take out of the files a statement indicating that a particular youth 
seemed extremely discouraged, almost to the point of hopelessness, and 
have that statement in front of him a year later when he interviews a 
self-assured ambitious young man, just having received an honorable 
discharge, it is much easier to record a positive evaluation than as 
if the selecting agent had to depend upon memory to make such compar¬ 
isons. Similarly, if the selecting agent has a record in front of him 
which indicates that at the time of selection Steve Brown was intensely 
interested in radio and that three months later Steve Brown deserted 
from camp, this original fact may have an important bearing upon Steve 
Brown’s desertion. Perhaps the selecting agent will discover that he 
should not have permitted Steve Brown to go to camp, in view of the im¬ 
possibility of promising him any good opportunity for studying radio. 
Perhaps Steve Brown should have gotten some NXA "student-aid” and con¬ 
tinued his schooling at the Technical High School. These are some of 
the evaluative factors which can be explored by the selecting agent - 
especially if good records of interviews are kept. 
Statistical Measurement 
A second kind of evaluation is of a more general character. 
Records of rates of honorable discharge, classification of those dis¬ 
charges according to various factors, such as camp location, age of 
enrollees, previous schooling of enrollees - these and others are 
methods of attempting to arrive at more and more clues which will 
help the selecting agent to improve the selection process. 
Conclusion 
As is indicated at the outset of this book, every selecting 
agent must develop his own selection process. There is no single method 
of determining which youths will contribute most to and profit most from 
the program of work and training which the Corps offers. There is clear 
evidence to indicate, however, that when selecting agents systematically 
attempt to improve their methods, there is noticeable and measurable im¬ 
provement in the success of the enrollees they select for the Corps. 
Each selecting agent can add something to the professional 
body of knowledge about selection and in so doing can benefit both the 
Civilian Conservation Corps as an organization and most of all the youths 
who, through their enrollment in the Corps, mature into responsible young 
men. 
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