MARKING EXAMINATION PAPEBS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 26, 1 February 1932, Page 6

MARKING EXAMINATION PAPEBS.

As one who reads and enjoys reading your editorials I was disappointed to note the opinions voiced in a recent issue under the heading ''Examinations and Marks." Reading Professor Anderson's letter one would imagine our University Senate to be a group of wellmeaning but feeble elderly gentlemen entirely at tlie mercy of small "vociferous groups" ana eccentric professors in our universities. May I point Out that the scaling of marks provides a very definite means of giving due recognition to the examiner's own rating of a candidate's -/ work, at the same time eliminating the personal idiosyncrasies of the examiner, and these are usually considerable? In other words, it is an attempt to secure an objective.standard for assessing marks. The notorious unreliability of a subjective standard of marking is only too familiar, and in the University wa3 further illustrated within recent years by a conscientious professor, who, working as one of a panel of examiners, wrote out a set of specimen answers in order to ensure some, uniformity of standard in his marking. By some mis-chance this set of answers wag circulated with the candidate's papers and the professor suffered the ignominy of being failed by several of his own colleagues! I disagree with the majority of conclusions drawn by. Professor Anderson and stated f>y him-as alleged "evils" resulting from the system of mark scaling. • I feel sure he would, for. the benefit of "Star" readers, elaborate these socalled "highly questionable series of assiinip- h tions" for discussion. One further point. The % . "futility" of intelligence testing is open to . ■ direct challenge. When one notes as leaders , of the movement men such as ' Spearman, Thomson, Burt, Thorndike and Terman (to quote but a few), who are accepted inter-, nationally as leaders in matters educational, such a statement that intelligence testing is an educational nostrum should surely require very' serious qualification. I ant sure your readers would appreciate further discussion on these matters. EDUCATOR.