Evening star., 1930-06-15
SCHOOL EXAMS
TO Be DIFFERENT
fart
Zen Years win BE Devoted
to Perfection of System
| of Measuring knowledge.

The "old fashioned" examination
Reek-bugaboo Of high school and coll
lege boys for generations-is going TO be
ainerent.
The American Council on Education,
with headquarters here, received this
past week . grant Of $500, 900 from the
General Education Board Of the Rookie
teller Foundation to produce a COM
plete series of achievement tests in high
school and college subjects to be applied
universally. The project Is to continue
for 10 years.
This is one of the newer ideas in edu-
cation. The old-fashioned examina-
tions, which kept students plugging"
for weeks over their Latin and math
textbooks, borrowing notes from each
other, and scribbling notes on their
cuffs, probably have not meant so much
after all, according to DR.. David A.
Robertson, newly elected president of
Goucher College and assistant director
Of the American Council on Education.
Each teacher made UP his examina-
lions according to his own ideas. Some
were easy and some were stiff" Some
were fair and some called for lot of
luck. The marks meant practically
nothing for comparative purposes. A
students grade depended good deal
not on what he knew about the subject,
but on the subjective attitude Of the
particular teacher who made and
marked the questions.
Similarity of Grades.
Under the new system. when 1t Is
universally adopted, grade OF A In
country high school in Oklahoma will
mean almost precisely the same thing
An WaGhtn0tnn
high school, and in one teachers class
as In another's. Schools will give the
same examinations in the same subjects
and both will grade by standard sys-
tenn which will depend very little on the
attitude Of the marker.
The object of these tests will be to
measure accurately what the student
actually knows about the SUBJECT Al
ready a series of such tests has been
consfr1lcted In the general run of sub
iects taught in high schools and the
first two years Of college. About oO
colleges and $50 secondary schools in
pennsylvania are using them with salts
factory results, but, DR.. Robertson ex-
plained, much remains to be done De.
fore they are satisfactory Tor universal
application. a., 49,. NAV 4.
Che great bugaboo Of present-day edu-
Gators. Standardization. They don't
want the schools and colleges turning
c,It nunils As alike as peas In a pod, with
no original ways of looking at things,
and they don't want to encourage
studying to pass an examination ratner
than studying to learn suo)ect.
This, Mr.. Robertson points out, mas
been a serious objection to the standard
college entrance examination. IL mas
stood in the way Of teachers presenting
subjects in fresh and original ways
The teacher, Mr.. Robertson explained,
knows that his work will be judged IN
large part on the success OF his stuoenCs
in taking his examination. Conse-
ouently his objective Is not to teacn
students history, but to teach them 70
mass a standardized examination IN
history. and there Is little relationship
between the two.
Time Credit Advancements.
Advancement in school and college,
said Mr. Robertson, has been py tme
credits, and not by degrees Of mastery
of the subject matter. bare passing
mark. so far as promotion is concerned,
has meant as much as the highest pos
sible mark. Under the new system
there will be an effort to do away with
this condition. The tests Will measure
the actual accomplishment OF the pupls.
It Is planned to avoid Standardization
by working out the tests in co-opera-
ton with the leading specialists In the
different fields and with questions
which will reveal the actual extent OF
the pupils progress rather than his
mastery of a specific set Of facts. Some
Individual college freshman, for ex-
ample, may know more about mathe-
mates than a senior who has taken
all the courses offered. Under the
present system this does him no good
because he has to undergo the formality
of taking and passing the different
courses. The tests will try to show the
pupils ability to use facts rather than
remember specific details by means OF
~plugging." and which are certain to
ne forgotten as soon as the examlna-
%Aons are over.
The American Council on Education
also has received funds from the Julius
Rosenwald Foundation to finance the
work Of q committee made up OF rep
resentatives OF various divisions OF the
American educational system 70 formu-
late q comprehensive program of edu-
cational Investigations. This, 1t was
pointed out, may prove the nucleus OF
. central clearing house for investiga-
tions in the science Of education which
will parallel the work Of the National
Research Council in the field of the