4o6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Any one of these definitions of the meaning of the five groups 

 would come nearer to telling the truth, be more serviceable for admin- 

 istrative purposes, and convert the vast amount of labor now used in 

 making out grades into more valuable data for the scientific study of 

 education than the present personal distribution of college credits. A 

 defensible definition of grades should be adopted by each faculty and 

 its members should be required to adhere closely to it, in the long run, 

 at least in all courses primarily for undergraduates, until we can 

 supplant the method of grading by relative position by scales made 

 up of equal units. 



After the definition of grades is adopted, a table should be sent to 

 each instructor, as often as grades are required at the college office, 

 showing the distribution of grades in each course in the college and 

 emphasizing those that depart far in either direction from the adopted 

 mean. Every instructor should be requested to justify his eccentric- 

 ities, at least in a series of years. If such publicity does not accom- 

 plish sufiicient uniformity for administrative purposes, insurgent and 

 careless instructors should be reminded by the appropriate authorities 

 that it is for the interest of all for each to abide by the decision of the 

 faculty. 



To rate instructors solely with respect to the proportion of high 

 grades awarded by them, or solely with respect to the quality of students 

 attracted to their courses, is evidently inadequate. An instructor may 

 give more high grades than his associates, because he has more stu- 

 dents who deserve distinction. But if this is the case, the administra- 

 tors of the college curriculum can readily devise a means of measure- 

 ment which will show at a glance the justification for any conspic- 

 uous deviation from the normal distribution of grades. All the in- 

 structors of any institution may be located on a scale which shall take 

 account not only of the grades awarded, but as well of the quality of 

 the students electing each course. 



For example, as part of an investigation conducted at Williams Col- 

 lege by a committee in accordance with a resolution of the faculty. Dean 

 Ferry, at the request of the president, devised a plan for measuring the 

 relative quality of the classes in the elective courses of junior and senior 

 years and of the grades given in each. Taking the work of the first two 

 years, where the courses are nearly all prescribed, as a basis for the de- 

 termination of the scholarship of the students, statistics were carefully 

 worked out for the elective courses of three successive classes. The re- 

 sults of his extensive study are summarized in Table V. Column I. gives 

 each instructor his position with respect to the quality of studjjnts in his 

 courses. The larger the proportion of men attracted to his courses from 

 the upper half of the student body in general scholarship, the larger the 

 plus rating of the instructor. For purposes of comparison, Column II. 

 gives each instructor his position with respect to the proportion of high 



