EXAMINATION PITFALLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20743, 10 December 1930, Page 14

EXAMINATION PITFALLS.

MATRICULATION PAPERS.

ERROR IN GEOMETRY TEST.

CONFUSION OF CANDIDATES. • CRITICISM BY HEADMASTERS. i "Such' examination papers are not a credit to the University of New Zealand . and reveal carelessness and a lack of . oversight on tho part of the university authorities," stated Mr. 11. J. D. Mahon, headmaster of tho Auckland Grammar School, yesterday, in reference to a mis- . take in tho geometry paper and the arrangement of tho arithmetic paper for the matriculation examination. "The troublo is occurring year after year and it means tho candidates cannot do justice to the papers." The mistake iji the geometry paper was - in tho first section of question six. The .problem was: "Construct a convex quadrilateral ABGD with the sides AB equals soven centimetres; BC equals six; •CD equals four; DA equals five; and diagonal AC equals eight." Tho side CD, however, was incorrectly printed as CA. This meant tho complexion of tho whole question was changed. Many of the candidates noticed the error and wero able to attempt the problem, but many others were confusod. Standard of Supervision. ■ Mr. Mahon said it was not fair to the. candidates for tho papers to contain errors. ' Tho majority of scholars were keyed up to a high pitch of excitement at an examination and they should not have extra worries thrust upon. them. If there ■were proper supervisipn of the papors the mistakes would not occur. He had not been in touch with Ins pupils who had Bat for the examination, but he had no doubt that many boys wero confused. Mr. Mahon s'aid the arithmetic paper had b ; een badly arranged in that a note at the top of the pago stated that equal values would not be given for each question. The usual manner, if different values were allowed for the questions, was r to indicate the respective markings, and he could not understand why the departure from this custom had been made. Mr. F. W. Gamble, headmaster of the Mount, Albert Grammar School, said ho had not seen the papers, but such mis- - takes were to be viewed very seriously. - ■ The average boy would be confused by tho error in the geometry paper. There was unfortunately an annual repetition of similar Or other mistakes. Method Deemed Unfair. The method of optional questions with " " different values was not fair. No set of

examination problems could bo of equal value and the onus of judging the values should not be shouldered by the candidate. With optional questions it meant ~ that' the boy took one that apparently ; suited and when half-way through the ! problem crossed it out and started another oiie. The result of the candidate's ■work would depend largely upon luck and not upon ability. . Mr. Gamble said he preferred a straightout paper in which the candidate had to do as many as possible of the sums in . the given time. That was the method em ployed at tho Mount Albert Grammar School. The examiner could then judge ' the standard of the paper by the average answers and could, allot his marks aocordirtgly. . A definite number of sums . ' ,was set and no option was permitted. : A mistake occurred in the algebra paper for the matriculation examination last * year which caused many candidates to f lose valuable time in vainly trying to *' solve it. Ambiguity in the wording of the questions has often occurred, while the equilibrium of the sorely-harassed candi- .. date has frequently been disturbed in 17. other ways. On some occasions the wrong ~~ papers have been distributed,- whilo in . other cases the number of papers re- .. . quired has been sholrt.