PAPERS ON CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 275 



usually recommended method of summing up the scores 

 (i. e. rights minus wrongs) is about discredited. Not 

 only may guessing play too large a part in the student's 

 performance, but the subtraction of the number of 

 ''wrongs" from "rights" may leave him with a minus 

 score. Moreover, it can be proved that the subtraction 

 of all or any part of the wrong answers from the number 

 of right ones leaves the examinee with exactly the same 

 relative rank in the class as when the usual method is 

 followed, — counting up the correct answers only. But 

 if a third type of statement be added, the truth or falsity 

 of which it is impossible to determine from the data 

 given, and if, moreover, both false and uncertain state- 

 ments are so worded as to have a considerable air of 

 plausibility, the possibility of getting a high score by 

 guessing is probably no greater in this than in any other 

 test. Still another type of easily scored question is that 

 in which the one word which gives the correct meaning 

 to a sentence is omitted. Considerable skill is needed 

 here, if the missing word is not to be too obvious on the 

 one hand, or the meaning of the sentence, on the other 

 hand, too obscure even to those well acquainted with the 

 subject. It is obvious that the wording of questions must 

 be such that teachers cannot disagree on the scoring of 

 any question. 



The arrangement of the questions will depend upon 

 two points of view; whether we wish to test the student's 

 quickness to recall and use facts which should be thoroly 

 known; or to determine his grasp of the subject, — his 

 power. If the former, we will make the questions in any 

 set uniformly difficult, and impose a sharp time limit, so 

 that only the quickest will be able to finish ; if the second, 

 we will let the questions in each set increase sharply in 

 difficulty, so that only those who have the greatest men- 

 tal power will be able to answer all. Plenty of time 

 should be allowed on this test, and in order that those 

 who get through first shall not disturb the others, ad- 

 ditional questions should be provided, the scores of 

 which, however, should not be recorded with the others. 

 At Crane Technical High School and Junior College, we 

 have now in preparation physics tests in sets of twentv- 



