EDUCATION 



1937 



EDUCATION 



Dr. Frank N. Freeman of the University of 

 Chicago, after an exhaustive analysis of public 

 school writing, proposed the* following standard 

 of quality and speed, as measured by the 

 Ayres scale: 



Freeman's Standard 



This table means that the average child in 

 the second grade should write a quality 44 on 

 the Ayres scale at the rate of 36 letters per 

 minute; a quality 47 at a speed of 48 letters 

 per minute, in the third grade; a quality 50 at 

 a speed of 56, in the fourth grade, and 'so on. 



Dr. Starch of the University of Wisconsin 

 proposed the following standard, based on over 

 four thousand samples: 



Starch's Standard 



This table means that the average child in 

 the second grade ought to write a quality of 

 27 at a speed of 31 letters per minute. The 

 average child in the third grade ought to write 

 a quality of 33 at a speed of 38 letters per 

 minute. 



Ashbaugh and Newcomb made an analysis of 

 28,000 papers from 110 cities, towns and rural 

 schools in Iowa and found the following stand- 

 ard: 



Iowa Standard 



This table means that in Iowa the average 

 second-grade child wrote quality 35.7 at a speed 

 of 39.2; the average third grade child wrote 

 quality 39.8 at a speed of 49.6, and so on. 



By utilizing such data it is possible for a 

 teacher to measure the progress of her own 

 instruction and compare it with instruction 

 elsewhere. 



Measurement of Composition and Arithmetic. 

 In a similar way composition scales have been 

 worked out by Dr. Milo B. Hilligas of Colum- 

 bia University and by Dr. Frank Ballou of 

 Harvard University. Many teachers have 

 found the use of these helpful. 



The result of instruction in arithmetic has 

 been subjected to measurement for many years. 

 Among the names most prominent in connec- 

 122 



tion with the measurement of arithmetical re- 

 sults are Rice, Stone and Courtis. In 1902 Mr. 

 Rice gave the same test under similar circum- 

 stances to more than 6,000 children in seven 

 cities. He found a very wide range in the 

 ability of children to respond to the same test. 

 A few years later Dr. Stone gave an examina- 

 tion to pupils in the 6A grade in arithmetic in 

 twenty-six cities; he also found a wide varia- 

 tion in arithmetical ability. 



However, the most thoroughgoing attempt at 

 measuring arithmetical ability has been made 

 by Mr. S. A. Courtis. Mr. Courtis developed a 

 series of tests so arranged as to stimulate each 

 child to do his utmost in a given time. 



The teacher who gives these tests fixes the 

 time limit in accordance with the directions of 

 the test; for example, eight minutes is the 

 limit for addition. At the time of the test each 

 child is supplied with a booklet on which are 

 blank spaces, calling for his name, age, grade, 

 etc. On the body of the page is printed a series 

 of problems, like the examples below: 



Add: 



982 

 347 

 23G 

 328 

 456 

 723 

 897 

 416 

 648 



356 

 235 

 872 

 543 

 271 

 890 

 397 

 428 

 756 



The page is filled with this type of problems 

 and at a given signal each child begins to 

 add. At the close of eight minutes, time is 

 called,- the material is then graded on the basis 

 of the number of problems attempted, and on 

 the number of problems successfully solved. 

 Similar tests are provided in subtraction, mul- 

 tiplication and division, Hundreds of thou- 

 sands of these tests have been given to chil- 

 dren in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and 

 eighth grades, in large cities and in small cities. 

 Indeed, it is now possible for a teacher in any 



Standard Scorr* 



Standard accuracy = 100 per cent. 



grade from the fourth to the eighth to deter- 

 mine whether or not her children are able to 

 add, multiply and divide as well as are children 

 in the same grade elsewhere. 



