SCHOOL CERTIFICATE Educationist Urges Fundamental Change

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31412, 4 July 1967, Page 16

SCHOOL CERTIFICATE Educationist Urges Fundamental Change

(New Zealand Press Association)

HAMILTON, July 3.

The abolition of school certificate as an external examination was advocated by the professor of educa* tion at the University of Waikato during a public meeting in Hamilton tonight.

The present school certificate was “educationally barbaric” if the description of education as a process of initiating children into worthwhile knowledge, skills and modes of conduct of society was accepted, said Professor P. S. Freyberg.

“School certificate is an admission that we have succeeded in educating only about one-third of schoolleavtrs. The remaining two-thirds have failed or not attempted the initiating ceremony,” said Professor Freyberg.

Reasons listed by Professor Freyberg in support of the abolition of the examination included:

In the nature of the examination the pass-fail distinction was arbitrary and subjective through no fault of the teachers or examiners. As an over-all pass-fail qualification it served no useful purpose. The new proposals (put forward by the Education Department for implementation in 1968) did not overcome these objections, but simply applied them to single-

subject passes. Effective evaluation, which was socially useful, must

include more than examination marks. The influence of external examinations on individual school syllabuses and methods of teaching was detrimental and out of all proportion to the social value of the examination result.

Professor Freyberg said an alternative proposal would be for all fifth-form leavers to be issued with a certificate of secondary education list-

ing performances in all subjects taken. Schools would be responsible for the grading on the certificate, taking into account internal examinations and class work. Comparability with standards of other schools could be secured by the consultation of outside expert opinion. The certificate could possibly include grades for subjects taken in the third and fourth forms as well, he said. Maximum information for prospective employers, con-

sistent with attainable standards of reliability, could be provided on the certificates. The professor said his proposed certificate would avoid a limiting effect on school curriculum which was exerted by any external examination, present or proposed.

Teachers were trained professional people and they were capable of taking, and should take, direct responsibility for the evaluation of their pupils, assisted by the moderation procedures he had suggested. Professor Freyberg said.

There were three important questions to be considered when proposing changes to the present school certificate examination, he said. “What is the purpose of the examination? In Its present form does it serve that purpose? If not, is there a satisfactory alternative?”