Evening star., 1951-04-01

make it mandatory that local
draft boards defer students who
qualify under either of the two
standards. Thus, a firm student
policy will be set up for the first
time. Up to now, draft boards only
have been advised to consider
for deferment students who have
finished one year of college and
rated scholastically in the upper
half of their class.
Between 100000 and 100000
draft-eligible college men may
respond to the chance in May
and June to take the national
aptitude test-probably the most
gigantic project of its kind ever
undertaken. Only draft regis
trants under 26 can apply.
The test will not be given this
summer to high school students
or high school graduates who have
not entered college. By-passing
these youths will cut the number
of tests which must be given, and
draft officials do not feel the
threat of induction will be heavy
by this summer on many pre-
college age youth,
1000 Examining Centers.
The tests will be given May 26,
June 16 and June 80 at about
1000 examining centers through
out the country. The centers in
Washington. it was learned, will
be set up at Georgetown, George
Washington, Catholic, Howard and
American Universities.
Here is the way the project
work: /
/. Within the next two weeks,
students will be able to pick up
test applications from their local
draft boards. The applications
will be in the form of double
post cards.
2. The draft eligible man will
state, on the card, where he will
be on each of the May &c, June
16 and June 80 dates and send
the card to the Educational Test
ing Service, of Princeton, N. j.
the organization conducting the
test job.
3. The service will return part
of the card to the draft regis
trant. telling him when and where
to report for the test. This card
will be his ticket of admission.
Later, results of the test will be
mailed to his local draft board.
The tests will be free.
Hershey to Submit Standards.
The executive order signed by
President Truman yesterday did
not specify what either the pass
ing test grade or the standard of
scholastic performance will be.
These, the order said, will be de-
termined by Selective Service Di-
rector Lewis B. Hershey, and sub
mitted to the White House for
approval
However. Gen Hershey is ex-I
pected to submit the same scho-I
lastic standards he recently out
lined to a House committee. TheyI
include provisions that:
Men who have finished one year.
of college and had a scholastic
standing in the upper one-half of
the male members of their fresh
man class be deferred for the
sophomore year; men ranking in
the upper two-thirds of the male.
members of the sophomore class
be deferred for the junior year;
men in the upper three-fourths of
the male members of the junior
year be allowed to enter the senior
year.
But students who fall below
these standards, as we'll as seniors
who want to take graduate study |
still have a chance to qualify.
through the tests. Draft officials.
speculated that some men may
not take the tests. with the idea
that their scholastic work is good
enough to keep them in upper
percentages of their classes. ForI
this reason, they said, it is i'm
possible to predict accurately how
many will apply for the tests.
The tests are made up entirely
of multiple choice problems, in
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