IV EXAMINATIONS 179 



statement derived from such special experience as 

 I have had, which includes examinations of four 

 distinct kinds, viz. : 



I. Examinations applied as part of the educational 

 system in schools and universities. 



II. Examinations qualifying for admission to a 

 profession, in which special knowledge is a necessary 

 equipment for the honest practice of the profession. 



III. Examinations for the purpose of selecting by 

 strict competition the one or more successful candi- 

 dates from among a number of applicants for a post in 

 the Home or Indian Civil Service. 



IV. Examinations for the purpose of selecting by 

 strict competition the award going to the examinee 

 who has scored most marks the recipient of a 

 scholarship or of a university fellowship. 



I. Firstly, with regard to the use of examinations 

 in schools and universities. I cannot admit that there 

 is any well-founded objection to the use of examina- 

 tions as a means of testing and determining the 

 progress of a student in an educational curriculum ; 

 on the contrary, it seems to me that pass examinations 

 at definite intervals are necessary both to enable 

 the teacher to ascertain whether the student has 

 gained sufficient knowledge in order to proceed to 

 a further grade or branch of instruction, and to enable 

 the teacher to correct his own methods if found 

 defective. To the student also such examinations are 

 a most valuable exercise, since by passing them he 

 gains confidence in his own progress, and in the 

 attempt to pass them, surveys and brings into practi- 



