PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. 717 



These are under local control, and conducted in harmony with local 

 conditions. The weakness of external examination is that the examiner 

 cannot be certain that a correct answer to a question guarantees a real 

 knowledge on the part of the candidate. He is not certain whether the 

 written words are opac^ue or transparent to the candidate. Take the 

 case of a Euclid examination. I have frequently seen examiners' reports, 

 and I have had personal experience myself to the effect that candidates 

 do the set bookwork satisfactorily, but in the majority of cases fail 

 lamentably with problems to be solved. The examiner has no certainty 

 that the candidate really knows what he correctly reproduces ; in fact, 

 the failure to apply his assumed knowledge is frima facie evidence that 

 he does not understand. It is the same with chemistry. A certain 

 amount of work is got up, correctly reproduced at the examination ; 

 but is there any guarantee that the student has a real knowledge of what 

 he correctly describes ? The viva-voce examination would be far 

 preferable to the written paper. An examiner could cross-examine 

 a candidate, then soon form a fairly reliable opinion as to his 

 capability. He could find out what a candidate knows rather than 

 what he does not know. Written papers by external examiners tend 

 to artificiality, and to a magnification of detail of the subject. With a 

 limited scope of work questions on important matter cannot be repeated 

 frequently, and the examiner after a time is generally in the unenviable 

 position of groping into dark corners of the subject for some novelty. 

 Rightly, however, a knowledge of the important principles should be 

 insisted on every time. Often it seems that the examiner assumes the 

 candidate's knowledge of all that is essential, and tests him only on the 

 unimportant matters of detail. This reacts on the teaching, and the 

 pupil acquires a distorted view of his subject ; the details are magnified 

 and the general principles shrunken. 



It would be a great improvement to allow candidates at written 

 examination the use of books — say, one textbook and his own note- 

 book. This would do away with mere pretence of knowledge. It 

 would tend to much more effective training by obviating the great 

 expenditure of energy absorbed in memorising so much description. 

 A boy's school training should prepare him in every way for his work 

 in the world. When he has passed from school into the world he is 

 free to refer to books for any information he requires. The important 

 thing to him is whether he is able to make use of that information. 

 Would it not be better to realise this during his education ? I have 

 more than once allowed candidates the use of a notebook in a mathe- 

 matical examination. In such a case the questions all ask for some- 

 thing to be done, and the candidate can fall back on his notes for, say, 

 some formula which he requires. The strain on a boy during his 

 training would be immeasurably relieved were the huge demand made 

 on his memory for examination purposes cancelled. Ample time would 

 then be available for developing his power to think, which, after all, 

 is the great object to attain. 



This provision, together with the co-operation of the teacher, 

 would enable examinations now of doubtful utility to perform a 



