used alone. The school record not 

 only adds the element of industrious- 

 ness but rank-in-class and test score 

 are what might be described as auto- 

 matically compensatory indices. Apti- 

 tude test scores are not entirely inde- 

 pendent of the home and school 

 background. Although aptitude more 

 than achievement is measured, no 

 aptitude tests are "pure " and uninflu- 

 enced by previous training. Conse- 

 quently individuals attending "good" 

 schools are likely to be somewhat 

 overrated by their test scores. For 

 such students, their rank-in-class 

 score is likely to be an underesti- 

 mate of their achievement. Boys and 

 girls from inferior schools on the 

 other hand are likely to be under- 

 rated by their test scores and over- 

 rated by their rank-in-class. The two 

 indices combined, therefore, provide 

 a fairer basis for screening than 

 either alone. 



The most reliable single measure 

 of school success is rank-in-class. 

 Marking systems and standards diff^er 

 from school to school but the signifi- 

 cance of relative standing in class 

 remains fairly constant. Pragmati- 

 cally it has been found to be the 

 best index of school achievement. 



For all candidates who are above 

 the State critical score on the screen- 

 ing index, complete transcripts of high 

 school records should be obtained 

 along with other information to be 

 used by the State committees in 

 making the final selections. 



3. Candidate's A'pflication, Including 

 an Inventory of Activities and 

 Interests 



The application blank which can- 

 didates who pass the screening test 

 will be required to fill out will con- 

 tain (a) the questions concerning 

 age, family, schools attended, etc., 



such as are usually asked on a col- 

 lege admission blank; (1?) an ex- 

 tensive inventory of activities and 

 interests specifically prepared for this 

 purpose; (c) a statement of the extra- 

 curricular scientific activities of the 

 student during the preceding 2 

 years. 



Inventories of activities and inter- 

 ests, while not yet in as high a stage 

 of development as intelligence tests, 

 are valuable in indicating personal 

 and intellectual qualities not meas- 

 ured by tests. Indications of such 

 qualities as the individual's ability to 

 get along with others, his scientific 

 interests and motivation, his emo- 

 tional stability may be obtained from 

 the inventory. These indications 

 should be checked against the rat- 

 ings of the principal and teachers on 

 those same qualities. 



An advisory committee composed 

 of men who have specialized in this 

 field of measurement should be ap- 

 pointed to draw up the specifications 

 for the inventory of activities and in- 

 terests to be developed by the staff 

 of the national office. 



4. Recommendation of Principal and 

 Teachers Regarding Candi- 

 date's Ability and Personal 

 Qualities 



Although the principal and teach- 

 ers are not entirely impartial persons 

 from whom to receive recommenda- 

 tions, they have a better comparative 

 basis for making judgments and are 

 more 'likely to make fair and frank 

 estimates than others whose opinion 

 of the candidates might be requested. 



The recommendation blank should 

 be in two parts. The first part would 

 contain a large number of multiple 

 choice questions and rating scales, 

 the answer to some of which would 

 relate to specific observations on 



183 



