Educational Measurements - Forgotten Books

EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

DAN IEL S TARCH, PI-I .D .

UNIV ERSITY OF WISCONSINAUTHOR OF

“EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY ”

New 320th

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY1 9 1 6

COPYR IGHT , 1 9 1 6 ,

BY THE MACM ILLAN COMPANY.

Set upfa nd elec trotyped . Publ ished July, 1 9 1 6. Reprinted

December , 1 9 1 6.

N ortnoon 15 1 65 5

J . S. Onsh ing CO .

— Berwick Smith Co .

Norwood , M a ss . , U.S .A.

ACKNOWLEDGMEN T

THE a uthor wishes to express h is a pprecia tion ofthe permissionto reproduce the sca les a nd tests developed byva r ious investigators .

Pa rticula r a cknowledgments a re due to Professor E . L . Thorndike,Dr . L . P . Ayres, Professor S . A . Courtis, Professor F . J . Kel ley,

Dr . B.

~

R . Buckingham ,Dr . F . W . B a l lou

,Professor M . B. Hil lega s,

a nd Dr . H . O . Rugg. A cknowledgments a re a lso due to the

writer ’s col lea gues, Cha n cel lor E . C . E l liott, with whose col la boration the investiga tion ofma rks wa s ca rr ied out, a nd to ProfessorV . A . C . Henmon ,

who h a s m a de suggestions in the course ofthe

development'

ofthe w riter ’s tests.

CON TEN TS

INTRODUCTIONMARKS AS MEASURES OF SCHOOL WORKA SAMPLE SURVEY OF THE MARK ING SYSTEM IN A H IGH SCHOOLTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READ INGTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN WR IT INGTHE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN SPELLINGTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABIL ITY IN GRAMMARTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN AR ITHMETICTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN COMPOSITIONTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABIL ITY IN DRAWINGTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN LATINTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN GERMANTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN FRENCHTHE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN PHYSICSTHE USE OF STANDARD TESTS IN SCHOOL EXPER IMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY


CHAPTER I

IN TRODUC T ION

IT is undoubtedly prem a ture to write a book on educa tiona lmeasur ements

,because most ofthe mea surements a re in the experi

men t a l sta ge . There a re,however

,severa l rea sons which m ore tha n

ofiset this Situa t ion . In the first pl a ce, the need ofdefinite,objec

t ive m ea sur es ofeduca tiona l products is so grea t a nd the useful ness

ofthe present a va il a ble st a nda rd tests ha s been so gener a lly demon

stra ted tha t a mea ns ofm a king the tests a nd sca les more Widelya ccessible is ent irely justifia ble . Second ,

the very fa ct tha t m a nyofthe tests a re in the exper im enta l sta ge is a rea son for m a king themmore genera ll y a va il a ble

,so tha t they m a y be rect ified , improved

a nd extended through broa der coopera t ion ofeduca tors over the

entire coun try . Third,it is hoped tha t m ore genera l a pplica t ion

ofeduca t ion a l mea surements wi ll crea te a deeper scientific interestin educa t iona l m a tters .

The current m ovement for m ea sur ing school products is one of

the three or four m ost import a nt fields ofinvest iga tion in the scien

tific study ofeduca tion a l problems . Very m a teria l progress ha sbeen m a de dur ing the la st ha lfa dozen yea rs in the endea vor todevise a ccura te methods for mea sur ing the a ctua l a chievem ents of

pupils in school studies,so tha t we now ha ve fa irly a ccura te tests

a nd sca lesfor mea suring a tt a inment in most ofthe elemen ta ry schoolsstudies a nd in severa l high school sub jects .

It is unnecessa ry to point out the scientific a nd pra ctica l va lue of

such investiga tions for a l l who a re connected with the schoolsa dm inistra tors

,supervisors, tea chers , pupils a nd studen ts of edu

ca tion al problems . These tests wil l furnish tools for eva lua tingqua n tita tively the resul ts ofmethods a nd fa ctors in tea ching a nd

B I

2 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

lea rn ing , a nd for exam ining va rious a spects ofefficiency ofinstruotion a nd a dm in istra tion ofschool system s .

It is unnecessa ry to m a ke a défense ofeduca tiona l mea surements

in the presence ofintel ligent persons who ha ve a genuine scient ificinterest in the educa t ion ofma nkind . There a re those who say

tha t the rea l results ofeduca t ion a re too subtle a nd too eva sive to bemea sura ble by a ny sort ofqua n tita t ive tests . The onl y reply tooffer is tha t we a re m a king such mea sur emen ts a l l the tim e by the

m il l ions ofschool m a rks a ssigned every yea r a nd by a l l the com

pa ra tive judgments ofhum a n qua l ities a s better or worse,a s grea ter

or less,a s more useful or less useful

,which we a re so free to m a ke

not onl y in educa tion a l afI a irs but in a l l pha ses ofhum a n a ct ivity .

The sole purpose ofstanda rdi zed mea suremen ts is to refine thesejudgments

,to m a ke them more a ccur a te a nd ob jective

,to express

them in term s ofknown units ofa defina ble cha ra cter,so tha t we

m a y be a b le to sa y,for example, tha t a pupil ca n rea d three words

per second ofa certa in pa ssa ge a nd to report so a nd so much ofit,

tha t he knows the Engl ish mea ning of2 0 0 0 La tin words a nd ca n

tra nsla te without error sentences ofspecified difficulty .

Ifthere a re a ny products or by-

products ofeduca t ion which a re

too subtle to be di stinguished or judged a s existing in grea ter or lessamoun ts

,or a s ha ving higher or lower qua lity

,we m a y be suspicious

oftheir a ctua l existence . Any qua l ity or a bility ofhum a n n a ture

tha t is detecta ble is a lso mea sura ble . I t rem a ins only to discovermore a nd more a ccur a te m ea ns ofmea suremen t .

Wha t we need more tha n a nything else in tea ching a nd in the

a dm inistra tion of public schools is scient ific method a nd ca utionin ha ndling the problem s confronted . Educa tors must instill intothemselves the scientific poin t ofview in looking a t their prob lems .

The old - time peda gogy is pa ssing awa y ;qua ntita tive studies , objective mea surements

,a nd ca refully observed fa cts a re ta king its pla ce .

The next grea t forwa rd step in educa tion wil l come when competenteduca tors wil l use the schools a s la bora tories for legitim a te experi

menta tion conducted a ccording to scientific procedure .

CHAPTER I I

MARKS AS MEASURES OF SCHOOL WORK

MARKS a re the universa l mea sures ofschool work . Numerous

a nd momentous problems in the opera tion ofa school depend upon

them , such a s promotioif,reta rda tion

,el im ina tion

,honors

,el igibil ity

for contests a nd societies,gra dua tion

,a dmission to higher institu;

tions,recommenda tions for future positions a nd the

~l_i_k Un til adeca de a go,

no one questioned either the va lidity or the fa irness of

these mea surements . It wa s ta cit ly a ssum ed tha t m a rks were a l

most a bsolutely correct , or very nea rly so, a fa ct a ttested by the

surprisingly common pra ctice ofm a rking to the fra ctiona l pa rt of

a point even on a IOO percenta ge ba sis .

Ifwe consider m a rks from a scien t ific viewpoint a s a mea sur

ing sca le,three fundam enta l questions a rise : ( I ) How fine a sca le

ofun its m ay be used sa tisfa ctorily" ( 2 ) How relia ble a re the

ra tings m a de on the pa rticul a r sca le a dopted" (3 ) How sha ll them a rks be di str ibuted " Tha t is, How frequently in the long run

sha l l ea ch unit on the sca le be a ssigned " The second problem

wil l be ta ken up first . In order to Show precisely the a ccura cy,

or ra ther the ina ccur a cy, ofm a rks,the following investiga t ion wil l

be cited .

The Relia bil ity ofM a rks

Th e Relia bil ity ofM a rks in the Ca se ofEngl ish . The recentstudi es of gra des ha ve empha tica ll y directed our a ttention to the

wide va ria tion a nd the utter a bsence ofsta nda rds in the a ssignment ofva lues . Dea rbom pointed out in his investiga tion the

la rge inequa l ities in the sta nda rds ofgra ding employed by differen ttea chers . Oftwo instructors in the Same depa r tment one ga ve to43 per cent ofhis students the gra de of excel lent ” a nd to none

the gra de of fa ilure ,

”wherea s the other ga ve to none ofhis stu

dents the gr a de of “excel lent ” a nd to I 4 per cent the gra de of

fa ilure .

”


Fink elstein m a de a compa rison of the m a rks a ssigned to the

students in a course which wa s in cha rge ofone instructor duringthe fir st semester a nd in cha rge of a nother instructor during thesecond sem ester

,the students rem a ining the same throughout the

yea r . The distribut ion ofthe m a rks wa s a s fol lows

80—89 90—1 00

I st inst ru ctor 6 . I2 d instructor

Such wide difi’erences‘i

a re no doubt due in pa rt to a difference inthe students a nd in the na ture ofthe work

,but la rgely to a differ

ence in the sta nda rds ofm a rking .

In order to determine precisely the persona l equa tion in eva lu

a ting the work ofpupils, it is necessa ry to elim ina te a l l va ria bleelements

,such a s difference in amount a nd kind ofwork covered

by the cla ss , empha sis upon different topics, differences in tea chinga bility a nd d ifferences in the pupils them selves .

An investiga t ion wa s m a de to determ ine the ra nge ofva ria tiona nd the rel ia bility ofthe m a rks a ssigned by different tea chers tothe same pa pers . Two exam ina t ion - a nswer pa pers , written by two

pupils a t the end ofthe first yea r ’s work in English , in high school ,were reprinted by pla tes , so tha t the ha ndwriting

,the errors a nd

cha nges m a de by the pupils, the nea tness,etc .

,were reproduced

exa ctly a s in the origina l pa pers . These two pa pers were m a rked

ca reful ly by one hundred a nd forty- two tea chers of first -yea rEnglish a ccording to the pra ctices a nd sta nda rds oftheir respectiveschools .

The gra des a ssigned by the one hundred a nd fortv- two tea chersa re represen ted by a ccompa nying distribution cha rts . The ra ngeofm a rks is indica ted a long the ba se l ine ofea ch cha rt a nd the number oftim es ea ch gra de wa s given is indica ted by the number of

dots a bove tha t gra de . Thus in Fig . I gra de 80 wa s gi ven by five

tea chers a nd gra de 8 1 by eight tea chers . The m a rks for one pa per ,

pa per A ,a re given in Fig . I a nd those for the other pa per , pa per B ,

a re given in Fig . 2 .

The first a nd most sta rtl ing fa ct brought out by this investigation is the tremendously wide ra nge ofv a ri a tion . It is a lmost

MARKS AS MEASURE S OF SCHOOL WORK 5

Shocking to a m ind ofno more tha n ordina ry exa ctness to find tha tthe ra nge ofm a rks given by difieren t tea chers to the sam e pa per

m a y be a s la rge a s 3 5 or 40 points .

N ineteen tea chers m a rked pa per A 80 or lower a nd fourteen

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .

0 .

0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 0 6 5 70 75 8 0 8 5 9 0 9 5

F IG . I . Pa per A . Pa ssing gra de 75 . Media n Proba ble error M a rks a ssignedby schools Whose pa ssing gra de wa s 70 were weighted by one point since the m a rks a ssigned bytea chers in schools whose pa ssing gra de wa s 70 were on the avera ge one point lower .

m a rked it 95 or higher . Eighteen tea chers m a rked pa per B 70 or

lower a nd four teen m a rked it 90 or higher .

The two pa pers, A a nd B ,were m a rked 80 a nd 75 respect ively

by the tea cher un der whom the pupils ha d ta ken the course. The

pa ssing gra de in this school wa s 70 .

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 0 6 0 6 5 70 75 8 0 8 5 9 0 9 5

F IG . 2 . Pa per B . Pa ssing gra de 75 . Media n Proba ble error M a rks a ssignedby schools whose pa ssing gra de wa s 70 were weighted by two points since the ma rks a ssigned bytea chers in schools whose pa ssing gra de wa s 70 were on the avera ge two points lower .

These da ta ha ve a n in teresting bea rin g upon the question of

promot ion a nd reta rda tion . The pupil who wrote pa per B ,the

poorer ofthe two ,received from his tea cher a m a rk 5 poin ts a bove

the pa ssin g gra de, wherea s twen ty- two out ofthe one hundred a nd

for ty- two tea chers d id not give a pa ssing gra de to this pupil . The


promotion or reta rda tion ofa pupil depends to a considera ble extentupon the subjective est im a te ofhis tea cher .

The proba ble error of the gra des is a pproxima tely Thismea ns tha t the ind ividua l m a rks devia te on the a vera ge poin tsfrom themed ia n or a vera ge ofthe en tire group ofma rks . The fa ct

ofsuch a la rge proba ble error Shows the a bsurd ity ofm a rkin g to thefra ctiona l pa rt ofone po in t , a s wa s done in quite a number ofpa pers.

One pa per wa s even gra ded a s fine a s The proba b il ity is tha ta t best a ny one tea cher ’s m a rk is 5 poin ts from the true m a rk

,if

the a vera ge m a rk given by a la rge number oftea chers ma y be re

ga rded a s a true ma rk . A truer wa y ofind ica t ing the m a rk ofa

pa per woul d be 80 plus or m inus 5 , to Show tha t the cha nces a re

even tha t the ma rk is within 5 poin ts ofbeing correct .

0 v

0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Q

_0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 8 5 3 5 5 6 0 6 5 70 75 8 0 8 5 9 0

FIG . 3 . Pa ssing gra de 75 . M a rks a ssigned by schools whose pa ssing gra de wa s 70 wereweighted by 3 points. Media n 70 . Probable error

The Rel ia bility ofM a rks in the Ca se ofM a thema tics . I t ha s

been urged tha t m a rks in la ngua ge work must necessa r il y va ry considera bly beca use ofthe person a l a nd sub jective fa ctors involved

,

a nd tha t the Situa tion is very differen t in a n exa ct science such a s

m a thema t ics . An investiga t ion ,sim ila r to the one with the Engl ish

pa per , wa s m a de with a geometry pa per which ha d been written a s

a fina l exam ina tion by a pupil in a high school .Thi s pa per wa s gra ded by 1 1 8 tea chers ofma them a tics yielding a

distribution ofm a rks a s exhibited in Fig . 3 . There is a currenta ssumption tha t a m a them a tica l pa per ca n be graded with m a them a tica l precision . This investiga tion shows tha t the m a rks ofthispa rticul a r geometry pa per va ried even more widely tha n the m a rks

ofthe English pa pers . The proba ble error ofthe geometry m a rks

MARKS AS MEASURES OF SCHOOL WORK 7

wa s wherea s the proba ble error ofthe English m a rks wa s a nd

respectively .

A little a na lysis,however

,will Show the a bsurdity of a ssum ing

grea ter precision in eva lua ting a m a them a tica l pa per tha n in eva lua t

ing a la ngua ge or a ny other kind ofpa per . While it is true tha tthere ca n be no difference ofopinion a s to the correctness ofa dem

onstra tion or ofthe solution ofa problem , yet there a re va rious wa ysin which a demonstra tion m ay be worked out

,involving the succes

sion ofthe steps, the use oftheorem s a nd definitions,the nea tness of

the dr awings a nd,most ofa l l

,the rela tive va lue ofea ch pa rticul a r

demonstra tion,defin ition

,step or error in the eva lua tion of the

pa per a s a whole . Obviously the complica tion offa ctors is a s intri

ca te in one sort ofpa per a s in a nother .

It is therefore evident tha t there is no inherent rea son why a

m a them a tica l pa per Should be ca pa ble ofm ore precise eva lua tiontha n a ny other kind ofpa per . In fa ct

,the grea ter cer ta inty of

correctness or incorrectness of a m a them a t ica l demonStr a tion or

defin ition m a y even con tri bute slightly to the wider va r ia bil ity of

the m a rks,because the str ict m a rker would ha ve less occa sion to

give the pupil the benefit ofthe doubt .

Further ta bul a tion of the results a lso demonstra ted tha t the

m a rks given to the a nswer for a Single question ofthe pa per va rieda s widely a s those given to the pa per a s a whole .

0 0.

0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 0 6 0 70 8 0 9 0

F IG . 4 . M a rks a ssigned to a history pa per by seventy tea chers .

Rel ia bil ity ofM a rks in the Ca se ofHistory . An investiga tionconducted in exa ct ly the same m a nner a s the two preceding ones

wa s m a de with a fina l exam ina tion pa per in Un ited Sta tes History .

The ma rks a ssigned by seven ty tea chers ofhistory a re shown In

Fig . 4 . The distribut ion ofthese m a rks is very simil a r to tha tfound for the English a nd m a them a tics pa pers . The extreme ra ngeex tends from 43 to 9 2 , with a proba b le error of

The chiefresul ts ofthese investiga tions a re tha t the m a rks a s


signed to the same pa per by differen t tea chers va ry enormously a ndtha t the va r ia bil ity or un relia bil ity ofm a rks is a s grea t in one sub

ject a s in a nother . Contr a ry to current bel ief,gr a des in m a the

ma ties a re a s unrel ia ble a s gra des in l a ngua ge or in history .

The imm en se va r ia bility ofm a rks tends Obviously to ca st consid

era ble discredit upon the fa irness a nd a ccur a cy Of our presen t

methods Ofeva lua t ing the qua lity ofwork in school . No ma tter

how much a ny one m a y wish to m in im ize the ut il ity ofm a rks,they

ha ve,nevertheless

,a n indispensa b le a dmin istra tive va lue from the

sta ndpoint ofthe school,a nd a rea l persona l va lue from the sta nd

poin t ofthe pupil .

Fa ctors Producing the Va r ia bil ity ofM a rks . How a re such widera nges ofdifferences to be expla ined " Four m a jor fa ctors enter

into the Situa tion : ( I ) Differences among the sta nda rds ofdifferentschools , ( 2 ) Differences among the st a nda rds ofd ifferen t tea chers

,

( 3 ) Differences in the rela t ive va lues pla ced by d ifferent tea chersupon va r ious elem ents in a pa per , a nd (4) Differen ces due to the

ina b ility to dist inguish between closely a l l ied degrees ofmerit .

How much ofthe va r ia t ion is due to ea ch fa ctor " To determine

the strength ofthe first fa ctor a further study wa s m a de in whichten pa pers wri tten in the fina l examin a tion in freshm a n Engl ish a t

the University ofWisconsin were gr a ded independently by ten instructors ofthe va r ious sections offreshm a n Engl ish . An effort is

m a de by coopera t ion among the instructors con cerned to ha ve a s

much un iform ity a s possible in the conduct ofthese sect ions . The

same fina l exam in a tion is gi ven to a l l . The gr a des thus a ssignedva r ied just a s wi dely a s those a ssigned by tea chers in d ifferent institutions .

Another point ofinterest is the fa ct tha t the tea chers under whomthe studen ts took the course did not succeed in gra ding the pa persa ny more a ccura tely tha n the other instructors who did not know

the students . The mea n va ria tion oftheir gra des wa s a s la rgea s

tha t ofthe m a rks a ssigned by the other tea chers .

There wa s a lso a very noticea ble difference in the sta nda rd of

gra ding . One instructor gra ded the pa pers on the whole thirteenpoin ts lower tha n the a vera ge a nd a nother instructor gr a ded themseven points higher tha n the a vera ge .

MARKS AS MEASURES OF SCHOOL WORK 9

After el im ina ting the va r ia tion in the m a rks due to thi s'

d ifference

in sta nda rds among the instructors,by ra ising or lowering ea ch one’

s

m a rks a ccording to the amoun t tha t ea ch instructor ’s a vera ge differedfrom the genera l a vera ge

,it wa s found tha t the va r ia bil ity wa s

sma ller,though not a s much sm a ller a s one m ight a n ticipa te . The

mea n va ria t ion wa s reduced onl y I poin t , from to

The next step wa s to sepa ra te the thi rd a nd fourth fa ctors . Tha tis

,how much ofthe va ria tion is due to the in a bil ity to di stinguish

between closely a ll ied degrees ofmerit a nd how much is due to

differences in rela t ive va lues pla ced by different instructors upon

va ri ous a spects ofa given pa per , such a s form,nea tness

,clea rness

,

etc .

The a ccura cy ofdist inctions between va rious Sha des ofmerit wa sa scert a ined by ha ving the same persons give two eva lua t ions to thesame pa pers sepa ra ted by suffi cien tly long interva ls oft ime so tha tthe deta ils a nd identity ofthe pa pers h a d been forgotten .

By ha ving seven instructors regra de ea ch a set ofhis own pa pers,

it wa s found tha t the mea n va ria tion wa s reduced to points . In

severa l insta nces the second m a rk differed a s much a s ten or fifteen

points from the fir st m a rk .

The m a them a t ics instructors did not a gree a ny more closely withtheir own m a rks tha n the la ngua ge or science instructors . We m ay

el im ina te one further fa ctor,namely

,the difference due to a cha nge

in a n instructor ’s sta nda rd after a n in terva l of t ime . Thi s wa sdone by weight ing the second set ofm a rks by the difference betweenthe a vera ges ofthe two m a rkings . This reduced themea n va ria tionto poin ts .

Ofthe four fa ctors sta ted a t the outset , ea ch contr ibutes the following amoun t to the tota l va ria tion : The genera l mea n va ri a tion or

proba ble error ofgra des a ssigned by tea chers in different schools wa spoints . The mea n va ria tion ofgra des a ssigned by tea chers in the

same depa r tmen t a nd institution wa s The mea n va ri a tion of

the la tter,after el im ina ting the effect ofhigh or low person a l st a nd

a rds wa s The mea n va ri a t ion ofgra des a ssigned a t d ifferentt imes by the same tea chers to their own pa pers wa s Hence thel a rgest fa ctors were the second ,

third a nd fourth . The fourth con

t ributed points , the third points , the second point a nd the

IO EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

first pra ctica lly nothing towa rd the tota l of points ofmea n

va ria t ion .

The Fineness ofthe M a rking Sca le

How sm a ll divisons on a m a rking sca le a re pra ctica lly usa ble"

AS a m a tter ofpsychologi ca l methodology,the un its ofa ny sca le of

mea surements,ifa Single mea surement with the sca le is to ha ve

ob jective va l idity , should be ofsuch a size tha t threefourths ofa l l

the mea surements ofthe same qua ntity Sha l l fa ll wi thin the l im itsofone division ofthe sca le. For example, ifthe m a rks a ssigned by75 out of1 0 0 tea chers to a given pa per lie between 80 a nd 90 ,

thenthe un it ofour sca le should be ten poin ts . Any sm a l ler d ivisionwoul d ha ve l ittle or no ob ject ive significa nce . Ofcour se, a lmost

indefin itely sm a l l differen ces in merit ca n be mea sured ifa n indefinitenumber ofindependent est im a tes is m a de.

Now wha t a re the a ctual fa cts wi th rega rd to the size -ofdistinguish a ble steps in the m a rking sca le" We

'

have seen a bove tha t themea n va ria t ion ofthe estim a tes ofa tea cher in m a tching his own

m a rks,after el im inating his own cha nge in sta nda rd

,is points .

According to the pr inciple tha t ifa un it is to be la rge enough inr a nge to include three fourths ofa l l his estim a tes ofthe same qua nt ity

,then the sm a l lest dist inguisha ble step tha t ca n be used with

rea son a ble va l idity is t imes the mea n va ria t ion 5 ) or proba ble

error , which woul d be or roughly 5 points.

1

Hen ce our m a rking sca le,instea d ofbeing 1 0 0

, 99 , 98, 97, 96 , 95 ,

etc .

,should be 1 0 0

, 95 , 90 ,85 , 80 ,

etc . These a re the sm a l lest divisions tha t ca n be used with rea sona ble confidence by a tea cher ingra ding his own pupils . This mea ns tha t on a sca le ofpa ssinggra des of70 to 1 0 0 onl y seven division points a re distinguisha ble.

This substa ntia l ly confirms the scheme fol lowed in m a ny institut ions tha t the m a rking sca le should be A A B B C

C D D a nd fa ilure. Letters or symbols a re perha ps prefera ble to such designa tions a s Excel lent , Good , Fa ir a nd Poor be

ca use ofthe mora l impl ica tion in the la tter .

1 To those who m ay be interested in the ba sis ofthis computa tion I may say tha t a ra ngetwice the size ofthe proba ble error includes one ha lfofthe series ofestima tes, a nd a ra ngetimes themea n va ria tion or times the proba ble error includes a pproxima tely three fourthsofthe series ofestima tes . In pra ctice the mea n va ria tion a nd the probable error a re used inter

cha ngea bly, but theformer is usua lly a trifle la rger tha n the la tter .

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I 2 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

a nother one ofgra de 86 . Ifthe second is a pprecia bly better itmore l ikely ought to ha ve a gra de of90 . Such sm a ll distinctionswould ha ve va l idity only ifa set ofpa pers were gra ded by ten tea chersor by the same tea cher ten times . The Situa t ion is a na logous to

estim a ting the width ofa room in inches when it shoul d be est im a ted

in feet . Est im a tes in terms ofl a rge units,of course

,do not h a ve

grea ter a bsolute a ccura cy , but they will ha ve grea ter uniform ity .

The Distribution ofM a rks

The viewpoint which wil l be m a inta ined here is tha t m a rks on the

whole a nd for la rge groups ofpupils ofusua l a bil ity Should be distributed with a rea sona bly close conform ity to the norm a l

, bel l

sha ped , proba bil ity curve. The chiefrea sons for this principle a re

tha t physica l tra its, such a s height,length ofa rm s

,girth ofhea d

,

a re distr ibuted in a ccorda ncewith the proba bility curve tha t menta l

functions ofwhich a ccura te mea surements ha ve been m a de a re a lso

distributed in this fa shion ; a nd tha t m a rks a ssigned by m a nytea chers to the same pupils a pproxim a te closely to this distr ibutionThere a re

,however , three fa ctors which tend to disturb this distri

bution ofa bil ity el imina tion ofthe poorer pupils a s they pa ss fromgra de to gra de, the r a ising ofthe perform a nce ofpupils by goodtea ching a nd the lower ing oftheir perform a n ce because ofa la ck of

m a ximum effort . The third fa ctor countera cts the first a nd the

second . La ck ofm a ximum effort tends to push the m a rks down .

El im ina tion ofthe poorer pupils tends to push them up . The most

importa nt fa ctor is el im ina tion . But so fa r a s we ha ve a ny definitefa cts a bout this m a tter , the effect ofelim ina tion in disturbing con

form ity to the curve is much less tha n is common ly supposed . The

effect ofel im ina tion is not so much a disturba nce ofthe Sha pe ofthe

curve a s a contra ct ion ofthe ra nge ofthe distribution . The elimi

na tion ofpupils is not a cutting offa t a definite point ofthe curve,but ra ther a smooth shaving offa long the entire ra nge . I t is cer

ta in tha t , on the whole, m a rks will be a ssigned much more justly ifthey a re a ssigned with rea sona bly close conform ity to the proba bilitydistribution

,tha n ifno heed is given to it a nd every tea cher a l lowed

to fol low his own incl ina tion . La rge devia tions should occur onlywhen genuine rea sons exist .

MARKS AS MEASURES OF SCHOOL WORK 1 3

The form ofthe proba bility curve is indica ted in Fig . 5 whicha lso shows the distribution ofa pproxim a tely 5 0 0 0 gra des a ssignedto freshmen in the University ofWisconsin . The conform ity ofthesegra des to the norma l curve is very close .

The a doption ofa un iform sca le ofgra des a s wel l a s a uniformsta nda rd in the frequency with which the different gra des Should bea ssigned

,is a pressing need . These ends could be a tta ined by a dopt

ing a sca le offive steps, wi th finer subgra da tions, ifdesired ,a nd by

ha ving ea ch tea cher a nd ea ch institution compa re the frequency of

the va rious gra des a ssigned wi th the'

theoret ica l frequency . Thena n A or a B woul d ha ve more nea rly the same sign ifica n ceunder d ifferent tea chers a nd in different institut ions tha n they ha vea t the present t ime.

The pra ctica l situa tions

which needs to be a t

ta cked is the possibil ityofbr inging a bout grea terun iform ity both amongschools a nd among tea chers w i t h i n the s a m e

vera l thin 580 11 0 0 1 SQ g65 -68 69-72 73 -76 77-80 81 -84 85 -88 89-92 93 -96 97 1 00

icoul d be done n a ny F IG . 5 . The continuous li ne represen ts the proba bi li tySChOOl to bring this curve, a nd the dotted line represents the distribution of

0 0 0 ma rks in the Universit ofWisconsin .

a bout . One I s to m a ke5 y

a study ofthem a rks a s a ctua l ly a ssigned by the different tea chers in aschool , to t a bul a te them a nd to discuss them in a meeting ofthe tea ching staff. This, in itself, is a wholesome thing to do . I t will correctm a ny ofthe gross differences without specia l a dvice or request .

Second ,in depa rtmen ts composed ofsevera l tea chers , it would be

wel l to determ ine by consensus ofopin ion upon some common pla n

ofm a rking certa in types ofwork a nd cer ta in types oferrors . Third,

the m a rks could be d istributed ,with certa in a l lowa nces for persona l

judgment a nd common - sense va ria tion ,either a ccording to the

norma l proba bility distribution or a ccording to some distributiona greed upon by the tea ching staffofthe school .

A recent experiment shows tha t this third suggestion will a ctua l lybe effica cious in producing grea ter a greement in the m a rks given to

I4 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

the same pieces ofwork by different judges . A set oftwenty-four

compositions on the subject of Roa ds,”written bysixth a nd seventhgra de pupils , wa s m a rked by twenty- three tea chers a ccording to theusua l percen ta ge sca le wi th 70 a s the pa ssing m a rk . Ea ch tea cherwa s then instructed to shift or cha nge his m a rks into terms ofa five

step sca le,Poor

,Inferi or

,Medium

,Superior a nd Excel len t

,so tha t

two out ofthe twenty-four pa pers woul d be m a rked Poor,four to

Six Inferior , eight to ten Medium,

‘

four to six Super ior a nd two Excellent . They were a sked to force their m a rks to conform to this distribution so tha t even ifthey felt

,for example, tha t no pa per wa s

good enough to be r a ted Excellent they Should pick out the most

l ikely ca ndida tes .

The va ria bil ity ofthe second set ofm a rks,distr ibuted by compul

sion a ccording to the proba b il ity distr ibut ion ,wa s grea tly reduced .

The mea n va r ia t ion ofthe or igina l m a rks wa s a nd tha t ofthe

a djusted m a rks,reduced to numeri cal term s

,wa s The

’ va ria b il ity ofthe or igin a l m a rks wa s unusua l ly low

, possibly becausethis experiment wa s ca rr ied out after a n extensive discussion ofthe

conditions ofva r ia bility a nd ofthe theoret ica l distr ibut ion ofm a rks .

The rea djustment ofthe m a rks ha s therefore reduced the va r ia bility to nea r ly one ha lfa s compa red with a mea n va ria t ion of

a nd to a bout two thirds a s compa red with the m ea n va ria t ion Of

I t m ight be quest ioned whether it wa s justifia ble to force a re

a rra ngement ofthe m a rks a ccording to the suggested distr ibution .

Severa l tea chers protested a ga inst gra ding a ny pa per in this groupa s excellent beca use they did not consider a ny one to be ofsufficientmerit . This

,however

,is a n indica tion ofthe la ck ofa sta nda rd .

