The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-06-24
STANDARDIZED MEASUREMENTS
 OF ALL PUPILS

NEW YORK, May 25.- Hiring a boy, which in American business often is a prologue to the little tragedy of firing boy, can be made an operation based on record rather than chance if business will cooperate with the schools, accord ing to Sherwin Cody, an exponent of standardized measurement of pupil efficiency.
 MT. Cody is managing director of the National Associated Schools of Scientific Business, with headquar- ters in Chicago, "an organization not for profit" but for supporting the government in the improvement of commercial education"
 He is in New York conducting a test of 15.O0O high school students whose records in the fundamentals of education will be submitted to some of the worlds greatest and many minor corporations. as pros pective employers. He is working. he said, with other educationalists, government officials and leaders of commerce and industry ito erect a bridge between the schools and busi- ness which will do away with the present haphazard method of em. ploying girls and boys for office positions"
 Business men have accused the schools of inefficient teaching of the fundamentals" said MT. Cody. q am convinced from the most careful investigation that the fault lies in the indifferent attitude of the pu- pills, which reflects the contemp- tuous attitude of business men. If business men would mobilize the full psychological force of employment behind the schools through recogni- ton of standardized school records in efficiency employment lists, not only would they get fair chance for an intelligent selection of the
 
 best material coming from the schools, but jobs would in effect be- come valuable prizes that would stim- ulate pupils to work as they ought to work, for their own and the country's sake"
 MT. Cody urged employers of of flee help to hire girls and boys for beginners positions, not by mere appearance, but by appearance plus school records of mental alertness and ability and accuracy in the fundamentals-gram spelling, punctuation, penmanship and arith- metic. He predicted that office ef- ficiency can be revolutionized if business men will recognize records of school work as they do records of previous employment. Mir. Cody expressed hope that the missing link between the schools and busi- ness may be welded at a conference of commercial educators, employers and school superintendents to be held in New York next November.
 Under present conditions, said MT. Cody, there is no way of measuring the ability of applicants for general clerical positions as there is for stenographers, typists and bookkeep- CTS. Employers hire them and take a chance" with resultant low ering of office efficiency and dis couragement of some young people who are forced to go through two or three failures before they find em- ployment in which they fit.
 The plan advocated by the asso- ciated schools calls for listing, by number rather than by name, of pupils about to leave school for employment. Opposite the key mum. Der is stated the nationality of the pupils parents. followed by his school ratings in the fundamental studies. The business man may select from this list the required number of boys or girls whose recorded qualifications appeal to him and interview them. Thus he has brought before him for employ. ment only applicants who are falr- ly likely to meet his needs.
 The test of New York high school students for employment records is being conducted by school officials Upon it's completion the records will be furnished employers desiring them by the New York state clearing house for employment bureaus which co-ordinates the efforts of all non. fee-charging employment agencies in greater New York.
 Examinations were taken early this year by HOO boys and girls graduating from the eighth grade in one of the city's school districts Their records were submitted to 300 employers of office workers nearly all of whom testified to the practical value of the plan. This approval prompted undertaking a city-wide test of high school stu dents' efficiency the result Of which