MATRICULATION PAPERS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22274, 13 December 1937, Page 10

MATRICULATION PAPERS

WELLINGTON TEACHERS’ CRITICISM DIFFICULTY OF TEST IN ARITHMETIC [THE PRESS Special Service.] WELLINGTON, December 12. Numerous complaints have been made by candidates sitting the matriculation examination this year about the difficulty of some of the papers. The arithmetic paper in particular has been the cause of much complaint. The principals of schools agree in the main that,® considering the handicap under which children have been placed this year by the infantile paralysis epidemic, the arithmetic papei was too difficult,. It is stated, however, that the New Zealand University Senate has taken evcly caution against unfairness resulting from the closing of the schools at the beginning of the yea* - - , “One would have thought that, as the pupils -were so heavily handicapped because of the shortened school year, the examiners would have set papers on a more or less easy basis to enable the average boy to score a sufficient number of marks so that it necessary they could be scaled down, said Mr F. Marlyn Renner, principal of Rongotai Boys’ College. But to set papers of a relatively high standard—the arithmetic, algebra, and chemistry papers were all of a iela lively high standard—means that the average boy, already handicapped by the loss of six or seven weeks schooling, scores relatively few marks, and then I understand the procedure is to scale these up. It seems to me absurd. Why not give the boy the opporlunity of scoring a sufficient number of maks in the first place, so that if necessary they can be scaled down. “Ridiculous Set of Papers

Mr W. A. Armour, principal of Wellington College, said he thought the arithmetic paper was a ridiculous sort of paper to sot. He was very disappointed in the type of questions an “ in the paper as a whole. It involved a tremendous amount of tedious woiking, which was too exhausting. The mathematics papers as a whole, he thought, were poorly set. I think the papers I have seen so far,’ Mr Armour continued, “axe considerably more difficult than they were last year, and this not a normal year. The arithmetic paper I dislike most of a|i of those I have seen. I think it is the wrong type of paper and I think a strong protest should be made about “Particularly as the schools were closed for two months at the beginning of the year, I regard the chemistry, algebra, and arithmetic papers as being too difficult,” said Mr J. N. Millard. principal of the Hutt Valley High School. “I think they would be difficult papers for an ordinary year, and for this year, in view of the special circumstances, I regard them as rather more than difficult.” Miss N. Isaac, principal of the Wellington East Girls’ College, struck a more reassuring note from the point of view of candidates sitting the examination. She said that she had heard comment that the artithmetic paper was difficult, but she did not think there was cause for any panic, because in her ■ experience when the time came for the examiner to mark the candidates’ work he quickly saw the paper was above the candidates and made due allowance. In her experience examiners were just as much human beings as other people, and she felt sure they would be this time, too. “Tricky and Too Long”

Further criticism of the papers was expressed by Miss Greig, principal o£ the Wellington Girls’ College. She described the arithmetic paper as tricky and too long, and involving a tremendous amount of unnecessary work. The algebra paper was fair, but very long, and this . would make it difficult for the candidates to make up the ground lost in arithmetic. Mr H. F. von Haast, pro-Chancellor of the University of New Zealand, explained that the Senate of the University had a scheme by which it took account of time lost in school through the infantile paralysis epidemic, and an allowance was made in the candidate’s papers by scaling. He also emphasised that the papers were examined beforehand by a board of moderators.