One tea cher m a rked one ofthe pa pers 85 a nd objected to giving it agra de ofexcel lent

,but he wa s obliged to do so

,a s this wa s in his

judgm ent the best pa per . The a ver a ge gra de ofthis pa per wa sShowing tha t the m a rk ofthis tea cher wa s low on a ccount ofa la ckofcommon sta nda rd . The proposed distr ibut ion suggested to the

tea chers,which wa s followed in the rea djustment ofthe m a rks, wa s

entirely justifia ble. This fa ct is shown by the a vera ges ofthe origina lm a rks . These a vera ges yield a norm a l distribut ion : Thus therewere two pa pers out ofthe twenty-four whose a vera ge gra des werebelow 72 , six whose a vera ge gra des were between 73 a nd 77, ten

MARKS AS MEASURE S OF SCHOOL WORK 1 5

between 78 a nd 83 , four between 84 a nd 89 a nd two a bove 90 .

Even a s sm a ll a cla ss a s twen ty-four pupils, unl ess Specia l ly selected ,wi ll conform to the proba bil ity distribution to a rem a rka ble extent .

Cert a in devia tions from a strict conformity Should,ofcourse

, be

permissible where there is a genuine rea son for it .

On the ba sis ofa l l these exper imenta l resul ts it woul d seem tha tthe most sa t isfa ctory m a rking system woul d be a sca le offive steps

A or Excel lent , which Shoul d be a ssigned to a pproxim a tely 7% ofthe pup ils.

B or Superior , which should be a ssigned to a pproxim a tely 2 4% ofthe pup ils .

C or Avera ge ,which Should be a ssigned to a pproxim a tely 3 8% ofthe pup il s .

D or Infer ior , which shoul d be a ssigned to a pproxim a tely 2 4% ofthe pup ils .

‘

E or Unsa t isfa ctory , which should be a ssigned to a pproxim a tely 7% ofthe pup i ls .

Iffiner di stinctions a re desired,the plus or minus signs m a y be

a dded .

CHAPTER I I I

A SAMPLE SURVEY OF THE MARK ING SYSTEM IN A H IGHSCHOOL

IN order tha t the pr inciples a nd findings discussed in the preceding cha pter m a y a ctua l ly become Opera tive in the a ssignment of

gra des,a sample survey will be presented here a s a n il lustra tion of

how the m a rking system employed in a given School m a y be ex

am ined . The con crete Situa t ion is this Here is a pa r t icul a r m a rkingsystem in a school . Do the tea chers a pply it un iform ly a nd fa ir ly

,

a nd is the system a s a whole just ifia ble"In order to m a ke a thorough exam ina t ion ofa m a rking system it

is necessa ry to consider the three fundam ental problem s r a ised inthe preceding cha pter with reference to the system to be studied .

1 . Wha t is the na ture ofthe sca le employed"2 . How a ccura tely a re the m a rks a ssigned"3 . How a re the m a rks

,a s a ssigned by ea ch tea cher

,di str ibuted P

The m a rking system to be exam ined is tha t ofa high school ofmedium size . The first a nd second problems a s to the n a ture a nd

a ccur a cy ofthe sca le will be considered together . In this school theusua l percentile system is used . The pa ssing gra de is 60 a nd a

gra de of90 or a bove gra nts exemption from exam ina t ions . According to the findings ofthe preceding cha pter , the sca le is too finelygra ded . A coa rser sca le would be better , a l though this m a tter is

not serious so long a s the va ria b il ity ofthe m a rks in term s ofthissca le is recogn ized .

The third point a s to the distr ibut ion ofthe m a rks shoul d a nswer

such questions a s these : How uniformly do the tea chers a ssign the

m a rks"How much difference is there in the sta nda rds ofl ibera lityor severity ofm a rking among the tea chers ofthe school "Does therule ofexempt ion from ex am ina tions affect the fa irness ofm a rking"These questions ca n best be a nswered by prepa ring a distribut ion

I 6

SAMPLE SURVEY OF THE MARKING SYSTEM IN A HIGH SCHOOL I 7

FIG . 6.

— Distribution ofthe ma rks a s a ssigned by the va rious tea chersin a certa in high school.

1 8 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

curve ofthe m a rks ofea ch tea cher a nd ofthe school a s a whole a s

shown in Figs . 6 a nd 7.

The chiefpoints ofcr iticism a re

( 1 ) Them a rksfor the school a s a whole a re too high . The tea chersa re too l ibera l . In the d istri bution curve for the ent ire school ,Fig . 7, 49% ofthe pupils received 90 or a bove. This curve ha s

no resembla nce or a pproa ch to the norm a l distribut ion curve discussed in the preceding cha pter . On the ba sis ofa five-step sca le,A in this school would be equa l to 90 — 99 , B 80 — 89 , C 70

—79 , D 60—69

F IG . 7.

— Ma rks a ssigned by the entire tea ching sta fi ofthe high school. A tota l of695 ma rks.

a nd E 59 or lower . According to the norm a l distribution,a pprox

im a tely 7% ofthe pupils should receive A . In this school, 49%

received 90—99 . Approxima tely 2 4% should receive B . In this

school, 3 0 % received 80 — 89 . Approxim a tely 3 8% should receive C .

In this school,

_

1 2 % received 70—79 . Approxim a tely 2 4% should

receive D . In this school,2 % received

.

60 —69 . Approxim a tely 7%should receive E . In this school

, 7% received 59 or lower .

Wha tever a ny onem a yhold a sto the principle ofdistributingm a rks

in conform ity to the proba bility curve,it is very certa in tha t a l l possible

fa ctors, which tend to destroy a bsolute conformity , d isturb this con

CHAPTER IV

THE MEASUREMEN T OF ABILITY IN READING

Essential Elements in Reading. Adequa te m ea surements ofa ny

complex menta l fun ctions, such a s those involved in school studies,

require,first ofa ll , a n ana lysis ofthe fun ctions into their essentia l

constituents , a nd ,second

,the prepa ra tion ofa ccura te tests for ea ch

ofthese'

elements . From the‘

pra ctica l point ofview,we lea rn to

rea d in order to obta in inform a tion . Obviously,then

,the chief

elements in rea ding a re ( I ) the comprehension ofthe m a teria l rea d,

( 2 ) the Speed ofrea ding,a nd ( 3 ) the correctness ofthe pronuncia

tion ,or elocution . The first two a re the most importa n t so fa r a s

rea ding strictly is concerned,since we lea rn to rea d for our own

individua l uses . For this rea son,such fa ctors a s intona tion

,expres

sion , pauses a nd the l ike a re rela tively insign ifica nt . We use silentra ther tha n ora l rea ding in pra ctica l l ife .

Methods ofTesting. The speed ofrea ding m a y be m ea sured by

determ in ingthe amount ofa certa in kind oftext tha t ca n be rea d

in a given per iod oftime,for example, the number ofwords rea d per

second . Comprehension perha ps ca nnot be determ ined quite so

ea sily . In the tests to be described presently the method a dopted

consists in reproducing the thought in wr iting immedia tely after

the rea ding . The va lidity ofmea sur ing comprehension in thism a nner wil l be discussed la ter .

The test m a teria l for mea sur ing a bil ity in rea ding is composedofn ine pa ssa ges . See the fol lowing pa ges .

1 These pa ssa ges wereSO selected tha t the in cr ea ses in difficul ty from one sample to the

next represent fa irly uniform . steps .

Instructions for Administering the Tests . Expla in to the pupilstha t they a re to rea d silently a s ra pidly a s they ca n a nd a t the same

1 These test bla nks a re printed on sepa ra te sheets a nd may be obta ined in desiredqua nti ties from the a uthor .

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READING 2 1

t ime to gra sp a s much a s they ca n,a nd tha t they wil l be a sked to

write down ,not necessa rily in the same words

,a s much a s they will

remember ofwha t they rea d .

They Shoul d a lso be told not to rea d a nything over a ga in,but to

rea d on cont inuously a s ra pidl y a s is consisten t with gra sping wha tthey rea d .

Use for a given gra de the test bla nk tha t bea rs the same number

a s your gra de . For example, use num ber 4 with the four th gr a de,number 5 with the fifth gr a de, etc . On the next da y repea t the test

in the same m a nner,but use the bla nk ofthe next gra de below yours ,

tha t is, in the fourth gra de use number 3 , in the fifth gra de use number 4 , etc . (For high school a nd col lege students

,bla nks number 8

a nd 9 , or 7 a nd 9 , m a y be used . )The bla nk s for the test shoul d be distr ibuted to the pupils with

the ba cks ofthe bla nks up,so tha t no one wil l be a ble to rea d a ny

ofthe m a teria l un til a ll a re rea dy . Then give the signa l “turn

a nd“

sta r t .

” Al low them to rea d exa ctly thirty seconds . Thenha ve the pupils m a ke a m a rk with a pen cil after the la st word rea d

to indica te how fa r they ha ve rea d .

Then ha ve them turn the bla nks over immedia tely a nd wr ite on

the ba ck a l l tha t they remember ha ving rea d . Al low a s much time

a s they need,but m a ke sure tha t they do not copy from ea ch other ,

o r turn the bla nk over to see the text . Fina l ly ha ve them fil l out the

spa ces a t the bottom ofthe bla nk .

N .B . M a ke sure ofa llowing exa ctly 3 0 seconds for rea ding . See

tha t they a l l sta r t a nd stop a t the same t ime .

I t is recommended tha t the voca bul a ry test on pa ge 3 7 be given incon jun ction with the test for Speed a nd comprehension . These threetests together will serve a s a very a dequa te mea sure ofa pupil ’s rea ding a bili ty .

2 2 EDUCATIONAL MEASURENIENTS

No . 1

Once there was a little girl who lived with

her mother.

They were very poor.

Sometimes they had no supper.

Then they went to bed hungry.

r One day the little girl went into the woods .

She wanted sticks for the fire.

She was so hungry and sad"“

Oh,I wish I had some sweet porridge

she said .

“

I wish I had a pot full for mother and me .

We could eat it all up .

Just then she saw an old woman with a little

black pot .

She said, Little girl, why are you so sad"”

“

I am hungry,

” said the little girl .

—m

—0 — q — o


No . 2

Betty lived in the South,long

,long ago .

She was only ten years old, but she liked/to

help her mother.

She had learned to do many things . She

could knit and sew and spin ;but best of all

she liked to cook .

One day Betty was alone at home because

her father and mother and brother had gone

to town to see a wonderful sight .

The great George Washington was vis itingthe South . He was going from town to town,

riding in a great white coach,trimmed with

shining gold . It had leather curtains, and

soft cushions . Four milk-white horses drew

it along the road .

Four horsemen rode ahead of the coach to

clear the way and four others rode behind it .

They were all dressed in white and gold .

p

2 4 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREIil ENTS

No . 3

Little Abe hurried home a s fa st a s his feet could ca rry

him . Perhaps ifhe ha d worn stockings and shoes like

yours, he could ha ve run fa ster . But, instea d, he wore.

deerskin leggings a nd clumsy mocca sins ofbea rskin thathis mother ha d ma de for him .

Such a funny little figure a s he wa s, hurrying a long

a cross the rough fields"His suit wa s ma de ofwa r home

spun cloth . His cap wa s ma de ofcoonskin , a nd the ta il

ofthe coon hung behind him,like a furry ta ssel .But ifyou could have looked into the honest, twinkling

blue eyes ofthis little la d oflong a go, you would havel iked him a t once.

In one hand little Abe held something very precious .

It wa s only a book, but little Abe thought more oftha t

book than he would have thought ofgold or precious

stones .

You ca nnot know just wha t tha t book mea nt to little

Abe, unless you a re very fond ofrea ding. Think how it

would be to see no books except two or three old ones

tha t you ha d rea d over and over until you knew them

byhea rt "

Gra de

Ci ty

Rea ding Test . Series APrepa red by D . Sta rch


No . 4

The red squirrel usua lly wa ked me in the dawn , run

ning over the roofa nd up a nd down the sides ofthe

house, a s ifsent out ofthe woods for this very purpose.

In the course ofthe winter I threw out ha lfa bushel

ofea rs ofsweet corn onto the snow crust by my door ,

a nd wa s amused by wa tching the motions ofthe va riousa nima ls which were ba ited by it . All day long the

red squirrels came and went, a nd afforded me much

enterta inment by their maneuvers.

One would a pproa ch , a t first, wa rily through the

shrub oaks , running over the snow crust by fits and

sta rts like a leafblown by the wind . Now he would

go a few pa ces this way, with wonderful speed, making

ha ste with his“

trotters”a s ifit were for a wager ;and

now as many pa ces tha t way, but never getting on

more tha n ha lfa rod a t a time.

Then suddenly he would pause with a ludicrous ex

pression a nd a somerset , a s ifa ll eyes in the universe

were fixed on him . Then , before you could say Ja ck

Robinson , he would be in the top ofa young pitch pine,winding up his clock and ta lking to a ll the universe a t

the same time.

Rea ding Test , Series APrepa red by D . Sta rch


No . 5

Once upon a time,there lived a very rich ma n

,a nd a king besides,

whose n ame wa s M ida s;a nd he ha d a little da ughter,whom nobody

but myselfever hea rd of,a nd whose name I either never knew

, or

ha ve entirely forgotten . So, beca use I love odd names for littlegirls

,I choose to ca l l her M a rygold .

Thi s King M ida s wa s fonder ofgold tha n a nything else in the

world . He va lued his roya l crown chiefly beca use it wa s composedoftha t precious meta l . Ifhe loved a nything better

,or ha lfso well

,

it wa s the one l ittlem a iden who pl a yed so merrily a round her fa ther ’sfootstool . But the more M ida s loved his da ughter

,the more did he

desire a nd seek for wea lth . He thought , foolish m a n "tha t the bestthing he could possibly do for his clea r child would be to give her theimmensest pile ofyellow

,glisten ing coin

,tha t ha d ever been hea ped

together since the world wa s m a de. Thus,he ga ve a l l his thoughts

a nd a l l his time to this one purpose. Ifever he ha ppened to ga zefor a n insta nt a t the gold- tinted clouds ofsunset

,he wished tha t they

were rea l gold , a nd tha t they could be squeezed safely into his strongbox . When l ittle M a rygold ra n to meet him

,with a bunch ofbut

tercups a nd da ndelions,he used to say,

“Poh

, poh , child " Iftheseflowers were a s golden a s they look, they would be worth the

plucking "”

And yet , in hi s ea rl ier da ys, before he wa s so entirely possessed of

this insa ne desire for riches, King M ida s ha d shown a grea t ta stefor flowers .

N ame Gra de

School C ity

Da te Rea d ing Test , Series APrepa red by D . Sta rch


No . 7

C a pta in John Hull wa s the mint-ma ster ofMa ssa chusetts, a nd

coined a l l the money tha t wa s m a de there. This wa s a new lineofbusiness, for in the ea rlier da ys ofthe colony the current coina geconsisted ofgold a nd silver money ofEngla nd , Portuga l , a nd Spa in .

These coins being sca rce,the people were often forced to ba rter

their commodities instea d ofselling them .

For insta nce, ifa ma n wa nted to buy a coa t, he perha ps excha ngeda bea rskin for it . Ifhe wished for a ba rrel ofmola sses, he might

purcha se it with a pile ofpine boa rds . Musket-bullets were used

instea d offa rthings . The Indi a ns ha d a sort ofmoney ca lledwampum ,

which wa s m a de of clam - shel ls,a nd this stra nge sort

ofspecie wa s likewise ta ken in pa yment . ofdebts by the Englishsettlers . Ba nk-bills ha d never been hea rd of. There wa s not

money enough ofa ny kind , in ma ny pa rts ofthe country,to pay

the sa la ries ofthe ministers, so tha t they sometimes ha d to ta kequinta ls offish, bushels ofcorn , or cords ofwood instea d ofsilver

a nd gold .

As the people grew more numerous a nd their tra de one witha nother increa sed , the wa nt ofcurrent money wa s stil l more sen

sibly felt . To supply the dema nd the genera l court pa ssed a law

for esta blishing a coina ge ofshillings, sixpences, a nd threepences.

C a pta in John Hul l wa s a ppointed to ma nufa cture this money,a nd

wa s to ha ve a bout one shilling out ofevery twenty to pay him forthe trouble ofma king them .

Gra de

CityRea ding Test , Series APrepa red by D . Sta rch


No . 8

The yea rs went on, a nd Ernest cea sed to be a boy.

“

He ha d

grown to be a young ma n now . He a ttra cted little notice fromthe other inha bita nts ofthe va lley ;for they saw nothing rema rk

a ble in his way oflife, sa ve tha t , when the la bor ofthe da y wa s

over he stil l loved to go a pa rt a nd ga ze a nd medita te upon the

Grea t Stone Fa ce. According to their idea ofthe ma tter , it wa sa fol ly, indeed , but pa rdona ble, ina smuch a s Ernest wa s industrions, kind , a nd neighborly

,a nd neglected no duty for the sa ke of

indulging this idle ha bit . They knew not tha t the Grea t Stone

Fa ce ha d become a tea cher to him,a nd tha t the sentiment which

wa s expre ssed in it would enla rge the young ma n’

s hea rt , a nd fill

it with wider a nd deeper sympa thies tha n other hea rts . They knewnot tha t thence would come a better wisdom tha n could be lea rnedfrom books

, a nd a better life tha n could be molded on the defa cedexample ofother hum a n lives . Neither did Ernest know tha t thethoughts a nd affections which came to him so na tura lly

,in the

fields a nd a t the fireside, a nd wherever he communed with himself,

were ofa higher tone tha n those which a ll men sha red with him .

By this time poor Mr . Ga thergold wa s dea d a nd buried ; a nd

the oddest pa rt ofthe m a tter wa s, tha t his wea lth , which wa s thebody a nd spirit ofhis existence, ha d disa ppea red before his dea th ,lea ving nothing ofhim but a living skeleton , covered over with a

wrinkled , yellow skin . Since the melting awa y ofhis gold,it ha d

been very genera lly conceded tha t there wa s no such striking resembla nce

,after a l l

,betwixt the ignoble fea tures ofthe ruined mercha nt

a nd tha t ma jestic fa ce upon the mounta inside.

Rea ding Test . Series APrepa red by D. Sta rch


No . 9

To a n America n visiting Europe, the long voya ge he ha s to m ake

is a n excel lent prepa ra tive. The tempora ry a bsence of worldlyscenes a nd employments produces a sta te ofm ind pecul ia rly fittedto receive new a nd vivid impressions. The va st spa ce ofwa terstha t sepa ra tes the hem ispheres is l ike a bla nk pa ge in existence.

There is no gra dua l tra nsition,by which , a s in Europe, the fea tures

a nd popula tion ofone country blend a lmost imperceptibly withthose ofa nother . From the moment you lose sight ofthe la nd

you ha ve left, a ll is va ca ncy until you step on the Opposite shore,a nd a re la unched a t once into the bustle a nd novelties ofa notherwofld .

In tra veling by la nd there is a continuity ofscene a nd a con

nected succession ofpersons a nd incidents,tha t ca rry on the story

oflife,a nd lessen the effect ofa bsence a nd sepa ra tion . We dra g,

it is true,

a lengthen ing cha in,

”a t ea ch remove ofour pilgrim a ge;

but the cha in is unbroken : we ca n tra ce it ba ck link by link ; a nd

we feel tha t the la st still gra pples us to home. But a wide sea voy

a ge severs us a t once. It m a kes us conscious ofbeing ca st l oosefrom the secure a nchora ge ofsettled life

,a nd sent a drift upon a

doubtful world . It interposes a gulf,not merely ima gina ry, but

rea l,between us a nd our homes a gulfsubject to tempest, a nd

fea r,

a nd uncerta inty,

rendering dista nce pa lpa ble, a nd returnpreca rious.

Such , a t lea st, wa s the ca se with myself. As I saw the la st bluel ine ofmy na tive la nd fa de awa y like a cloud in the horizon , it seemed

a s ifI ha d closed one volume ofthe world a nd its concerns, a nd

ha d time for medita tion ,before I Opened a nother .

N ame

SchoolRea ding Test , Series A

Da te“ Prepa red by D . Sta rch


Instructions for Scoring the Tests . The speed of rea ding isdetermined by a scerta ining the number ofwords rea d per second .

This ca n be done very ra pidl y by ha ving a b la nk on which is ind ica ted the number ofea ch word . By thi s b la nk the tota l number

ofwords rea d ca n be determ ined insta n ta neously . Dividing bythirty wi l l give the Speed ofrea di ng per second . The a vera ge num

ber ofwords rea d per second for the two pa ssa ges is ta ken a s the scorefor Speed .

Comprehension is determined by counting the number ofwords

wr itten which correct ly reproduce the thought . The wri t ten a ccoun tis ca reful ly rea d

,a nd a l l words which either reproduce the idea s of

the test pa ssa ge or repea t idea s previously recorded a re crossed

out . The rem a ining words a re counted a nd used a s the index of

comprehension . The a vera ge ofthe two tests is t a ken a s the fina l

score. On a n a vera ge a bout 7 per cent ofthe words wri tten need

to be di sca rded . In m a ny pa pers nothing needs to be disca rded .

Va r ious objections m a y be ur ged a ga inst this method ofscoring,but

these a re believed not to be ser ious . They wil l be considered l a ter .

A sample test follows to il lustra te the m ethod ofscori ng . I t is

the record ofa n eighth - gr a de gir l with test No . 8. This pupil ha drea d 1 4 2 words , or words per second . She wrote 77words , five

ofwhi ch were disca rded . These a re i nclosed in pa renthesis in the

following

The yea rs went on a nd Ernest grew to be a ma n . He wa s not so very wellknown in the va lley a s he wa s qu ite (with , kn ow ,

ha b its,besides , a lwa ys) a t n ight

when his work wa s done, he wen t a side a nd wa tched the grea t stone fa ce . As

he wa s industrious a nd kind a nd on ly indu lged in this idl e amusement the neighbo rs thought it a ll right . They d id not know tha t the grea t Stone Fa ce became

a tea cher to h im .

A considera ble amoun t oftime in scoring comprehension m ay be

Sa ved in ca ses where only the a vera ge for a cla ss is desired by simplycoun ting the number ofwords wri tten by ea ch pupil wi thout disca rding a nything

,by obta in ing next the a vera ge ofthese scores

,a nd by

reducing then this a vera ge by This pla n wil l give just a s relia blea n a vera ge a s the longer method ofscoring . When , however , the score

for individua l pupil s is desired ,the longer method must be fol lowed .

Sta nda rds ofAtta inment in Rea ding . In every bra nch ofin

struction in the public schools we need a definite sta nda rd ofa tta in


ment to be rea ched a t the end ofea ch gra de. Ifwe ha d such sta nda rds a nd ifwe ha d a dequa te mea ns ofprecisely mea sur ing a bil ity

,it

woul d be possible for a qua l ified person to go into a schoolroom a nd

mea sure the a tt a inment in a ny or a ll subjects a nd determ ine on the

ba sis ofthese mea surem ents whether the pupils a re up to the sta nd

a rd,whether they a re deficient

,how much

,a nd in wha t specific

respects .

The fol lowing a re sta nda rd scores ofa tta inm ent for the ends of

the respective yea rs , ba sed on over 60 0 0 pii pils in 2 7 schools . Thesescores a re represented in the gr a phs in Fig . 8. The tests ha ve beenm a de

,however

,with a pproxim a tely 7 pupils .

Gra des I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Speed ofrea d ing (words per second )Comprehension (words written ) . 1 5 2 0 2 4 2 8 3 3 3 8 45 5 0

SPEED

Gr a des

COMPREHENSION

Gr a des

FIG. 8. Sta nda rd curves for rea ding.

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READING

Inm a ny insta ncesit is desir a ble to ex

press a pupil’

s rea d

ing a bili ty by one

score which Sha llcombine both speeda nd comprehension .

For example, one

pupil ha s a score of

words per sec

ond for Speed a nd 2 5

for comprehension .

Another pupil ha s ascore of for speed

a nd 44 for comprehension . It is desira ble to express ea chpupil ’s a bil ity by a

Single figure whi chmay be compa reddirectly with a sin

gle figure of a ny

other pupil .If we m ay a s

sume,a s we sha l l do

here,tha t a growth

in Speed from the

first gra de to the

eighth is equa l tothe pa ra l lel growthin comprehensionfrom the first to the

eighth , then the

growth in speed of

from in the

first gra de to in

the eighth, is equa l

D

3 3

FIG. o.— Sca le for equa ting speed a nd comprehension of

rea di ng .

3 4 EDUCATIONAL ME ASUREMENTS

to a growth in comprehension of3 5 , from 1 5 in the first gra de to 5 0in the eighth gra de. Hence a growth of . 1 ofa word in speed is

equa l to a growth of words in comprehension . On this ba sis wem a y equa te the

'

score for Speed a nd comprehension simply a nd

quickly a ccording to the pr inciple ofa sl ide rul e a s represented in

Fig . 9 . The sca le for speed is given on the left side a nd the corresponding un its ofthe sca lefor comprehension on the r ight Side . The

single score combini ng speed a nd comprehension for a given pupilca n be rea d off insta n t a neously a nd m ay be expressed in terms

either ofspeed or ofcomprehension . For example, the first pupilmen t ioned in the preceding pa ra gra ph , with a score of for speed

a nd 2 5 for comprehension ,woul d ha ve a single score of in terms

ofspeed or 3 1 in terms ofcomprehension . This is done byfindingon the sca le for speed a nd 2 5 on the sca le for comprehension . The

SPEED

Gra des

COMPREHENSION

Gra des 2 -7 8F IG . 1 0 . Gra phs for rea ding Showing the compa rison ofa la rge school with the sta nda rd

curves . The continuous lines a re the sta nda rd curves, a nd the broken lines represent the schoo l.


ent ire gra de, ofa n ent ire school or ofa whole school system . Figure1 0 shows the compa r ison wi th the sta nda rds ofa n elementa ry schoolof4 0 1 pupils in a city of popul a t ion . Figure 1 1 gives theresul ts ofa test in a sma ll city ofa bout 2 0 0 0 popul a tion . There isconsidera ble deficrency In nea r ly a ll gra des in the la tter city

,which

is proba bly due to the l a rge foreign elem ent . This is indic a ted bythe fa ct tha t some ofthe pupil swr ote their tests in a foreign la ngua ge.

Critical Points concerning the Relia bil ity of the Tests . First,

the tim e lim it . Does rea ding for thirty seconds a dequa tely test

a person’s rea ding ca pa city" The t im e l im it ofthi rty seconds wa s

chosen ,fir st

,because the necessa ry m a teri a l for this interva l coul d

al l be prin ted on a sheet ofpa per a bout the Size ofa n ordina ry pa gein a rea der

,a nd

,second

,beca use a longer interva l oft ime woul d

in crea se very m a ter ia ll y the l a bor ofscoring the resul ts. But irrespective oflength oftext or la bor ofscorin g

,the chiefpoin t is the

relia b il ity ofthe tests .

In order to determ ine whether thirty seconds is a n a dequa te lengthoftime, a

'

test wa s m a de on a group ofpersons with two longer pa ssa ges , one requir ing a pproxim a tely two a nd one ha lfm inutes to rea d

a nd the other a pproxim a tely five m inutes . Speed a nd comprehensionwere determin ed in the same m a nner a s in the regul a r tests .

These resul ts showed tha t a person’

s perform a n ce in one pa ssa geis pra ctica ll y the same a s in a ny other a nd tha t the interva l ofthirtyseconds is sufficiently long to give a very a dequa te test ofa person ’

s

rea ding capa city both in rega rd to speed a nd comprehension .

A second cr itica l point is the increa sing diffi culty ofthe test pa s

sa ges . These nine selections were chosen after some experimenta

tion so tha t the successive pa ssa ge woul d increa se in difficul ty bya pproxim a tely imiform steps . Perfect uniform ity in the steps is

not a bsolutely necessa ry , since the growt h in rea di ng ca pa city fromgra de to gra de ca n be mea sured by the method described ;namely

,

oftesting ea ch gra de with its own sample a nd a lso with the sample

ofthe gr a de just below it , a nd ifdesired , a lso with the sample ofthe

gra de just a bove it .

Ob jection to some ofthe pa ssa ges m ight be ta ken on the groundtha t they a re more or less fam il ia r fa bles or pieces oflitera ture. But

a compa rison ofthe resul ts with the different pa ssa ges ga ve no indi

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READIN G 3 7

ca tion tha t selection NO . 5 a bout King M ida s wa s rea d more ra pidl yor reta ined more ful ly tha n its position dem a nded . There is everyindi ca tion on the ba sis ofthe tests m a de thus fa r tha t the fami lia rityga ined in the ordin a ry rea ding in school with a ny pa ssa ge will nota pprecia bly affect the tests unl ess the rea ding ha s been done veryrecently

,sa y,

within a month preced ing the test . This poin t ca n

a lwa ys be checked up by the fa ct tha t the tests on the same pupil sa re m a de with two different pa ssa ges .

A third poin t which must be considered is the wri tten reproduc

t ion ofthe thought a s a n index ofcomprehension . Some pupil sm a y be a ble to express themselves more rea dily in writ ing a nd othersmore rea di ly in speak ing . Idea lly

,the comprehen sion Shoul d per

ha ps be tested by ha ving ea ch pupil sta te ora lly in his own words

wha t he ha d rea d a nd by ha ving a stenogra phi c report ofhis sta te

men ts . Thi s method woul d enta il much difficul ty a nd require a n

enormous amoun t oftime,a s ea ch child woul d ha ve to be tested

indi vidua ll y with the a id ofa stenogra pher , a nd in the end it would

proba bly be no better a s a n index ofcomprehension . The methodofdeterm inin g comprehension employed in our mea suremen ts of

rea ding h a s been tested in va ri ous wa ys a nd found to be a ccur a tea s well a s convenient .

In order to determine the va lidi ty Ofthese rea ding tests from a

different a ngle, a compa rison wa s m a de between the efficiency inrea ding a s Shown by the tests a nd the efficien cy a s indi ca ted by them a rks in rea ding assigned by the tea chers . This compa rison ,

m a de in a school of2 5 6 pupils , showed a close a greement between

the tests a nd the rea di ng a s estim a ted by the tea chers . There isevery rea son for bel ieving tha t the rea l rea ding ca pa city ofa chil dis mea sured a ccura tely by mea ns ofthese tests

,a nd fa r more a ccu

ra tely tha n by the most conscientious m a rkin g .

A fourth point rega rding the va lidi ty ofthe tests rela tes to the

method ofscoring comprehension ;n am ely, ofcoun ting the number of

wri t ten words which correctly express the thought ofthe test pa ssa ge.

Thi s method wa s a dopted beca use it is simple, r a pid a nd objective.

Severa l other methods ofscoring were tried out , but it wa s found tha tthe method here used is a ccur a te a nd relia ble . In fa ct , it is ful ly a sa ccura te a s the combined judgm en t often competent tea chers .


Engl ish Vocabul ary Test . 1 A useful a nd importa nt supplementa rymea suremen t Ofrea ding a bil ity is a test for determ ining the com

prehension ofindividua l words a nd the r a nge ofa person’s rea ding

voca bula ry . For this purpose thefol lowing test ha s been designed .

I t mea sures the percenta ge ofwords of the entire English voca bul a ry a s wel l a s the a bsolute number ofwords tha t a person under

sta nds . The test consists ofsever a l sets of 1 0 0 words ea ch whichwere selected a t un iform interva ls from the entire Engl ish voca bula ry . Ea ch l ist of 1 0 0 wa s selected by t a king the first word on

every 2 3 d pa ge ofWebster’

s New Interna t iona l Dictiona ryList I conta ins the words from pa ges 2 3 , 46, 69, etc .

