TESTS FDR STUDENTS

Evening Star, Issue 21620, 16 January 1934, Page 3

TESTS FDR STUDENTS

m TRUE TEACHING" WITHOUT EXAiIHATIOH UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR'S' ANALYSIS Addressing’ the members of the Senate of the ,cniversity-i of New Zealand this morning,: at the annual meeting, the, Chancellor (Professor Macmillan Brown) made an interesting contribution to the warfare that has raged round examinations and examination systems. • “ During .the fifty-six years that I have passed as member of the Senate, of tiie University of New Zealand,” said the Chancellor, “ there have been repeated waves of criticism of the examination system. But even in those that '. have not been wholly destructive it has been difficult to understand how the substitutes proposed are to be completely free from examination. It is, on the whole, ■a mere transference of the system from one point in the lino of approach to another, or a change in methods. There must be examination of the candidates for any position or advance or scholarship or prize if the comparison of the candidates is to be just.

“ In actual fact, there is no true teaching without examination ; I might even go so far as to hold that the essential method of teaching is examination—i.c.. testing the students. The mere convoying of knowledge leaves the mind inert and undeveloped. It is the testing."of knowledge conveyed that is the vital clement in the process. For here the minds of teacher and taught come into contact, and the magnetism of the older and stronger mind and character passes into the life of the taught. Without this magnetic flow teaching is futile; it lacks the inspiration that is so essential to the influence of iv book, or thought, or work of art, or living character on the spirit of man. It largely comes from enthusiasm for the work,' an attitude and passion which make the hardest of toil as pleasant as play. There are undoubtedly many teachers who' are incapable of this; but teaching is a profession that naturally proluces it, being one that is largely concerned with the intercourse of mind and mind.

“ Of course, examining, like teaching, varies from subject to subject. There are some subjects; like arithmetic and mathematics, that are definite in their purpose, and formulated in their methods. The teacher can say exactly whether a pupil is advancing or not. In these an examiner has a comparatively easy task; he has no difficulty in deciding whether an answer is right or wrong; and his valuation of an answer is not much more difficult, than that of.the trader in making up the bill of his customer for sundries. We reach a more complicated zone when we come to the sciences that deal in formulae, like physics and chemistry. Physics, especially, often puts its conclusions and methods into a form that is purely mathematical; and here the examiner is still at no great disadvantage in valunting answers, papers, and candidates. But all sciences have realms and problems that are irreducible to formula;: and the examiner has to view and valuatc answers from a high point of view. Yet here he is aided by the fact that there are individual elements, the identification of which demands exact knowledge. Ho can make his_ examination practical, and his valuation of the answers and the candidates ean be definite and unquestionable. In the biological sciences, and especially ip botany, zoology, and anatomv. we are, still in the realm ofThc individual, and. in examining, can put ouestions that may demand definite and easily valuated answers. In linguistics and ethnology, we arc still not far from the individual and definable; languages and races can he compared and classified in their varieties, and even have their nffinities traceable to a common source. The task of the examiner is still fir from insuperable. FORMULATION DIFFICULTIES. “ It is when we come to the subjects .that have no definite formulatidn that wc begin to see the difficulties of examinations. Philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, sociology cannot he narrowed down to features and statements to be accurately compared; they deal in ideas and generalities that defy technical expression. It is, then, very difficult for an examiner to put questions, that will bring out the capacities of the various examinees and allow them to be compared. What he is largely, forced to compare is the power of expression, the clarity and force of the linguistic form that the examinee gives his ideas. Of course; an important element in this is his grasp of the ideas,- and his power of manipulating them in'a logical way. “We have here struck on the region that has been in all ages the

sphere cjF examination, not only in schools--.but in universities. There is a natural definability in comparison ol all translation, cither Irom a loreign language into one's own, or in translating from one’s own language into another. The examinee knows exactly what he is to aim at, and the examiner can compare translations with case. And so the universities inclined to make this the most important sphere of teaching and examining. In England especially, Latin and Greek became the favourite sphere of examination for entrance into colleges and universities. for scholarships and lor degrees. 'the only subject that, held its own against these was mathematics, in which comparison by examination was surest ol all in its methods and results. MEMORY AND CRAM.

