448 REPORT— 1903. 



Possibly a review of existing systems of examination, say once in five 

 years, by a conference of representatives of examining bodies and teachers 

 would prevent the evils suggested and encourage the development of 

 improved methods. 



S 4. One must be dependent on the character of the examiner. He 

 should certainly be adequately criticised, and both the teacher and the 

 examiner might profit much by an interchange of views. 



S 12. Have found the secretary of the Cambridge Local Syndicate 

 ever ready to listen, to discuss, and even adopt suggestions. 



S 14. I think confei'ences between teachers and examiners would be 

 most useful. We want frequent conference. 



S 8. The Army examination in chemistry has been stereotyped for 

 twenty years. The questions in practical work are confined to analysis of 

 simple salts. This year there is a sign of change, due, perhaps, to repre- 

 sentations made by the Conference of Public School Science Masters. 



Interchange of opinion is much to be desired. 



S 15. Teachers are, I think, rather shy of making complaints or 

 suggestions lest their motives should be misconstrued. Some examining 

 bodies are haughty. 



U 19. An interchange of opinion is always desirable. Every attempt 

 is made by some examining Ijodies to keep the examinations up to date. 



U 2. Distinctly necessary ; the arrangements for interchange of 

 opinion ought to be extended. 



U 7. There should be annual conferences between the teaching 

 profession and examining bodies, and the papers set at the various 

 examinations should be subjected to frank criticism. 



U 8. Sees the need all too cleai'ly. It might often be very useful to 

 hear what the real teachers have to say. 



U 12. Examinations tend to become stereotyped, because examining 

 bodies frequently find tiiemselves unable to pay on a sufiiciently large 

 scale to attract really competent examiners. 



U 18. It is a truism to say that examinations should not be ' stereo- 

 typed ' or ' behind the times.' The remedy is to employ competent 

 examiners, directed by a competent board, open to all representations 

 from practical teachers. 



The difficulty of organising inter-communication between boards and 

 the teaching profession is, I imagine, that the latter is not organised. 

 There is no properly qualified spokesman of the teaching profession ; and 

 the difficulty of aiming at definite results of big value has been rather 

 strongly exemplified by the history of the Head Masters' Conference. 



U 17. I think schedules and syllabuses of examinations might be 

 changed more frequently than they are with advantage. In most 

 University Scientific examinations the examiner and the teaching staff are 

 freely in communication with each other, and I should like to see this 

 exchange of opinion extended to school examinations, and especially to 

 entrance scholarship examinations. 



U 1. More care should be taken in the selection of public examiners, 

 and bad examiners should not be reappointed. This is a truism, but it is 

 constantly ignored in practice. 



U 14. It would be a great gain if examiners could have more criticism 

 of their papers at the hands of schoolmasters. In the great majority of 

 cases they have nothing to guide them as to the suitability of their papers 

 but the way in which they have been answered. This will show if a paper 



