THE THREE R'S

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 112, 14 May 1930, Page 6

THE THREE R'S

TAEANAKI SURVEY

EDUCABLE CAPACITY

The survey in educable capacity, reading, spelling, and arithmetic, in the Taraiiaki schools has revealed some intensely' interesting results and must give food for thought to those who have control of New Zealand's educational system. '•Tho survey was the subject of a paper yesterday by Mr. N. E. M'Kenzie, B.Ai, F.E.C.S., at the annual meeting of the Australasian Association of Psychology and Philosophy. Dealing with the tests made in reading, Mr. M'Kcnzie said that in view of the strong and growing conviction among experts that our reading was too slow for practical purposes they tested the speed as well as the comprehension of reading in 1029. The speed proved tc be about a year behind the American norms, although American education leaders thought that the standard was too low. The comprehension was satisfactory in two surveys. It had been found that as a rule the quicker readers made the best scores in comprehension. It had been found also that the best readers were those who read the' most books and those whoso score in educablo capacity was high. In the spelling tests none of the classes reached the Canadian standard on which the tests were' based, and which had been criticised as being unnecessarily high.. The girls spelt better than the boys and the Maoris better than tho Europeans. - In the quality of writing the girls in tho different classes had reached or exceeded the norm of Ayres' Gettysburg Scale.' The boys in every instance failed to reach the standard. The rate of spee,d was too slow. In standard VI. it was 59 letters. to the minute as against 80, the recognised standard. ARITHMETIC. Three tests had been used in arithmetic. The standard VI. girls scored better than the boys in purely mechanical work, whereas the boys beat the girls t in arithmetic rules and reasoning. In standard V. the boys and. the girls were equal in: mechanical work, the girls better in arithmetic rules and the boys better at reasoning. Tho standard IV. giris excelled in mechanical work and arithmetical rules, while the boys scored more highly in: reasoning. For Maoris, boys' scores for standard TV. and yi. in' all three tests were higher than the girls', while the girls' scores in standard V. were higher than the boys'. The Maoris did not compare as favourably with the white children in this examination, as in the 1927 one, biit the number tested (81) was scarcely large enough to give a significant result. . The tests covered practically, the whole course of elementary arithmetic. There was a very definite correlation between the scores of the pupils and t>e size of the schools.. The correlation between meclfanical arithmetic and educable capacity was comparatively low, while between arithmetical reasoning and educable capacity it was high. The correlation between mechanical arithmetic and ' arithmetical reasoning was low. In sole charge schools it was slightly negative, which ''meant that the average pupil who did well at one type of arithmetic was "likely, to'do badly in tho other. In the larger schools the condition was not as bad as this. • . ' ; In the educable 'capacity tests it was interesting to note that, so far as comparisons had been made, the younger a child was for his class the better was his score. The Dominion survey, of mental ability in 1924 revealed the same fact. In every class, except standard V. tho boys' score was distinctly higher than the girls'. In that class the girls' score was slightly higher than the boys'. ■ The score of the Maoris was afaout one class behind the'white children, but the difference became less from class to class. ..'''.. ■: .' '"