,a nd l ist I I

from pa ges 2 4 , 47, 70 , etc . This method ofselect ion yields a fa ira nd representa tive sampl ing ofthe entire Engl ish voca bula ry .

ENGLISH VOCABULARY TESTName Gra de Schoo l Da te

M a ke a check m a rk (x") after ea ch word whose mea n ing you a re sure ofa nd

which you could certa in ly use correct ly .

Wr ite the mea n ing after such other words a s you a refam il ia r with but ofwhosemea n ing you a re not sure .

Then you wi ll be a sked by the exam iner to wr ite the mea n ing after a ny ofthe

d ifficult words tha t you m a y ha ve checked,so a s to m a ke sure tha t you did not

check a ny tha t you did not know . Ifyou ca nnot give a mea n ing, cross the word

off. Words which a re sim ila r to common words but which ha ve en t irely d ifferentmea n ings, will especia lly be ca lled for

, such a s beller ic, ca non,to cree, Mut ,

pea vey , etc .

L IST Ia cta 1 6 . cha ncro id 3 1 . eloquencea griculturist 1 7. to chop 3 2 . ep iceneambula crum I 8. clea rness 3 3 . eva pora t ivea bnorma l 1 9 . col la r 3 4 . fa ct ionAra neida 2 0 . to comproba te 3 5 . to fla t

a ssa ga i 2 1 . construct iveness 3 6 . forest

awaft 2 2 . to cree 3 7. fubbyba rker 2 3 . correa l 3 8. to ga zettebel ler ic 2 4 . currency 3 9 . glono inb iza rre 2 5 . dea th 40 . gyra lbonmot 2 6 . depa rtmenta l 4 1 . ha utboybr idle 2 7. d ifference 42 . heterogonybutter - cup 2 8. d ispla yed 43 . hordea ceousca non 2 9 . to dow 44 . hyperkera tosisC a ta na nche 3 0 . dysod ile 45 . to implore1 Copies ofthis test sheet may be obta ined in desired qua ntities from the a uthor.

a ct iona igrett

amen t iaa nta gon isma rbust ivea ssent

a wryba rometer

belongingbla ckbook

b rightenbuttres s

ca ntha rsis

to ca tchcha ngeChoripeta lm

collect ivitycona t iona lconsumpt ivecorrespondingcrena te

curt a in

debentured

to deplored iffluenee

d isputa ble

llI EASUREMENT OF ABIL ITY IN READING

L IST IIdown rightea gletema ncipa t ion istep iga st riumevergreenfa ddyferret

fla w

to for- ga therful gurousGela simus

glossopha ryngea lgra ssHa bena riaha wkheterotop ismhornerhypnothera pyimpostureinfidel ityinterrnissive

iva

jusila uda n inel ibella ryloca llymphoma

ma nifest

mea dow-sweet

meta ba s ism isgivemoor la ndMut

Neptunenot icea b leoil

orgyoxid iza b lepa ra nephr it ispea veypersp icuousp ietyPlot in ismposit iveto prickto provokequa hfier

ra soria lto refuse

rest

to roa st

sa bba t ismsca bbed

secreta ria l

3 9

40 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREME NTS

89 . to swerve90 . to t a ste

9 1 . then92 . t issue93 . tra nsp ire94 . trunn ion95 . uncha rged

The test is given a ccording to the specifica t ions a t the hea d of

the sheet . A pupil’

s score is the a vera ge number ofwords desig

ma ted correctly in the two l ists . This score wi ll be the percenta geofwords tha t he understa nds in the two l ists a s well a s the percenta geofwords of the entire English voca bul a ry tha t he understa nds .

An a vera ge oftwo l ists will give a n a ccura te mea sure ofthe size of

a person’

s rea ding voca bul a ry . The mea n va r ia t ion ofthe scoresobta in ed from the two l ists is a pproxim a tely indi ca t ing a ra therhigh degree of a ccura cy . Grea ter a ccura cy ca n be obta ined by

testing with more tha n two sets,but tha t will ra rely be needed .

Addi t iona l test l ists ca n be prepa red by following the principle of

selection employed in l ists I a nd I I .The following a re ten ta t ive sta nda rd scores for the va rious yea rs

a s determ ined from tests m a de in four schools

ELEMENTARY HI GH SCHOOL UNIVERSITY2 3 4 I 2 3 4

3 0 3 3 3 6 3 9 42 45 47-5 50 5 3 56 6 1 63

Individua l Differences and the Overlapping ofGra des . One of

themost import a nt , ifnot themost importa nt , di scovery ofthe recentmea surements ofefficiency in school studies

,is the enormous ra nge

ofdifferen ces in ca pa city shown by the pupils in the same cla ss or

gra de . There is a t a cit feel ing tha t when a pupil is promoted to

the next higher gra de his ca pa city is distin ctly superior to the a vera ge a bili ty ofthe pupils left behind , a nd tha t the pupils ofa ny

given gra de, while not a like, a re individua lly a nd collectively superiorto the a vera ge or even to the better ones ofthe next lower gr a de.

I t is,therefore

,most surprising to find tha t the a bil ities shown

by the pupils ofa ny gra de, with the possible exception ofthe fir sta nd second

,a re distr ibuted over the entire sca le. For example,

there a re pupils in the fourth gra de whose a tta inment in rea dingis higher tha n tha t ofthe a vera ge eighth -gra de pupil . Likewise,


there a re pupils in the four th gr a de whose a tta inment in rea dingis inferior to tha t ofthe a vera ge first - gr a de pupil .

To Show these fa cts con cretely,the distributions ofthe rea ding

a bilities ofthe pupils in ea ch gr a de in a certa in school a re shown

in the gra phs ofFig . 1 2 . These distribution curves a re ba sed on

single scores in whi ch Speed a nd comprehension a re combined a ccord

FIG. 1 2 .

— The numbers a long the ba se line represent scores for speed a nd comprehen

sion combined a s expressed in term s ofspeed. The lowest curve represents the distributionofthe pupils in the second g ra de, the next one for the third gra de, etc .

ing to the sl ide rule sca le. I t wi l l be seen a t a gl a nce tha t the ra ngesofdifference a re a stoundingly wide. The five best pupils in the

second gra de rea d a s wel l a s the seven poorest in the.

eighth gr a de.

A study sim ila r to tha t Shown in Fig . 1 2 wa s m a de of a l l the

gra des in three schools , ea ch in a differen t city . The resul ts were

identica l in every respect with those shown in Fig . 1 2 . The ra nge of

differences a nd the overla pping were just a s la rge . Furthermore,


it wa s found tha t , in speed a nd comprehension combined , per

cent ofthe pupil s ofa ny gr a de rea ched or exceeded the media n of

the next gra de a bove, per cent rea ched or exceeded the media nof the second gr a de a bove, per cent rea ched or exceeded the

media n ofthe third gra de a bove, and 3 3 per cent rea ched or exceededthe medi a n ofthe fourth gra de a bove. In other words, one thirdofthe pupil s ofa ny given gra de coul d do the rea ding work ofthe

next gra de a bove a s wel l a s the a vera ge oftha t gra de, one fifth coul ddo the work ofthe second a bove it a s wel l a s the a vera ge oftha tgr a de, a nd one eighth could do the work ofthe thi rd gr a de a boveit a s well a s the a vera ge oftha t gr a de. Likewise

,corresponding

percenta ges ofpupil s in a ny given gra de a re no more efficient inrea di ng tha n the pupils one, two ,

or three gra des below it .

Shoul d these differences be taken into a ccount in our schools"Shoul d the pupils be recl a ssified into higher or lower cla sses a ccording to their ca pa cities" The fa cts presented here revea l the situation a s it a ctua l ly exists a t the present t ime.

Thorndike’s Rea ding Tests . Thorndike ha s prepa red two rea d

ing tests, one for mea sur ing a b ility in rea ding words a nd the otherfor rea ding sentences . The voca bul a ry test consists ofa ser ies of

steps gra ded in uniforml y in crea sing amounts ofdifficul ty . Ea chstep ha s five words ofequa l difficul ty . These words were selected

from a much la rger l ist whose difficulty wa s determined experi

menta l ly by tests ou a l a rge number ofchildren . A pupil ’s scorein the test is the number ofthe highest step pa ssed ,

a nd a step is

pa ssed ifnot more tha n one ofthe five words is m issed .

The test is conveni ent , defin ite a nd ea sily scored . Its chieflim ita tions a re tha t it ha s a predom ina nce ofnames offlowers a nd a ni

m a ls,which would give undue a dva nta ge to‘

some pupils ;a nd tha t itha s onl y five words in ea ch step ,

which woul d be a n a dva nta ge tosome pupils a nd a disa dva nta ge to others . Both ofthese defectsmay be remedi ed by modifica tions a nd a ddit ions ofwords . Scal e

A a nd sca le Alpha mea sure comprehension prim a rily . They do not

mea sure the other importa nt element ofrea ding,namely speed .

The test for mea suring the understa nding ofsentences is scoredby determ ining how the questions a re a nswered . A deta iled systemofscoring is outlined in the origina l monogra ph .

44 EDUCATIONAL ME ASUREMENTS

9 . ezra , ich a bod ,ledger , pa rchesi , precedi ng

1 0. crocus, d a hlia , jonquil , opossum , pol troon

begon ia , equi ta ble, preten tious , renega de,

reprob a te

1 1 . a rm a dil lo , igua n a , phila n thropic

THE THORND IKE SCALESPUBLIs BY TEACHERS COLLEGE

NEW YORK C ITY

SCALE ALPHA

FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES

Write your name here .

Write your age . yea rs . months .

SET a

Rea d th is a nd then write the a nswers . Rea d it a ga in

a s often a s you need to .

John h a d two b rothers who were both ta l l . Their

n ames were Wil l a nd Fred . John ’

s sister , who wa s shor t ,wa s n am ed M a ry . John l iked Fred better th a n either ofthe others . Al l ofthese children except Wil l h a d red ha ir .

He h a d b rown h a ir .

1 . Wa s John ’

s sister ta l l or shor t "

2 . How m a ny brothers h a d John

3 . Wha t wa s h is sister ’s n ame


SET b

Rea d this a nd then write the a n swers . Rea d it a ga ina s often a s you need to

Long after the sun h a d set , Tom wa s st il l wa i ting forJim a nd Dick to come .

“

Ifthey do not come beforen ine o

’

clock ,

”he sa id to h im self,

“

I wil l go on to Bostona lone .

” At h a lfpa st eigh t they came bringing two otherboys with them . Tom wa s very gl a d to see them a nd

ga ve ea ch ofthem one ofthe a pples he h a d kept . Theya te these a nd he a te one too . Then a l l wen t on down theroa d .

1 . When d id Jim a nd Dick come

2 . Wh a t did they do after ea ting the a pples"

3 . Who else cam e besi des Jim a nd Dick "

4 . How long did Tom sa y he would wa it for them "

5 . Wh a t h a ppened after the boys a te the a pples"


SET t

Rea d th is a nd then write the a n swers . Rea d it

a ga in a s often a s you need to .

I t m a y seem a t first though t th a t every boy a nd

gir l who goes to school ough t to do a l l the work th a tthe tea cher wishes done . But sometim es other dutiespreven t even the best boy or gir l from doing so . Ifa boy ’

s or gir l’

s fa ther died a nd he ha d to work afternoons a nd even ings to ea rn money to help his mother ,such m igh t be the ca se . A good gir l m igh t let herlesson s go undone in order to help her mother by ta king ca re ofthe b a by .

1 . Wh a t a re some condition s th a t m igh t m a ke even

the best boy leave school work unfin ished "

2 . Wha t m igh t a boy do in the even ings to help his

fam ily "

3 . How coul d a gir l be ofuse to her m other

Look a t these words : idle, tribe, inch, i t, ice, ivy,

tide, tr i te, tip,top,

ti t, ta t, toe.

C ross out every one ofthem tha t ha s a n i a nd ha s

not a ny t (T) in it .

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READING 47

SET d

Rea d this a nd then write the a nswers . Rea d it

a ga in a s often a s you need to .

I t m a y seem a t fir st though t th a t every boy a nd

gir l who goes to school ough t to do a l l the work th a tthe tea cher wishes done . But som etimes other dutiespreven t even the best boy or gir l from doing so . Ifa

boy ’

s or gir l’

s fa ther died a nd he h a d to work afternoons a nd even ings to ea rn m oney to help his m other ,such m igh t be the ca se . A good gir l m igh t let herlessons go undone in order to help her m other by t a k

ing ca re ofthe b a by .

1 . Wh a t is it th a t m igh t seem a t first though t to be

true, but rea l ly is fa lse

2 . Wh a t m igh t be the effect ofh is fa ther ’s dea th upon

the wa y a boy spen t his time

3 . Who is m en t ioned in the pa ra gra ph a s the person

who desires to h ave a l l lesson s completely done "

In these two l ines d raw a l ine under every 5 th a t

comes just after a 2,un less the 2 comes just after a

9 . Ifth a t is the ca se ,d raw a l ine under the next

figure after the 5

5 3 6 2 5 4 1 74 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5

4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7 9 2 5 6 1 2 5 74 8 5 6


Sta nda rd Scores . No sta nda rd scores have been determ ined thus fa r . Childs 1 found the fol lowing June scores

for 754 pupils in B loom ington ,India na .

Gra de (A a nd B ) 4 5 6 7 8

Score (Sca le A)

Ka nsa s Silent Rea ding Test .

2 This test wa s devised by ProfessorF . J . Kel ly for the purpose ofmea sur ing pr im a rily comprehensionofrea ding on the pr in ciple ofsimple responses to short pa ra gr a phsto indica te the correct or in correct understa nding ofthe pa ssa ge .

The chiefa dva nta ge ofthe test is the simpl icity ofscor ing the resul ts .

The chiefdi sa dva nta ges a re tha t the test does not mea sure di rectlythe speed ofrea ding a nd tha t m a ny ofthe pa ssa ges tend to be chieflyexercises in rea soning or in solving puzzles . Nevertheless they wil lfurnish undoubtedl y import a nt indi ces ofa bili ty in rea ding .

Directions for Giving the TestsAfter tel ling the children not to open the pa pers, a sk thechildren on the front sea ts to d istr ibute the pa pers, p la cing oneupon the desk ofea ch pupil in the cla ss . Ha ve ea ch child fill inthe bla nk spa ce a t the top ofthis pa ge. Then make clea r thefol lowing

Instructions to be Rea d by Tea cher a nd Pupils TogetherThis l ittle five-minute game is given to see how quickly a nd

a ccura tely pupils ca n rea d silently . To Show wha t sort ofgameit is, let us rea d this :

Below a re given the names offour a n ima ls Drawa l ine a round the name ofea ch a nima l tha t Is usefulon the fa rm

cow

1 Childs , H . G . Fifteenth Yea rbook ofthe N a tiona l Society for the Study ofEduca tion,

1 9 1 6, p . 81 .

2 Copies ofthese tests may be obta ined in desired qua ntities from the Sta te Norma lSchool , Emporia , Ka nsa s .

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN READING 49

This exercise tel ls us to draw a line a round the word cow. Noother a nswer is r ight . Even ifa l ine is drawn under the wordcow, the exercise is wrong , a nd counts nothing . The game con

sists ofa lot ofjust such exercises, so it is wise to study ea ch exercise ca reful ly enough to be sure tha t you know exa ctly wha tyou a re a sked to do . The number ofexercises which you ca n

finish thus in five minutes wi l l ma ke your score, so do them a s

fa st a s you ca n , being sure to do them r ight . Stop a t once whentime is ca l led . Do not open the pa pers until told , so tha t a ll maybegin a t the same time.

The tea cher should then be sure tha t ea ch pupil ha s a goodpencil or pen . Note the minute a nd second by the wa tch , a ndsay, BEGIN .

ALLOW EXACTLY FIVE M INUTES .

Answer no questions ofthe pup ils which a rise from not understa nding wha t to do with a ny given exercise.

When time is up say STOP a nd then collect the pa pers a t

once.

Test for Gra des 3 , 4 , a nd 5No. 1

I ha ve red , green , a nd yel low pa pers in my ha nd . If Va lueI pla ce the red a nd green pa pers on the cha ir , which colordo I stil l ha ve in my ha nd"

No. 2

Think ofthe thickness of the peel ings ofapples a ndV 1

ora nges . Put a l ine a round the name ofthe fruit ha ving fil e

the thinner peel ing .

ora nges

No. 3

Three words a re given below. One ofthem ha s been

left out ofthis sentence : I ca nnot the girl who ha s Va luethe fla g. Draw a l ine a round the word which is needed in 1 -4

the a bove sentence.

red see come

No. 4

There a re seven boys a nd twelve girls in a room . Ifthere a re more boys tha n girls, write boys on the l ine below. Ifmore girls tha n boys, wr ite girls on the l inebelow.


No. 5

Ifyou would ra ther ha ve a dol la r tha n a l ittle stone, doVa lue not put a l ine under dol la r , but ifyou would ra ther ha vem

five dolla rs than a pencil , put a l ine under stone.

dolla r stone

No. 6

The first letter in the a lphabet is a . Below a re some( 6 ’7

words conta in ing the letter a . Draw a l ine under

the one in which the first letter ofthe a lpha bet is foundthe grea test number oftimes .

ha t ea sy ba by a ge ma nfully

No. 7

A child wrote these letters on the bla ckboa rd , b y a k .

Va lue He then rubbed out one letter a nd put c in its p la ce.

He then ha d b y c k on the bla ckboa rd . Wha t wa s theletter which he era sed

‘7

No. 8

Count the letters in ea ch ofthe words wr itten below.

You wil l find tha t pumpkin ha s seven letters, a nd tha nksha s six letters . One ofthe words ha s five letters in i t .

Ifyou ca n find the one ha ving five letters, draw a l inea round it .

breeze tha nks yours pumpkin duck

No. 9

Here a re some names ofthings . Put a line a round thename ofthe one which is most nea rly round in every wayl ike a ba l l .

saucer tea cup ora nge pea r a rm

No . 1 0

Va lue A recipe ca l ls for milk, suga r , cornsta rch a nd eggs . Iha ve milk, suga r a nd eggs . Wha t must I get before Ica n use the recipe"

Va lue

Va lue

Va lue

Va lue


Test for Gra des 6 , 7 a nd 8

No. 1

The a ir nea r the ceil ing ofa room is wa rm, while tha t onthe floor is cold . Two boys a re in the room , James on thefloor a nd Ha rry on a box eight feet high . Which boy ha sthe wa rmer pla ce"

No. 2

Ifgra y is da rker tha n white a nd bla ck is da rker tha ngra y, wha t color ofthose named in this sentence is l ightertha n gra y "

No. 3

We ca n see through gla ss, so we ca ll it tra nspa rent .We ca nnot see through iron , so we ca l l it opa que. Is

bla ck ink opa que, or is it tra nspa rent

No. 4

My shepherd dog ca n run fa ster tha n a ny ofmy fa ther ’sla rge herd ofca ttle, but he wil l not cha se a ra bb it beca usehe lea rned long a go tha t a ra bbit could ea sily outrun him .

Ifmy dog is no slower tha n other shepherd dogs, draw a

l

bin

l

e under the fa stest runner ofthe three a n ima ls namede ow.

rabbit shepherd dog cow

No . 5

Ifyou find a word in this sentence which may be usedto denote color , draw a l ine under it ;but ifyou do not

find such a word , draw a l ine under the first word ofthesentence.

No. 6

In going to school , J ames ha s to pa ss John ’

s house, butdoes not pa ss Fra nk

’

s . IfHa rry goes to school withJ ames, Whose house will Ha rry pa ss, John ’

s or Fra nk’

s"

No . 7

A boy goes to school in the morn ing, goes home a t noonfor lunch , returns to school a t 1 o’clock a nd returns homea t 4 o

’clock . How ma ny times does he tra vel betweenhome a nd school tha t day"


No. 8

Here a re two squa res . Draw a line from the upper

left-ha nd corner ofthe sma ll squa re to the lower rightha nd corner ofthe la rge squa re.

No . 9

A fa rmer puts one ha lfthe hay from his field into thefirst sta ck, then two thirds ofwha t is left into a secondsta ck a nd the rema inder in a third sta ck . Which sta ckis the la rgest "

No . 1 0

Below a re two squa res a nd a circle. Ifthe circle is thela rgest ofthe three, put a cross in it . Ifone squa re issma ller tha n the circle, put a cross in the la rge squa re.

Ifboth squa res a re sma l ler tha n the circle, put a cross inthe sma ll squa re.

D O D

No. 1 1

The curfew tol ls the knel l ofpa rting day,

The lowing herds wind slowly o’

er the lea ,

The ploughma n homewa rd p lods his wea ry way,

And lea ves the world to da rkness a nd to megray)

Study the a bove quota tion ca refully . The a uthor letsus know his feeling a bout the coming ofnight . Ifyouthink his feeling is one offea r a nd drea d , underscorecurfew. Ifhis feel ing is one ofpea ce a nd gla dness, underscore ploughma n .

Va lue

Va lue


No. 1 2

Rea d these ca refullyBea rs a re la rger tha n bugs .

Houses a re la rger tha n bea rs .

Mounta ins a re la rger tha n houses .

Then bugs a re not a s la rge a s mounta ins .

I have tr ied to make no fa lse sta tement among thesefour . If I ha ve succeeded , underl ine the word success .

IfI ha ve fa iled, underl ine the word fa ilure.

success fa ilure

No . 1 3

Va lue Ifa ma n ta kes a n hour to wa lk a round a squa re ea ch

4 3 side ofwhich is a m ile in lengt h , how longwil l it ta ke himto wa lk eight m iles"

No . 1 4

A l ist ofwords is given below . One ofthem is needed

to complete the thought in the fol lowing senten ce : Theroa ds became muddy when the snow

Do not put the missing word in the bla nk spa ce left inthe sentence, but put a cross below the word in the l istwhich is next a bove the word needed in the sentence.

wa teris

meltedsnow

No . 1 5

I am wr iting this pa ra gr a ph to test your a bil ity to rea d

Va lue wha t I compose. Underscore a ny word in the pa ra gra ph5 8 which ha s the same number ofletters a s the third word

from the beginn ing ofthe pa ra gra ph but which ha s none

ofthe same letters .

No. 1 6

My mother ’s birthda y a nd m ine a re on the same day.

We a lwa ys ha ve a round b irthda y ca ke together . We

put a s ma ny ca ndles in a row a round the ca ke a s mymother is yea rs old , but not a l l the ca ndles a rewhite ones.

We use a s ma ny red ones a s I am yea rs old . This yea r weused ten red ones . We found tha t between ea ch two redones we ha d to pla ce twowhite ones . How old is mother "

THE MEASUREME NT OF ABILITY IN READING 5 5

Test for Gra des 8, 9 , I o, 1 1 a nd 1 2

No . 1

Ma ry is older tha n Nell ie, a nd Nel lie is older tha n Ka te.Va lue

Which gir l is older , Ma ry or Ka te "

No . 2

My fingers were numb with cold from ca rrying myska tes . My brea th looked l ike steam before my fa cea nd froze into a thick frost on my muffler . My mothersawme coming a nd ca l led , C lea n offyour Shoes a nd thencome in a nd get wa rm .

” Which do you think I ha d on

my shoes, mud or snow"

No. 3

I ha ve five p lums a nd Ma ry ha s four p lums . J a necomes a long a nd we see tha t she ha sn ’t a ny. We wa nt V

glge

to d ivide with Ja ne in such a wa y tha t we sha l l a l l threeha ve the same number . I give Ja ne two plums . Howma ny must M a ry give her"

No . 4

In the fol lowing words, find one letter which is con Va lueta ined in only three ofthem a nd then cross out the word 3 7

which does not conta in tha t letter .

a il thief l ive

No . 5

A , B ,C a nd D on the l ine below represent four pla ces

lying in a stra ight l ine. From A to B is 4 miles,from C to Va lueD is 7m iles, from A to D is 1 4 m iles . How fa r is it from 3 8

B to C "A

No. 6

Bone is composed ofa nima l ma tter a nd minera l ma tter .

The former gives it toughness a nd the la tter r igidity .

Yesterda y I p la ced a bone from a chicken ’

s leg in a

bottle ofa cid , a nd found this morning tha t I could wr a pthe bone a round my finger like gr istle. Which kind ofma tter wa s removed from the bone"

Va lue


No. 7

The pitch ofa tone depends on the number ofvibrations ma de by the vibra ting body in a second oftime.

The grea ter the number ofvibra tions per second, thehigher the tone. Two bodies a re ma de to vibra te, theformer 2 5 6 times a second

,a nd the la tter 3 84 times a

second . Which produces the lower tone, the former

or the la tter"

No. 8

There a re three horizonta l l ines ;the first is three inchesin length , the second two inches, the third one inch . We

know tha t ifthe second a nd third l ines a re joined end to

end the resulting l ine wi l l be a s long a s the first l ine.

Suppose tha t the first a nd second l ines a re joined end to

end . How ma ny times a s long a s the third l ine wil l theresulting l ine be"

No . 9

It wa s a quiet, snowy day. The tra in was la te. The

l a dies’ wa iting room wa s da rk, smoky a nd close, a nd the

dozen women , old a nd young, who sa t wa iting impa tiently,a l l looked cross, low spir ited or stupid .

In this scene the women proba bly kept their wraps on ,

beca use they wished to be rea dy to ta ke the tra in . Prettysoon the sta tion a gent came a nd put more coa l in the

stove, which wa s a lrea dy redhot in spots . Do you thinkthis ma de the women ha ppier "

No. 1 0

Below a re three l ines . Ifthe first l ine is the shortest,pla ce a dot a bove it . Ifthe la st l ine is shorter tha n thefirst but longer tha n themiddle line, put a cross a bove thelongest . Ifea ch ofthe other l ines is longer tha n the la stl ine, put a cross a bove the shortest l ine.


No . 1 1

Four hundred fifty yea rs ago the peop le ofWesternEurope were getting Silks , perfumes, shawls , ivory , spicesa nd jewels from Southea stern Asia ,

then ca l led the Indies .

But the Turks were conquer ing the countr ies a crosswhich the goods were ca rr ied , a nd it seemed l ikely tha tthe tra de would be stopped .

In theforegoing pa ra gra ph , wha t wa s the country ca l ledfrom which the people ofWestern Europe were gettingthe goods named in the pa ra gra ph "

No . 1 2

Mrs . White a nd I were ta lking . She sa id tome, Nora ,

I lea rned the other day tha t I am five yea rs older tha nyour mother .

”

To this I a nswered , Then , Mrs . White, you a re justthree times as old a s I am .

Nora is twelve yea rs old .

”

How old is her mother "

No. 1 3

Magna n im ity in pol itics is not seldom the truest wisdom a nd a grea t empire a nd l ittle m inds go together .

”

(Burke)

Study Burke’s quota tion ca refully . Ifhe wa s in fa vorofterr itor ia l expa nsion a s the goa l ofEngl ish pol iticia nshe was a sta ndpa tter . Ifhe bel ieved in the esta bl ishment ofjustice in huma n rela tions even a t the sa cr ifice ofterr itor ia l expa nsion , he wa s a progressive. Which wa she, a sta ndpa tter or a progressive"

No . 1 4

Without ma king a l ine on pa per a t a ll , fol low theseinstructions in your ima gina tion . Fi‘om the r ight-ha ndend ofa l ine AB , draw a l ine BC a t right a ngles to ABa nd ha lf a s long a s AB . From the extremity ofBCdraw a l ine CD through the m iddle ofAB , three times a slong as BC . Join A a nd D . Do the l ines in the figure in close a ny surfa ce or surfa ces" Ifso, how ma ny "


No . 1 5

Suppose tha t I ha ve a dry sponge which weighs a ha lf

pound , a nd a pa n ofwa ter . The pa n a nd the wa terweigh three a nd one ha lfpounds . I soa k the sponge in

the pa n ofwa ter a nd wr ing it out into a p int mea sureuntil the mea sure is ful l . The p int ofwa ter weighs a

pound . I now put the sponge into the pa n ofwa tera nd weigh the pa n a nd its contents . Wha t will theweight be"

No . 1 6

At sea level wa ter boils a t 2 1 2 degrees a bove zero on theFa hrenheit thermometer , a nd a t 1 00 degrees a bove zeroon the Centigra de thermometer . The zero point on theCentigra de thermometer represents the same temperature a s 3 2 degrees on the Fa hrenheit thermometer . Acha nge in tempera ture which would ra ise the mercury ina Centigra de thermometer 5 degrees would ra ise the

mercury in a Fa hrenheit thermometer how ma ny degrees"

CHAPTER V

THE MEASUREMEN T OF ABILITY IN WR IT ING

Essentia l Elements in Writing. In mea sur ing the efficiency of

wr itin g it is necessa ry to a scerta in the essent ia l const ituents in the

process . The two prime elements ofha ndwr iting whi ch need to be

m ea sured in order to determ ine a person’

s wri ting ca pa city a re

speed a nd qua l ity , including under the l a t ter legibil ity a nd form

or genera l aes thet ic a ppea r a nce. Other cha ra cteristics,Such a s

indivi dua l ity,size

,style

,sla nt

,etc .

,a re ofl itt le or no import a nce

from the pr a ctica l point ofview ofwrit ing a s a m ea ns ofcommun ica

tion,except in so fa r a s they a refa ctors in speed ,

qua l ity or legibility .

Methods ofM ea suring. The Speed ofwrit ing m ay be mea sured

r a ther ea sily by a scerta in ing the amount tha t ca n be written in a

given per iod oft ime,let us sa y,

the num ber ofletters per minute .

The qua l ity ofwrit ing ca n be m ea sured by either the Thorndikeor the Ayres sca le. The n a ture a nd deriva tion ofthese sca l es is

descr ibed in the origin a l sources . The Thorndike scal e wa s con

structed from 1 0 0 0 samples ofwrit ing , furnished by pupils in school .These samples were a rr a nged in the order ofmerit by forty or more

competent judges . Thi s resulted in a sca le ofgra ded specimens

ra nging in qua l ity from o to 1 8,the former being a bsolutely il legible

writing , but recogn iza ble a s a n a ttempt to wri te,a nd the la tter

being a perfect copybook model . A given specimen ofwr iting ismea sured by putting it a longside the sca le a nd determining to wha tqua l ity it is nea rest .

The Ayres sca le wa s constructed by mea suring the speed ofrea d

ing 1 578 samples ofchildren ’

s wr iting . The words in these sam ples

were thrown out oftheir na tura l context . These specimens were

then rea d by ten different persons , a nd a n a vera ge rea ding time wa s

computed for ea ch sample . Typica l specimens were selected fromthe entire group so a s to represent eight degrees oflegibility . The

sca le in its fina l form consists ofthree samples, sla nt , medium a nd

60

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY I N WRIT ING 6 1

vertica l,for ea ch ofthe eight degrees oflegibil ity . The steps a re

designa ted a s 2 0, 3 0 , 40 , 5 0 ,

60, 70 ,

80 a nd 90 . Mea suremen ts a re

ma de in the same m a nner a s with the Thorndike sca le .

The conven ience a nd a ccura cy ofm a king m ea suremen ts with thesetwo sca les a re pra ct ica l ly the same . To test their rela tive useful

ness a s compa red with the ordina ry estim a tes ofwriting m a de on

the percenta ge ba sis,fifteen samples of chil dren ’

s wr iting weremea sur ed by twenty competent persbns in three wa ys : ( 1 ) by the

Thorndi ke sca le, ( 2 ) by the Ayres sca le a nd (3 ) by the ordina ry

percentile method . The results showed tha t the m ea surements

ma de by either sca le were ofa lmost i dentica l a ccur a cy,a nd tha t

bo th were much more a ccur a te tha n the estim a tes m a de by the usua l

percentile pla n .

