Standardized Tests

Since Piaget’s original demonstrations, further progress has necessitated

the standardization of these problems with materials, questions, procedures,

and scoring so clearly specified that examiners can replicate one another’s

results. Such standardization permits the explanation of the general

applicability of Piaget’s concepts. Standardized tests have been developed

for measuring object permanence, egocentricity, and role-taking skills. The

Concept Assessment Kit, for example, provides six standard conservation

tasks for which comparison data (norms) are available for children in several

widely diverse cultures. The relative conceptual attainments of an individual

child (or culture) can be measured. Those who attain such basic skills

as conservation early have been shown to be advanced in many other educational

and cognitive achievements.