EXAMINATIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20205, 16 January 1934, Page 8

EXAMINATIONS.

Criiical Analysis of System. WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE? f Special to the “Star.”) ELLINGTON, January 16. A survey of the examination svstem, prompted by the many criticisms which have been levelled at the existing scheme and the lack of a practical substitutes, was given given by Professor J. Macmillan Brown, Chancellor of the University of New Zealand, in his address to the University Senate this morning. After fifty-six years as a member of the Senate, he still did not understand how the proposed substitutes were to be completely free of examination, rather than a mere transference of the system from one point in the line of approach to another, or a change in methods. There had to be examination of candidates for any position or advance or scholarship if the comparison of the candidates was to be just.

( “ In actual fact,” said the Chancellor, “ there is no true teaching without examination; I might even go so far as holding that the essential method of teaching is examination, i.e., testing the students. The mere conveying of knowledge leaves the mind inert and undeveloped. It is the testing of knowledge conveyed that is the vital element in the process. For here the minds of teacher and taught come into contact, and the magnetism cf 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 a 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 makes the hardest of toil as pleasant a.s play. There are undoubtedly many teachers who are incapable of this; but teaching is a profession that naturally produces it, being one that is largely concerned with the intercourse of mind and mind. Varies From Subject to Subject. “ 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. 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 valuating answers, papers and candidates. But all sciences have realms and problems that are irreducible to formula; and the examiner has to view and valuate 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. He can make his examination practical and his valuation of the answers and the candidates can be definite and unquestionable. In the biological sciences and especially in botany, zoology and anatomy, we are still in the realm of the individual, and in examining can put questions that may demand definite and easily valuated answers. In linguistics and ethnology we are still not far from the individual and definable; languages and races can be compared and classified in their varieties and even have their affinities traceable to a common source. The task of the examiner is still far from insuperable. “ It is when we came to the subjects that have no definite formulation that we begin to see the difficulties of examinations. Philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, sociology cannot be 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.”

“ On 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 his valuations; as a rule he will go right through all the papers with but one question in his mind at a time, along with the ideal answer to it. He 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.”