By using both sca les for ra ting the same samples ofwriting thefollowing equiva lent va lues for the two sca les ha ve been determined .

THORNDIKESCALE

Qua l ity 7 is equa l toQua l ity 8 is equa l toQua lity 9 is equa l toQua l ity 1 0 is equa l toQua lity 1 1 is equa l toQua l ity 1 2 is equa l toQua l ity 1 3 is equa l toQua l ity 1 4 is equa l to

The Ayres sca le does not extend a s fa r a t the lower a nd upper

l im it s a s the Thorndike sca le . The l im its ofthe Ayres sca le lie

within qua l ities 7 a nd 1 4 on the Thorndike sca le. Quite a number

ofpupils in the upper gr a des wr ite better tha n qua l ity 1 4 a nd a bout

ha lfofthe pupils in the first a nd second gra des wri te worse tha nqua lity 7. In this rega rd the Thorndike sca le is prefer a ble to the

Ayres sca le .

Instructions for Admin istering the Tests . Expla in to the pupilstha t they

.

a re to wr ite repea tedl y the line Ma ry ha d a litt le lamba s wel l a s they ca n a nd a s r a pidl y a s they ca n during the two m inutes .

tha t wil l be a l lowed for the wri ting .

Expla in a lso tha t they a re to write continuously wi thout interruption a nd to m a ke no era sures or corrections .

The pupils a re to write with pen a nd ink on ruled pa per . Before

EDUCATIONAL ME ASUREME NTS

ME ASUREME NT OF ABILITY IN WR ITIN G

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY WR ITING

68 EDUCATI ONAL MEASUREMENTS

THE ME ASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN WR ITING

70EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN WR ITING 71

72EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

THE AYRES SCALE FOR HANDWRITING74

THE AYRES SCALE FOR HANDWRITINGH “

l /

THE AYRES SCALE FOR HANDWRITING

THE AYRES SCALE FOR HANDWRITINGG


m a king the test , ha ve the pupils write a t the top ofthe sheet thename

,gra de

,school , city a nd the da te.

When a ll a re rea dy,ha ve them hold their pens up in the a ir a nd

then give the sign a l sta rt . Allow them exa ctly two minutes towrite over a s m a ny t imes a s they ca n Ma ry ha d a l ittle lamb .

”

Both Speed a nd qua lity ofwr iting count in this test .

Ifdesired,a different sentence m a y be used instea d of M a ry

ha d a l ittle l amb . The sen ten ce must not conta in more tha n fiveto seven words

,which must a l l be fam ilia r to the children . The

pupils, however , must not ha ve received previous dril l upon it .

The sentence Art is long a nd t ime is fleeting,

”or a ny short sentence

m ay be used .

N .B . M ake use of a l lowing exa ctly two minutes . See tha ta ll sta rt a nd stop a t the same t ime.

The t ime l im it oftwo m inutes is chosen because it is long enoughto yiel d a n a dequa te sample ofwrit ing a nd not too long to producefa t igue . In order to ha ve a n a dequa te test ofspeed it is necessa ryto use something tha t ca n be written from memory . Either copyingor dicta t ing would interfere with the n a tura l speed ofwriting .

Instructions for Scoring the Tests . The samples ofwriting a re

scored for speed a nd qua l ity . The speed ofwriting is determ inedby a scerta ining the number of letters wr itten per m inute . The

qua l ity is m ea sured either with the Thorndike sca le or with theAyres by wha t is ca lled the a scending - descending procedure. Tha tis

,a group ofthirty or forty samples is ta ken a nd ea ch one is gra ded

by beginn ing a t the lower end ofthe sca le a nd a scending until thequa lity is rea ched to which the sample is judged equa l . After theentire group ha s been r a ted in this m a nner

,ea ch sample is judged

a ga in by beginn ing a t the upper end ofthe sca le a nd descending untilequiva lence is rea ched . The exam iner should

,ofcourse

,not know

or see wha t the first mea surement wa s . The a vera ge ofthese twodeterm ina tions is ta ken a s the fina l mea surement . I t is bel ievedtha t this method yields considera bly more a ccura te mea surements

tha n a Single ra ting does .

The fol lowing a re the sta nda rd scores, ba sed on over 60 0 0 pupilsin 2 8 schools

,for the ends ofthe respective yea rs . The gr aphs in

Fig . 1 3 represent the sta nda rd scores .


were m a de mutua l ly conver t ible,speed a nd qua l ity ofwr it ing m ay

be expressed in term s of ea ch other . We Sha l l a ssume for thispurpose tha t the growth in speed ofwr iting from the first gra de tothe eighth is equa l in va lue to the pa ra l lel growth in qua l ity duringthe sam e t ime . The ga in in Speed of63 letters per m inute,from 2 0

in the first gra de to 83 in the eighth gra de,wil l be rega rded equa l to

the ga in of steps (Thorndike sca le) ,from in the fir st gr a de toin the eighth gr a de . On this ba sis

,the sl ide- rul e sca le in Fig .

1 4 ha s been prepa red . A pupil whose speed ofwri ting is 4 1 lettersper m inute a nd whose qua lity ofwrit ing is 1 0 (Thorndike sca le)woul d ha ve a Single score of56 in term s ofspeed or 9 in term s of

qua lity . This is obta ined by finding 4 1 on the sca le for speed a nd

1 0 on the sca le for qua l ity . The number on the speed sca le opposite1 0 is 70 . The a vera ge of70 a nd 4 1 is 56 . In the sam e m a nner the

r a t ings by the Ayres sca le m a y be converted in to equiva lent unitson the Thorndike sca le

,a nd vice versa .

The efficiency ofa given pupil , gr a de or school ca n be represented

most Simply by a gra ph a s shown in Fig . 1 5 .

Individua l Differences a nd the Overla pping ofGra des . In con

nection with the rea ding test in the preceding cha pter , we saw the ex

trem ely wi de r a nges ofrea ding a bil ities in the va r ious gr a des a nd thela rge amount ofover l a pping ofthe a bil ities ofthe pupils in one

gra de over the a b il ities ofthe pupils in a d j a cen t gra des . Exa ctlythe sam e situa tion obta ins in wr iting .

The wide ra nge in ea ch gra de a nd the amount ofover la pping ofsuccessive gra des in qua l ity ofwriting a re shown in Fig . 1 6 for the

pupils ofthree schools in city A . The curves in this figure repre

sen t the distribution of the pupils in ea ch gra de . They a re a l l

drawn on the same ba se l ine,so tha t a d irect compa rison ca n be

m a de. The numbers a long the ba se l ine a re qua lities of the

Thorndike sca le .

The pupils in the first gra de ra nge a l l the wa y from qua l ity 4 to

qua lity The pupils in the eighth gra de r a nge from qua l ity 7to qua l ity 1 5 . There a re five pupils in the first gra de who write a s

wel l a s the a vera ge in the eighth gra de .

The most rea l ist ic impression ofthe enormous amount ofoverla pping ca n be gotten from a n inspection ofthe curves themselves.

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN WR IT ING

FIG. 1 4 . Sca le for equa ting speed a nd qua li ty ofwriting .


SPEED

Gra des

QUALITY

Qua lities l I

oftheThorndike 1 0

sca le

Gr a des

F IG . 1 5 .

— Gra phs for writing , showing the compa rison of a cer ta in school with the

sta nda rd curves . The con tinuous lines a re the sta nda rd curves . The broken lines representthe school . I n the sixth a nd seventh gra des, the tea cher ha d dr illed for qua lity a t

the sa crifice ofspeed .

Any gra de over la ps so completely over the next one tha t the a vera gesofthe va rious gra des differ from ea ch other by on ly sm a l l amoun ts .

Expressing these fa cts in numerica l terms, we find tha t in qua lity

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY I N WR ITING

Gr a d e 8

Gr a de 7

Gr a de 6

Gr a d e 5

Gr a de 4

Gr a de 3

Gr a d e 2

Gr a de 1

1 0 1 2

Qua li ties Th orn d ik e Sca leF IG . 1 6 .

— Distribution in writing ofpupils in three schools.

87


ofwri ting on the a vera ge per cent ofthe pupil s ofa ny givengra de rea ch or exceed the media n ofthe next gra de a bove it

,

per cent rea ch or exceed the media n ofthe second gra de a bove it,

per cent rea ch or exceed the media n ofthe thir d gra de a boveit a nd per cent rea ch or exceed the medi a n ofthe fourth gra dea bove it . Sta tements ofthe same sort a pply to the speed ofwri t ing .

Freema n’

s Wri ting Sca les .

1 Freem a n has prepa red a series offive

short sca les ea ch for ra ting one offive cha ra cteristics ofwr iting, uni

formity ofsla nt , uniform ity ofa lignment,qua lity ofline

,letter form a

tion ,a nd spa cing . Ea ch sca l e is composed ofthree sets ofsamples

representing three steps ofmerit in its pa rticul a r element ofwr iting .

These sca les will be found useful when ra t ings ofdeta iled cha ra cteristics a re desired . They ought to be extended by a dditiona l steps of

higher a nd lower merit .

1 Freema n , F . N . The Tea ching ofHa ndwriting . Houghton Mifli in Compa ny.

CHAPTER VI

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABIL ITY IN SPELL ING

Instructions for Administering the Tests . The test words for

spel l ing a re composed ofsix lists ofone hundred words ea ch .

First ha ve the pupils wri te the name,gr a de

,school

,city

,a nd

da te a t the top ofthe sheet .

Pronounce the words clea r ly,but do not sound them phonetica lly ,

or inflect them so a s to a id the pupils . Give the mea ni ng ofwordstha t sound l ike words with a d ifferent mea ni ng a nd Spel ling . The

pupils a re to wri te the words a nd to number them in the order in

which they a re given . Al low suffi cien t t ime for the wr iting .

Ea ch gra de is to be tested twice,on two successive da ys . Use a ny

one ofthe Six l ists given below on the first da y a nd a d ifferent l ist onthe second . In the fir st gra de use the fir st 40 words ofthe l ist

,in

the second gra de use the first 65 words , in the third gra de use the

first 80 words,in the fourth gra de use the first 90 words , a nd in

gra des five to eight use the en tire l ist . (When a n entire school isbein g tested it m a y be desira ble ,

though not necessa ry , to use on the

first da y the same list,sa y list 1

,in a l l gr a des a nd a ny other list on

the second da y. )Instructions for Scoring the Tests . The tests a re scored by check

ing offa l l words spel led incorrect ly a nd then coun ting the number

ofwords spel led correct ly . This number is the score a nd a lso the

percent a ge ofwords correct,Since the l ists con ta in 1 0 0 words ea ch .

An a vera ge is ta ken ofthe scores m a de in the two tests , which is thefina l score for ea ch pupil . Omitted words a re counted a s incorrect .

Words tha t m a y be Spel led in differen t wa ys a re coun ted correct if

they a re spel led a ccording to a ny ofthe permissible wa ys . In the

lower gra des the pupils a re una ble to spel l the omitted pa rts ofthe

l ists . They a re therefore counted a s incorrect .

89


L IST Iprismrogue

. Sha pestea lswa int it lewhea ta ccrue

bottom

cha peldra gonfil terhea rsela denm ildenpilferrabb itSchoolshroudst a rchva n ityb iza rrecomposed ism issfa ct ionhem lockleopa rdomn ibusprocurer insingspla shytorpedo

worshipbescreen


dom in a teexcha ngegovernorm a n ifestoscul a te

plea surerevisingtra versewestwa rd

ca p ita l lyext rem ismind ica tedmonopla nerepertoryst imula teunl oca ted

a cc identa lc it izen izecontr ibuteexpertnesslocomot ivepreva il ingsymmetrizeconsola toryincrementa lpenet ra t ivesuper intendconterrn inous

na tura l ist ica rt ificia l ity

re-exam in a t ionsent imenta l ism

MEASUREME NT OF ABILITY SPELLING

94 EDUCAT IONAL MEASUREMENTS

L IST Vent irelyfa rewellin c iden tmount a in

pa ra llelprel irnit

Spectra lurba n izea ggr ievedcla rifier

hydra ul icinher itorpurga t ionsa cr ificesurvivingvest ibul ea uthorshipconcoct ionderiga t ion

federa t ivememora ndum

regul a r itya bnorm a l ityd issem ina teinsensit ivepredom in a teun preventedin a rt icul a testupendouslycommun ica t inga nthropomet r icema ncipa t ion ist


The words in these l ists were selected in the fol lowing ma nner

The first defined word on every even -numbered pa ge in Webster’s

New Interna t iona l Dict iona ry ( 1 9 1 0 edition ) wa s chosen ,m a king a

tota l of1 1 86 words . From these a l l techni ca l,scientific a nd obsolete

words were disca rded,which left 6 1 2 words . Fina l ly

,1 2 other

words which a pproa ched most closely to being techn ica l or Obsolete

were disca rded ,so a s to lea ve 60 0 words . These were then a rr a nged

a lpha betica l ly in the order ofsize,beginning wi th 3 - letter words

,

4- letter words, etc .

,down to the longest words . This l ist wa s then

d ivided into six l ists of1 0 0 words ea ch by choosing for the first l ist ,the I st

, 7th ,1 3 th , etc . ;for the second l ist

,the 2 d

, 8th ,1 4th ,

etc . ;

for the third l ist , the 3 d , 9th ,1 5th ,

etc . for the fourth l ist,the 4th ,

r oth,r 6th

,etc . ;for the fifth l ist , the 5th ,

1 1 th,1 7th ,

etc . ;a nd for

the sixth l ist,the oth

,1 2 th

,1 8th

,etc .

The rea sons for selecting the words on this pa rticula r ba sis were( 1 ) I t would give a ra ndom sampl ing ofthe entire non - techn ica lEngl ish voca bul a ry . Fam ilia r or unfam ilia r words, la rge or sm a l l

words,ha rd or difficult words

,would a ll be included in the test l ists

in the same proport ions in which they occur in the entire voca bula ry .

( 2 ) This selection would gi ve a l ist including a fa ir sampl ing ofveryea sy a nd very difficult words, so tha t it coul d be used for testingthe spel ling ca pa city ofthe beginner a s wel l a s tha t ofthe expertspel ler . (3 ) I t woul d yield a l ist suffi ciently la rge for testing a de

qua tely a ny child ’

s spel l ing a bil ity . (4) It would give a l ist tha tcould be dupl ica ted in the same m a nner by a ny one else

,if

,for some

rea son ,it Should be desired to ha ve a d ifferent but compa ra ble l ist .

Sim ila r l ists of 1 0 0 words ea ch coul d be constructed,for example,

by selecting the 2 d , 3 d or a nyother word on the even or odd -numbered

pa ges ofWebster’

s New Interna tiona l Dictiona ry a nd then disca rding words in the m a nner described a bove so a s to lea ve 60 0 words .

( 5 ) The pa rticul a r score tha t a pupil m a kes in the test ha s a defin itemea ning in tha t it indica tes the percenta ge ofwords ofthe entirenon - technica l Engl ish voca bula ry tha t he is a ble to spel l . If a

pupil ca n Spel l 50 words out ofa ny l ist , he ca n spell 5 0 per cent ofthe non - technica l voca bula ry or a pproxim a tely words.

The va lidity ofthis method ofmea suring spel l ing a bil ity ha s beenexamined from va rious a ngles. Experimenta t ion ha s shown tha t

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN SPELLIN G 97

the spelling a bility ofa ny individua l pupil ca n be a scerta ined a ccura tely by the use ofa ny two l ists , prefera b ly a t two differen t times .

Ifa pupil is tested with one l ist a t one t ime a nd soon afterwa rds witha second list

,the two scores wil l differ from ea ch other by a mea n

va ria tion ofonly points .

To a scert a in in a nother wa y the rel ia bil ity ofthe tests,a compa r i

son wa s m a de between the a b il ity in spel ling a s mea sured for ea chpupil by two l ists a nd the m a rks a ssigned by the tea chers to the pupils

Percen ta ge 1 00ofwordscorrect

Gra des

FIG . 1 7. Sta nda rd curve for spelling .

Sta nda rd scores on which the above curve is basedGra des 1 2 3 4

Percenta ge ofwords correct 1 0 3 0 40 5 1

for the yea r ’s work in spel ling . Coefficients ofcorrela tion were com

puted between the tea chers’ m a rks a nd the test scores . These werefound to be high a nd indica ted a close a greement between the scores

in the tests a nd the tea chers’ est im a tes ofthe pupils ’ a chievement in

spel l ing , even a t the end ofa whole yea r ofinstruction a nd observa tion .

Further experiments were m a de to determine the rela tive dilficul ty ofthe six l ists . For pra ctica l purposes the d ifferences amongthe six lists a re negl igible .

Sta ndards ofEfficiency in Spel l ing . The fol lowing a re tenta tivesta nda rd scores which ha ve been derived from tests m a de on over

H


2 5 0 0 pupils, Fig . 1 7. The a tta inm ent in Spell ing ofa pupil , cla ssor school ca n be determ ined by compa r isons with the sta nda rds .

Individua l Differences a nd the Overlapping of Gra des . The

spell ing tests revea l ident ica lly the same fa cts concerning the

distribut ion ofthe pupils a nd the overla pping ofthe gra des a s were

found in ca se ofthe rea ding a nd writ ing tests . The fa cts a re pre

Gr a de 8

Gr a de 7

Gr a de 6

Gr a de 5

Gr a de 4

Gr a de 3

Gr a de 2

Gr a de 1

Percenta ge Scores

FIG. 1 8. Distribution in spelling a bility ofpupils in two schools .

sented in the curves of Fig . 1 8. The numbers a long the ba se

l ine a re the percenta ge scores m a de in spel l ing , a nd the vert ica l dista nces indica te the number ofpupils .

The overla pping among the va rious gra des is enormous . Therea re two pupils in the second gra de who ca n spel l a s wel l a s two pupilsin the eighth gra de. Other compa risons ofa sim ila r kind ca n be

m a de . On the a vera ge per cent ofthe pupils in a ny gra de rea chor exceed the media n ofthe next gra de a bove it

,a nd per cent

rea ch or exceed the media n ofthe second gra de a bove it .

Ayres’ I ooo Commonest Words . This l ist, which ha s been pre

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN SPELLING 99

pa red after much experimenta tion a s a spell ing test , is composed of

the 1 0 0 0 most common words . The n a ture a nd use ofthe lists a re

sta ted by Ayres a s follows

Al l the words in ea ch column a re ofa pproxim a tely equa l spelling difi cul ty.

The steps in spell ing d ifii cul ty from ea ch colum n to the next a re a pproxim a telyequa l steps . The numbers a t the top ind ica te a bout wha t per cent ofcorrect

spell ings m a y be expected am ong the chil dren of the d ifferent gra des . For

example, if2 0 words from column H a re given a s a spelling test it m a y be ex

pected tha t the a vera ge score for a n en t ire second gra de spelling them wil l bea bout 79 per cent . For a third gra de it should be a bout 92 per cent , for a fourthgra de a bout 98 per cent , a nd for a fifth gr a de a bout 1 00 per cent .

The l im its ofthe groups a re a s follows : 5 0 mea ns from 46 through 54 per

cent ;58 mea ns from 5 5 through 6 2 per cent ;66 m ea ns from 63 through 69 percent ; 73 mea ns from 70 through 76 per cen t ; 79 mea ns from 77 through 8 1per cent ;84 mea ns from 82 through 86 per cen t ;88 mea ns from 87 through 90per cent ;92 mea ns from 9 1 through 93 per cent ;94 mea ns 94 a nd 95 per cent ;

96 mea ns 96 a nd 97per cent ;while 98, 99 a nd 1 0 0 per cen t a re sepa ra te groups .

By mea ns ofthese group ings a child ’

s spel lin g a bility m a y be loca ted in terms

ofgra des . Thus ifa child were given a 2 0 word spel ling test from the words of

column 0 a nd spelled I 5 words, or 75 per cent ofthem , correct ly it would beproper to sa y tha t he showed fourth gra de spell ing a b il ity . Ifhe spelled cor

rectly 1 7words, or 85 per cent , he woul d show fifth gra de a bil ity,a nd so on .

Ayres ’ Short List . This l ist is composed ofa set often words for

ea ch gra de from the second to the eighth . Ea ch set often wa s so

selected ,on the ba sis ofprevious tests, tha t seven out often children

ofa gr a de on a n a vera ge ca n spel l correct ly a l l the words designed fortha t gra de. The l ists a re a s follows :

2 0 3 D 4m 5m 6m 7m

GRADE GRADE GRADE GRADE GRADE GRADE GRADE

foot fil l fort y severa l dec ide d istrict pet rifiedget poin t ra te lea ving genera l considera t ion ta r ifffor sta te chil dren pub l ish ma nner a thlet ic emergencyhorse rea dy prison o

’

clock too d ist in gu ish corpora t ioncut a lmost t it le runn ing a utomob ile evidence conven iencewel l high gett ing known vict im conference receiptname event need secure hosp ita l a mendment cord ia llyroom done throw wa it neither l iquor d iscussionleft pa ss feel m a nner towa rd experience a pprec ia tewith Tuesda y spea k fl ight bus iness receive dec ision

There a re,however , three points tha t should be considered . ( 1 )

The lists a re so sm a ll tha t the cha nce offam il ia rity or unfam il ia rityon the pa rt ofindividual pupils wi th these pa rticula r words is ra ther

I 0 0 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

la rge . The resul t is tha t , while the words no doubt ha ve va l idi tyfor test ing a gra de or cla ss a s a whole

,they a re a pt to be quite unre

l ia ble a s a test ofindividua l pupil s . ( 2 ) As a resul t ofthe m a nner

in which the words were selected,they a re sur e to be too ea sy for

the better pupil s ofea ch gr a de,a nd hence they woul d not test the

spel ling a bil ity ofsuch pupil s . By defin it ion,seven out often pupils

ca n spel l correctly a ll the words a ssigned to their gra de .

Buck ingham ’s List . Buckingham selected

,on the ba sis of a

seri es oftests, two l ists oftwenty-five words ea ch ofknown difficulty .

These a re a rra nged on a sca le ofincrea sing va lue a s fol lows

rsr Lisr 2 D Lrsr

The rel a t ive va lues ofthese words ha ve been determ ined quite a ccura tely. A child ’

s spel l ing ca pa ci tywould bemea sured by determ iningthe number ofwords he ca n spell correctly a nd then a ssign ing tohim a score on the ba sis ofthe va lues ofthe words spel led . Gr iticism s ( 1 ) a nd ( 2 ) m a de in connection with the Ayres short l ist a pplyhere a lso . The words a re too ea sy for the better pupils even a s fa r

down a s the four th gra de . In the upper gr a des more a nd more of

the pupils ca n spel l correctly a l l thewords in the l ist unt il in the eighthgra de more tha n ha lfofthe pupils ca n spel l a l l ofthe words correctly .

The l ist should be extended by selecting words ofgrea ter difficul ty .


3 . I ca n do it a s wel l a s (they ; them ) .4. It is (me; I ) .

Step 7

A firema n seldom rises a bove (a n engineer ; the position ofa nengineer ) .

The difference between summer a nd Winter (is tha t ; is) summer is wa rm a nd winter is cold .

He is ha ppier tha n (me; I ) .They a re (a l lowed ;not a l lowed) to go only on Sa turda ys .

Step 8

(In ; as I wa s) ta lking to Smith the other day, he told mea bout the ra ce.

(When I wa s ;when ) six yea rs old , my gra ndfa ther died .

You must not cut the ca ke until (thoroughly cooked ; it is

thoroughly cooked ) .I sha ll a lwa ys remember the town because of(the good times

I ha d the good times) a nd the ma ny fr iends I ma de there.

Step 9

It ta stes (good ;well ) .Send (whoever ;whomever ) wil l do the work .

(Who ;whom ) do you mea n"You (wil l ; sha l l ) not stir ; I forbid it .

Step 1 0

I intended (to a nswer ; to ha ve a nswered ) .I met ma ny people there whom I ha d seen before (but did not

know their names ;whose names I did not know)I (will ; sha l l ) help you ; I prom ise it .Ha ving come ofa ge, ( I took my son ; my son entered ) intopa rtnership with me.

Step 1 1

I t wa s not necessa ry for you (to ha ve gone; to go) .There were some people (whom ; a bout whom ) I could not

tel l whether they were Engl ish or Amer ica n .

He came homewith a n increa se in weight , but (ha rd work soonreduced it ;which ha rd work soon reduced ) .A d igerent set ofkn ives a nd forks (wa s ; were) put on the

ta e.

Step 1 2

l . The sheets oftin a re la id in rows, (a nd ca re is taken ; withca re) tha t a l l the sheets fit snugly .

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

2 . (Lincoln’

s a ssa ssina tion ; the a ssa ssina tion ofLincoln ) was a

grea t tra gedy .

3 . He is (not only discourteous d iscour teous not on ly) to thestudents but a lso to the tea chers .

4 . He ha d no love (or confidence in his employer ; for his em

ployer a nd no confidence in him ) .

Step 1 4

The ma n (whom ;who) I thought wa s my fr iend deceived me.

(He spra ng ; spr inging) to the pla tform on which the dea dma n lay (a nd shouted he shouted ) .

(Sha l l ;wil l) you be recognized, do you think"

Step 1 5

They returned a t n ight without a ny (one’s one) seeing .

Step 1 6

1 . A ma n who (would ; should ) do tha t would be ha ted .

2 . Do you (expect ever ; ever expect) to go aga in"

Da te

Gra de

Scoring the Test . The sca le is composed ofa seri es ofincrea singsteps ofequa l differen ces ofd ifficulty . A pupil ’s ra ting on the

sca le is the highest step pa ssed a nd a step is pa ssed ifnot more tha none ofthe four senten ces is m issed . In ca se a pupil pa sses a l l the

steps up to a cert a in point a nd then fa ils on one but pa sses a ddition a lsteps beyond tha t point , he is credited with a l l the a dditiona l stepspa ssed . For example, ifa pupil pa sses a ll steps up to a nd including the 8th a nd fa ils on a l l beyond the 8th

,his score wil l be 8. But

ifhe fa ils on the oth , pa sses the 1 0 th,a nd then fa ils on the rest

,his

score will be 9 . He is credited wi th a ll a dditiona l steps pa ssed . Thissort ofa record occurs a bout on ce in five a nd is due to the fa ct tha tthere a re onlyfour sentences in ea ch step . Ifthere were ten or twelvesentences in ea ch step such a record woul d ra rely ifever occur . The

rea sons for rega rding a step pa ssed if3 ofthe 4 senten ces a re m a rked

correctly , tha t is, 75 per cent ofthem ,will be obvious to a ll who a re

I 0 4 EDUCATI ONAL MEASUREMENTS

fam il ia r with the principles under lying the psychologica l methodsofmea sur ing thresholds .

Deriva tion ofthe Sca le . Gramm a tica l sca le A wa s der ived ex

perimenta lly by prepa ring a test sheet conta in ing 1 0 0 sentences of

a sim il a r na ture a s those in the sca le . A test wa s then conductedwith over 1 0 0 0 pupils in six schools in va rious pa rts ofthe countrydi str ibuted a bout evenl y through the upper four gr a des the fouryea rs ofthe high school a nd the un iversity . These tests were scored

a nd t a bul a ted to show the percenta ge oftimes ea ch sentence wa sm a rked correctly .

On the ba sis ofthese percenta ges ofcorrectness, the sentences for

sca le A were selected a s descr ibed elsewhere . Four sentences whichconformed to the required percenta ges ofcorrectness for ea ch step ,

were selected a nd a rra nged in the form ofsca le A . The sen tences,

ofcourse, do not ha ve a bsolutely these va lues , but they were selectedto conform a s closely a s possible . In no ca se

,however

,does a sen

tence devia te more tha n . 2 ofa step from its requi red va lue. The

sca le runs down on ly a s fa r a s step 5 beca use there were no sentencesin the or igina l test bla nk sufficiently ea sy to fit the required percenta ges ofcorrectness for lower steps . Some ofthe upper steps ha vefewer tha n four sentences beca use there were not enough sentences

ofthe proper degree ofdifficul ty to fit into these higher steps . The

sca le,

'

however , a s it sta nds is sufficien tly ea sy a t the lower end to

mea sure a dequa tely the a bil ity ofpupils in the lower gra des a nd

sufficiently difficul t a t the upper end to m ea sure a dequa tely the a bil ityofun iversity sen iors .

Adva ntages , Limita tions a nd Improvements of the Sca le . The

l im ita t ions ofthe sca le a re the incompleteness ofthe steps a t the

upper a nd lower ends a nd the fa ct ofha ving only four senten ces forea ch step . The former l im ita t ion is ofm inor importa n ce since thesca le in its present form is sufficiently exten sive to mea sure a verywide r a nge ofa bil ity . The sca le wi l l be extended a t both ends by

further experimen ta tion so a s to a dd senten ces ofthe required degreesofdifficul ty .

The second l im ita tion ca n be overcome experimenta l ly by findinga dd ition a l sentences for ea ch step . This ha s been done by prepa ring sca les B a nd C wi th corresponding steps of identica l degrees

1 0 6 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

2 . (Tha t’s a ll I wa nt, is a cha nce; tha t’s a ll I wa nt a cha nce)to test it thoroughly .

3 . He is the ta l lest of(a l l the men ; a ny ma n ) in the regiment .4 . ( I wa lked out into the n ight a s the moon rose; a s the moon

rose, I wa lked out into the n ight) a nd wa ndered throughthe grounds .

Step 1 1

There we la nded , a nd having ea ten our lunch (the steamboa tdepa rted ; we saw the steamboa t depa rt ) .

(After pointing ; when he ha d pointed) out my errors, I wa sd ismissed .

The question of(whom ; who) should be lea der a rose.

He spoke to some ofus, namely (she a nd I her a nd me) .

Step 1 2

It h a s no rela tion (to ; a s to) time or pl a ce.

He left for Pittsburgh on Thursda y (a rr iving ; a nd a rr ived)there on Sunda y .

Fostor ia is a s l a rge (ifnot la rger tha n Delawa re; a s Delawa re,ifnot la rger ) .

He kept it (safe ; safely) . (Tha t is, through his keeping , itwa s safe) .

.Da te

Gra de

— q

GRAMMATICAL SCALE C

(Prepa red by D . Sta rch )Ea ch ofthe fol lowing sentences gives in pa renthesis two wa ys

in which it may be sta ted . Cross out the one tha t you think isincorrect or ba d . Ifyou think both a re incorrect , cross both out .

Ifyou think both a re correct , underl ine both .

Step 7

1 . The l ife ofa bod- ca rr ier is sometimes ha ppier tha n (a pr ince;tha t ofa pr ince) .

2 . (There were two hundred ; two hundred ) students went .3 . He wra pped it (tight ;tightly) . (Referring to the ma nner of

wra ppmg. )4 . He did wha t ma ny others (ha ve; ha ve done) a nd a re doing.

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLI SH GRAMMAR

Step 8

1 . The fire wa s built a nd the pota toes (ba ked ; were ba ked ) .2 . I wa s deta ined by business (is ; tha t is) the rea son I am la te.

3 . The d ifference between them (is ; is tha t) De Quincey is humorous a nd Ma ca ula y is gra ve.

4 . (Sha ll ;wil l ) you do the deed "

Step 9

The box, including the a pples, (were; wa s) lost .Oa k , bra ss, a nd steel (is ; a re) the ma ter ia l ofthe structure.

