Emerson Charles Denny

Background

Emerson was born on August 15, 1887, in Madison, Indiana, United States; the first child of John Johnson Denny and Effa Lauretta (Haines) Denny.

Education

Emerson Denny attended Marion Normal College. In 1915 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In a year he became a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

In 1932 Emerson became a Doctor of Philosophy from the State University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. His dissertation’s topic was defects and weaknesses in American history tests.

Career

Emerson Denny was a professor on the faculty of Iowa State Teachers College who is best known for developing educational measurement instruments, especially the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. From 1905 through 1914 Denny taught and served as superintendent in rural and town schools in Indiana. From 1916 to 1917 he was head of the Department of Education at the Normal School in Lewiston, Idaho, United States. He served in the U.S. Army in England, France, and Germany, from 1917 to 1919.

From 1919 to 1920 Denny taught mathematics at Wabash College. He served as high school principal at Norfolk, Nebraska, from 1920 to1922. Emerson taught education at Berea College in the summers of 1920 and 1921, and was head of the English Department at the high school in West Allis, Wisconsin, from 1922 to 1923. In the summer of 1923, he joined the faculty of the Department of Education at the Iowa State Teachers College. He served as head of the Department of Education, from 1934 to 1949. He retired from full-time teaching duties in 1955 but continued to teach part-time until 1967.

Denny, who taught in the fields of mental testing and child psychology, was known as a fine teacher. A colleague, Gordon Rhum, recalled that students enjoyed Denny’s relaxed, balanced, and encouraging classroom manner. His primary research interest was educational testing and measurement. In 1929 he and another Iowa State Teachers College faculty member, Martin J. Nelson, published the Denny-Nelson American History Test for grades 7 and 8. In 1930 they published the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. Denny and Nelson worked together for the next three decades to develop and revise tests in several subject areas for many educational levels.

The tests gained wide recognition and acceptance. Revised by others, the tests, especially the Reading Test, continue to be published and used widely in the 21st century. Denny wrote a number of professional articles on testing as well as several workbooks on statistics for teachers. He conducted many smaller, unpublished studies of measurement and testing. He died at age 96 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States.

Membership

Denny was active in local civic affairs. He was an officer in the local American Legion, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Rotary Club. He served on the Selective Service Board for Black Hawk County for almost 20 years.

• Denny was a secretary of the Cedar Falls Board of Adjustment, from 1949 to 1955.

  Cedar Falls Board of Adjustment

• Denny helped to found the National Council on Measurement in Education and served as president of the association, from 1942 to 1946.

  National Council on Measurement in Education

Connections

On August 22, 1917, Denny married Blanche Blackburn. They had three children, Lois E., John Blackburn, and James Ross.

Father:

John Johnson Denny

Mother:

Effa Lauretta (Haines) Denny

Spouse:

Blanche Blackburn

Son:

John Blackburn Denny

Son:

James Ross Denny

Daughter:

Lois E. Denny

References

• The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa Iowa has been blessed with citizens of strong character who have made invaluable contributions to the state and to the nation. In the 1930s alone, such towering figures as John L. Lewis, Henry A. Wallace, and Herbert Hoover hugely influenced the nation’s affairs.
  2008