SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— J. 409 



The following observations may be formulated : 



(1) There is a great need of a sufficient number of psychological testers 

 adequately trained in the technique of examining. Concrete examples of 

 pitfalls to be avoided are cited. 



(2) Standardised tests of intelligence, of English, and of arithmetic, 

 should be universally employed as means of selection for scholarships to 

 secondary schools. At present, only a small percentage of local educational 

 authorities employ all these means. Moreover, methods of selection not 

 vouched for by experts should never be employed. 



(3) There is the need of large-scale researches (such as those initiated in 

 Leeds a year ago) in order to compare the prognostic values of tests of 

 intelligence, tests of special abilities, tests of attainment, teachers' estimates, 

 school records, etc. 



Prof. H. R. Hamley. 



Mr. W. A. F. Hepburn. 



The network of examinations which binds together and gives design to 

 modern educational activity is the end-product of a traditional device 

 which, originating in a felt need and to serve a specific purpose, has been 

 adapted and extended to meet new needs and serve other purposes. Since 

 the device as a measuring instrument is now known to be fallible and because 

 the circumstances in which it is used grow in complexity yearly, there is a 

 call for revaluation and reform. Among other considerations regard should 

 be had to the following : the statistician's disclosure of the unreliability 

 and invalidity of the traditional written examination ; the need, consequent 

 upon a more complete psychological analysis of the situation, of new ways 

 of ascertaining the facts of achievement and the indications of promise ; 

 the extent to which the objective of the examination should prescribe the 

 nature of the test ; the effect of the examination system upon the aims of 

 teaching and the content of instruction ; the need to subordinate the ex- 

 aminer to the ends to be served by the educational process ; the search 

 for quality in human beings and the importance of guiding the examinee 

 rather than accepting or rejecting him ; the significance of the teacher's 

 opinion ; the dangers of authoritarianism and the urgent need of research. 



Prof. J. Drever. 



It is of the first importance that we distinguish the different types of 

 examination, since it is obvious that different principles will apply in the 

 different cases, according as examinations are intended to be progress 

 indicators, qualifying examinations, or competitive examinations. Unless 

 the examiner has this distinction clearly in mind the examination may 

 fail to secure the purpose it is meant to secure. 



The evil may not stop there. The whole education of the pupil or 

 student may be warped by a distortion of his values arising out of the 

 development of a wrong attitude towards examinations. Educating for 

 examinations and not for life is a defect unhappily far from unknown 

 in our national education, both school and university. This will be an 

 inevitable outcome of an excessive emphasis upon examinations, which in 

 turn will tend to be an indirect result of applying the principles, say, of 

 competitive to qualifying or progress examinations. 