The ba l l is thrown home by a pla yer (sta tioned in the m iddleofthe squa re ca l led the p itcher ; ca l led the p itcher , who issta tioned in the middle ofthe squa re) .I pa ddled the boa t for a while, (then ; a nd then ) fell into a

rever ie.

Step 1 0

Ifthey (would ; should ) find it , I should rejoice.

One or the other ofthose fel lows (ha ve;ha s ) stolen it .I went there in order to (inspect it persona l ly ; persona l lyinspect it) .They would neither spea k to him (nor would they ; nor ) looka t him .

Step 1 1

1 . A new

dorder ofidea s a nd pr inciples (ha ve ; ha s) been insti

tute2 . Every morning I ta ke a run (a nd immed ia tely afterwa rd ;

followed by) a shower ba th .

3 . (The benefa ctor ofma nkind ; ma nkind’

s benefa ctor ) is honored by a ll .

4 . (Who ;whom ) did you sa y won"

Name Da te

School

C ity of

The a dva nta ge in the three sca les is tha t whenever a more a ccura te m ea surement is desired tha n tha t afforded by a single test

,more

tha n one sca le m a y be used a nd a n a vera ge ofthe scores ta ken .

Another a dva n ta ge in ha ving severa l commensura te sca les is the

mea surement ofprogress ofthe same cla ss ofpupils from time to

time by using a different sca le ea ch time . As a m a tter offa ct,


progress m a y be mea sured very a ccura tely by using the same sca lea t different t imes

, providing tha t no dril ling or coa ching on the sca leis done . Without specific instruction on the m a teria l ofthe sca les

,

they m a y be used repea tedly with the same cla ss without a ppre

cia ble error . The fol lowing situa tion il lustra tes how l ittle effecteven defin ite knowledge ofthe correctness ofthe va ri ous sentencesha s upon the results ofrepea ted tests . A cla ss of65 university juniors a nd seniors went through the test a nd scored a ccording to a key

their own pa pers a nd from 6 to 1 0 other pa pers ea ch . Three weeksla ter the test wa s repea ted ,

with the resul t tha t the a vera ge score of

the cla ss wa s onl y ha lfa step higher tha n in the first test . WhenSpecific knowledge a bout the m a teria l ofthe sca le produces so littled ifference after onl y three weeks

,it seems very improba ble tha t the

perform a nce ofthe test without further referen ce to it wil l ha ve a ny

a pprecia ble effect wha tever upon a repet ition ofthe test after a n

interva l ofsevera l weeks or months .

Sta nda rds ofAtta inment . On the ba sis oftests m a de in four

schools,the fol lowing tenta t ive sta nda rds ofa tta inment for the ends

ofthe respect ive yea rs ha ve been obt a ined .

Gra des High School University7 8 I 2 3 4

PUNCTUATION SCALE A

(Prepa red by D . Sta rch )Punctua te the fol lowing sentences .

Step 6

1 . We visited New York the la rgest city in Amer ica .

2 . Everything being rea dy the gua rd blew his horn .

3 . There were blue green a nd red fla gs .

4 . Ifyou come br ing my book .

Step 7

1 . I told him but he would not l isten .

2 . Concern ing the election there is one fa ct ofmuch importa nce.

3 . The guests ha ving depa rted we closed the door .

4 . The tra in moved swiftly but Turner a rr ived too la te.

I IO EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

though its pa rts ma y be forcible or clever is wea k a s a

whole ifit is not wel l orga n ized .

N ame Da te

School Gra de

C ity

The sca le for punctua t ion wa s der ived by a process ofexperimen

ta tion a nd computa t ion ent irely iden t ica l with tha t by which thegr amm a t ica l sca les were derived . The origin a l test with a la rgerset ofsen tences wa s m a de with the same groups ofpupils a s the

gramm a t ica l tests,over 1 0 0 0 in a l l . The number a nd percent a ge

oftim es ea ch sentence wa s punctua ted correct ly wa s then computed ,

a nd the select ion ofsentences for the sca le wa s m a de on the same

prin ciples a s for the gramm a t ica l sca les .

The scoring is done in the same m a nner a s with the gramm a tica lsca les . A step is pa ssed ifa t lea st three ofthe four sen tences a re

punctua ted correctly . If a ny m a rk is inserted in correct ly or is

missing,the en tire sentence is con sidered a fa ilure .

With rega rd to use,a dva nta ges, l im ita tions a nd improvements

ofthe pun ctua t ion sca le,the sta tements ma de in connection with

the gr amm a t ica l sca les a pply here equa lly wel l , a nd hence need not

be repea ted .

The following a re tenta t ive sta nda rd scores ofa tta inment for the

ends ofthe respective school yea rsHigh School University

I 2 3 4 3

Tests for Mea suring Gramm a tica l KnowledgeThe techn ica l knowledge ofgr amm a r is perha ps more d ifficul t

to mea sure tha n usa ge on a ccoun t of its complexity . Adequa tetests Should cover the chiefpa r ts ofthe field . Three types oftests

wil l be described . They do not cover a l l pha ses ofgramma r,but

they mea sure severa l importa nt divisions .

GRAMMAR TEST 1 . PARTS OF SPEECH . SCORE

Ind ica te the pa rts ofspeech in the fol lowing text by pla cing a bove ea ch wordthe a bbrevia t ion for its p a rt ofspeech . Work a s ra p id ly a s possible. Do not

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR I I I

skip a ny words . Three m inutes wi l l be a l lowed . Use the fol low ing abbrevia tions .

noun verb vpronoun pro a dverb a dv

a dject ive a dj prepos it ion pre

Ma ggie’s eyes ha d begun to Spa rkle a nd her cheeks to flush — she wa s

rea lly beginn ing to instruct the gypsies a nd ga in ing grea t influence over them .

The gypsies themselves were not without ama zement a t this ta lk , thoughtheir a ttent ion wa s d i vided by the contents ofM a ggie’

s pocket , which thefr iend a t her r ight ha nd by this t ime empt ied without a ttra ct ing her not ice.

“

Is tha t where you l ive, my l itt le la dy "” sa id the old woma n a t the ment ionofColumbus .

“

Oh , no "”sa id M a ggie, with some p ity ; Columbus wa s a very wonder

ful ma n who found out ha lfthe wor ld , a nd they put cha ins on him a nd trea ted

him very ba dl y, you know — it'

s in my ca techism ofgeogra phy but perh a psit

'

s r a ther too long to tel l before tea .

”

“

Yes , my home is pretty , a nd I ’m very fond ofthe r iver where we go fishing ; but I

’

m often very unha ppy . I should ha ve l iked to br ing my bookswith me, but I came awa y in a hurry, you know . But I ca n tel l you a lmost

everything there is in my books , I ’ve rea d them so m a ny t imes , a nd tha t wil lamuse you . And I ca n tel l you something a bout geogra phy , too — tha t ’sa bout the world we l ive in very useful a nd interest ing . ”

This test is scored by determ in ing the number ofwords designa tedcorrectly . Ifa word m ay be design a ted in differen t wa ys

,it is

counted correct ifit is perm issible a ccording to good a uthority . For

example, M a ggi e’s is con sidered correct ifit is m a rked a s either nounor a d jective .

The fol lowing a re provisiona l sta nda rd scores of a chi evement

for the ends ofthe va r ious school yea rs .

High School UniversityI 2 3 4 3

3 6 40 43 46 60

GRAMMAR TEST 2 . CASES . SCORE

Ind ica te the ca se ofea ch noun a nd ea ch pronoun in the fol lowing text bypla cing a bove ea ch one the a bbrevia t ion for its ca se. Be ca reful not to om ita ny nouns or pronouns . Work a s r a p idly a s possib le. Three m inutes wil l bea llowed . Use the fol lowing a bbrevia t ions

nom ina t ive possess ive p ob ject ive

I I 2 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENTS

After crossing the gul ly a nd wa lk ing on through the woods for wha t theythought a safe d ista nce, they turned into the pa th . They were ta lk ing verymerr ily a bout the Genera l a nd Hugh a nd their fr iend M ills, a nd were d iscussing some roma ntic pla n for the reca pture of their horses from the enemywhen they came out ofthe pa th into the roa d, a nd found themselves withintwenty ya rds ofa group ofFedera l sold iers, quiet ly sitt ing on their horses,evident ly gua rd ing the roa d .

“ Where a re you boys going "” be a sked , a s he came up to them .

Going home.

”

Where do you belong "”Over there a t Oa k la nd , point ing in the d irect ion oftheir home, which

seemed suddenly to ha ve moved a thousa nd m iles awa y .

“ Where ha ve you been "” The other sold iers ha d come up now.

Been down this way.

”The boys’ voices were never so meek before.

Ea ch reply wa s l ike a n a pology .

“

Been to see your brother "” a sked one who ha d not spoken before a

plea sa nt - look ing fel low. The boys looked a t him . They were pa ra lyzed bydrea d ofthe a pproa ching quest ion .

“

Now, boys, we know where you ha ve been ,sa id a sma l l fel low, who wore

a yel low chevron on his a rm . He ha d a thin musta che a nd a sha rp nose, a nd

rode a w iry , dul l , sorrel horse.

“ You may just a s wel l tel l us a l l about it .

We know you ha ve seen them , a nd we a re going to m ake you ca rry us wherethey a re.

”

This test is scored by determ in ing the tota l number ofnouns a nd

pronouns designa ted correct ly . The following a re provi siona l sta nda rd scores .

High School University1 2 3 4 3

2 0 2 3 2 6 3 0 45

GRAMMAR TEST 3 . TENSES AND MODES . SCORE

Ind ica te the tense a nd the mode ofthe fol lowing verb forms by pla cinga bove ea ch example the a bbrevia t ion for its tense a nd mode. Work a s

ra p id ly a s possib le. Three m inutes wil l be a l lowed . Use the following abbrevia tions .

present pr . future perfect in . p .pa s t pa . indica tivemode in .

future fu . sub junct ive mode su .

present perfect pr . p . impera t ive mode im .

pa s t perfect pa . p .

CHAPTER VI I I

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN ARITHMETIC

Arithmetica l Sca le . Arithmetica l a bility consists essentia l ly of

the ca pa city to a na lyze a concrete problem a nd to ca rry out correctlythe required opera tions . Hence a ny complete mea surement of

a b il ity in a rithmetic ought to mea sure ca pa city for rea son ing a nd

fa cility in a t lea st the four fundam enta l opera tions .

A sca le for mea sur ing a rithmetica l a bility ha s been prepa red on

the same pri nciples a s the gramm a t ica l sca les . The a r ithmetica lsca le is composed ofa ser ies ofsteps ofregula r ly in crea sing difficulty .

The problems for these steps were determ ined experiment a l ly a nd

loca ted a ccording to their percenta ges ofcorrectness . A pupil ’s scoreis the highest step done correct ly . Ifa pupil pa sses a l l steps up to

a nd including the eighth,a nd fa ils on a l l beyond tha t

,his score is

eight . Ifhe fa ils on nine a nd does ten a nd fa ils on the rest his scoreis nine . Tha t is

,he is credited with ea ch a ddi tiona l step pa ssed

beyond where he first fa iled .

Arithmetica l Sca le A I

(Prepa red by D . Sta rch . )

The numbers in pa renthesis a re the a ctua l sca le va lues ofthe

problems .

Do the following problems in the order given . Do a ll the work on

the ba ck ofthis sheet .

Step 1

Ma ry ha d 4 a pples a nd her mother gave her 7 more. How ma nya pples did Ma ry then ha ve Answer .

Step 4Sam ha d 1 2 m a rbles . He found 3 more a nd then ga ve 6 to George.

How m a ny did Sam ha ve left" Answer .

Copies ofthis test may be obta ined from the a uthor in desired qua ntities.

1 1 4

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ARITHMETIC 1 1 5

Step 6John sold 4 Sa turda y Evening

.

Posts a t 5 cents ea ch . He kept 5 th emoney a nd with the other 3 he bought Sunda y pa pers a t 2 centsea ch . How m any did he buy Answer .

Step 7

Ifyou buy 2 ta blets a t 7 cents ea ch a nd a book for 65 cents,how

much cha nge should you receivefrom a two- dolla r bill " Answer .

Step 8How ma ny pencils ca n you buy for 5 0 cents a t the ra te of2 for 5cents Answer .

Step 9A fa rmer who ha d a lrea dy sold 1 897 ba rrels of a pples from hisorcha rd hired 5 9 boys to pick the a pples left on his trees . Ea chboy picked 2 4 ba rrels ofa pples . Wha t wa s the tota l number ofba rrels the fa rmer got from his orcha rd tha t yea r Answer .

Step 1 0

A newsdea ler bought some m aga zines for 3 1 . He sold them for

ga ining 5 cents on ea ch m aga zine. How many ma ga zineswere there" Answer .

Step 1 1

In the schools ofa certa in city there a re 2 2 00 pupils ; a re in the

prim a ry gra des , 4 in the gramma r gra des, 3 in the high school a ndthe rest in the night school . How m a ny pupils a re there in the

night school " Answer .

Step 1 2

If3 a nd 7} tons ofcoa l cost 3 2 1 , wha t wil l 5 a nd 4 tons cost"

Step 1 3

A school in a certa in city used 2 5 1 6 pieces ofcha lk in 3 7 school da ys .

Three new rooms were opened , ea ch room holding 5 0 children , a nd

the school wa s then found to use 84 sticks ofcha lk per day . Howma ny more sticks ofcha lk were used per day tha n a t first

Answer .

Step 1 4

A girl spent fiofher money for ca r fa re, a nd three times a s muchfor clothes . Ha lfofwha t she ha d left wa s 80 cents . How muchmoney did she have a t first" Answer .

I I 6 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMEN TS

Step 1 5

John ha d Monda y . He ea rned 3 0 cents ea ch day on Tuesda y ,Wednesda y , Thursda y a nd Fr ida y . Sa turda y morning he spentone- third ofwha t he ha d ea rned in the four da ys. Sa turda y afternoon his fa ther ga ve John ha lfa s much a s John then ha d . How

much did his fa ther give John " Answer .

—A

Sta nda rd j une Scores . The following a re sta nda rd scores for theends of the respective yea rs a s derived from 2 5 1 5 pupils in 1 8

schoolsG ra de . 3 4 5 6 7 8

Score

Courtis Tests 1 Series B . For mea suring a bil ity in the four fundament a l Oper a tions the tests prepa red by S . A . Courtis a nd known

a s Series B a re here recomm ended for use. The tests a re scoredby determining the number Ofproblem s done correctly . The fol

lowing a re the sta nda rd June scores for the va r ious gra des, derivedfrom a pproxim a tely pupils .

3 4 5

Subtra ct ion Test 2At tempts 1

R ights 1 .o

Mult ipl ica t ion Test 3AttemptsR igh ts 1 .

‘ Copies of these tests m ay be ob ta ined from S . A . Courtis , 82 Eliot St ., Detroit,

M ichiga n .


Ar ithmetic. Test NO. 2 . Subtra ction

Series B Form 2

You will be given four m inutes to find the a nswers to a s ma nyofthese subtra ction examples a s possible. Wr ite the a nswers

on this pa per d irectly undernea th the examples . You a re not

expected to be a ble to do them a l l . You wil l be ma rked for bothspeed a nd a ccura cy, but it is more importa nt to ha ve your a n

swers r ight tha n to try a grea t ma ny examples .

1 1 4 9 5 71 87 9 475 2 80 8 1 0 6 0 89 4 4 9

90 2 71 797 873 4 984 0 1 6 9 1 5 3 9 0

1 1 5 1 71 70 0

6 3 0 873 8 1

1 1 5 9 1 6 9 1 3 1 4 82 4 8 2 5 2

5 5 5 3 8 3 2 9 5 2 1 80 89 1

1 2 4 4 8 5 0 1 8 1 0 74 1 9 3 73

73 0 9 88 2 4 8 5 3 4 84 0 5

1 3 78 2 5 9 2 1 1 5 2 89 5 0 3 0

8 2 72 9 4 9 0 8 5 8 1 2 8 1 8

1 789 78 2 2 8

9 3 0 6 0 3 0 3

THE MEASUREME NT OF ABILITY IN AR ITHMETIC 1 1 9

1 080 5 1 86 1 1 6 3 1 3 0 5 6 9 1 6 8 3 5 4 1 86

73 4 6 3 84 9 9 1 0 6 1 2 5 5 70 5 3 786 1

1 88 5 4 5 3 6 4 1 2 0 98 1 4 2 7 1 0 5 75 5 78 2

9 2 4 71 2 5 9 6 4 1 880 4 5 9 0 86 3 1 4 7

Ar ithmetic. Test No. 3 . Multipl ica tionSer ies B Form 2

You will be given six minutes to work a s ma ny ofthese multipl ica tion examples a s possible. You a re not expected to be a bleto do them a l l . Do your work directly on this pa per ; use no

other . You will be ma rked for both speed a nd a ccura cy, but itis more importa nt to ha ve your a nswers r ight tha n to try a grea tma ny examples .

8 2 5 9

2 8

Arithmetic . Test No . 4 . Division

Series B Form 2

You will be given eight m inutes to work a s ma ny ofthese d ivision examples a s possible. You a re not expected to be a ble to


do them a ll . DO your work directly on this pa per ;use no other .

You will be ma rked for both speed a nd a ccura cy, but it is moreimporta nt to ha ve your a nswers r ight tha n to try a grea t ma nyexamples .

Courtis Tests Series A . Before Series B ha d been prepa red ,

Courtis prepa red a set ofa rithmetica l tests known a s Series A whichha ve been used very extensively a nd a re designed to mea sure per

forma nce in eight functions : a ddition,subtra ction

,mul t ipl ica t ion ,

division ,copying , Speed Ofrea son ing , fundamenta ls

, a nd rea soning .

The sta nda rd June scores, ba sed on over pupils, a re a s fol lows

— o

Ats. R s . Ats. Rts. Ats . Rts.

Gra de 3 2 6 1 9 1 6 1 6 63 1 5 . 5Gra de 4 3 4 2 5 2 3 2 3 75 1 8 .7

Gra de 5 4 2 3 1 3 0 3 0 84 2 6

Gra de 6 5 0 3 8 3 7 3 7 92 3 5 r

Gra de 7 58 44 4 1 44 1 0 0 4 5 1 .

Gra de 8 63 49 45 49 1 0 8 5 7 2 .

The chiefcr iticism to be brought a ga inst this set oftests a re ( I )The fa ct tha t only single number combina tions a re used in testingthe fundamenta l opera tions, which does not ta ke into a ccount theprocess ofca rrying a nd Ofa dding longer columns . Thi s m ay be an

a dva nta ge for testing the lower gra des . ( 2 ) The rea soning tests lay


ARITHMETIC TestNO. 2 . Speed Test Subtra ction

Gra de

Wr ite on this pa per , in the spa ce between the l ines, the a nswersto a s ma ny Ofthese subtra ction examples a s possible in the timea l lowed .

8 1 1 1 2 5 1 0

0 9 7

O

N)

mid

00

00H

co

coH

01

10

01

05

H

0

00

8 1 1 1 2

0 9 7

Fo rm No . 3

1 2

N1

“

co

co

H

I-P

OO

th

o

5 1 0

1 2

(One minute is a llowed . )

9 7 1 1 8 1 2

9 3 6 1 3

I-B

CD

01

69 H

G

P

O

H

NI

CO H

(13

00

with H

03

10

c

c:

sl

id

00

01

th

is:

H

MCN

N"

H

«1

00

[0

00H

01

0

01

00H

Q

C)

H

CD H

o

n

na

n-s

0

01

QD

N

C0

01

mm

9

4

00

4

H

Q

we

0

0

1 2 3THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN AR ITHMETIC

Multiplica tion

(One minute is'

a l lowed . )

ARITHMETIC — Test NO. 3 . Speed Test

Wr ite on this pa per , in the spa ce between the l ines, the a nswersto a s ma ny oft hese multipl ica tion examples a s possible in thetime a l lowed .

5

6

0

2

9

8

4

7

3

2

9

5

4

0

7

6

2

9

4

1

4

6

5

0

7

9

2

6

8

3

0

6

7

7

2

8

1

6

6

5

7

0

4

8

5

2

9

1

5

9

6

0

7

8

3

5

1

2

7

3

0

8

6

9

5

5

2

3

5

3

1

1

8

7

2

5

1

9

6

4

8

0

9

7

3

6

4

2

8

5

0

1

6

7

3

1

5

7

8

4

2

7

4

3

2

0

9

9

3

8

7

1

3

9

0

0

6

8

3

4

1

7

8

9

4

4

1

5

5

4

6

3

8

2

7

5

4

9

5

8

2

2

9

3

0

7

8

8

6

2

5

6

9

8

4

7

3

2

3

7

O

4

8

6

9

2

1

3

7

2

9

4

6

2

7

4

O

5

9

6

3

3

21.

9

5

4

0

7

6

2

9


ARITHMETIC Test No. 4. SpeedTest Division

School Gra de

Wr ite onthis pa per , in the spa ce between the l ines, the a nswersto a s ma ny ofthese division examples a s possible in time a llowed .

(One minute is a llowed . )

«9 2 0

9 )45

Form No. 3

4 )O 6 ) 2 4

1 )o


ARITHMETIC Test No. 6

Speed Test Rea soning

School Gra de

Do not work the follow ing examples. Read ea ch examplethrough, make up your mind wha t opera tion you would use ifyou

were going to w ork it, then write the name ofthe opera tion selectedin the bla nk spa ce after the example. Use the fo llow ing abbreviations Add. for a ddition, Sub. for subtra ction, Mul . for

multiplica tion , a nd“ Div.

"

for division . (One minute is a llowed. )

Opera tion

1 . A boy played severa l games ofma rbles. .He

ha d 1 5 ma rbles when he bega n to play a nd he won

I3 . How ma ny ma rbles did he have when the

games were over "2 . One day in va ca tion a boy w ent on a four

day fishing trip . He ca ught just 1 2 fish on ea ch of

the four days. How ma ny fish did he ca tch on the

trip .3

3 . In a certa in cla ss, the heaviest child weighed

1 26 pounds. Ifhe w a s three times a s heavy a s

the lightest child, how much did the lightest childw eigh 3

4 . Two sisters pra cticed liftingw eights. One girl

could lift 90 pounds, the other girl but 53 pounds.

How ma ny pounds more could one girl lift tha n the

o ther

5 . A girl w a tchingfrom a w indow saw 2 7 a uto

mobiles pa ss a school in a n hour. Ea ch a uto ca rried4 lamps. How ma ny lamps did she see in thehour 3

THE MEASUREME NT OF AB ILITY IN ARITHME T IC

ARITHMETIC Test No. 6 Continued


1 2 7

School Gra de

6 . A schoo l wa s very crowded. It w a s neces

sa ry to pla ce 18 new sea ts in a room in which therewere 3 3 sea ts. How ma ny sea ts were there in the

room then "

7. The children ofa school gave a sleigh-ride

pa rty . There w ere 650 children in the school, a nd463 a t the pa rty. How ma ny children did not go to

the pa rty

8. A box ofcolored cha lk in which there w ere

l 44 pieces la sted just a yea r. Ifea ch tea cherused 24 pieces, how ma ny tea chers w ere there in the

school "

9. On a playground there were tw o groups of

children . Ifthere w ere 47 children on the grounds,

a nd 2 6 in one group, how ma ny children were there

in the other 9.

1 0 . Tw o girls played a number game . One

girl ma de 58 points, the other 19 points. The scoreofthe w inner w a s how ma ny times the score ofthe

girl tha t lost

l l . Two boys in the woods ga thered nuts, whichthey put into one pile . One boyfound 2 1 5 nuts, the

other 3 46 nuts . How ma ny nuts were there in

the pile

Opera tion

1 2 8 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMEN TS



School Gra de

1 2 . A girl, making a collection ofposta l ca rds,bought 7pa cka ges in one day. Ea ch pa cka ge con

ta ined 1 2 ca rds. How m any c a rds did she buytha t day

I3 . A girl found tha t i t took her 27minutes to

w a lk from her home to her school which w a s 18

blocks aw ay. How long did i t take her to wa lk

a block"

1 4 . A club ofboys sen t their trea surer to buy a

ba seba ll . They ga ve him 7SC a nd he spen t 4SC .

How much money did he have to take ba ck to the

club

1 5 . In a school the 7sec tions ofthe eighth gra de

w ere ea ch 1 3 children sma ller in June tha n in September . How ma ny children left the gra de duringthe yea r

16 . A boy w a lked 9 blocks from his house to

w a rds a school to meet his chum . They w a lked

the rema ining 7blocks together. How fa r did the

boy live from the school "

FORM NO. 3

I 3 0 EDUCATI ONAL MEASUREMENTS.

ARITHMETIC Test No. 8

Rea son ing

In the bla nk spa ce below , work a s ma ny ofthe following exam

ples a s possible in the time a llowed. Work them in order a s num

bered, entering ea ch a nswer in the a nswer column before

commencing a new example . Do no work on a ny other pa per .

(Six minutes a re a llowed.)

1 . A fa rmer who had a lready sold 1897 ba rrels An swer

ofa pples from his orcha rd hired 59 boys to pick the

a pples left on his trees . Ea ch boy picked 24 ba rrels ofa pples. Wha t w a s the tota l number ofba rrels

the fa rmer got from his orcha rd tha t yea r

2 . At a ca ndy pull, 49 children, 27girls a nd 2 2

boys, ma de 3 kinds ofca ndy in 90 minutes. The

to ta l number ofpieces ma de w a s 2765 , ofwhich560 were ea ten a t the pa rty. The rest were sha red

equa lly. How ma ny pieces did ea ch one get"

3 . On a bicycle trip a pa rty ofboys rode 1 5 milesthe first hour, 17miles the second, 1 1 miles the third,

a nd 1 4 miles the fourth, then stopped for the day.

Ifthey rode a s ma ny miles on ea ch ofthe 2 7 days,wha t w a s the to ta l length ofthe trip "

4 . A group of1 2 children took turns in countingthe a utomobiles tha t pa ssed a schoo l . They counted1 83 3 a utos in 3 9 hours. Six months la ter theycoun ted 58 a utos a n hour. How ma ny more machines pa ssed the school ea ch hour tha n a t first

THE MEASUREMENTS OF AB ILITY IN ARITHMETIC 1 3 1


Rea soning

N ame School Gra de

Answer5 . A pa rty of5 children traveled 1 2 miles from

a schoo l to a woods to ga ther nuts. One childfound 20 nuts, a second, 2 5 nuts, a third , 83 nuts,

a fourth, 140 nuts, a nd the la st 1 60 nuts. Theywa nted 600 nuts a ltogether. How ma ny more didthey need

6 . During the yea r a room in a school used 9

boxes ofcha lk, ea ch holding 144 sticks. There

were 48 children in the room . Ifea ch child hadbeen given his sha re a t the beginning ofthe yea r,

how many sticks would ea ch have received

7. At 2 Christma s enterta inments for poor children 2400 presen ts were given aw ay the first night,

a nd 3 000 presents the second night. If2 1 6 rooms in

the 2 2 schools ofthe city ea ch contributed its sha re

ofthe presents, how ma ny did one room give

8. A girl rea d 105 pa ges in both her rea der a nd

her history. By counting she found there were 2 3 42

letters on one pa ge ofher history a nd 2 295 letters

on a pa ge ofher reader . How ma ny more lettershad she read in one book tha n in the other "

FORM No . 3

CHAPTER IX

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION

Two sca les ha ve been prepa red for the 'mea surement ofmeritor qua lity ofEngl ish composit ions : the Hil lega s-Thorndike sca lea nd the Ha rva rd -Newton sca le . The Hillega s-Thorndike sca lewa s prepa red on the same genera l principles a s the Thorndi ke ha ndwr iting sca le . A la rge number oi compositions by young peoplewere ra ted in the order ofmerit a s estim a ted by competent persons .

The sca le a s it sta nds is composed ofa series ofsteps ra nging in qua l ityfrom o to 95 with one ormore samples for ea ch qua l ity . A composit ion is ra ted a ccording to the sca le by determ in ing to Wha t step on

the sca le it is most nea r ly equa l .

Directions for Admini stering a nd Scoring the Test . The pupil sa re to write with pen a nd ink on regu la r

,ruled pa per . They should

put a t the top ofthe sheet the name,gra de

,school , city and da te.

Subject for composition : The Sea son ofthe Yea r tha t I like Bestand Why . (Some other sui ta ble subject m ay be used ifit seems

desira ble.)Time : Allow a minute or two for questions a nd for wri ting the

name,etc .

,a t the top ofthe pa ge.

Then a llow the pupils fifteen minutes to wri te the composition . No

suggestions or help should be given .

The compositions a re then scored by the Hil lega s-Thorndike sca l eor

,ifpreferred , by the Ha rva rd -Newton sca le.

The resul ts ofa cla ss should be ta bul a ted to show the name ofea chpupil together with his score, a nd the a vera ge score for the entirecla ss .

I 3 4 EDUCATI ONAL MEASUREMENTS

QUALITY 3 7

Sul la a s a Tyra nt .

When Sull a came ba ck from his conquest Ma rius ha d put himselfconsul , so sul l a wi th the a rmy he h a d with him in his conquestsiezed the government from M a rius a nd put him selfin consul a nd

h a d a l ist ofhis enemys prin ty a nd the men whoes names were on thisl ist we behea ded .

QUALITY 40

This m a n who is the chiefcha r a cter ofthis story,is the stingiest

m a n in town one day before Chri stm a s a nd the ni cest m a n on Chr istm a s

,a nd this a ll comes from a dream . His name is Solom a n a nd

in his dream he dream s ofcoming home to his old c hea p lookinghome

,in a n old side a l ley a nd

,a s he gets to the door thi s gosts hea d

a ppea rs a nd a s he opens the door it depa r ts , l ight ing a m a tch to goup st a irs with , not fea r ing the gost , a nd then sta rts up st a irs a nd heha d no sooner rea ched the top step when there wa s a nd a uful clammer ofcha ins a nd bel ls, As he wa lks into his room he hea rs the soundcoming up the sta irs nea rer a nd nea rer to his room every minute,And after he got in bed a nd blew out the l ight

,he hea rd the gost

wa lk r ight in his room a nd ca l l him so he got up , being sca red a nd

afra id the gost would ha rm him,the gost told him to sit down beside

him which he did ,And then he sa id tha t he wa s Solom a n pa rtner

a nd ha d died twen ty yea rs a go .

QUALITY 47

De Quincy .

First : De Quincys mother wa s a bea ut iful women a nd throughher De Quincy inhereted much ofhis genius .

His running awa y from school enfiuenced him much a s he roamed

through the woods,va l leys a nd his m ind became very medi ta tive .

The grea test enfluence ofDe Quincy ’s l ife wa s the Opium ha bit .

Ifit wa s not for this ha b it it is doubtful whether we woul d now be

rea ding his writ ings .

His compa nions during his college course a nd even before tha tt ime were grea t enfiuences . The sur roundings ofDe Quincy wereenfiuences . Not onl y De Quincy’s ha b it ofopium but other ha bitswhich were pecul ia r to his l ife.

THE ME ASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 3 5

His m a rria ge to the wom a n which he did not especia l ly ca re for .

The ma ny well educa ted a nd noteworthy friends ofDe Quincy .

