A Comparison of the Personality Traits of 300 Accelerated, Normal, and Retarded Children

The personality traits of school children, even when given instruc tion in large groups, are very marked. Some are attentive and inter ested in their work, while others are talkative, restless, or indifferent. Some are disobedient or quarrelsome, but the majority get along well with other children. The purpose of this study was to make a comparison of the degree to which certain desirable and undesirable traits were possessed by chil dren whose school progress had been normal, accelerated, or retarded. A child was considered retarded if he had been left back one or more terms. An accelerated child was one who had been doubly promoted once or more than once. The amount of retardation ranged from one to five terms and that of acceleration from one to three terms. In connection with an experiment on retardation at Public School 208, Brooklyn, the teachers of the second, third, and fourth grades were asked to indicate which of the following characteristics described each of the children in their classes.