ON THE INFtUENCE OF EXAMINATIONS, 447 



S 13. All the special preliminary examinations of professional bodies 

 should be abolished. Broadly, two types of leaving certificates are 

 wanted — (1) for boys of eighteen to nineteen, (2) for boys sixteen to 

 seventeen. 



U 2. Very advisable and quite possible. 



U 7. University entrance examinations should be planned on the 

 same lines at one and all the universities. 



IT 8. The proposal sounds well, but all will depend on who does it. 



U 11. I have long wished for some sort of unification; that there 

 should be in kindred examinations (a) a general agreement in regard to 

 the schedules of the several sections ; (b) a complete agreement in regard 

 to movable subjects, so that, for example, set books in French and German 

 should be the same for all kindred examinations for the year. 



U 28. Surely something might be done towards having a standard 

 leaving examination, properly graduated, in all schools. The number of 

 examinations, often with many difiei-ent subjects and with fixed books 

 set, are a great nuisance and interfere with teaching sadly. 



U 17. Strongly in favour of one single examination such as exists in 

 Germany or such as the Scotch leaving certificate, which would prove a 

 qualifying examination for entrance to all professions, including, if 

 possible, the Army and the Navy. 



4. The need of preventing examinations from becoming stereotyped 

 and behind the times, and thus discouraging the development of new or 

 improved methods. How far does an interchange of opinion between the 

 teaching profession and examining bodies already take place, and to what 

 extent might it be extended ? 



o 



It is generally felt that it is desirable that examiners should confer 

 with teachers in some organised way. 



S 16. No real danger of this. 



S 33. The need is great. The personal qualifications of those engaged 

 in examining are too little regarded. Little or no interchange of opinion 

 between teachers and examiners. 



S 11. Exchange of opinion would be valuable if schools were examined 

 by those who are or have been teaching in schools, not by young Graduates 

 who have never taught. 



S 10. The I.A.H.M. has had several conferences with examining 

 bodies with good results. 



S 19. Certainly the two parties should be more in touch. There is 

 no organised or formal inter-communication. 



S 9. There is an improvement in these matters quite recently. But 

 schools suffer from the fact that those who organise papers, and set 

 them and examine them, are too often totally ignorant of the creature 

 examined— the average schoolboy— and proceed on lines dictated by their 

 experience of young men or clever boys. The Oxford Local Delegates 

 committed a flagrant instance of this last year, but durino- the last six 

 months schoolmasters have actually been consulted — for the first time 

 during ten years. Hitherto their method had been to listen to criticism 

 after, but not to consult before. 



S 2. Interchange of opinion very valuable. Authorities are probably 

 afraid to do anything which would tend to diminish the popularity of 

 their examination or to raise the standard unduly ; and the standard is 

 in some respects too low. 