QUALITY 50

At the t ime ofa Revolut ion a nd genera l tumult the people needed

something to turn their a ttent ions a nd Pa ine’s a rr iva l seemed to

be the very help for it . In Engla nd he ha d been known to expresshis Opinions openly a nd now in America he did the same thing . He

m a de a success ofhis m a ga zine Common Sense from the very out

sta rt for it wa s inside exa ct ly wha t the n am e impl ied . He r a isedgood sa ne a rguments tha t others before him h a d onl y felt but da rednot to wr ite ofthem . It wa s soon the most popul a r thing rea d , not

onl y here but a lso a broa d in m a ny ofthe colon ies . The a uthorshipfor a t ime wa s thought to be Samuel or John

‘

Adam s or Dr . Fra nkl in,

but it soon became known tha t Pa ine wa s the a uthor . This crea tedviolent ha te amongst the Tories a nd they were a lwa ys wr iting a ga instdifferent a rt icles tha t a ppea red in the Comm on Sense . Nevertheless the reputa tion ofthe m a ga zine wa s r a ther increa sed tha nlessened by these protesta t ions ofthe Tories Pa ine di ed a penn ilesspa tri ot a l though he h a d ga ined a grea t n ame for himself.

A Un iversity out west,I ca nnot

“

remember the name, is noted

for its ha zing , a nd this is wha t the story is a bout . I t is the ha zingofa freshm a n There wa s a freshm a n there who ha d been a ct in ga s ifhe didn ’

t respect his upper cla ssmen so they decided to tea chhim a lesson . The studen t brought before the B la ck Avenger ’swhi ch is a society in a ll col lege to keep the freshm a n under thererul es so they desided to t a ke him to the r a il—rode tra ck a nd tie him

to the ra ils a bout two hours before a tra in wa s suspected a nd lea vehim there for a bout a n hour , which wa s a hour before the tr a inwa s expected . The da te came tha t they pl a nned this ha zing forso the ca ptured the fel low bl indfolded him a nd lea d him to the ra ilrode tra cks

,where they t ied him .

QUALITY 60

Comm on Sen se .

A pamphlet wr itten by Pa yne short ly after the Penn sylva niaRebell ion . Dr . Fra nkl in introduced the a uthor a s a young m a n


when he came to Phil a delphi a but he ha d left behind him in Eng

la nd a ruined ca reer . This m a y be due to the t imes in which hel ived . There wa s no dem a nd for the idea s ofa humble m a n a nd

ha d he tr ied to crea te a dem a nd it is l ikely he woul d ha ve hea rd a

good dea l from the kings officers .

Although Fra nkl in a sked tha t he be put in the way ofobta ininga clerkship ,

he turned his a ttention to l itera ture,a nd his a rt icles

were the ma king ofa m a ga zine just sta rted in Phil a delphia . He

ha d the coura ge ofhis convictions . The pamphl et dea lth with theconditions ofthe t imes . The a bsurdity ofbeing dependent on a

country so fa r awa y . Therewa s a time when it wa s ri ght a nd proper .

Tha t t ime wa s now pa st . The book m a de a grea t impression on

the Colon ists a nd a lso on the people a broa d . Pa yne rea l ized tha tifmen were to fight they must understa nd the rea son .

The a uthorship wa s questioned severa l prom inent names beinga ssocia ted wi th its a uthorshipPa yne received no compensa tion except celebr ity .

Deepha gen .

Deepha gen ,one ofthe sm a ll New Engla nd towns wa s situa ted

on the coa st . The town wa s ba rren a nd the wind swept over thepla ce a l l winter long . Sca rcely a person coul d be seen a nywhere’sa round out ofdoors . The lea ves ha d fa l len a l l over the pl a ce a nd

the town ga ve us a picture ofa n old,desola te

,for lorn pla ce . The

homes ofthe people were sca ttered here a nd there a nd one coul d telltha t the occupa tion ofthe people were either fa rmers or fishermen

by the looks ofthe old,shut -up houses .

In summer , the town a lthough not Amer ica n wa s more ful l of

life. You could see the flower beds in the front ya rds blooming a ndthere wa s a lso a hustle a nd bustle offishermen a round the town .

The houses were open a nd the trees a l l a round the pl a ce were in ful lbloom . The town did not impress one in summer a s being so terri blylonesome.

Composit ion .

IfI should be given a thousa nd dolla rs with whi ch to do a s Iplea sed I would fir st supply myselfwith presents for my friends .


soon became edi tor ofit . He conducted the m a ga zine very successful ly

,wr it ing a rticles on m a ny sub jects

,especia l ly those ofnovel

a nd often un popul a r pr inciples . He wrote on m a tters ofChur ch ,divorce

,duel l ing

,the il l - trea tm ent of a n im a ls

,intern a t ion a l a rbi

tra tion a nd m a ny other sub jects .

In Ja nua ry , 1 776 , a pamphlet a ppea red which occa sioned a grea tst ir . It wa s ca l led Common Sense a nd conta ined a ll the meritsthe title indica ted . I

Deepha ven .

Deepha ven wa s not a thri ving over crowded town possessed withthe Ameri ca n Spirit . I t did not ha ve hurry ”

or the dol la r billSign as its wa tch -word

,a s does New York C ity . On the contra ry

it wa s a lonely receeding unprogressive town in New Engl a nd . I ts

men were not ambitious men ofthe N a poleoni c type nor were theyMiltons nor Cromwells . Most ofthe m a le popula t ion cl a imed the

occupa t ion offishing,a s a mea ns ofl ivel ihood . The town wa s Situ

a ted on the coa st . At grea t in terva ls a schooner m ight dock a t

Deepha ven to loa d wi th h a y or fire wood .

In the winter t im e drea ry Deepha ven wa s the drea riest ofdrea ry ,di sm a l towns . The lea fless trees sighed a nd m a oned a s the wind

whistled pa st them . The deserted wa rves did not presen t a cheerful a ppea ra n ce for a l l wa s stil l a s dea th . Rheum a t ism cla imed

m a ny vi ct ims . Once cheery sea - ca pt a ins now were“blue a nd

gloomy .

”

Cr iticism .

The Thing tha t Couldn ’

t by M a rga ret C ameron,in the De

cember Ha rpers is a clever l ittle love story tel l ing how a letter wa s

sent,by m ist a ke, to a m a n who it wa s a bsolutely necessa ry should

not see it a nd rega ined by a trick . The story is exciting a nd holdsthe rea ders interest from the beginning beca use ofthe clea r wittywa y in which it is told . The na rra tive is never so long tha t interestfla gs

,nor so brieftha t import a nt points a re om itted a nd in this

wa y un ity is reta ined . Conversa tion is m ingled with the n a rra

tion in a wa y tha t serves to m a ke the story more interesting a nd

onl y in one or two pla ces where definite det a ils a re needed is a ny

description used .

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION

Fourteenth Century Costumes .

The costumes ofthe four teenth century were very pecula r . Richmen a nd high officia ls were clothed in the most expensive silks a nd

sa tins,often wea ring w ide trousers

,whi ch were com posed ofva ri

ous colors . A bright colored cloke,often ofthe same m a teria l a s

the trousers,wa s thrown over the sholders . The women ofthis

cla ss dressed a s extraviga n t ly a s the m en . Dresses ofbright colors,

wi th long swea ping tra ins, were the custom . The hea ddress ofthist ime wa s very pecul ia r , in tha t it wa s very high . Somet im es rea ching the high oftwo feet .

The dress ofthe m iddle cla ss wa s very much modified,a lthough

the colors were bright st il l the m a teria l wa s not a s expensive . The

men wore un iform s,sign ifying to whi ch gild they belonged or wha t

wa s their tra de.

Cheep ,course

,cloth wa s used for clothing by the lower cla ss .

They were dre'ssed a s simply a s possible because they coul d not

afford better clothes .

The dress ofthe chur ch men differed a ccording to the sta tion of

the m a n . The richer churchmen wore more expensive clothing eventha n the nobles

,while the condition ofthe lower Clergy woul d not

a l low expensive clothes .

I am going toPrinceton pa rtly beca use it wa s my fa ther ’s col lege.

I a lso prefer to go to a col lege awa y from home . You get the coll egel ife much more tha t wa y. My m a in rea son is on a ccoun t ofthe

grea t a dva nta ges held forth in the preceptoria l system . The pre

ceptoria l system is orga nized a s follows . Im a gine a cl a ss,junior

for example ofperha ps three hundred ,divi ded into sect ions oftwenty

five ea ch . For ea ch ofthese sections there a re Six preceptors , m en

enga ged to hea d groups offour or five to ta lk over their work withthem a nd give them points a nd suggestions a bout it . The a dva nt a geofthis is tha t the m a n gets a grea t dea l m ore ind ividua l a tten tion inthis m a nner tha n he otherwise would . Pri n ceton ha s high sta nda rdsofintel lectua l ity a s well a s '

a thletics.


QUALITY 77

Going Down with Victory .

As we roa d down Lomba rd Street,we saw fla gs waving from

nea r ly every window . I surely felt proud tha t day to be the driverofthe ga ily decor a ted coa ch . Aga in a nd a ga in we were cheered a s

we drove slowly to the postm a sters,to awa it the com ing ofhis m a j

estie’

s m a il . There wa sn ’t one ofthe ga ily bedecked coa ches tha t

coul d ha ve compa red with ours, in my est im a t ion . So wi th wa vingfla gs a nd flutter ing hea rts we wa ited for the com ing ofthe m a il a ndthe expected tidings ofvictory .

When a t la st it did a rr ive the postm a ster bega n to quickly sortthe bun dl es

,we wa ited a nxiously . Imm edia tely upon receiving

our bundl es,I la shed the horses a nd they responded with a jump .

Out in to the coun try we drove a t reckless Speed everywhere sprea ding l ike wil dfire the news

,Victory The exiler a tion tha t we a ll

felt wa s Sha red with the horses . Up a nd down gra de a nd overbridges

,we drove a t brea kneck speed a nd sprea ding the news a t every

h am let with tha t one cry Victory When a t la st we were ba ckhome a ga in

,it wa s with the hope tha t we Should ha ve a nother ride

some day with Victory .

QUALITY 80

Comm on Sense .

This pamphlet wa s a poin ted a rgument a ga inst a bsolute mon

a rchy a nd tyr a nnica l governm en t . I t wa s a n enthusia stic a nd

rhetorica l expression ofthe thoughts,emot ions

,a nd idea s ofthe

m a jority of the America n people. I ts very na ture a ppea led to

them a nd a copy ofit could be found in a lmost every Amer ica nhome . So very popul a r did it become tha t even the people of

Europe becam e interested in it a nd ca used it to be tra nsla ted intom a ny Europea n l a ngua ges . This is m ore rem a rka ble when we

consider tha t Europea n interest in America n affa irs wa s a thingwhich seldom occurred during colon ia l tim es . Pa ine l ike m a nyother famous men received no m a teria l rewa rd

,but his memory

is held dea r in the hea rts ofpresent - da y America n citizens .


a thl etes a round him who a re,a s this student thinks, so much better

tha n he . Thus he does not try him selfout,a nd some excell en t m a

teria l is wa sted . Ifhe ha d been in a sm a l ler college,he woul d ha ve

tried him selfout,a nd woul d ha ve developed into a run ner worth

while, a nd would ha ve done both himselfa nd his Alm a M a ter good .

On the other ha nd,ifa m a n is exceptiona l ly br ight , a nd good a t his

studies, ifhe is in a sm a l ler college,he wil l ha ve more opportun ity

for the individua l a ttent ion ofthe instructors , tha n ifhe were in a

l a rge un iversity , where, besides being distra cted from his work by the

mult ifa rious interests ofa l a rge institut ion he is preven ted from close

con ta ct with the professors who ha ve to tea ch l a rge cla sses a nd a re

hindered from much outside help ofthe studen ts by the excessiveburdens ofa dm inistr a tive work .

Before the Ren a issa nce, a r tists a nd scu lptors m a de their sta tues

a nd pictures thin ,a nd wea k looking figures . They saw a bsolutely

no bea uty in the hum a n body . At the t ime ofthe Rena issa n ce,

a rt ists bega n to see bea uty in muscula r a nd strong bodies, a nd

consequently m a ny took wa rr iors a s subjects for their sta tues .

Two ofthe sta tues tha t M ichel Angelo,the grea t sculptor a nd a rtist

,

m a de,Perseus with the hea d ofMedusa

,a nd Da vid with Gol ia th ’s

hea d,a re very sim ila r . They Show m inutely a nd with wonderful

exa ctness every muscle ofthe body . M ichel Angelo wa s a grea tstuden t ofthe body

,especia l ly when it wa s in a stra ined position .

The position ofthe figures on the tomb ofLorenzo the Grea t is so

wonderful tha t one ca n a lmost see the tension ofthe muscles .

When I awoke,a l l wa s da rk except for a round ,

queer lookingthing

,directly a bove my hea d . It resembled a pa le blue moon

,

fa r awa y in the ha zy dista nce . At other tim es it looked l ike a

shining Silver dol la r,r ight over my nose . I la y,

musing on thisthing

,for a while

,when

,sudden ly

,like a cla p ofthunder

,I rea l

ized tha t I wa s engulfed in snow ,a nd the round

,queer looking

thing wa s a l ittle hole in the top ofmy sm a l l a bode,through which

my brea th pa ssed . I Shot my fist upwa rd ,a nd after severa l blows

in different pa rts ofmy roof,I succeeded in extrica t ing myself.

Bursting a s I did from a lmost complete da rkness into a n a tmos

phere ofda zzling whiteness a nd l ight,bl inded me. But I ha d no

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 4 3

t ime to think ofpurple a nd blue Spots da ncing before my eyes,for

it wa s freezingly cold ,a nd I popped quickly ba ck to my wa rm

bla nkets ; but only to quick" Snow wa s down my ba ck in a n ih

sta nt"

A summer session shoul d not be instituted in the High SchoolsofNew York C ity beca use it woul d be physica l ly a nd menta l lydetrimenta l to the pupil . I t is self- evident tha t a l l huma n beingsa s well a s a nim a ls require

,ifthey would keep in hea lth , a rest from

the monotonous toil ofthe da y. This is especia l ly needed whenthe wea ther is so wa rm tha t one feels tha t he is ca rrying a burdenby merely exist ing . To a dd to the burden ofa mere existence

,the

tiresome labor in a poor ly vent ila ted school - room in the close city,

woul d cert a in ly culm ina te in a nervous brea kdown . Ten monthsofmenta l la bor is a s much a stra in a s a ny hea lthy person ca n withsta nd . To do the school work proper ly , one a lso ha s to be in goodphysica l condition ,

for a s some one ha s sa id a hea lthy m ind rests

wi thin a hea lthy body .

”The coun try a ir a nd freedom for a t lea st

two months is the best a nd on ly wa y to effect a hea lthy constitution .

QUALITY 84

Venus ofMelos .

In looking a t this sta tue we think,not ofwisdom

,or power , or

force, but just ofbea uty . She sta nds resting the weight ofher

body on one foot,a nd a dva ncing the other (left) with knee bent .

The posture ca uses the figure to swa y slightly to one side,describ

ing a fine curved line . The lower l imbs a re dra ped but the upper

pa rt ofthe body is uncovered . (The unfortuna te loss ofthe sta tue’s

a rms prevents a positive knowledge ofits origina l a ttitude . ) The

eyes a re pa rtly closed ,ha ving som ething ofa dream y l a ngour . The

nose is perfectly cut,the mouth a nd chin a re moul ded in a dora ble

curves . Yet to sa y tha t every fea ture is offa ul tless perfection isbut cold pra ise. No a na lysis ca n convey the sense ofher peerless

beauty .

QUALITY 90

The coura ge ofthe pa nting fugit ive wa s not gone ; She wa s game

to the tip ofher high -bred ea rs ; but the fea rful pa ce a t which She


ha d just been going told on her . Her legs trembled,a nd her hea rt

bea t like a tri p-hamm er . She slowed her speed perfor ce, but still

fled industriously up the right ba nk ofthe stream . When She ha d

gone a couple ofmil es a nd the dogs were evidently ga ining a ga in,

She crossed the broa d , deep brook , climbed the steep left ba nk ,a nd

fled on in the direct ion ofthe Mt . M a rcy tra il . The fording oftheriver threw the hounds offfor a t ime ; she knew by their uncert a inyelping , up a nd down the opposite ba nk ,

tha t she ha d a l ittle respite ;She used it , however , to push on unt il the ba ying wa sfa in t in her ea rs

,

a nd then She dr opped exhausted upon the ground .

I suppose none ofus recognize the grea t pa rt tha t is pla yed inlife by ea t ing a nd dr inking . The a ppetite is so imper ious, tha twe ca n stom a ch the lea st in terest ing via nds

,a nd pa ss offa dinn er

hour thankful ly enough on brea d a nd wa ter ; just a s there a re men

who must rea d something,ifit were on ly Bra dshaw ’

s Gui de. But

there is a rom a n ce a bout the m a tter after a l l . Proba bly the ta bleha s more devotees tha n love ; a nd I am sur e tha t food is much more

genera l ly enterta in ing tha n scenery . Do you give in ,a s Wa lt Whit

ma n woul d say,tha t you a re a ny less immort a l for tha t " The true

m a teria l ism is to be a shamed ofwha t we a re. To detect thefla vorofa n ol ive is no less a piece ofhum a n perfect ion tha n to find beautyin the colours ofthe sun set .

QUALITY 94

A Foreigner ’s Tribute to Joa n ofArc .

Joa n ofArc , worn out by the suffering tha t wa s thrust upon her ,nevertheless a ppea red with a bra ve m ien before the B ishop ofBeauva is . She kn ew ,

ha d a lwa ys known tha t she must die when her

m ission wa s fulfil led a nd dea th held no terrors for her . To a ll

the bishop ’

s questions She a nswered firml y a nd without hesita t ion .

The bishop fa iled to confuse her a nd a t l a st condemned her to dea thfor heresy

,bidding her reca nt ifShe woul d l ive. She refused a nd wa s

led to prison ,from there to dea th .

While the flames were wr ithing a round her She ba de the old bishopwho stood by her to move awa y or he would be in jured . Her la st

thought wa s ofothers a nd De Quincy sa ys,tha t reca nt wa s no more


HARVARD—NEWTON SCALES

The Ha rva rd -Newton sca les a re composed offour sca les,one for

ea ch ofthe four types ofcomposit ion : na rr a tion,descr iption ,

a rgumenta t ion

,a nd exposition . Ea ch sca le is composed ofsix steps

with one sample for ea ch step . These sca les were derived by ob

ta ining a la rge num ber ofcomposit ions wr itten by pupils in the

eighth gra de. These compositions were m a rked by the per centilemethod by twenty-four tea chers . The va lue a ssigned to ea ch sam

ple is the consensus ofthe m a rks thus obta ined whi ch ra nge in va luefrom a pproxim a tely 4 5% to 9 In r a ting composit ions, thesesca les a re used in the same manner a s the Hil lega s-Thorndike sca le.

The chiefa dva nta ge ofthe Hil lega s-Thorndike sca le is tha t thesamples a re sca led more a ccura tely a nd more scientifica l ly tha n thoseofthe Ha rva rd -Newt on sca les . The a dva nta ge ofthe la tter is the

fa ct ofha ving a sepa ra te ser ies ofsamplesfor ea ch type ofcomposition .

Neither ofthe sca les h a s been used on a sufficiently extensive ba sisto demonstra te their va lue, but the proba b ility is tha t , with pra ctice in using them

,the eva lua tion ofcomposition work ca n be m a de

more a ccura tely a nd more ob jectively . A test ma de with twentyfour composit ions written by Sixth a nd seventh gra de pupils on the

sub ject Roa ds”

Showed tha t the mea n va ria tion ofthe ra tingsm a de by twenty-four tea chers by the ordina ry percentile method wa s

a nd themea n va r ia t ion ofthe ra tings m a de by the Ha rva rd -New

ton sca les wa s Both mea n va ria tions a re expressed in terms of

units ofthe Ha rva rd -Newton sca les . The difference is sma ll,but it

is in fa vor ofgrea ter uniform ity ofeva lua tion by the sca le . The

a dva nta ge woul d proba bly increa se with the use ofthe sca le. None

ofthe tea chers ha d ever used the sca les before.

THE HARVARD-NEWTON COMPOSITION SCALE FOR DESCRIPTION

No . I —95%

A STORM I N A FI SHI NG VI LLAGE

I t wa s a cold damp da y in November . The sky wa s a hea vy lea den color .

In the ea st a b la ck l ine stretched a cross it foretell ing the coming ofa storm .

The houses a cross the wa y were d ism a l sha dows fla t , cold , hea rtless . A p ieroing chill penet ra ted to the bone . The ra tt le ofa grocer ’s ca rt or the cla tter ofahorse'

s hoofs,seemed cold . The pedestr ia ns were a ll clothed in b la ck , or else

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLI SH COMPOSITION 1 47

the feeb le light m a de them seem so ,a nd they were cold everything wa s cold

,

cold , cold . An a wful lon liness perva ded a l l .

The b la ck l ine in the ea st ha d grown in to a cloud a nd wa s com ing nea rer ,

nea rer , over the sea . Suddenly a gust ofwind shook the very founda t ions ofthe houses , a nother , a nd then a cont inuous b lowing . The howling wa s horr ib le . Grea t sheets offoam were b lown into the streets,

- here a nd there a

p iece ofwrecka ge hur led itselfa ga in st a cot ta ge . F ishermen'

s wives hurr ieddown the n a rrow streets to the shore, stra in ing their eyes for a ny Sign ofa wreck .

Old seamen looked a t the roa r ing sea a nd Shook their hea ds .

By this t ime the b la ck cloud engulfed the sky . The da y wa s like n ight,

a lthough it wa s not yet noon . Boys ra n a bout with torches which were imme

d ia tely ext inguished,a nd the roa r ing ca lled to m ind the la st da y ofPompeii .

R a in h a d begun to descend . At first onl y d rops fell on the ha rdened fa cesofold ma r iners, a nd on the pa le countena nces ofw ives , m ingling w ith the d ropsa lrea dy there . But soon grea t sheets fell , forcing the people indoors, to the poorShelter afforded by the groa n ing houses .

For a bout a n hour the storm cont inued thus,then by degrees the wind les

sened ,though the ra in st ill fell

,a nd the ocea n thundered . But soon the ra in

a lso slowly stopped a nd the roa r ing cea sed . The b la ck cloud rolled slowly a wa y,lea ving the ta rdy sun to shine on the drenched town a nd the grea t pil es ofwreck

a ge on the shore .

MERITS : This theme ra nks high beca use the wr iter ha s a clea r p icture ofthe scene a nd ha s used words a nd phra ses tha t bring the deta il s ofthis p ictureclea r ly before the rea der . There a re good color ima ges in such expressions a s“ lea den ,

” “

a b la ck line,

” grea t sheets offoam ,

” “

the da y wa s l ike n ight,

"

a ndthe sun Shin ing on the drenched town .

"Sound effects a re str ik ingly brought

out by such phra ses a s the ra t t le ofa grocer 's ca rt ," “

the howling ," the wreck

a ge hur led a ga inst the cotta ge,

” “

the roa ring sea , a nd“

the thundering ocea n .

”

The sensa t ion ofdrea r iness a nd chil l is conveyed by the repet it ion ofthe wordcold . The confusion ca used by the storm is reflected in the a nxious look ofthew ives ofthe fishermen . A further hum a n touch is a dded in the ment ion ofsuchdeta il s a s “

the ext ingu ished torches ca rried by the boys a nd“

the d rops ofra infa ll ing upon the ha rdened fa ces ofthe old ma r iners .

"

Al l these enumera t ionsfitt ingly comb ine to produce a tone ofco ldness , desola t ion ,

a nd a nxiety . The

deta ils a re told in their na tura l sequences . This chronologica l a rra ngemen t

h a s helped the wr iter to keep safely to his m a in po in t a nd effect ively connectthe deta ils w ith ea ch other .

DEFECTS : the repet it ion ofthe word cold ,wh ile effect ive in br inging

out the sensa t ion ,is somewha t a rt ificia l . Lonel iness ” is m isspelled ; a sem i

colon should suppla nt the first comma in line 6 . Om it the comm a in line 5 .

COMPARISON : The theme is superior to No . 2 in its r ichness ofima gery ,its wea lth ofdeta ils , its depth offeel ing , its ma turity ofstyle (Seen in the sen

tence- structure a nd the voca bul a ry) , a nd its ma stery ofmecha n i ca l forms .

NO . 2 85%

GRANDMOTHER

In the front ofthe open firepla ce in a la rge a rmcha ir there sits our old Gra nny .

She is old a nd feeb le . Her ha ir is snow-white a nd over her hea d a l it t le whiteca p is ca refully t ied . Her fa ce is full ofwr ink les a nd her keen b lue eyes spa rkleth rough a pa ir ofgla sses which she ha s on her nose .

She ha s a Sha wl thrown over her shoulders a nd she a lso wea rs a thick b la cksk irt . On her feet ca n be seen a pa ir ofsoft slippers which she pr izes very muchbeca use they were given her for a C hr istma s p resent .

0

As you know Gra nn ies a lwa ys l ike to be busy , our Gra nny is busy kn i tt inggloves . Her ha nds go to a nd fro . She will keep on work ing unt il her kn i tt ing


is done . Now tha t it is done she ca refully folds her work a nd pa cks it into herwork -b a sket . Then she t rots upsta irs to bed

,a nd oh ,

how lonesome it is when our

dea r Gra nny is gone from the room .

MERITS : The m er its ofthis composit ion a re ( I ) the Clea r a nd plea singimpression obta in ed ; (2 ) the ha ppy choice ofdeta il s a nd the logica l sequenceof their a rra ngemen t ; (3 ) the sympa thet ic trea tment of the subject — forexample, b its ofsent iment seen in the gra ndmother ’s a tt a chment to the slippers ,a nd the lonel iness felt when she goes to her room ; (4) the in terest in g introductorysentence ;a nd (5 ) the m echa n ica l a ccura cy .

DEFECTS : The defects a re ( I ) the ra ther monotonous sentence structure,a nd (2 ) the chi ld ish voca bula ry .

COMPARISON : To just ify its pla ce in the sca le note : ( I ) tha t in No . I

there is successful ly trea ted a much more d ifficult subject ; (2 ) there is a grea terpower ofim a gina t ion ; a nd (3 ) there is a grea ter va riety ofsentence structure a nda richer voca bula ry .

No . 3 75%

A MANSION

AS you look a cross the roa d you w ill first see a long pr iva te a venue or wa lk .

I t is in the summer , a nd on ea ch side ofthis long wa lk a re some bea ut iful,

sta tely elm s . They a re hun dreds ofyea rs old a nd they ha ve done their duty fora s m a ny yea rs

,sha d ing the wa lk from the noon sun .

C ross the roa d a nd you w ill see ifyou look up the a venue, a bea ut iful ma nsion .

I t is a colon ia l house a nd four la rge p il la rs a re uphold ing the roof. A p ia zzaruns a long three sides ofthe house .

Nea r the house is a tenn is court where for yea rs the occupa nts ofthe ma nsionha ve pa ssed m a ny a n hour .

Let uS enter the m a nsion . I t is a bea ut iful cool pla ce,a lthough da rk . As

we enter we see la rge psalms on ea ch side ofthe entra nce . On the floors a re old

or ienta l rugs which ha ve been ha nded down for genera t ions . In the pa rlor isl

l

i a i

ip , a nd on the wa lls a re the portra its ofthe a ncestors . In a ll

,it is a bea ut i

u p a ce.

MERITS : The wr iter ofthis theme ha s presented a clea r though conven

t iona l p icture . Although he cha nges his po in t ofview severa l t imes,he ha s

a ttempted to put h is rea ders into the best posit ions to see the m a nsion . The

cho ice ofwords is fa ir . Such deta il s a s the sta tely elms, the orienta l rugs, thel

(

1

1

a rp ,a r

)1 d the portra its a re wel l selected . Only one m ista ke in spelling occurs

ine I I

DEFECTS : There a re,however , too ma ny pa ra gra phs for such a short

theme . Consta n t repet it ion ofthe pronoun “

you a nd ofthe words“

bea ut iful ”a nd

“

m a nsion ” give a n impression ofmonotony a nd of lim ited voca bula ry .

The pupil h a s eviden t ly a defin ite pla ce in m ind,but h a s not suggested the sp ir it

Ofthe scene,a s ha s the wr iter ofNo . 2 .

COMPAR ISON : The composit ion deserves its pla ce in the sca le a bove No .

4 beca use ofbetter sentence structure a nd more order ly a rra ngement . I t is

infer ior to No . 2 on a ccount ofits somewha t prosa ic tone a nd its consta nt ly cha nging po int ofview .

No . 4— 65%

THE LAKE AT SUNRISE

In the Mounta ins ofPennsylva n ia there is a la ke .

On one side ofthe la ke is a boa t la nd ing , a t which a dozen or more boa ts a ret ied up . On this boa t la nd ing one ma y sta nd a nd look up the lake, a t sunri se,

I 50 EDUCATIONAL LI EASUREMENTS

teh ees a re found in l ines 8— I I . No a ttempt ha s been m a de to esta b lish a po intofview . On this a ccoun t , a nd beca use ofa la ck ofvivid words

,the pa ssa ge is

dea d a nd color less .

COMPAR ISON : The composit ion is pla ced a bove No . 6 beca use it conta insfewer mecha n ica l errors .

No . 6 — 45%

A SCENE ON THE PRAI RIES

Along a la rge pla in in the west w ith moun ta ins on a ll sides. The sun wa s justsink ing behind the moun ta ins . Some t ra ppers were on the pla in just a bout to

get their supper . They ha d one tend beca use there wa s just three ofthem . Be

side their tent t r ipled a l itt le spr ing . After the three t ra ppers ha d ea t ing theirsupper they sa t down by the fire beca use it h a d growing da rk . Al l ofa sudden a

bunch OfInd ia n ’

s came r id ing up . When they came nea r they fired off theirguns a nd d isa ppea red in the da rkness a nd the t ra ppers turned into ca mp lea vingone ofthe t ra ppers on gua rd .

MERITS : The commenda b le fea tures ofthis composit ion a re d irectness,

simpl icity , a nd a logica l a rra ngement ofdet a ils . The wr iter pa sses from thegenera l to the spec ific in a na tura l m a nner . In sp ite ofa cha nge in the po int ofview in the la st two sentences, the pa ra gra ph , a s a whole, m a kes a clea r p icture .

DEFECTS : Blunders in gramm a r a nd in Spell ing , la ck ofsentence-sense,

a nd short , chil d ish sentences m a ke the ra t in g ofthe composit ion necessa r ilyvery low . Such errors a s “

tend”for “

tent ,” “

tr ipled ”for “

tr ickled,

” “

ea t ing "for

“

ea ten ,

” “ grow ing ” for “ grown ,

”a nd the m isspell ing of Ind ia ns ind ica te

either ha sty , ca reless work ,or sloven ly ha b its ofenunc ia t ion .

COMPAR ISON Compa red w ith the descr ipt ions ofthe storm a nd ofgra ndmother , the short sentences here Show imma tur ity a nd wea kness ra ther tha nsk il l or force . With a la rge amoun t ofcorrect in g ofmecha n ica l deta ils , butwith very l itt le revising a s a whole, this pa ra gra ph would be super ior to No . 5 .

THE COMPLETED EXPOSITION SCALENo . I . A

”Gra de Composit ion . Va lue

,

EXPLANATION OF STANDARD TIME

Sta nda rd Time is used in the Un ited Sta tes to a void grea t d ifferences in t ime

between c it ies . In t ra vell ing from our ea stern to our western coa st one wouldfind on a rr iving tha t his wa tch wa s three hours too fa st . The ca use for this istha t the sun

’

s ra ys str ike the At la nt ic coa st three hours sooner tha n they do thePa cific coa st .

