Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-02
The Haskin Letter 9 , : asssz
NEW TESTS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Gently given consisted of two parts. In
the first part. 14S statements on eco
Monies were given and the student was
TO read each one and decide whether
the statement was true or false. Ii a
fact was correctly stated a cross was
to be put in the margin. IT a statement
was incorrect the student was to show
that he recognized the falsity by putting
a dash in thermargin.
To take an example: Economics
may well be defined as the science that
deals with the problems of society"
should be marked with a dash because
it is not correct.
Test Is All Embracing
In 14S statements the field of a
terms work in economics from legal
monopolies to the law Of diminishing
returns. can be easily covered. A stud
ent taking such a test cannot say that
it failed to cover the subjects on which
he had spent the most time.
The second part of this particular
test consisted of 20 items. In each
ease the student was confronted by
three or four possible alternatives,
from which he was to select the cor
rect one. A very simple example would
be: "One reason why the number of
farmers in this country is decreasing
is because la there is not enough land
available: (b1 the country is oversup-
piled with farmers. fcl other occupa-
tions offer better financial returns"
In other subjects some of the tests
which have been given include incom-
plete printed sentences with blank
spaces left for the student TO fill in
the words to make the statements cor
rect.
The person rating papers Of this sort
has no decisions to make as TO the de-
gree of accuracy attained by a student.
The students work is either right Or
wrong. In the first test mentioned, for
instance. the examiner has only to com
pare the line of crosses and dashes
with a correct list.
According to Ben. u. Wood, assist
ant to the dean of Columbia college.
these tests may be scored rapidly, and
in many cases by clerks who have no
knowledge of the course at all. He
says:
new type test saved the staff in con-
temporary civilization in Columbia col
lege at least 500 hours of %drudgery.
with vastly more accurate, reliable and
significant results as shown by expert
mentally derived data"
The Instructors also seem to be in
favor of the new kind of test. One
professor, however. brings out an inter
esting point. He says: "All the evil
dence seems to point to the conclusion
that it is much the most accurate
method of testing students knowledge
of the subject that we have yet dis
covered. It does not, however, in my
judgment, test sufficiently the students
power Of expression. and his ability
to organize his material, | should
therefore feel that in an examination
adequate time should always be given
for at least one or two questions of
the essay type
i similar view is taken by DIR. W.
Nj. Marston Of American university. He
finds that the new tests stress ability
to recognize truth and faIsity when
presented, but give little or no Oppor-
tunity for the student TO reproduce vol
unfairly what he has learned. Yet n
students ability to remember and ex-
plain in his own words what lie has
been taught is one of the practical pur-
poses Of his education.
Attention has also been called TO
the possibility of guessing in tests when
the student is asked to judge correct
ness Of facts. 1t is mathematically
proved that If a person guesses IN
which of two boxes q coin is hidden and
the test Is repeated Il number Of times,
he will score about 80 per CEN Of cor
rect gueSSes.
If judgment enters into the test. that
is, If he makes a series Of guesses as
to which of two lines is the longer,
the percentage Of correct guesses rises
to 60 or even Is per cent.
In a test OIL q scientific subject,
therefore. where the student has ac-
CURED very slight acquaintance with
the curse. he might come off far
better in an objective test than in a
test where be had to answer in his
own words a dozen scientific Ques-
tons.
These points seem 10 be brought out
with intent to show that the new tests
should supplement the old rather than
replace them entirely. Each type of
examination stresses a different aspect
of the students knowledge, and each
may be useful. +,