The MANAWATU DAILY Times WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1936. Examinations Examined

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 47, 26 February 1936, Page 4

The MANAWATU DAILY Times WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1936. Examinations Examined

Examinations have recently been examined in Britain by a committee of eminent persons, including Bir Michael Sadler, well-known euucationist. Un the whole, they have been given very low marks.

Many types'of written and oral tests have been put under the critical microscope, from the ordinary secondary school graduation school certificate to the entrance examination for the British Civil Service, which is one of the stillest in the world, it is typical of the results obtained that in the last instance, the candidate whom one set of examiners chose for first place was put as low as thirteenth by another set; while the premier choice of the latter was ranked by the iirst sec. Examiners, in fact, seem to be subject to the most remarkable vagaries of judgment, and to be influenced by all kinds of irrelevant considerations and even prejudices.

in spite of this, the committee does not advise any drastic changes in the examination system. Blow progressive moves after well-tried experiments afford the best opportunity for permanent improvement. The general public may be reconciled to this rather conservative attitude by the reflection that in practical affairs examinations seem to work fairly well. Eminent people in public life, like Bir John Bimon, or Mr Anthony Eden, or Mr Stanley Baldwin, all distinguished themselves in normal examinations; while the British Home Civil Service (Administrative Crade), which has its personnel selected exclusively by examination, is admired for efficiency throughout the world. Race Deterioration

A warning that within two generations there will be a disastrous lowering of the national average of intelligence, was given by Dr. R B. Calteil, director of the Bcliool Psychological Clinic at Leicester, England, in addressing the Conference of Educational Associations. Schools, he said, were being forced to modify their standards by the proportion of border-line feeble-minded children.

Among dull children all kinds of delinquency were more prevalent. Mental capacity had been proved by repeated research to be an inborn characteristic of the individual virtually unaffected by mental training or by wide variation in nutrition or by general environment. The only way in which the average national intelligence could be increased, therefore, was by providing for a higher birth-rate of the more intelligent section of the community and by diminishing the birth-rate of the dull and border-line feeble-minded.

Investigations at present showed that the birth-rate was much higher among the dull who, incidentally, had a lower standard of living, and were less able to support and educate their children. Those who complacently said that the deterioration of intelligence would not happen should remember that the process was too slow to be noticed by an individual in his life experience.

History presented repeated examples of civilisations that had “gone thin on top” and disintegrated, giving place to relative barbarism. “If we had statesmen worthy of the name they would be thinking about the next generation, but posterity has no votes and the Church is not interested in biological matters.”

A £20,000 insurance policy against loss of bis Britisb accent is being

sought' by Mr, Lester Tremayne, a radio dramatist, in Chicago. Mr, Tremayne, a native of London, wants a policy guaranteeing him against loss of his voice, a change in its tone, and distortion of his native accents by the Sdalecte vf the Americatt-MidiW.ea&

An American who has collected 10,300 portraits of celebrities, the “world’s largest family album,” is visiting England to present some of them to museums.

With Herr Hitler’s approval, a new Soldiers’ League has been formed in Germany to which all officers and men who have left the army since the be“ilining of 1921 may. belong,