Formerly ea ch city ha d its own sun t ime or Loca l T ime, which wa s a grea t

inconven ience to t ra vellers a nd more so when ra ilroa ds were esta b lished .

This t roub le ha s been wholly a vo ided by d ivid ing our country into t ime

belts . There a re five consecut ive belts which bea r names tha t refer to the landwhich they cover .

The belt which is fa rthest ea st is ca lled the Colon ia l Time belt . The beltwhich includes New Engla nd a nd New York is na med the Ea stern T ime beltwhile the belt tha t pa sses through the m idst ofour coun try is named the C entra lT ime belt . The rema in ing two a re the Moun ta in a nd Pa cific T ime belts ; theMount a in T ime belt is centered a round the Rocky Mounta ins while the Pa cificTime belt includes our western coa st .

There a re three hundred a nd six ty degrees which the sun ha s to cover in one

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 5 1

da y or twen ty-four hours , therefore the sun oversprea ds fifteen degrees in one

hour ;for tha t rea son the d ista nce between ea ch belt 1 5 fifteen degrees .

The Ea stern T im e belt sta rts on the 1 sth mer id ia n ,the Cen t ra l on the 90 th

merid ia n ,the Moun ta in T ime belt commences on the l o5 th m er id ia n while the

Pa c ific Time belt begins on the l 2 oth mer id ia n . Now when one goes from ou r

ea stern to our western coa st he ha s to set his wa tch ba ck one hour a t every fifteenth mer id ia n .

MER ITS : The merits ofthis theme a re ( I ) a n order ly a nd well - a rra ngedpresent a t ion offa cts ; ( 2 ) a m a ture use ofconnect ive words a nd ea sy t ra nsit ionsbetween pa ra gra phs ; (3 ) a m a rked va r iety ofsentence st ructure ; (4 ) a ca refu lcho ice ofwords to a vo id repet it ion ; (5 ) a n a lmost complete a bsence ofseriousmecha n ica l errors.

DEFECTS : There should be two or three pa ra gra phs in stea d ofSix . Therea re one or two obvious m issta tements offa cts . In the la st pa ra gra ph a sem icolon shoul d st a nd after twen ty-four hours .

COMPAR ISON This composit ion is super ior to No . 2 in its grea ter ma turitya nd va r iety ofexpression , a nd in its effi cient ha nd l in g ofa more d ifficult sub ject .

No . 2 . B Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,

HOW TO MAKE FUDGE

A very comm on a nd well l iked home ma de ca ndy is Fudge . I t is very ea silya nd qu ickly m a de .

To m a ke it , put two cup-full s ofsuga r , four tea spoonfuls ofcocoa ,

a p iece ofbut ter a bout the Size ofa wa lnu t , a nd three-fourt hs ofa cup ofm ilk into a sma l lket t le .

P la ce this on the stove to bo il unt il , when a sma ll amount ofit is dropped ina gla ss ofcold wa ter it w ill form a ba ll . St ir it wh ile bo il ing .

As soon a s it will form a ba ll in wa ter t a ke it from the stove a nd a dd two tea

Spoonfull s ofva n ill a . A cupful ofground Eng lish wa lnuts or cocoa nut m a y be

a dded,a lso , ifdesired .

Then pour it in to well buttered t ins a nd let cool before cut t ing it into p ieces .

Cut the p ieces a bout a n inch squa re .

Ifthese rules a re fol lowed a ccura tely the ca ndy wil l ha rden a nd be very good .

MERITS : “

The wr iter ofthis theme evident ly knows how to m a ke fudgea nd ha s sta ted the method simply a nd clea r ly . The words a re well chosen a nd

the sen tence st ructure good . Evidence ofa pla n is shown in the in troduct iona nd conclus ion , a s a lso in the logica l a rra ngemen t ofdeta ils .

"

DEFECTS : The words cupfuls a nd tea spoonful s a re m isspelled ; there is a

shift ing ofmood from ind ica t ive to impera t ive ; the theme should be in one

pa ra gra ph .

COMPARISON . This theme is not so good a s No . I beca use ofits poorsentence structure a nd la ck ofexcel lence ofstyle . It IS better tha n No . 3 ,

be

ca use it is a clea rer exposit ion .

No . 3 . C Gra de Composit ion . Va lue , 7I .4%

HOW TO GI VE A DI NNER PARTY

After you ha ve sent out invita t ions for your d inner the a rra ngement oftheta ble i s the first thing to decide . The center p iece m a y be flowers or a nythingdesired .

After tha t ha s been decided upon,the courses a re the next thing to decide

upon . I t depends on the courses wha t silver a nd china a re used . Alwa ys the


kn ives a re pla ced on.the r ight w ith the Spoons

,which a re a rra nged in the order

ofwhich you use them the first one being nea rest the pla te . The forks a re a t

the left ofthe pla te in the same order a s the spoons . The gla sses a re a t the r ighta bove the knife . The na pk ins a re a t the left beside the forks . The ma id servesthe person left ofthe hostess first .

When the d inner is rea dy the guests a ssemb le, but before enter ing the d in ingroom the m en d raw from a box or h a t

, which con ta ins the names ofthe la d iespresent , one ofthe names

,the one he draws he escorts into d inner he sea ts her

first then Sits a t her left .

MERITS : This theme, with the except ion ofone or two sentences , is a r

r a nged in a n o rder ly fa shion , a nd lea ves a clea r impression on the rea der’

s m ind .

There is a fa ir knowledge ofpa ra gra ph st ructure. The spelling is a ccura te .

DEFECTS : There a re, however , numerous fa ults . On ly the third pa rag ra ph pert a ins to the t it le ofthe composit ion : the first a nd second tel l how to

prepa re for a dinner pa rty . There is room for improvement in pa ra gra ph strueture : pa r a gra phs one a nd two Should be comb ined . The use ofshort sen tencesis monotonous . There a re two

“

run -on”sentences in the la st pa ra gra ph . The

repet it ion ofthe words dec ide upon is unplea sa nt . The use ofpronouns is la xyou is used for one in lin es I a nd 8; a nd one is used amb iguously in l ine I 6 .

COMPAR ISON : The theme is ra nked h igher tha n No . 4 beca use it is more

coheren t a nd the sentence structure is better . Beca use the sentence structure,

is more monotonous, a nd beca use it is not so well punctua ted ,the theme is pla ced

lower tha n No . 2 .

D Gra de Composit ion . Va lue, 6 I .o%

HOW TO B UILD A FI RE

To buil d a furn a ce fire you must a s the following inst ructs . F irst , you mustr a ke down a nd ta ke out a l l the Cinders, cl inkers a nd a shes

,sift them

,so a s to do

a wa y with cl ink ers a nd a shes a nd use Cinders for some other purpose .

The next step , is to get your m a ter ia l rea dy to work with . F irst you put

some pa per in the furn a ce,on tha t some wood

,wa it unt il the wood is b la zing ,

then ta ke three good - sized shovels full ofsm a ll coa l a nd put it on tha t . Ta ke

the same amount ofb ig coa l repea t ing the same process . A fire l ike this is supposed to la st eight hours . The next thin g to do is to Open a l l your drafts to letthe a ir in a nd a l l the ga s a nd smoke out so a s the fire wil l progress qu icker . La st

ofa l l invest iga te your work to see ifit is a l lr ight . Your ta sk is done .

MERITS This theme Shows clea r think ing a nd a m a stery ofthe deta il s tha tm a ke the whole convincing . The wr iter ha s eviden t ly built furn a ce fires a nd

rel ives the process a s he wr ites . His voca bula ry is thoroughly su ited to his theme.

DEFECTS : The wr iter ha s shown no ca re in revisin g h is theme . Thereis a n obvious om ission in the first line

,ca reless sentence structure in the second

pa ra gra ph , a nd a m isspell ing ofa l l r ight in the la st l ine . The sentence com

mencing A fire like this is a n in t rusion a n offense a ga inst coherence . The

la st sen ten ce ma y be om itted .

COMPAR I SON : This theme is thinner in sub ject -ma tter tha n No . 3 a nd is

more obviously la ck ing in a sense ofstyle a nd form . A firm gra sp ofthe ele

menta ry pr inciples ofcomposit ion secures its pla ce a bove No . 5 .

No . 5 . E Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,

HOW TO HARNESS A HORSE

When you get the horse out ofhis sta l l , the first thing to do is to get the br ida lon h im . On put t ing the b r ida l on you first t a ke hold ofthe p iece ofthe b r id a l


Queer or ienta l customs,la ughed a t when stud ied become n a tura l , comprehended

fa cts . Sta t ist ics a re seldom lea rn ed while tra vell ing , but when they a re,they

a re remembered beca use the ba re,dry fa ct is connected w ith a n a ctua l thing

not merely figures , groa ned over beca use they were d ifficult to lea rn .

H istory a lso . Some spot where Genera l A’

s a rmy m a noeuvered in this direct ion

,a nd Colonel B ’

s in tha t , becomes rea l ground ,to be reverenced a nd remem

bered . The hil ls tha t would get on the wrong side ofthe d ia gram a re here in theirtrue posit ion , a nd tha t gra n ite monumen t ma rks the spot where the bra ve com

m a nders d ied .

La ngua ges , too . An impossib le French name sl ides offgl ib ly when often hea rd .

Some word is ga ined w ith very litt le efiort , a nother , a nd the door to the wholela ngua ge is thrown wide . The same is t rue ofI ta l ia n ,a nd the best pa rt ofit is

tha t the pronuncia t ion is correct .

M a them a t ics could not be so ea sily a cqu ired ,it is true, a s in the schoo lroom .

But when the m ind h a s been broa dened by the yea r oftra vel , the student wou ldmore ea sily lea rn this br a nch .

As for Engl ish , a yea r like this would be the grea test a dva nta ge possib le . Thela ndsca pes ofSw itzer la nd or Ita ly , the odd ma nners ofthe Orienta ls , the thousa ndtypes ofhum a n ity everything lends its a id .

On the whole,t ra vel is a thousa nd t im es a n improvement over the school

,

beca use it crea tes interest , st imula tes thought,a nd b roa dens the tra veller a s

nothing else ca n .

MER ITS This theme is excel lent beca use the wr iter ha s his a rgument clea r lyin m ind ,

follows a ca refully pla nned out l ine, a nd expresses him selfconvincingly .

The quest ion is sta ted clea r ly,a nd the conclusion lea ves a defin ite impression on

the rea der’

s m ind . The il lustra t ions used a re well chosen a nd vivid, espec ia lly

the ones a bout foreign customs a nd histor ica l scenes . Voca bula ry a nd sentence

form a re good .

DEFECTS : A d ifferent a rra ngemen t ofa rguments in the order ofclim a xwould a dd st rength to the theme . The beginn in g ofea ch pa ra gra ph is a wkwa rdbeca use ofthe use ofdeta ched phra ses a nd words : i . e .

, yes ;geogra phy for inst a nce, la ngua ges too . E ither these phra ses should be del ibera tely isola ted a s

hea d ings , a nd the whole pa per thrown in to out l ine form,or else they should be

expa nded into complete sta tements . There is some wea kness in punctua t ion,

a s for example, a sem icolon should be substituted for the comma after effort inl ine 2 2 .

COMPARISON This theme is better tha n NO . 2 beca use it fol lows a more

defin ite pla n ; its a rguments a re more clea r ly sta ted,a nd its voca bula ry is more

va ried .

No . 2 . B Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,

WH Y COUN TR Y LI FE I S BETTER THAN CI TY LI FE

Country l ife is the best k ind oflife there is to be l ived .

The country is good for children a nd grown up people a like . The chi ldrenha ve plen ty offresh a ir a nd room to run a bout in . To be sure they do not ha vethe la rge schools ofthe c ity ; but they ha ve the grea t schoo l ofN a ture a nd tha tis grea ter tha n a ny lea rn ing they could get in city schools . The pa rents a re not

afra id to let them run a bout beca use there a re no a utomob i les,elect r ic ca rs , etc .

,

to run over them . There is safety in the country .

The coun t ry is the best pla ce sick people could go . The a ir is pure a nd bra cing a nd there is wa ter cool a nd fresh from the spring or well . For the t ired ma n

work ing in a busy City office a rest in the country is the best thing for him a nd thesooner he gets it the better it is for h im .

The count ry people ha ve good t imes even ifthey don '

t go to fa ncy ba lls,thea t res ,

etc .,a nd sta y up unt il one or two o

’

clock in the morn ing . They ha ve a

good hea lthy t ime a nd a re home a nd in bed by n ine or ha lf-pa st .

TII E MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLI SH COMPOSITION 1 5 5

For these rea sons , a nd ma ny others , the count ry is the best pla ce for child renor a dults , Sick or well .MER ITS : The wr iter ha s a sense ofa rra ngement

,shown ( 1 ) by h is int ro

duct ion ; ( 2 ) by h is pa ra gra phs tha t develop successively the a dva n ta ges ofcoun t ry life ; a nd (3 ) by h is conclusion . The composi t ion is a lso correct in its

elemen ta ry mecha n ics — spellin g , punctua t ion , gra mm a r,a nd pa ra gra ph a nd

sentence st ructure . The voca bu la ry , while not d ist inct ive,is a dequa te .

DEFECTS : The a rgum en ts a re not who lly convinc ing . For exa mple,the

grea t schoo l ofN a ture is,fo r most child ren

,not a sa t isfa ctory subst itute for a

c ity school . Then,to sa y w ithout qua l ifica t ion ,

tha t the coun try is the best pla cefor sick people to go ,

is m islea d ing . The repea ted use ofetc . is ineffect ive .

The summa ry Should not con t a in the phra se a nd m a ny others .

COMPARISON : This compos it ion la cks the vir il ity ofthought a nd d ict iontha t m a rks No . I . I t is

,however , superior to No . 3 in a rra ngemen t

,in sentence

structure, a nd in its firmness ofmen ta l gra sp .

No . 3 . C Gra de Composit ion . Va lue , 7I .9%

THE GOOD OF A LANTERN I N GEOGRAPH Y

A la ntern is a good thin g in a school a s it shows the different c i ties,count r ies

,

a nd a lso the wa ys ofthe people . This gets the child ren a cqua in ted w ith foreignpla ces . Also the recit ing a bout the p ictures gives them a n in terest which wouldnot be so grea t a s ifthey were in the schoolroom .

I t is a good thing for the child ren to get up before the cla ss a nd recite,tha t

gives them self- confidence a nd a lso prepa res them more for high school . In

ha vin g the la ntern it in terests the child ren so they look for p ictures to use,a nd

they find a nd rea d m a ny in terest ing thin gs .

When the p ictures a re pa ssed out they look up m a ny things a t home a nd find

out new things a nd so a s other ch ild ren find things out they help the cla ss .

MERITS : The mer its ofthis composit ion a re three ( I ) the form is purelya rgumen ta t ive throughout ; (2 ) the pup il h a d a few d ist inct a dva n ta ges oftheuse Ofa la ntern in m ind ; a nd (3 ) t roub lesome words l ike a cqua int a nce a nd foreign a re correct ly spel led .

DEFECTS The defects a re a s foll ows ( I ) poor a rra ngemen t offa cts m a kes

this theme ineffect ive ; ( 2 ) the sen tences a re a wkwa rd for exa mple the thirda nd fifth ; (3 ) the fourth sentence illustra tes the “

run -on sen tence or“

comm a

error”

; (4) there is la ck ofclea rness in the a nteceden ts ofpronouns they ” inl ines 4 , 9 ,

a nd l o ; (5 ) there is a poverty ofvoca bu la ry the word thing or

things occurs six t imes,a nd children occurs in a lmost every sen tence .

COMPAR ISON : This theme follows No . 2 in the sca le beca use it ha s lessma ture thought

,inferior sen tence st ructure ,

a nd a more lim ited a nd child ishvoca bula ry . I t precedes No . 4 beca use,

a lthough not so effect ively writ ten,it

a dheres more closely to the form ofwrit ing requ ired a rgumen ta t ion .

No . 4 . D Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,

FOOTBALL I S A BETTER GAME THAN BASEBALL

Footba l l is a better game tha n ba seba l l . I t’

s not on ly (on ly ) muscle a nd

strength tha t m a kes a footba ll pla yer . He must h a Ve the power to think qu ick .

When the team is a short d ista n ce from the goa l a nd scores , somebody ’s quickthinking ha s done it .

Ba seba ll is a n excit ing game in pa rts . But footba ll is excit ing from the (the)t ime the ba ll is k icked t il l the referee b lows h is whist le . Footb a l l shows when a

m a n or boy ha s grit . I once a ttended a game . The score wa s t ie a nd the Op


posing tea m were on ly a few ya rdsfrom the goa l a nd three minutes to pla y . Thequa rterba ck ga ve his signa l a nd they struck the line . The struggling m a ss moveda few feet a nd stopped with a jump . Out ofthe m a ss a m a n jumped . His fa cewa s a l l ba t tered ,

but he struggled on t il l he h a d got the ba l l over the l ine . Some

people ca ll it bruta l . Some ca ses it is a nd some it is not . I would ra ther —

strikethe line in footba ll clothes for a few ya rds ga in

,tha n sta nd up a t a pla te a nd a

ma n hur l ba seba lls a t me . Which would you ra ther do"MERITS : The wr iter ofthis theme evident ly ha s a pla n ofprocedure in

m ind . After clea r ly sta t ing h is proposit ion in the first sentence, he seeks to es

ta b l ish three good po in ts ofsuper ior ity for the game offootba l l . Though una b leto prove these po ints , he ha s succeeded in lea ving w ith the rea der a firm conviet ion ofh is bel ieftha t footba ll is a good sport . Lines 7— I 3 give effect ively thewriter ’s impressions ofa crit ica l moment in a game .

DEFECTS : The a uthor fa ils to prove h is proposit ion,beca use he m ista kes

for a rgumen ts a few loosely sta ted fa cts a nd preferences . His pla n ofrea son ing,

though suggested ,is ent irely undeveloped . Mecha n ica l errors a re numerous :

( 1 ) two m ista kes in the use ofpa ren theses ( l ines I a nd ( 2 ) plura l verb withSingul a r sub ject ( line (3 ) a d ject ive mod ifies a verb (l ine a nd the pro

noun“

it is used va guely in l ine I 2 . The pa ra gra phs a re without system,a nd

the sentences in genera l a re short a nd d isconnected .

COMPARISON This composit ion deserves its pla ce in the sca le a bove No . 5beca use ofits super ior mecha n ica l a ccura cy a nd la rger voca bula ry . I t does not

hold a s closely to its sub ject a s does No . 3 .


WH Y E VER Y GI RL SHOULD LEARN TO COOKEvery girl should lea rn to cook . Ifshe wa s out ofimploiment it would bevery useful .La ter on ,

ifshe shoul d keep house she would wa nt to be a b le to cook . Ifshed idn '

t know how ,the la dy woul d ha ve to hire a cook . Somet im e,

perha ps, she

could not pa y to keep a cook . Then she woul d sa y, Oh,how I wished I lea rned

to cook when I wa s younger , instea d ofbuy ing ba kers things .

”

Ifthis woma ns children wa nted to lea rn to cook who would they a sk to lea rnthem . Their mother coul dn

’

t, beca use She d idn '

t know how her self. So you

m a y see for yourselfit is very importa nt tha t every gir l should lea rn to cook .

MER ITS : This theme shows tha t the a uthor ha d a pla n ;for it gives severa lsound rea sons why every g i r l shou ld lea rn to cook rea sons a rra nged in a fa ir lylogica l order . The punctua t ion ofcert a in sen tences is unexpectedly good .

DEFECTS : The theme is , however , fa ulty in un ity a nd coherence . Thereis a shift ing oftense, a la ck ofdefin ite a ntecedentsfor such words a s “

it (l ine I ) ,a nd

“ la dy ” ( l ine The a rguments a re not suffi c ient ly expa nded to ma ke themclea r . The theme is further m a rred by such mecha n ica l errors a s : m isspell ingofemploymen t (l ine I ) a complete a bsence ofthe a post rophe a nd interroga t ionpoin t ; the incorrect use of who

”

(l ine a nd“ lea rn ( lin e

COMPARISON This theme is pla ced lower in the sca le tha n No . 4 ; it ha sless force a s a n a rgument,a nd ha s more mecha n ica l errors .

No . 6 . F Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,THE WI N TER I S THE BEST SEASON

The winter is the best sea son.

in the yea r beca use they a re ska t ing a nd pungrid ing coa st ing;etc . In the spring when you pla nt the crops you a re kept busy .


Now t ry to r ise in your st irrups,he sa id a s we bega n to t rot a ga in .

I got a long better this t ime a lthough I st ill bumped terr ib ly .

Then he d iscovered tha t the hour wa s up a nd we rode out . He d ismounted

a nd helped me offa nd when I rea ched the ground I felt very unstea dy .

I sta ggered up the sta irs , for I wa s very wobb ly , seized my crop a nd hurr ieddown . Ifr id ing wa s l ike this a l l the t ime " He wa s ta lk in g to mother .

“

Al l r ight ,” I hea rd h im sa y,A week from to -da y ; same t ime . She did

pretty wel l for the first t ime. Too ba d she is so st iff.

”

I d idn ’

t feel l ike a nother lesson a t a ny t ime but I d idn ’

t sa y so a nd with motherI left the r id ing schoo l a nd my first r id ing lesson wa s a t a n end .

MERITS : The situa t ion is vividly port ra yed , with plenty ofconversa t ion .

From the l ively introduct ion to the d irect conclus ion ,the interest is kep t up by

well- selected deta ils . The pa ra gra phing is good,a nd the ma stery ofquota t ion

m a rks is evident . Good cho ice ofwords is shown in such n a tura l phra sing a s“

rushed,

” “ ga zed ,

” “ flung ,” “

scramb le,” “bounced

,

” “

sta ggered . The con

nect ion between the pa ra gra phs is unusua lly good .

DEFECTS : The defects a re in m a tters ofform . There is unnecessa ryrepet it ion ofthe word r ide . Punctua t ion is om itted in severa l pla ces . Therea re m ist a kes in Spell ing ( l ines 8, I 7, In tha t ’s good ,

the a postrophe isom itted . The conclud ing sen tence is loosely constructed .

COMPARI SON : This theme holds a higher pla ce tha n NO. 2 beca use ofitsexcellent cho ice ofdet a ils a nd its vivid expression . I t is a more amb it ious p ieceofwork ,

a nd the In terest is more surely susta ined .

No . 2 . B Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,M Y TRI P TO FAI RYLAND

I t wa s a bout four o’

clock in the afternoon, a nd a s I wa s very t ired I sa t down

by the fire to rest . Sudden ly I hea rd a sma l l vo ice ca lling me by name . I imme

d ia tely looked up a nd beside me I saw wha t I thought wa s a fa iry . I wa s verymuch exc ited a s I h a d never seen a fa iry but ha d on ly rea d ofthem .

“ Would you like to come with me to Fa iryla nd a nd rid yourselfofyour ca resfor a while she quest ioned .

“ I would love to ,

”I a nswered .

Then on ly follow me,

”she sa id .

SO out ofthe room we went a nd down the cella r sta irs.

Where a re you lea d ing me I a sked .

You sha ll soon find out ,”she a nswered .

We went in to the da rkest corner ofthe cella r . She showed me a sma ll tra pdoor which she went though , lea ving me a lone .

“

But how am I to get through I a sked .

Without a reply She touched me w ith her sm a ll wa nd ,a nd before I ha d a

cha nce to sa y a word I found myselfthrough the door a nd in a bea ut iful ga rdenwhich wa s fi lled w ith fra gra n t flowers ofma ny k inds . She led me through it ,a nd a t one end ofit I sa w a white m a rble pa la ce .

This is my home,

”she sa id . Do you ca re to enter "

Tha t would be del ightful ,” I sa id .

Up the sta irs we wen t a nd down a long ha l l . F ina lly we came upon a la rgea nd bea ut iful room . I t wa s fil led with da nc ing fa ir ies who were ha ving a ga yt ime . Myfa iry in t roduced me to some ofthefa ir ies, a nd then jo ined in the merryma k ing . I stood a nd looked a t the splendor ofit a ll , when sudden ly I hea rd a

voice ca lling me, a nd I looked up .

I t wa s my mother who sa id ,I ha ve ca lled you three t imes . You must ha ve

been a sleep .

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN ENGLI SH COMPOSITION 1 59

MER ITS : The spell ing , punctua t ion ,sen tence structure

, a nd especia llythe pa ra gra phin g of this composit ion ,

a re a ccura te . The story, a s a whole

,

ha s a ct ion ; the conversa t ion is well ha nd led ; there is a stud ious effort to a vo idrepet it ions , a s quest ioned , a sked ,

a nswered,sa id ( l ines 6

DEFECTS : The chiefdefect is a child ish use oft iresome short sentences .

The verb forms do not produce a ct ion enough . In l ine 1 9 quo ta t ions m a rks a re

om itted before Do,a nd there Should be a hyphen in merry -m a k ing (l ine

COMPAR ISON : The super ior pa ra gra ph s tructure ofthis theme is sufficientto pla ce it a bove No . 3 . I t la cks the mer it seen in the ea sy a nd sp ir i ted conversa t ion ofNO . 1 .

No . 3 . C Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,LOST I N THE WOODS OF CONNECTI CUT

Who'

s going b la ckberry ing to -da y"”cr ied my cousin M a rga ret wa ving her

a il .pI am

,I sa id com ing out ofthe house a pa il in one ha nd a nd a wide br immed

ha t in the other .

Allright,

a nswered M a rga ret , but where’

s Jul ia "”Must be in the house,” I replied .

We soon found her dil igent ly rea d ing a book a nd after some urging She decidedto go .

I t wa s a bout eight o ’

clock when we sta rted for ifwe wa ited t ill la ter on in thed a y it would be to hot .

We wa lked a long wa ys to the other end ofthe fa rm after cl imb ing stonewa lla nd ha ving severa l encounters with sna kes .

“

How much fa rther do we ha ve to go "” I cr ied grow ing impa t ien t .

The other side ofthis field ,

” M a rga ret ca lled ba ck .

After cl imb ing the stonewa ll we came in sight ofbig stretches ofb la ckberries.

We fel l to work right awa y a nd p icked very fa st .

In a l itt le whil e we stopped a nd found we ha d worked a good wa ys . As wewent on the berries seemed to grow b igger a nd sweeter .

After fill ing my pa il I found M a rga ret wa s through long before me a nd wa ss itt ing in their m idst ea t ing . We wa ited t il l Julia wa s through a nd then sta rted

for home . We were so busy ta lking M a rga ret d idn ’

t not ice which pa th we tooka nd after wa lk ing a longs wa ys she d iscovered our m ista ke . I wa nted to turn

ba ck a nd go the wa y we came but she sa id it wou ld t a ke to long so we struck out

i nto the woods . The fa rther we went the more perplexed we were t ill fina llyMa rga ret sa t down under a tree in despa ir .

This would never do so I decided to clim b a nea rby tree to see ifwe could see

.a ny signs ofa house .

With much pulling a nd tugging I got up the t ree a nd saw a house to the r ight .

We rea ched the house t ired a nd hungry .

We were lucky to come to come to such a pla ce for the m istress proved to bevery good . After rest ing one ofthe hired men d rove us home just in t ime to see

.a sea rching pa rty go ing out to look for us a s it wa s now la te in the afternoon .

MERITS : The most commenda b le fea ture ofthis na rra t ive is the m a na gemen t ofthe conversa t ion . This is a ccura tely punctua ted a nd conta ins a va r ietyin the verbs ofsa y ing . P la ced a t the beginn ing , it gives a n elemen t ofspon ta neitya nd a rouses the immed ia te interest ofthe rea der . There a re severa l wel l - chosenexpressions such a s severa l encounters with sna kes ," pulling a nd tugging ,"a nd

“in despa ir .

”The a rra ngemen t ofidea s is logica l .

DEFECTS : Except for the incompa t ib il ity between the content a nd the

t it le, the defects a re mecha n ica l : ( 1 ) poor pa ra gra phing except in the convers a t ion ; ( 2 ) the unsk illful use ofthe compound sen tence in the sen tences beg i n


n ing on l ines 7, 9 , 2 1 , (3 ) the unempha t ic posit ion ofthe pa r tic ip ia l phra se inlines 1 2 a nd I 3 , a nd ofthe dependent cla use In the la st sen ten ce ; (4) the a bsenceofcomma s after in troductory cla uses a nd phra ses

,in some in sta nces ca usin g a n

amb igu ity ofmea n ing a s in sen tences commenc ing in l ines 1 7 a nd 3 1 ; (5 ) thegramm a t ica l error in the incoherent reference ofthe pronoun their in line 2 0,

(6 ) the evident ca relessness in the spel lin g of“

the,

“

a ll r ight” a nd‘"too

’

a nd In

the repet it ion of to come”in line 3 0 ;a nd (7) the poor choice ofwords in the

co lloqu ia l nea rby a nd in the repea ted use of long wa ys .

”

COMPAR ISON : This theme is super ior to No . 4 in its ma turity ofthoughta nd phra sing ; it is inferior to No . 2 in mecha n ica l form .

No . 4 . D Gra de Composit ion . Va lue,A HAPP Y BUT EXCI TI NG AFTERNOON

Allen ha d just gotten a new motor -boa t for his b irthda y a nd wa nted to tryit out a s it wa s Sa turda y .

“ Well,

”he sa id

,

“

will you come with me Em ily .

“

You ca n br ing Edn a ifyou wish .

”

“

Al l r ight ” sa id Em ily , a nd offshe wen t to get Edna ,her cousin .

They sta rted out a t M a rb lehea d a nd wa s going to go a s fa r out in the ha rbora s they could .

All went well for a bout one hour , then it wa s gett ing rough .

The gir ls got fr ightened , but , they ha d more to be fr ightened a bout la ter,the

propellor broke off. All there wa s to do wa s to go where ever the wa ves wouldta ke them .

They were hea d ing for open sea . Oh,

sa id Edna , how perfect ly horr ib le .

I’

m not com ing out in this motor -boa t a ga in,

”sa id Em ily .

I guess you won’

t,Emily

,but look

,here comes a ferryboa t .

So i t wa s ,‘

now for the fun , sa id Al len, who wa s not the lea st bit excited ,

I’

m go ing to ca ll their a tten t ion .

”

The ship came nea rer a nd nea rer to them Soon it wa s w ithin rea ch a nd

Allen m a de a gra b for it . He got hold ofthe Side a nd helped the gir ls in . Thenhe got a rope a nd t ide it to the motor boa t .

Well , sa id the girls to gether , “

we will never go in a motor boa t with youa ga in .

’

MERITS : The mer its a re two . ( I ) the child ha d a fa ir ly well-pla nned storyin m ind ; (2 ) he h a s a n a ccura te knowledge ofthe use ofquota t ion ma rks .

DEFECTS : The defects a re a s follows ( I ) the pa ra gra phing is poor ; (2 )there a re severa l examples ofthe “

run -on"

sentence (lines 7, 9 ,a nd 1 5 ) (3 ) the

words“ propeller ,” “

wherever,

" “together

,a nd

“t ied ” a re m isspelled ; (4 )

ca n is used in l ine 3 instea d of m ay 5 ) in l ine 5 there is a Sin gula r verbused with a plura l subject ; there a re errors in punctua t ion (lines 2 , 9 , 1 1 ,

a nd I 4) ; (7) the voca bula ry Is child ish .

COMPARISON This theme fol lows No . 3 in the sca le beca use ofthe infer iordevelopment ofits plot a nd the grea ter imma tur ity ofits expression .


A GHOST STOR Y

Come Joe, run fa ster we must get Ha rry to come with us a nd we ha ve butfew m inutes to do it in ifwe wa n t to get there before da rk ,

”sa id John a s he lea ped

a fence a nd sta rted towa rd a house In the d ista nce .

