BINET KAMAT

TEST OF
INTELLIGENCE
(BKT)

Sruthiraj M K
Assistant Professor
St. Mary’s College, MPM
University of Calicut
Introduction
- The Indian adaptation of the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale 1916-Terman version/edition, otherwise
popularly known as Bombay-Karnatak version of the test, Binet Kamat Test or just BKT, was prepared
in 1934.

- Dr. Kamat of Bombay University (1967) issued this revision of Binet’s tests which could be used
among Marathi & Kannada speaking children.

- One of the old tests of intelligence that has been in use since several decades in India.

- This test is applicable to the age range from 3-22 years and age level consist of 6 tests.
Description of the Test
- Some of the tests, items and materials were amended/modified and standardized to suit the Indian
population and conditions- such as Indian coins, typically Indian pictorial scenes, vocabulary and
Indian concepts- by V.V. Kamat in South India (Bombay-Karnatak region) in 1964.

- The standardization was done on normal individuals between the age ranges of three to ten years, and it
was re-evaluated in 1967.

- This intelligence scale is age-graded and covers ages from 3 to 10 years, then 12 years, 14 years, 16
years, 19 years, and 22 years, respectively.

- The whole test scale comprises 78 main test items and 21 alternative items.
- There are 6 test items and the alternative test items range from 1 to 3 at each age level.

- This test is to be individually administered to each subject.

- The test items are specific to each age level.

- Administration of the test starts at the age level of 3 years and terminates at the level where the subject
fails in all the test items of that age level.

- Function-wise classification of items adapted to the Binet-Kamat Test of Intelligence (Lezak, 1983) has 6
major categories (Devi, 2014):
I. Language (L);
II. Memory (M), including meaningful memory (Mm) and non-meaningful memory (NMm);
III. Conceptual Thinking (CT);
IV. Reasoning (R), which includes Nonverbal reasoning (NVR), Verbal reasoning (VR) and
Numerical Reasoning (NR);
V. Visual-motor (VM) coordination; and
VI. Social Intelligence (SI).
- Therefore, BKT predominantly has verbal items compared to nonverbal items.

- It is administered for patients aged between 3 and 22 years and evaluates several domains
such as judgment, reasoning, memory, comprehension, word definition, and problem-solving
(Mukherjee et al., 2018).
Psychometric Properties
Mean & Standard Deviation

- The mean of BKT is 99.8 which is close to 100.

- BKT had 18.7 as the standard deviation (SD).

Reliability and validity

- The test- retest reliability of the BKT is reportedly above 0.7 and the validity of this test for normal
children against the estimation of intelligence quotient by teachers is 0.5 (Kamat, 1967).

- Further, BKT fulfils the face validity in the institutional-hospital setting, where most of the population
belongs to the middle to lower end of the socioeconomic status and/or rural backgrounds.
Test Administration

- Direction of questions and time limits should be strictly adhered.

- Wherever instructions are given to repeat the question, this should be done after the lapse of the
specific time and wait for the answer until the end of prescribed time.

- Tests like repetition of digits and repetition of syllables must be presented once only.

- If child becomes fatigue or nervous testing should be suspended and resume it, at a later session.
- The standard procedure of BKT is begin to testing at a level testing below the subject’s age. If the
individual fails any test within the year level first administered, then the next lower level is given.

- This procedure is continued until level is reached which all tests are passed. This level is knonw ad
BASAL AGE.

- Testing should be continued upward to level at which all tests are failed it is known as CEILING AGE.

- After which the test is discontinued.

Recording

- Record each correct response with a (✔) under the year level column passed. If the child performed
correctly as for the scoring criteria given in the manual. If failed, then cross (✗) them.

- If a particular test not administered, then note empty.

Scoring
- Every correct response is graded in terms of months.

- There are 6 items for every age level, all with different scoring criteria.

- From 3-10 years, each correct response is given a credit of 2 months.

- On the other hand, for ages 12, 14 and 16, the obtained credit for every correct response is 4 months.

- For 19 and 22 years, each correct response is given a credit of 6 months.

- If an individual's responses do not meet the scoring criteria of any item for 2 consecutive age levels,
the ceiling age is established, and the test administration must be stopped.
- The final score thus obtained is also in terms of months.

- While calculating the Mental Age (MA), an extra credit of 24 months (for ages 1 and 2) is added to the
obtained score. Thus,
Mental Age = Obtained score in months + 24 months

- The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) obtained from BKT is calculated as follows-

IQ= (Mental Age/Chronological Age) x 100

Here, the Chronological age (CA) of any individual above 15 years of age is taken to be 15 itself, as the
vertical growth of intelligence is considered to reach a plateau after this age.
- However, this obtained IQ must be corrected as the Standard Deviation (SD) of BKT is 18.7, which
does not match the global practice of an SD of 15, to match with that of Wechsler’s (1939, 1946) scale.

- The WHO also recommends (1992) a mean of 100 and SD of 15 to classify intelligence, especially
intellectual disabilities (Roopesh, 2020).

- Hence, the BKT IQ is adjusted so that it adheres to an SD of 15.

- This correction is done as follows:-

The above formula adjusts IQs of both sides of the NPC.

- If the BKT IQ is less than 100, the adjusted or prorated IQ will be higher than the BKT IQ.
- If the BKT IQ is higher than 100, then the adjusted IQ will be lesser than the BKT IQ (Roopesh,
2020).

- After obtaining the prorated IQ, Wechsler's classification of Intelligence should be referred to for
categorizing an individual's level of intellectual functioning.
Example
- BKT items are scored on an all or none basis for each test the minimal performance that constitutes
passing is specified in the test manual.

- Compute the BASAL AGE i.e., the highest age level below which all the test items are passed and
CEILING AGE at which all items are failed.
BASAL AGE = 4 * 12 = 48

CEILING AGE = 5 * 12 = 60

TOTAL SCORE = 22

48 + 22
Mental Age = *100 = 116.6
60

Correction = 116.6 – 100

*15 + 100 = 113 IQ

18.7
Utility
- BKT is one of the widely used test of intelligence in clinical and educational set up.

- In the clinical set up, it is used for assessment of mentally challenged, learning disabled children with
speech and language problems, slow learners etc.

- It can also be used to assess intellectual level and functioning on different areas like language,
reasoning, memory, social competence etc.

- In educational set up, BKT is used to assess general intellectual level of students to compare it with
their academic performance and achievements.

- Based on the functioning level of students, educational training of students with learning disabilities
can be undertaken.

- The test has also been widely applied in educational and psychological researches.
Limitations
- BKT being standardized only on few Indian vernacular languages (Marathi, Kannada & Gujarati).

- It cannot be used when the child’s verbal ability is compromised (for eg., speech delay, language
incompatibility and extreme shyness/inhibition).

- It cannot be used to rule out ‘subnormal intelligence’ as it is required, in a child who is suspected of
having Specific Learning Disability (SLD).
- Children with SLD are known to have problems with spelling, reading, vocabulary, comprehension, and arithmetic.
BKT has high number of test items that involves these functions.
- Therefore, if BKT is used to rule out subnormal intelligence, then the test might yield biased results, which are far
lower than the actual ability of the child. That is, when a child has a disability in a particular function, say, reading,
then this function (reading) cannot be used to assess the child’s intelligence.
- If in case, if it (reading) is used, then the results might show that the child has lower intellectual ability compared to
his/her age group.