198 CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE 



The letter grades which are in use are defined as fol- 

 lows : A designates very superior intelligence ; B, superior 

 intelligence; C -(-, high average intelligence; C, average 

 intelligence; C , low average intelligence; D, inferior 

 intelligence; D , very inferior intelligence. The letter 

 E has been reserved for the designation of men whose 

 mental ability is seemingly inadequate for regular military 

 duty. 



Commissioned officers usually possess and obviously 

 should possess A or B intelligence. Many excellent non- 

 commissioned officers possess C or C -(- intelligence, but in 

 the main this group is composed of men with C+ or B 

 ratings. The great body of privates grades C. Men with 

 D or D intelligence are usually slow to learn and rarely 

 gain promotion. Many of them, especially the D in- 

 dividuals, cannot be used to advantage in a military emer- 

 gency which demands rapidity of training. The results 

 of army mental testing indicate that the majority of D 

 and E soldiers are below ten years mental age. A few 

 fall as low as three or four years. 



The contrast between A and D intelligence becomes 

 impressive when it is shown that men of A intelligence 

 have the requisite mental ability to achieve superior rec- 

 ords in college or professional school, whereas D in- 

 dividuals are rarely able to pass beyond the third or 

 fourth grade of an elementary school, however long they 

 may attend. 



Reliability of Methods. The methods of mental exam- 

 ining used in the army have been found to possess relia- 

 bility as well as practical value which far exceeded the 

 expectations of the men who are responsible for them. 

 Indeed, the success of this particular methodological 

 undertaking is a remarkable demonstration of the "fe- 

 cundity of aggregation/' It is extremely unlikely that 

 any individual working alone would have developed 

 within reasonable time equally valuable methods of group 

 examining. Inasmuch as reliability is of first importance, 