“ Slowly did the other subjects creep into the tests ot ability, even though the sciences had, as 1 have shown, easy adaptability to comparison by means ot examination. History soon demanded recognition, and it easily became one of the most attractive ot subjects, shell wide vistas did it open into the past and into the far distant, as well as into the future; so splendid a field did it offer for the study of human nature and the problems that present themselves in every age, and most frequently remain unsolved, and grow more complex and difficult to solve. The worst of it is that it allows easy refuges in the outstanding, personalities and dates for both examiner and examinee who are tired of thinking, ft gives great scope for mere memory work aml cramming—the readiest points of attack by the hostile critics of examinations. It is really the finest arena for the exercise of reasoning and imagination and all the higher faculties of the mind. A section of it that is fitted to draw the thoughtful .teacher, .examiner, and student is literature, the laboratory of history. And English literature has come to be recognised as an outstanding subject in all the newer universities. Unfortunately it is full of pitfalls for both teacher and taught, both examiner and examinee, so many are the names and dates and other definite facts that may be isolated from their surroundings. ECONOMICS DIFFICULTY,

“ Another phase of history that has grown into importance, especially in the younger universities, is economics. ‘ Jt began to draw the attention of educationists in the eTghteenth century, the starting ■ point bfeing Adam Smith’s ‘ Wealth of Nations.’ It was bound to come into prominence amongst thinkers with the growth- of modern commerce. In tact it had long been a subject of discussion amongst European philosophers and statesmen, especially in • France, where Adam Smith had much intercourse on the subject with the foremost writers ,on economic problems, especially with Cjjuesnay and Turgot. It was so much interwoven with politics that it was sure to come to the front. But, so wide was itn scope, and so tyiany theories were rife in its discussions, that it was difficult to contract, it into one science, or even one subject for examination. Had Marx and Soviet Russia come earlier with their numberless problems, the inclusion of economics in the curricula of the new universities and the examination system of the older universities might have been postponed to an even later date. And there are so many conflicting creeds in its scope that it is hard- to shut out bias from its comparison ■ of examination papers and of candidates for degrees and scholarships. It will perhaps ultimately have to-be divided up into its historical phase and its controversial, just as religion is now dealt -with separately from theology and government from politics. ■ “ The last sciences to come within the range of university teaching and examining were geology and geography, the sciences that are concerned with iho stndv of the earth. Their expansion began in ancient times, hut was delayed bv the ban of the church, on certain ideas that seemed to conflict with the authority of the Bible. Meantime societies were formed for promotion of their study, and at last individual Governments'', realising the necessity of having exact surveys, appointed experts to survey the features of their country and make exact maps, and another set of experts, to report on the mineral deposits and prospects of development. In order to conduct these two essential functions with scientific accuracy examinations were essential. The Army authorities undertook those for surveying and the preparation for them. The universities postponed the training in geography till the provincial colleges showed the way by establishing lectureships in the subject; whereas in geology, which was, from the. eighteenth century, considered a science, chairs were established even in the oldest universities, and examinations in it became wider and more- intricate in scope. And here again we have two subjects that, with their many definite features and problems, make the task of the examiner fairly easy, even where he hhs to compare papers and examinees in competitive arenas, as for scholarships and honours. TWO TYPES. The distinction between the two types of examination is fundamental. And yet it did not rise into prominence .till well on in the nineteenth century, when it came to he realised that patronage, especially political patronage, led to inefficiency and corruption. If was the beginning of the democratic era that saw the rise of a highly specialised examination system. Everyone, however poor or inconspicuous in social grade, must have a chance of rising to positions of importance, and every position of importance must have a chance of getting the man most fitted to fill it. The surest mark of a democratic country or period is the abolition of patronage. Of course, by no means all the promotions by patrons failed; it largely depends on the honesty and ability of the patron, especially the ability to discern talent; a man of affairs.and experience is often the best examiner of candidates for a post;, his eye is keen to discern .the youth \vho is certain to have a career. But the busy man is apt to place the choice amongst candidates on some assistant who has not the same keen eye for capacity or the same reputation to support. In the midland regions of the United States the universities have adopted the accrediting system for entrance; they trust the schools in their choice of their pupils fitted to enter on more advanced or university work. And there is much to be said for this. For the teachers, by their close personal intimacy with their pupils, can gauge with ease more than the knowledge the competitors have and their powers of acquiring knowledge. But the older universities in the East recognise that schools and teachers differ widely in capacity and character, and that they themselves have to ho tested in both before they are entrusted with the whole work of drafting the students from high schools into universities. Moreover, they draw their first-year material from wider areas; some of the best of it has not passed through secondary schools. They tend therefore tn combine accrediting with examination : they have an examination which the accredited students must pass, and this, along with accrediting by their own professors, allows of students who have not passed through approved high schools enterjng oa a .university, course

