What are the Stanford-Binet scales used to measure?

The Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales are an individually administered intelligence test that was revised from the original Binet–Simon Scale by Lewis M. Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University. The Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale is now in its fifth edition and was released in 2003.

It is a cognitive ability and intelligence test that is used to diagnose developmental or intellectual deficiencies. The test measures five weighted factors and consists of both verbal and nonverbal subtests. The five factors being tested are knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, working memory, and fluid reasoning.

The development of the Stanford–Binet initiated the modern field of intelligence testing and was one of the first examples of an adaptive test. It was initially created by the French psychologist Alfred Binet, who, following the introduction of a law mandating universal education by the French government, began developing a method of identifying "slow" children, so that they could be placed in special education programs, instead of labelled sick and sent to the asylum.

As Binet indicated, case studies might be more detailed and helpful, but the time required to test many people would be excessive. In 1916, at Stanford University, the psychologist Lewis Terman released a revised examination that became known as the Stanford–Binet test.