Consequences of using the 1972 Stanford-Binet intelligence scale norms

Comparison of Stanford-Binet IQ scores obtained with the 1972 and 1960 norms of 228 children indicated that use of the 1972 norms resulted in substantially lower scores except at the lowest levels of functioning. The hypothesis that the 1972 norms reflected accelerated performance at the preschool level and that intelligence scores based on these norms and obtained by evaluating a child during the preschool years might not be an accurate reflection of functioning at a later age was also supported. For a subsample of children whose functioning over time remained constant or increased, use of the 1960 norms during initial evaluation resulted in a more accurate reflection of subsequent scores than did use of the 1972 norms. The implications of these results were discussed in relation to the necessity of using both sets of norms with preschoolers and to reevaluating the decision to retain the old MAs in deriving the 1972 intelligence scores.