PROCEDURE. Draw a circle about two and one half inches in diameter, leaving a small gap in the side next the child. Say: "_Let us suppose that your baseball has been lost in this round field. You have no idea what part of the field it is in. You don't know what direction it came from, how it got there, or with what force it came. All you know is that the ball is lost somewhere in the field. Now, take this pencil and mark out a path to show me how you would hunt for the ball so as to be sure not to miss it. Begin at the gate and show me what path you would take._"[56] [56] The Stanford record booklet contains the circle ready for use. Give the instructions always as worded above. Avoid using an expression like, "_Show me how you would walk around in the field_"; the word _around_ might suggest a circular path. Sometimes the child merely points or tells how he would go. It is then necessary to say: "_No; you must mark out your path with the pencil so I can see it plainly._" Other children trace a path only a little way and stop, saying: "Here it is." We then say: "_But suppose you have not found it yet. Which direction would you go next?_" In this way the child must be kept tracing a path until it is evident whether any plan governs his procedure. SCORING. The performances secured with this test are conveniently classified into four groups, representing progressively higher types. The first two types represent failures; the third is satisfactory at year VIII, the fourth at year XII. They may be described as follows:-- _Type a_ (failure). The child fails to comprehend the instructions and either does nothing at all or else, perhaps, takes the pencil and makes a few random strokes which could not be said to constitute a search. _Type b_ (also failure). The child comprehends the instructions and carries out a search, but without any definite plan. Absence of plan is evidenced by the crossing and re-crossing of paths, or by "breaks." A break means that the pencil is lifted up and set down in another part of the field. Sometimes only two or three fragments of paths are drawn, but more usually the field is pretty well filled up with random meanderings which cross each other again and again. Other illustrations of type _b_ are: A single straight or curved line going direct to the ball, short haphazard dashes or curves, bare suggestion of a fan or spiral.