THE EXAM SYSTEM

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 13 August 1932, Page 8

THE EXAM SYSTEM

POST-PRIMARY SCHOOLS NO ACCREDITING SENIOR FREE rLAOJBB, Amended regulations under tho Education Act affecting candidates desiring to qualify by examination for a senior free place in a. secondary school, district high school, or technical school, are published in the “Gazette” just- issued. The alterations are in accordance with the intimation by tho Minister of Education last March that bo thought it desirable to test the operation of the accrediting system as was done last year in tho award of proficiency certificates, and to require all candidates for senior free places to sit this year at the examination for intermediate certificates. “This does not mean,” the Minister remarked at the time, “that the accrediting system is to be entirely abandoned; it will be tested for the sake both of the pupils themselves and of the teachers, whose standards of judgment may gradually vary from year to year, becoming either too high or too low.”

A GENERAL EXAMINATION Under the new regulations a general examination will be conducted at the end of this year at post-primary schools for tho senior free place. In the past there has been no complete uniformity in accrediting, and pupils who have not been recommended have taken the examination. It nas been found that about 15 jjer cent, of those not accredited havo passed the examination. On account of the wide variety of courses and tho difficulty in having general examinations, the method in technical schools has been to take the result of the internal tests of the schools together with the recommendations of the principals. This is, to all intents and purposes, a form of accrediting. Tho new examination will provide a more or less uniform test for all schools. WIDE CHOICE OF SUBJECTS j In view of the wide variety of courses, the number of subjects has been enlarged,- and arrangements have been made whereby subjects not on the list can be taken by pupils in special, ised classes such as those in some technical schools for hoys entering tho printing or engineering trade or taking up an art career. The examination papers will be set by general examiners who will be mostly drawn from the staff of departmental inspectors, but: the actual examinations will be super-j vised for the most part in the schools by the teachers Teachers will mark the papers and forward them to the Department, where they will be checked by inspectors. It is hoped that tho; results will be available by early in January, the examinations being held in November or December, whichever is more suitable for the schools concerned. Non-State schools will send their candidates in the ordinary way to i the examination centres.

SOME EXAMS. ABOLISHED Under the new arrangement tho Public Service entrance examination is done away with. This examination has not been used to any great extent by the Public Service Commissioner in recent years, owing to the number of candidates who have qualified by the university entrance examination. The (Senior national scholarship examination has also been abolished in accordance, with a recent decision, and the new intermediate examination will serve as a test for the senior free place only where in the past the two examinations mentioned were conducted contemporaneously. Certain alterations have been made in the compulsory subjects and the values in marking attached to them, in order to make conditions as equal as possible for all candidates. In future there will be no subject in which a candidate must pass, although there are subjects which must be taken, ancl the result in judging a pass will depend upon the average number of marks gained. English maximum marks have been reduced from 500 to 400. There is now an alternative to handwriting, lettering being admissible in order to suit' those entering printing, engineering, and other trades, while practical mathematics is now an alternative to arithmetic. In order to pass the examination a candidate must gain not ,less than 40 per cent, of the total assignable marks under the new regulations.