Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-12
Develop Methods of Gauging
Students by More Than
Superficial Means.
COLLEGE DEANS TOLD
-. OF WORK IN TESTING
Picture of Individuals Whole Per
sonality, Without Emotional
Bias, Is One Objective.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY THOMAS II. HENRY.
American colleges are developing re-
liable methods for looking inside a
mans skin.
This work was described to the As
socis ton Of Deans and Advisers of Men
meeting at the Mayfiower this morning
by Dr. David A. Robertson, assistant di-
rector Of the American Council on Edu-
cation, which is co-ordinating the tests.
The objective. DR.. Robertson said, is
to work out a series of measurements
which will make 1t possible TO measure
ability, personality, ethical background
and aptitude. The time-honored ways
Of Judging a man by casual observation
and personal likes and diSltkeS, he said,
has proved so fallable that such meas
urementS can no longer be accepted.
One of the tests which the council is
working out, In cooperation with vari-
OILS colleges, among which Is Catholic
University here, is intended to produce
q picture of the individuals personality
entirely without emotional bias. In the
past, Dr. Robertson said, 1t has been
the practice for somebody acquainted
with the prospective student or employe
mon letter of recommendation, which
means practically nothing. The person
is characterized as 'of excellent charac-
ter, industrious, enterprising and a
leader of men,"
Subjective Estimation.
The American Council on Education
Is trying to tear this picture to pieces
and determine its basis. The estlrna-
Af lan MI
recommendation usually is highly sub
jective. Often it is merely a matter of
form and means nothing, one way or
the other. DR.. Robertson cited the
quality of leadership. On cards with
which the colleges are experimenting
this is divided into five grades, from
very high to very low. and the reporter
is asked to specify into which grade the
subject falls. If he has had no oppor-
tunity of observation, the fact is
recorded.
incident which makes him think that
the person is a good leader. This gives
the person for whom the pen picture
OF the personality is intended an OPP
uortunity to decide whether the re-
porter's Judgment means anything.
DR.. Robertson pointed out that the
words willing to work. give a very
vague picture, but the statement that
this estimate is based on the fact that
the subject once worked 36 hours I'M
complainingly and without sleep to help
in an emergency gives vivid picture
Of man any college would Ike 10 nave.
Judgment of ability by scholastic
marks, he said, has fallen down badly
under accurate tests. These have shown
that one teacher will funk q student
on a test which will be marked very
highly by another The same teacher
will vary greatly in his marks on the
same examination from day to day.
Marks are greatly affected by the teach
er's subconscious like or dislike. An
honor student at one college might be
Series of Standard Tests.
This is being overcome by a series OF
standard tests, which must be graded
effectively, to be applied in all schools.
The American Council now has bat
terry Of % OF these tests, ranging from
writing and spelling to modern Ian
guages, and is developing others. IN
der this system every student is asked
the same question and graded In the
same way so that mark from one
school means exactly the same thing as
q mark from another.
Of some of the standard intelligence
tests as absolute measures OF mans
capabilities. The Army Alpha tests as
applied to World War officers, he
pointed out, rated medical oficers much
lower than engineer officers in intel
Iiaence," due largely to the test being
overloaded with arithmetic, which was
outside the doctors range of interests.
AT the Library of Congress-" he
said, there is q page from q notebook
kept by q German gentleman who was
very deaf. It contains his calculations
of the pay Of 8 servant 91rl who was
getting SO kronen week for four weeks.
He couldn't multiply SO by four and
tried to solve the problem by ADDITION.
His result was 242.
This man would have fallen down
badly on such q test as the Army Al
pha. Yet 1 do not think we can thrust
Ludwig Won Beethoven into the outer
darkness in q rating of intelligence"
Psychologists, he said, now are drop
ping the word Intelligence" altogether,
in estimating the results of such tests.
An almost uncanny instrument, he
said, is being developed in cooperation
with the American Council to forecast
an individuals aptitude for any profess
sion Large numbers Of leaders among
engineers, teachers. physicians, minis
tiers, artists have been asked to make
lists of the things they are interested
in. These lists are then grouped to-
Rether and students asked to indicate
their own interests. If an individuals
interests check with those common to
several hundred successful engineers
the probability is that he will be sue
ccsSflll as an engineer.
Although the basis is somewhat OBJ
ScIlre. this seems to be working out ex-
cellently in practice, DR.. Robertson
said, and probably will save much
wasted effort, discomfort in professions
for which q person Is not adapted and
result in faster progress. Boys come
to college without clear-cut ideas OF
what they wish to do, and it is the duty
Of the faculty to guide them.
The persons taking the test have no
clue as to the choices Of the various
professions and thus cannot make the
results fall into q certain category.
Thus the choices of one boy were prac-
tically identical with those of several
hundred leading clergymen. The boy
was asked If he desired to enter the
ministry. He replied that he knew
nothing about it, because he had never
been Ia q church in his life. Neverthe-s
less, he now is studying for the min
istry with success.
Analysing Worlds Work.
Another line being worked out is to
picture the student in his relation to
his career. The council, Mr.. Robertson
said. lis trying to analyze the worlds
work" This consists in getting q spe-
cifc description of what leaders in va
rious professions actually do during
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