The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1923-12-13
DIAGNOSIS AND SURGERY
IN PUBLIC SCHOOL WORK
The Standard Test and It's Value
As A Determining Factor
BY MARY L. STEWART, Supervising
Teacher.

Illt u treatment, lIlG JSiil JSi 10
again taken as a measure of decline or
Improvement. 1t is the specialists
method of taking an inventory of con-
ditions that he may study his case to
learn the causes producing the
changes which he discovers.
In school work this is the task which
the supervising teachers undertook in
October throughout the State of Ma
ryland. The standard tests are so
constructed that they give to the ex-
aminer one index figure for each of
the several grades in each school in
each subject in which the tests are
given. Many requests have come IN
asking for an explanation of the STAN
ford Achievement Tests which were
selected by the State Department for
the October Survey. Since the results
of the tests are very nearly ready,
twenty pages of figures and graphs,
to be given to teachers and principals
of Garrett county, this seems an OPP
potune time to help fathers and moth
ers to understand the significance of
the measurement taken.
A Standard Test is one that has
first been given to thousands of chill
dren of different ages until the exam
liner knows exactly what the average
child Of a given age and grade will do
on the test. When the test is ready
for the market, these standards are
determined and the child who takes
the test may learn just how well he
does in comparison with what other
children have done in the country at
large. The index figure which is
used for a comparison is, however,
not the average in the usual sense Of
the word. The standard OF index fig
ure is the median. By median we
mean the score which is made by the
middle child. This is found by ar
ranging all the scores in order from
lowest to highest and then counting
back half way to find the score above
which and below which half of the
l''o''''''- % l'o'' ~ - ''- - '>,.,' i''O
erage, because a very low mark does
- ~ 80 ., ~
me stanford AchleEemeh5 1eaIS'
given IN Maryland IN October, were
arranged Ike a Iadaef S'aftihg with
very easy WORK, SulIaDIe Iof oegih-
nerS ana gradually SetllhG n2foef
until beyond the a'.lly o. any oIo!-
nary SeYehJA craze sl1ueHO ny Hlo-
ing out JUST no" h5t cHilo couIo
cIlno ana 90 the WORK correctly we
couIa delefmlAe nc" Tar oes!liN of
ahead Oh ms grade Ihe cA-io SIallos'
Let us consider FOR 9 moment the
test IN Paragraph Meaning, which
was the first test given. In order to
study lin order to set his daily les
sons in every subject which he stud
ies) the child must know how silently
to get the meaning from each para
graph he studies. This then is ? test
in ability to get his daily lessons. The
frs exercise. was: 'Fanny has lit
tie red hon. Every day the hen goes
to her nest and lays an egg for Fan
ny to eat. Then she makes q funny
noise to tell Fanny to come 70 get the
-" IF the child can FL in the
blank without help we know that the
child has the meaning Of the para
graph The child in the second grade
should be able to do tins and haif OF
the second paragraph me last para
graph OF this test was: Nave and
unsophisucated are frequently con-
fused. The former suggests type
or behavior which is artleSs, Sponta-
neous and free from the restraints OF
custom. The latter implies FULLY as
great lack OF knowledge OF social
usage, and, IN addition, conduct which
is primitive and perchance lnelegant.
Thus, the -- youth was the trst
to enter the car, and his - little
sister warmly kissed HIM IN the pres
of the kinO Wa NAV also saw