442 REPORT — 1903, 



he spent, say, three-quarters of his time really getting to know his one 

 branch thoroughly. 



S 8. Specific Examinations. — {a) The higher certificate (Oxford and 

 Cambridge Board) encourages undue specialisation in a less degree than 

 the University Scholarship examinations. For the latter a boy of average 

 ability must specialise in one subject — classics, mathematics, or science — 

 at the age of sixteen or seventeen at the latest ; and the higher certifi- 

 cate examination follo\ys the same lines, allowing a boy to compete in his 

 special subject if he has passed in the larger range of subjects ; (6) but 

 the worst ofienders seem to be the Science Scholarships examinations, 

 which expect candidates to have covered much the same ground as the 

 Final Honours examination for a degree. Thus a boy has to acquire 

 some knowledge — which at eighteen cannot be thorough — of a large 

 number of subjects, instead of ensuring sound knowledge of a limited 

 range. The student is thereby also inclined to be stale before the end of 

 his time at the university ; (c) Army examinations require an all-round . 

 education ; but for the average candidate too much is required for 

 thoroughness. 



S 13. The great defect of examinations affecting schools is the undue 

 multiplication of subjects and the consequent want of thoroughnesss all 

 round. The new regulations suggested by the Committee on Military 

 Education, as also those for London Matriculation, seem to me a great 

 improvement in this respect. 



Much will be gained when it is clearly recognised that school work 

 must be general ; that curricula of some three or four types are sufficient ; 

 that specialisation is the work of the universities or technical scholarships. 

 This does not mean that a boy of high ability should not specialise at all 

 at school ; he may rightly do so in broad subjects — classics, modern 

 languages, mathematics, or science — but schools should not be asked to 

 give specialised or technical eflucation of a narrow type. 



U 19. In school examinations examiners should not ask questions of 

 a highly special nature ; it is difficult to avoid doing so when, as some- 

 times happens, schools send in highly specialised syllabuses. 



U 7. The bases of knowledge are now being tampered with, whether 

 rightly or wrongly ; and so far as the newer humanistic studies are 

 concerned it would, in my opinion, be deplorable were students allowed 

 to specialise, say, in modern languages and literatures or history without 

 being subjected to some qualifying examination in Latin or Greek. There 

 should be some common examinations guaranteeing general education, 

 one examination with special reference to candidates preparing for 

 humanistic study and another for those preparing for scientific study. 

 Scientists will no doubt be divided on the question of making Latin 

 compulsory : they should be united, however, in demanding from all 

 candidates an adequate knowledge of English and some recognition of 

 good style in composition. 



U 21. Does not consider the influence of University Entrance 

 Scholarships to be good. When examiners have no personal knowledge 

 of the candidates or of their previous careers, the difficulty of comparing 

 their abilities and their power of benefiting by a university training is 

 very great, and the examination is too likely to become a mere test of 

 acquirements. Such a result must prejudicially affect the previous educa- 

 tion of the candidates, particularly in tending to narrow their training to 

 an early preparation for a definite and specialiaed examination. As a 



