In many schools today the students cover material as rapidly as the teacher thinks the student\u27s ability will allow. Grades are usually given on the basis of material covered in relation to the ability of the student. In many school systems, especially smaller and financially poor systems, little or no mental testing is carried on. In such cases, the teacher must base her estimates of mental ability on observed behavior. It is the belief of the writer that in a number of cases the teacher may base her estimates on traits other than those which display general intelligence, such as personality and general appearance. In a study of 1,558 elementary school children Miller found that most of the children who were found to be just average in mentality in all language tests, seemed to be overestimated on account of their pleasantness and hard work. Many children regarded as dull but found to be average in mentality were underestimated because of shyness
