TOO DIFFICULT?

Southland Times, Issue 22765, 16 December 1935, Page 7

TOO DIFFICULT?

MATRICULATION TEST ENGLISH EXAMINER’S REPLY TEST “LUDICROUSLY INADEQUATE” (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, December 15. The English paper in the Matriculation examination which among other papers was criticized by Dr. G. H. Uttley, Rector of the Southland Boys’ High School, was defended by the examiner, Professor F. Sinclaire, in an interview to-day. Referring, to the English paper Dr. Uttley said that some of the questions set in the paper would have caused graduates considerable dfficulty. The actual framing of one question was faulty and in itself demanded too much of a secondary school pupil. “Some of the questions implied two or more,” said Professor Sinclaire, “and I should like Dr. Uttley to name specifically two or more questions which would cause difficulty to graduates, and to say what university he has in mind when he makes that statement which is rather vague and general. If any university has such graduates the sooner it is abolished the better. I should like to know what question Dr. Uttley considered to be faulty in its framing. It does not appear from the candidates’ answers that there has been any misunderstanding in the paper.” Professor Sinclaire said that every paper was open to criticism, which he was prepared to accept. An examiner was bound by prescriptions, but they seemed to allow him a fair amount of discretion. As an entrance examination for the university the Matriculation examination was ludicrously inadequate. A candidate coming to take English at the university should have a much wider knowledge of literature and command of the English language than that tested. Only those who found it easy would have attained a sufficiently high standard to enter the university. Apart from the essay, which was quite satisfactorily done on the whole, the answers to the questions were very disappointing.