4 o8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



proportionate number of superior students. Classical students in the 

 high school and university, and students in the advanced courses in 

 mathematics, are often examples of such selected groups of students. 

 The above principle would not be equitable in these cases." In answer 

 to this argument, it should be noted, first, that it is, in large part, the 

 very grading to which objection is raised that has caused the resort of 

 poor students to certain courses; and, second, if the better men do 

 resort in larger proportions to certain courses, that fact can be readily 

 shown by statistics. It is one of the many educational questions on 

 which speculation and opinion are quite out of place. 



Without a scientific administration of college credits, the other 

 safeguards of the elective system are insufficient. There will always be 

 students who are more interested in getting through their courses than 

 in getting profit from them. The poorer students seek the courses 

 which give the larger proportions of high grades. Earnest but needy 

 students, too, are under great temptation to elect courses with a view 

 to winning money scholarships, as long as scholarships are awarded on 

 the false assumption than an A is equal to an A. To all students who 

 are prompted by unworthy motives in the election of studies, Figs. 1 to 

 11 are charts pointing the easiest courses to a degree. And students 

 in all colleges are guided by such charts, more or less accurately 

 plotted. It is futile for the authorities to try to suppress such informa- 

 tion and protect their instructors from the notoriety they deserve. Nor 

 is the elective system to blame for the presence of snap courses and the 

 relative ease with which high grades are secured from certain instruct- 

 ors. Nor is the credit-for-quality plan to be condemned because it 

 accentuates the evils of our marking devices. The best way to safe- 

 guard the elective system and the credit-for-quality plan against the 

 evils here set forth is to enforce a scientific distribution of college 

 credits. 



