Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-15
BY w. F. BOOK.

Head of Psychology Department Indiana
University.
Eighth grade students are measured
for their mental progress in history,
arithmetic and English with view to-
ward determining their knowledge In
these subjects when the tests comprise
other elements irrelative to the subjects.
In this way the real knowledge of the
student on the subjects Is ascertained
because those taking the tests must dis
tinguish the proper from the improper
answers. 4
An Illustration of the test in history
follows:
The Quakers settled in Quebec, Nary
land, Vermont, or Pennsylvania.
OF course the answer to the question
is that the Quakers settled in Penn
sylvania, but the student must know IN
which State the QuaKers settled and at
the same time not be confused or misled
by the three other states and provinces
named in the same question.
Another example is:
The State that was once an independ-
emit country; Vermont, Illinois, Texas, or
Florida. In this case the state is Texas.
There are forty similar questions COW
ering various periods of American his
tory and the students are given five min
utes for this test.
COMPARATIVE
FIGURES USED.
Comparative figures as a means OF as
certaining the native ability in arith-
metic forms the basis Of this test.
For instance the student is asked the
following question:
William Brown weighs 100 pounds.
John weighs 10 pounds less. Johns
weight is so, rs, 80, or ITO pounds? The
answer is 30 pounds Other questions
pertain to volume, distance, speed, ratio
Of figures or percentages. The pupil
must more than answer the question for
he is constantly confronted with incor-
rect answers and must select the right
one.
Finding the right sentence which IS
correct rhetorically and dramatically
is the test for good usage There are
100 different sentences In the test and
forty of them are correct and the re-
mainder incorrect, either wrong verb
tense, misspelling, wrong subject or pred
icate from the incorrect elements which
the pupil must fathom to answer cor
rectly the questions in the test.
Reading vocabulary Of the pupil comes
under observation in a special test, an
illustration of which follows:
A dungeon is a room in: cathedral,
y
is that it is a room in a prison. There
are forty examples in the test and the
subjects are all different.
HIGH SCHOOL TEST
OF SAME TYPE.
For high school tests the same type OF
tests are given, only the subjects are
more advanced.
Our tests with high school students in
all parts Of the State brought forth these
facts:
1. That twice as many students were
kept on their high school courses for
the four years as possessed an average
grade Of intelligence for high school se-
niors.
?. Seven times as many students pos
sess a superior grade Of intelligence as
were actually permitted to shorten their
course.
8, Less than one-third of the students
possessing inferior grades Of intelligence
were actually retarded.
/ From these facts we conclude that
many students in our high schools are
working Tar below the level of their best
attainment and so acquiring habits OF
laziness and inefficiency because their
school work does not fully stimulate
them to their best efforts. The results
of the tests are being used to formulate
the school program with view toward
speeding up instruction so that more
students will extend themselves fully
In mastering the instruction rather than
having a large number only exertiHg
themselves enough to meet the demands
and obtaining the best grades, whens
their native ability indicates that they
can do better work.
An interesting observation from tests
of high school seniors is that the brigh.-
est seniors were never selected for spe-
nfo od xTor1 af4h In oh
school or elementary grades-they were
not advanced beyond their natural
classes and did not skip any grades.
Only per cent Of the high school stu
dents were advanced more rapidly than
normal.