44G REPORT— 1903. 



S 11. One common preliminary examination for all professions 

 required. A leaving examination would be a great boon. 



S 10. The need for this is very great. 



S 19. A common gateway would be a great boon. Much derange- 

 ment of school work would be obviated if the examination could be taken 

 at the schools at the end of the school term. 



S 9. The variety of qualifying examinations is a crying evil. 



S 22. I fully recognise this need. 



S 18. Approves of a leaving examination at sixteen in general sub- 

 jects. A boy should not be disqualified for failure in one subject. 



S 7. Unification not so necessary as elasticity. The late isolated 

 regrulations for the London ]\Iatriculation were an intolerable strain on a 

 Vlth form when the majority were working for the Joint Board exami- 

 nation. 



S 17. The need is paramount, especially for the smaller schools. 



S 2. Great need of unifying. The unification should be as compre- 

 hensive as possible. 



S 4. Much might be done advantageously to diminish the number of 

 examinations if all universities recognised one another. 



S 14. All entrance, professional, and university examinations should 

 be unified, the standard settled, the bases settled, no fixed books, and every 

 examination paper should contain a large number of questions with a 

 choice to be restricted to a certain proposition. On such unified papers 

 the certificates might be granted. 



The harm done by so many varying examinations is very great. There 

 is great waste of time and power caused by a variety of set subjects and 

 authors in languages. We want two certificates based on as wide a 

 freedom of teaching as possible — one for boys sixteen to seventeen, one for 

 boys eighteen to nineteen. 



S 8. This is all-important. A resolution to this effect was carried at 

 a recent Conference of Secondaiy Schools in Kent, and it was sent to the 

 Board of Education and members of Parliament. 



8 30. My remedy for the examination evil depends upon the following 

 principle, that examination is to accompany and to be suboi'dinate to 

 inspection. For instance, the examiner is also an inspector who visits the 

 school, studies the methods of work, notebooks, and exercises, and sets 

 papers in consultation Avith the teaching staff : these are looked over as 

 may be directed by the examiner, his assistants, and the staff. Certificates 

 ai'e given according to the standard attained. 



Groups of schools in the same locality might be examined together, 

 conferences of teachers being held, under the inspector, for the setting of 

 papers. 



Every boy under sixteen must be examined down to the most hopeless 

 of duffers. Set books would of course be absolutely abolished. 



Professional bodies would state what standard they would require for 

 entrance into any profession, and would undertake to hold no private 

 examinations. 



No boys under a certain age would be allowed to be presented for 

 examination, and it would be easy to make arrangements to prevent the 

 repeated entering of the same boys. 



This examination would entirely replace all the examinations in general 

 subjects ; examinations of a higher standard would be in special subjects, 

 and would be limited to older boys. 



