more accurately and justly 

 rated than in the group examination alone. 



Any particular individual may have to take one, two or 

 three of these types of examination, thus for example, a 

 man of low grade literacy who happens to get into exami- 

 nation Alpha may also have to take Beta and some form 

 of individual examination. 



Examination papers for both Alpha and Beta are scored 

 rapidly by the use of stencils and the resulting rating 

 is promptly reported to the appropriate military au- 

 thority. 



By means of this system of examinations it is possible 

 for an examining staff consisting of four psychologists 

 and a force of scoring clerks to examine as many as one 

 thousand men per day. 



Every man examined by one or more of the procedures 

 described is assigned a numerical rating and in addition 

 a letter grade which indicate his general intellectual abil- 

 ity or mental alertness. The numerical rating is used 

 only for statistical purposes, the letter grade for practical 

 military purposes. The latter alone is reported ordinarily 

 to military officers and recorded on the soldier's service 

 record and qualification card. 