MANY REFORMS DUE, “ But many reforms have still to be instituted in the examination system before it can. be freed from all the defects Unit attach to examinations, as to all other human institutions. They tend to become mechanical and to encourage cramming, oven when conducted with the keenest resolve to appeal not merely to knowledge, but to the reasoning powers and the imagination; and preparation for them tends to get into tbo hands of coaches who study the former examination papers and lectures of the year’s examiners, and dole out the same notes to scores, and even hundreds, of entrants, The only faculty that is exorcised a.nd developed is memory, the most mechanical of all the faculties, and the least likely to raise tho intelligence of mind of the examinee. That was why the mediaeval universities and colleges so long adhered lo fhe most ancient method, that of defence of a thesis; tho candidate sat on a tripod (whence the word tripos for a graded honours examination) and disputed the adverse criticisms of the thesis he had presented that were advanced by the examiner; in short, it was a replica ol the modern debating society, confined to two disputants, the superior of whom has to evaluate and report on the capacity of the other. This was the natural preparation for the most prominent function of learned and cloistered life in the Middle Ages, when theology and its annexe, philosophy, were tho only arenas that foreshadowed the world of science in modern times.

‘‘A relic of this test of capacity is the oral examination of our higher teaching institutions. It has its merits; tho examiner can shift his base of attack, and get into close contact with the student. He can look closely' into his character, and see how he hears himself in the struggle, whether he has courage‘and coolness, commonsense and 'acumen. He will discover his power of repartee, and any talent for humour or wit he has’ 5 and these he knows will assist in making his career, especially as a teacher. Best of all, he will be able to probe his knowledge of the subject concerned, and decide whether it is shallow or deep. But it has its drawbacks, The shy nature is often the deeper character; and the dominant or overbearing examiner often drives such an examinee into dumbness; at any rate die will make but a poor exhibition of his powers, and even knowledge, of tho subject. Not infreqently it is the shy hoy that, by practice and experience, grows up the successful speaker, or even orator, fit to take his place with the best on the political platform. The mere fact of having to face an examiner often scares diffident talent into its covert.

“ The combination of the two, the written and the oral, is* perhaps the best approach we have yet made towards remedying the defects of examinations. Get a report on the candidate from his teacher in the school he is just leaving, besides making him show his powers in a written examination. Unfortunately school differs from school, as teacher from teacher, in the training of the pupils; and there must be some means of inspecting and grading schools. It is merely shifting the examination test one stage further back. Nor will this combination suffice in competition, which demands a comparison of the merits of the various candidates. Qn the whole, the examination for scholarships and honours is best achieved in the written form, and, where science is concerned, a test in practical work added. For here the examiner can best compare the results; when in doubt he can revise his judgment by referring back to the papers he has examined. Nor will the efficient examiner fail to keep a tabulated record of bis valuations; as a rule he will go righ# through all the papers with but one question in his mind at a time, along with the ideal answer to it. Ho should record in each case the result,in percentage form. When he comes to the end of his labours he compares the percentages of the various candidates, and decides the order in which they should come. By this method he gets as near to an impersonal judgment as it is possible for one in his position. “ The two subjects in which Ije can free himself best from personal bias are mathematics* and languages. In the former he can test both knowledge and power of thought by problems. In the latter he should depend most of all on translation of passages at sight from, or into, the language concerned. But there is no true study of any language unless its literature is also known, and the civilisation that it expresses. And it is this that has made language the favourite cultural subject. It deals with the great problems that have made modern man what he is. It surveys the growth of the human spirit, and learns the problems that are still to bo solved and the way to their solution. It intrigues all the higher faculties, and especially the imagination. It is the training-school for poets, philosophers, and statesmen. Most of all is it so in the case of the classical languages; for they dpeu up to us the greatest creative period of human history, and the springs of our modern civilisation, the far-off heights whence flow the streams that have enriched our modern world with ambitions and far-reaching thoughts and designs; whereas the purely linguistic treatment of them, though making the art of examination easy, leads, the mind to no height'that overlooks the ocean whither we are hastening.