Joe jumped the fence a nd ra n after John a s fa st a s he could in order to ca tchup with him so they could go in together .


roga t ive a nd exclam a tory sentences ; (4) the simple a nd na tura l la ngua ge ;(5 ) the order ly sequence ofpoints in the story .

DEFECTS : Though well begun , after the first pa ra gra ph this theme is

s imply a ser ies of d isconnected even ts a nd a ppa rent ly unrela ted sta temen ts .

( I ) Punctua t ion is fa ul ty ; (2 ) sen tences a re ba d ly const ructed ; (3 ) the mea n ingin severa l pla ces is not clea r ; (4) there a re m a ny mecha n ica l errors, such a s“

tha n for “

then ”

;“

broke"for “

b roken”

;“ la ying " for “ lying “

h a d"for

a nd"

; 5 ) the a post rophe is om itted in con tra ct ions ;a nd (6 ) the tense cha ngesa brupt ly in the open ing pa ra gra ph .

COMPAR ISON : This theme is infer ior to No . 5 in sen tence structure, in

connected a rra ngement ofm a ter ia l , a nd in mecha n ica l a ccura cy .

Scores for the Ha rva rd- Newton Sca les . There a re no sta nda rd

scores a va ila ble a s yet , but it m ay be ofinterest to quote the scoresfor the tests m a de in the schools ofPort Town send , Wa shington .

Gra de . 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 I I 1 2

Port Townsend Scores 46 46 5 3 58 5 8 63 70 73

CHAPTER X

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABI LITY IN DRAWING

The Thorndike Drawing Sca le . A sca le for mea suring a bilityin drawing ha s been prepa red by Thorndike on the same genera lpr inciples a s his sca le for ha ndwr it ing . I t is composed ofa seriesoffour teen dr awings r a nging in merit from zero to 1 7. The successive steps ofin crea se in m erit a re irregul a r

,but the va lue ofea ch draw

ing is a ccura tely determ ined from the judgm ent ofa bout 40 0 a rtists,

tea chers ofdrawing,a nd experts in educa tion .

The sca le is used for ra ting the merit ofa child ’s drawing in the

same m a nner a s the ha ndwriting sca le is used for mea sur ing samplesofwrit ing . The va lue ofa drawing is indica ted in term s ofthe step

on the sca le to which it is most l ike in qua l ity .

The chiefdifii cul ty in using the sca le is the fa ct tha t it does not

conta in specimens ofthe va rious types ofdrawings m a de in school .The sca le ought to be extended by a dding samples ofthe proper

degrees ofmerit for ea ch ofthemost common cla sses ofob jects drawnin school

,a s

,for example, a n ima ls, hum a n beings

,lea ves

,landsca pes ,

etc . But in spite ofthis shortcom ing,the sca le is useful

,a nd the

r a tings ofdrawings ca n be m a de more a ccura tely with the sca letha n without the sca le .

Directions for Administering a nd Scoring the Test . Ma teri a ls

White drawing pa per , 6 x 9 , bla ck drawing pencil or cra yon .

Genera l da ta : Ha ve the pupil s wri te on the ba ck ofthe sheet then ame

, gr a de, school , city, a nd da te.

Subject : A picture or scene to illustra te the fol lowing sta nzaUnder a sprea ding chestnut treeThe vill a ge sm ithy sta nds ;

The sm ith,a m ighty ma n is he,

With la rge a nd sinewy ha nds ;And the muscles ofhis bra wny a rms

Are strong a s iron ba nds .

(Some other subject ofcompa ra ble cha ra cter may be used ifit

seems desira ble. )

1 64 EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMEN TS

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB I LITY IN DRAWING 1 67

1 68 EDUCATI ONAL MEASUREMENTS

Time : Ten minutes, exclusive ofa ll directions, prelim ina ry questions, a nd the recording of genera l da ta . No suggestions or helpshoul d be given .

The drawings a re then scored by the Thorndike scal e. The resul ts

ofa cla ss shoul d be ta bul a ted to Show the name ofea ch pupil togetherwith hi s score, a nd the a vera ge score for the entire cla ss .

Genera l sta nda rds ofa tta inment for the va rious yea rs ha ve not

been obta ined a s yet . Childs 1employed the sca le for mea suring

drawings of2 1 77 pupils in two school system s in Indi a n a a nd found

thefol lowing media n scores,in which the results for A a nd B sect ions

ofea ch gra de a re combined

Gra de . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Score .

The'

Rugg Lettering Sca le . A sca le for mea suring free-ha nd letter ing ha s been constructed by H . O . Rugg . I t consists ofgra dedspecimens oflettering r a nging in va lue from 3 0 per cent to 1 0 0 per

cen t . The specimens in the sca le were selected from a la rge number

ofletterings m a de by a cl a ss in drawing in the col lege ofengineering in the Un iversity ofI l l inois . The va lue ofthe va r ious samples

wa s determ ined prim a rily on the ba sis ofthe uniform ity ofthe lettersin respect to heights ofletters

,spa ces between the letters a nd be

tween the words,stem s a nd ova ls . The percenta ge ofva lue a ssigned

to a sample wa s determ ined by the number ofdefects in these fourelements in the specim en . The exa ct method is described in deta ilby Mr . Rugg in the j ourna l ofEduca tiona l P sychology,

VI,1 9 1 5 ,

2 5—4 2 .

1 Childs, H . G.

, J ourna l ofEduca tiona l Psychology, VI , 1 9 1 5 , 3 9 1 —408.

CHAPTER X I

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN LATIN

Two types oftests for mea suring a bil ity in La t in ha ve been pre

pa red . The one is designed to mea sure the size ofa pupil ’s voca bul a ry

,a nd the other is designed tomea sure his a bil ity to rea d a nd tra ns

l a te La tin senten ces .

1

La tin Vocabula ry Test . This test is composed oftwo sets of 1 0 0

words ea ch . I t is given a ccording to the di rections a t the top of

the sheet . The resul ts a re scored by a scert a in ing the number of

words design a ted correct ly in ea ch l ist . The a vera ge ofthe two is

the score .

LATIN VOCABULARY TEST I

School .Yea rs La tin D a te

After ea ch La tin word tha t you know ,write the number ofits Eng

l ish equiva len t .

LATIN WORDS

1 9 . commist im

2 0 . concienens

2 1 congrega b il is

2 2 . const ruct io2 3 . con t rusus

2 4 . crem a bil is

2 5 . cupula2 6 . deciduus2 7. deloca tio

2 8. desterno

2 9 . d iligens

3 0 . d iut ius

3 1 . dupl iciter

3 2 . elumb is

3 3 . esca l is

3 4 . excubicul a rius

3 5 . exquisit im

3 6 . fa enens

1 Copies ofthese tests ma y be ob ta ined in desired qua nti ties from the a uthor.1 71

ferra t il is

flora l ia

frequentamentum

ga lbagra ba tulus

h a pa lop is

homocida l is

igna veimpera trixincesturn

inemptus

inopsinteremptibilis

ira cunde

just ifica tor

la tipes

l ib idin ita s

luc ib il IS


m a xirne

m a trona l ismet a xamola sso- spondeusmusso

nemorosus

noviter

ob ruo

officio

orneus

pa ra bilis

pa vorperfa cile

perturp is

pisca rius

pa rphyrites

a llotment

a ngril ya nswering ba cka s, how

ba bler

to be

b lameworthysma ll b irdbr ight , clea rbroa dfooted

to bubb le forthbu ild ingby

ca refulca refullycombust ib leto come forthshe Who comma nds

m a de ofcopperl itt le couchcrowded togetherdesiretha t ca n be destroyeddewyin d iscourse or con

versa t iond isloca t iondoub lyto dig before

ENGLI SH EQUIVALENTS

2 9 .

3 0 .

3 1 .

3 2 .

3 3 '

3 4

3 5

3 6 .

3 7

3 8.

3 9

40 .

4 1 .

4 2 .

ea rnestlyvery ea silyex- chamber la into exha lefa ll ing offpert a in in g to fishflower - ga rdenpert a in ing to foodforest

ofa team offour

l ittle fra nkincenseto gra spofha yhelpless , withoutresource

hesita t inglyhip - shothopeshow often soeverinvest ing a townto be insa ne, ra veironedjo int lyonewho just ifies

la nd , groundla vish ly , extra va ga n tperta in ing to ligh tlonel iness

. longer

ofthe mounta in a sh

murderous

to mutter

twisted neckla cenewlyto oppose

,hinder

to overwhelmpa nt ingpledge to bondsma n

precious stoneprepa ra t ionea si ly procur edrela t in g to propertywithout a m a ster

to quench,extinguish

re-echo ingrepet it ionrestra in truin , destruct ionru lea rust l ingsa lmon

sett l ingsvery shameful ,

sca nda lousra w silksinging , ha rmoniz ingsluggishlyto smell

I74 EDUCATIONAL ME ASUREMENTS

a ccursedlya ccustomed

a dva ncement

a er ia la greea b lyba na na

bent outwa rds

blame

b lowto be b l indboldlyba nd ,

neckla cebrieflybruisebrea thingbusily , ca reful lyea ger to buyto ca ress

tha t ca n be ca rr iedcert a inl yda rk

a da rken in gdefra uder

destruct ionto dip in a ga ind ivina t ion by firesma ll drinking vesseld runk

,intoxica ted

ofa delugeofthe ea rthextra va ga ntt rifling excuseeye

- sa lvepub l ic fa rmer

tha t is to be fea red

These words were selected by the same method a s the words

used in the English voca bula ry test . The first word on every 2 oth

pa ge ofHa rper ’s La tin Dictiona ry wa s chosen . Every 2 0 th pa ge wa sselected because tha t ga ve 1 0 0 words sca ttered a t un iform interva lsthroughout the entire voca bula ry . List I wa s m a de up by ta kingthe first word from pa ges 2 0

, 40 , 60 ,etc . List I I wa s m a de up by

ta king the first word from pa ges 2 1 , 4 1 , 6 1 , etc .

This method ofselection ha s three distinct a dva n ta ges . First ,


3 6 .

3 7

3 8.

3 9

40 .

4 1 .

42 .

a forester 69 .

fruitfulness 70 .

ful l offlowers 71

one fond ofga in 72 .

a s grea t 73

giftsta lk or cluster of 74 .

gra pes 75

grea t , la rge 76 .

ha rd 77

ha rm 78.

ha st ily 79 .

ha nd-ba l l 80 .

hawk 8 1 .

very hea vyto become hoa rse 82 .

honora b ly 83 .

howsoever 84 .

ina ct ivity 85 .

to hunt through 86 .

kindred,rela ted 87.

a knot,bulge 88.

a lender 89 .

letter ofGreek a lpha 90 .

bet 9 1 .

like, Sim ila r 92 .

l ikeness 93 .

lodging pla ce 94 .

to begin to love 95 .

ma rvellous, stra nge 96 .

a mea suring 97.

a m ingl in g 98.

m istrust ingly 99 .

to move 1 0 0

noisy

not fell ed ,uncut

not tra versa b leto p ierce througha pla netpert a in in g to

pounda ra t t l inga litt le recita t ionrelia nce, confidenceto requestrest lesslya l itt le roseSha rpnessstep by step , gra dua l ly

stra ngera l itt le sna ke

signedsinking

,drowning

skill , shrewdnessa Ga ll ic shoema kerSpicest a ge ofthea tera solicit inga l itt le squa reto ta lk fool ish lyterritorythreefolda t rickto wa tch

,gua rd

wha le-bea ringwhitenessyouryouthful ly

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN LATIN 1 75

it gives a representa tive a nd uniform sampl ing ofthe entire La tinvoca bul a ry . Second ,

the score obta ined ha s a definite sign ifica ncein the sense tha t it indica tes the percenta ge ofwords ofthe en tireLa tin voca bula ry tha t a person knows . Ifa pupil knows 2 5 words

ofea ch l ist , it mea ns tha t he knows 2 5 per cen t ofthe en tire voca bula ry . Third

,a ny num ber ofa dditiona l l ists tha t m a y be desired ca n

bem a de up byfol lowing the same pl a n ofselection . It ha s been found

in connection with the English voca bul a ry test a nd the spel ling testtha t this method ofselect ion yields l ists which do not differ from ea chother in difii culty on the a vera ge bymore tha n 2 . 5 per cen t , a nd tha ta n a vera ge obta ined from two l ists gives a very rel ia ble score.

The method ofm a t ching the Engl ish equiva lents with the La tinwords is used in this test in preferen ce to ha ving the words definedor ha ving them used in senten ces because it m a kes the scoring a bsolutely ob ject ive . By mea ns ofa key,

a ny one who m a y not know a

word ofLa tin ca n score the results . All he needs to know is the

correct number for ea ch La tin word . Ea ch word is designa ted eithercorrect ly or in correctlyLa tin Rea ding Test . Thi s test is composed ofa series ofsentences

a rra nged a pproxim a tely in the order ofdifficul ty . These sentenceswere selected from the rea dings usua l ly covered in high schools

,

namely , first yea r La tin books,Cmsa r

,C icero a nd Virgil . The

test is now being sta nda rdized a nd wil l,in its fina l form

,ha ve the

senten ces a rra nged in uniform steps Ofknown difficulty . A pupil ’sscore will then be the most difficul t step or set ofsentences pa ssed .

In themea nt ime the test will be useful a s it sta nds a nd m a y be scoredsimply by the number ofsentences tra nsla ted correct ly .

LATIN READING TEST

Tra nsla te the following sentences . Wri te your tra nsla tion under

ea ch sentence.

Arno .

Sunt .

Homo est ma gnus .

Puell a est pa rva .

Docet .

La uda bam .

Rex signum a udivit .N

O

M

-F-

Cfi

N

u-t


Non viden t .

Sil va e explora ba ntur .

Dom inus servum l ibera t .

In m a gna Silva sun t copia e.

Br it a n ia est m a gn a in sula .

Mult i Rom a n i in opp ido pugna t .

N a t iones et civita tes Ga l l ia e t imore bell i perterrita e sunt .

M ih i opp idum est expugna ndum .

Nemo est qui ha ec non fa cia t .

C ives urbem va l lo mun ient et cum virtute se defendent .

Nol ite hos m il ites de monte deducere.

Vid it m il ites quos impera tor m isisset fort iter pugna re.

In med ia urbe a ra ma xim a era t .

Num pedes referent Cives Rom a n i "Apud Helvet ios longe nob il issimus fu it et dit issimus Orgetorix .

Pl a nit ies era t m a gna et in ea tumul us terrenus sa t is gra nd is .

Locus era t ca strorum editus et pa ul a t im a b imo a ccl ivis circ iter pa ssusm ille.

Ad mortem te, C a t a l ina , duc i iussu consul is iam pridem oporteba t .

Video,pa t res conscript i , in me omn ium vest rum ora a tque oculos esse con

versos .

Nunc , a nte quam a d sentent iam redeo ,de me pa uca d icam .

Neque vero sine ra t ione cert a ca usa M ilon is semper a sena tu proba ta est .

Ha ec ubi d icta , ca vum conversa cusp ide montem irnpul it in la tus .

Rex era t Aenea s nob is, quo iust ior a lter,nec p ieta te fuit , nec bel lo m a ior et

a rm i s .

Scores . The following tenta tive scores a re ba sed on three La tincla ssesYea rs ofLa t inVoca bula ry ScoreSentence Score

1 78

a l l , a ny

a nnexed ,enclosed

l ike a rsen ica ppert a in ingto a nswer

worth a sk ing a bouta lmond

to tell a necdotesto a rm with coa t of

m a ila dornment

a ble to dob luffness

,ha rshness

broa d

to bea t , pun ishba rleya beet lea ba ng

, no isethose ofcontempora ryb irth

EDUCATIONAL NEEASUREMENTS

Kna ll SchmuckKopf SchuldKrittel Sechsla ienh aft Sieberlebend ig Spa rerLeute Spundlosen StelleM a ndel Stra tegemmeidingern suppicht

M itgeborene TeufelMund Tra nsch

N a cht tuerkel

Netz Ulk

Obla torium ungepflegt

pa nzern Unverfrore'

nheitPferd Verein igerPortra eit vermoegl ich

putzen vertha n

Rebbes vol lRepra esa nta nten vot ieren

schaft Wa sser

rot welt lichSamen WindScha tz Wuerfelei

Sch laf

ENGLI SH EQU IVALENTS

1 9 . business c ircula r ga in , profit2 0 . bung , sp igot hot

2 1 . one who ca rr ies off highness2 2 . comprehensible hundredth2 3 . to Obta in by crime hea d2 4 . compa ra b le horse2 5 . cruelty to iron ,

to smooth2 6 . ca st ing , pouringout cool impudence2 7. to clea n to lul l to sleep2 8. debt la y,

unprofessiona l2 9 . devil l iving

, a l ive3 0 . dama ged to ca st lots3 1 . done for , fin ished a body ofrepresenta3 2 . to envy t ives

3 3 . flower ing sea son line ofma rch3 4 . fa ir

,ea sy ma iden ly

3 5 . to cut flesh mouth3 6 . fooling , fun to notch , indent3 7. full bra nd new

3 8. fa ultfind ing l itt le neck

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN GERMAN 1 79

night round a bout soup - likeoyster like red to t rample to dea thnet reproof, scold ing t rea suryout there to scold set ofteethto turn the lea ves one who sta tes to un loa dp icture-book shriek ing unca red-for

l itt le p ig secret ly un iterpower seed to votepebbly sleep to get by whisperingpeople six windp icture Sifter best known

posit ion stra tegy wa ter

pla ying a t d ice one who is sa ving worldlyto ruffl e

,pla it thing zea l

reel , winder threa ten ing

GERMAN VOCABULARY TEST I I

After ea ch Germa n word tha t you know , wri te the number ofits

Engl ish equiva lent .

GERMAN WORDS

Einzieher

entha ltsamerga rnen

erwecken

famielenhaft

Ferse

Fleissfra nko

FurcheGebra euchl ichkeit

gelbGeruest

Gewa esser

Gleichgewichtgreifengut

ha ltenHa tschier

heitzba r

herumpfuschenhina ustra genHoehleisen

hundsig

Instma nn

Juror


to a wa ken

awa ke

a rchera ccount

a chieverto ba the, foment

ba sic itybroa d ishba la nce, equil ibr iumba ll ofthrea dbook ofwords

broa dstone

bea k , b il lcut throughcustom a riness

to ca rry outcorn icechfld

a crowd

broa d chiseld ispa tcher , conveyorfra ct ion , dec im a ldog

- l ikedelivera nceto da nce after

deed

dra wee

expella b leto ensna re

fin ish ing-heckle

fam il ia rfurrow

frame, scaffold

a gunnerto gra b , clutch

Suverbetel

Tha tTra ssa t

Turnei

umba umt

ungesetzm a esig

Unverscha emtheit

verfa hrenVerneinu'

ng


3 6 .

3 7

3 8.

3 9

40 .

4 1 .

42 .

goodto ga therh inge

,p ivot

to hoot,ha l loo

heelto holdtha t m ay be hea tedholl ow ing ironl itt le hea droughin g hammer

la rge hammer

to importuneindeterm in a te (problem )industriousnessimpudencejurym a n

lonel inessto lull to sleeplodgerl ifela teone who moves innew

nega t ionown

,one

’

s own

sea

to pa int , to copyprotector , pa tronpressurepostpa idpa perto pla ntp itchstoneto proceed

Vertra eglichkeit

Voll bringer

wa chwa essern

Wendun gWinderWuermchen

resista ncespoolsta ge-worthySketcherfor my sa ke

sympa thya stroke

,b low

sta te

to set , put

to str ivesocia b il ityto trip offt ickettempera te in dr inkto t inker a t

to tea ch,

schooltournament

surrounded by trees

a turn ing, a cha nge

twisterurba n

un lawfulvisiblevisitorworthy ofbeing a dm it ted

wa te'

rs

wa inscot ingto be in wa nt

to wa ter

l itt le wormyel low

go to


Da s scha det ga r n ichts, grunzte der a lte Oberst .

Es wurde besch lossen ,d ie Geschichte gleich jetzt a n Ort 1 1 nd Stelle a bzu

ma chen .

Und da la euft m a n hina b im heissen Sta ube des M itta gs .

Freund lich bega nn sogleich die ungeduld ige Ha usfra u

Sa get uns , wa s ihr gesehn ;denn da s begehrt ’ ich zu wissen .

Also gingen d ie zwei entgegen der sinkenden Sonne,Die in Wolk en sich t ief

, gewitterdrohend verhuellte.

Standa rds ofAtta inment . The fol lowing sta nda rds ha ve been deri ved from a l im ited number oftests a nd a re sub ject to future revision .

Yea rs ofGerm a n

Voca bula ry ScoreSentence Score

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 0 2 7 3 4 4 1 48 5 5

I 6 1 8 2 0 2 2 2 4 2 6

CHAPTER XI I I

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN FRENCH

THE tests for mea suring a bility in French 1 a re entirely sim il a r inprinciple to the tests in La tin a nd Germ a n .

French Voca bula ry Test . The test is composed oftwo sets of

1 0 0 words ea ch . The results a re scored by a scerta in ing the number

ofwords design a ted correctly in ea ch l ist . The a vera ge ofthe two

l ists is the score.

These words were selected by ta king the first word on every sixthor seventh pa ge a l tern a tely in Spiers a nd Surenne

’

s la rge FrenchEngl ish diction a ry . Thi s ga ve 1 0 0 words sca ttered a t regul a r in terva ls through the entire voca bula ry . List I wa s obta ined by ta kingthe first word on pa ges 6 , 1 3 , I 9 , 2 6

,etc . List I I wa s obta ined by

ta king the first word on pa ges 7, 1 4 , 2 0 ,2 7, etc .

FRENCH VOCABULARY TEST I

After ea ch French word tha t you know,wr ite the number ofits

English equiva lent .

FRENCH WORDS

1 7. choquer1 8. cocua ge1 9 . comm issiona ire2 0 . condyl ien2 1 . const itut ionel

2 2 . coph rOpha ge

2 3 . coula nt2 4 . cra sse

2 5 . cumul2 6 . deceindre

2 7. defroquer

2 8. denominer

2 9 . desa streusement

3 0 . deverguer

3 1 . d isjonct if3 2 . dorloter

1 Copies ofthese tests may be obta ined in desired1 83

3 3 . echa la s3 4 . effeuilla ison3 5 . embrun ir3 6 . enfila de

3 7. entra ver3 8 . epuiser

3 9 . et a rquer

40 . execrer

4 1 . fa ib le42 . fermer

43 . flamine

44 . fort ifia nt

45 . fr iquet46 . ga rder47. gl a ndul iferre

48 . grena illequa ntities from the a uthor.

1 84

affected

a lcohola na lysisa ppel la t iveto a tta ck

a ccumul a t iona wa ken ing , a la rmRoma n a rcherbottom

bota nyto bea t to a rms

ofcerta in beet lesto bewa re

to ba lla stbest

t ilted ca rt

cuckoldomcomm issionerconst itut iona lcha tter ingt a k ing , ca pturedeer

d irtd isa strouslyd isjunct iveto da rken

to d ishonor


ENGLI SH EQUIVALENTS2 8.

2 9 .

3 0 .

3 1 .

3 2 .

3 3

3 4

3 5

3 6 .

3 7

3 8.

3 9

40 .

4 1 .

4 2 .

43

ha loheckleto get int im a te

ignora ntinflamm a toryinterregnumofa knucklea la unchmonopolistwithout noise,

d iscontentdoor

drawing-pento exha ust , wa steto execra te

evenl yexhubera nce ofb loodflow ingto fetter

ca pill a ry fra cturegla ndula rm inute gra insto graft a ga into ha veto huntto ho ist sa il

cret ly

to name

to nurse

nest

to be offensiveocca siona loppositepropa Roma n pri estto pa y

per iodprotesta ntrea r , ba ck

remote

to r ipenrevenuerescue

to request.

roma nesquestripp ing off

lea vessuite ofrooms

to shutspa rrowswivelswea rer

sa int lysod ium

1 86

HO

"O

OO

"1

Ch

m-P

03

10

.

2 3 .

2 4 .

2 5 .

2 6 .

2 7.

2 8.

2 9 .

3 0 .

3 1 .

3 2 .

3 3 .

3 4



French Rea ding Test .

in schools .

va lue .

correctly .

a necdote 3 5 . hosp ita lsm a l l a rtery 3 6 . ima ge-vendera ttent ively 3 7. incommun ica b leto a im a t 3 8. to scheme

,in trigue

boa t ing 3 9 . jewelerto b la cken 40 . to loungebrea st -pla te 4 1 . la te (la tely dea d)bea r lik e a n ima l 42 . lamenta t ionca l ico 43 . m iserconfession a nd pra yer 44 . m a jest ica l lycontent 45 . perta in in g to husba ndto contest , d ispute 46 . mela ncholyto come up , r ise 47. to m ineca bba ge-tree 48. moving ba ckto ca rry 49 . m innowto d isgust 5 0 . nursingd istr ibut ion 5 1 . ord ina rydevouring 5 2 . prepa ra t ionto do pest led irty fellow 54 . to m a ke a pointequa l ity 5 5 . p inch -beck

,sham

a n ep icure 56 . ambula t in g pa ceto free 57. prohib it ionfa d ing , withering 58. to perpetua tefront isp iece 59 . to p inchguilty 60 . to plungegreedily

,gluttonously 6 1 . predom ina t ing

to gamb le pett ily 62 . prob lema t ica lhea d 63 . plum - tree

one’

s home 64 . rovingjo int heir 65 . rough -coa t

,pa rget

hea rt - l ike 66 . round ofa la dderhermet ica l 67. most ra re

hea d ing , topp ing 68. rejoicing

This test , l ike the La tin a nd Germ a n

rea ding tests,is composed ofa series ofthirty senten ces a rra nged

roughly in the order ofincrea sing difficul ty . The sentences wereselected from fir st -yea r texts a nd from the rea dings usua l ly covered

The test wi ll be sta nda rdized by further exper imenta

tion a nd will be a rra nged in the form ofa sca le ofsteps ofknown

For the present the test will be useful a s it sta nds a nd

ca n be scored by a scerta ining the number ofsentences tra nsla ted

reverent ia lrose

to stumb lesl ight ly sweet

73 . to str ike withthunder

sa dd lersetter (ofgems)short - sightedsmel lsha re, pa rtto shortensubsequentscient ificsternmost

sold iersubsoilsuccessivelysa d

a med ica l sciencetra de-un iontea rer

,ripper

ten a nt

troub lesome

to ta ke in

to un iteto unskid

ta bletendencyto t it let ra nsla tressva cc ina torto wra p up

THE ME ASUREMENT or AB ILITY IN FRENCH 1 87

FRENCH READING TEST

Tra nsla te the foll owing sentences . Write your tra nsla tion under

ea ch sentence.

Oui .

J'

a i .

Je su is .

I l est .

Vous etes .

L’homme est riche.

L’

enfa nt est jeun e .

Le cha pea u du ga rgon est neuf.

9 . Nous a vons des freres et des soeurs .

1 0 . Jea n Va ljea n n’

éta it pa s mort .

1 1 . J’

a i un m a rtea u de fer .

1 2 . Le l ivre a ppa rt ient a u professeur .

1 3 . La fil le de la femme est a l ’ecole .

1 4 . Non,monsieur

, j’

a i un mouchoir seulment .

I 5 . Voulez-vous une serviette"1 6 . Vot re am i a - t - il une ma ison da ns notre rue"

I 7. Ga rcon ,pa ssez-moi du la it , je vous pr ie .

1 8. Le ferm ier a vendu qua t re-vingts l ivres de beurre a l ’épicier .

1 9 . J'

a i fermé les fenetres d’

ecole, et ouvert la porte de la chambre .

2 0 . Si tu me rends mes l ivres , je te rendra i les t iens .

2 1 . J’

a chete mon pa p ier a let tre et mes envelopes chez le ma rcha nd du coin .

2 2 . Mes cheres eleves , je desire que vous soyez toujours heureux .2 3 . Je ne crois pa s que la r ichesse so it ind ispensa b le .

2 4 . Notre mere veut que nous ne m a ngions j am a is entre nos repa s .

2 5 . II n’

y a pa s a d ire, mon am i,vous a vez eu tort de pa r ler a insi .

2 6 . Je ne pu is pa s me repen t ir de tout ce que je fa is pour vous .

2 7. Colomba ,ha leta nte, épu isée, éta it hors d ’

et a t de prononcer une pa role.

2 8. Un ma t in ,la foule qui le contempla it fut temoin d

’

un a ccident .

2 9 . En ce momen t , un mouvement se fit tout a cOté du president .

3 0 . Du reste,il éta it demeuré a ussi simple que le prem ier jour .

CD

N

O

Ul

-P

QJ

N

M

Scores . The following tenta tive scores ha ve been derived from five

cla sses in French in three schoolsYea rs ofFrenchVoca bul a ry ScoreSentence Score

CHAPTER XIV

THE MEASUREMENT OF ABILITY IN PHYSICS

THE test for mea sur ing knowledge ofphysics wa s prepa red on two

genera l principles . In the first pla ce, a study oftextbooks wa s m a de

to a scerta in the common elements in them,a nd in the second pla ce,

the fa cts for the test were a rr a nged in the form ofmutila ted text .

The pri n ciple ofthe mutila ted text seem s to be sound a nd ha s been

found useful in va r ious types ofpsychologica l test work .

A ca reful compa rison wa s m a de offive textbooks widely used inhigh schools for the purpose ofa scerta in ing the fa cts

, prin ciples,a nd laws tha t a re trea ted in sever a l or a ll ofthe books .

1 It wa s

found tha t 1 70 pri n ciples , fa cts or topics were trea ted in four ofthe

five texts,a nd 1 0 2 ofthe 1 70 were trea ted in a l l five books . These

1 0 2 item s a re incorpora ted in the fol lowing seventy-five sta tements

of the mutila ted text . The test wi ll be sta nda rdized by a scer

ta ining the rela t ive va lue ofthe va rious sta tements by determ in ingtheir difficulty . For the present , however , the test wi l l . be useful

a s it sta nds a nd m ay be scored by determ ining the number ofsta te

ments tha t a pupil completes correctlyThe test m ay be given in sections after ea ch pa rticul a r topic ha s

been completed, or it m ay be given a s a whole a t the end ofthe

course.

TEST FOR PHYSICS 2

Mecha nics

1 . The is the a bsolute un it of force tha t,a ct ing upon

ofma ss will give to it a n a ccelera t ion of

per second per second .

2 . The erg is the work done by a force of a ct ing through ad ista nce of

1 Bla ck a nd Davis, P ractica l Physics for Seconda ry Schools Ca rha rt a nd Chute,First P rinciples ofPhysics Hoa dley, Essentia ls ofPhysics Ma nn and Twiss,Physics Millika n a nd Ga le, A Fi rst Course in Physics

2 Copies ofthis test may be obta ined in desired qua nt ities from the a uthor .

1 88


2 6 . A ba rometer is a n instrumen t for mea sur ing2 7. The tempera ture rema in ing the same

,the volume ofa given ma ss ofga s

va r ies2 8. The pressure ofthe a tmosphere a t sea level is lb . per

squa re inch .

How m a ny weeks ha ve you stud ied mecha nics"

Hea t

A tempera ture of5 0 degrees cent igra de is the same a s

degrees Fa hrenheit .

The point degrees below degrees cen

tigra de is ca lled a bsolute zero .

The qua nt ity ofhea t requ ired to ra ise ofwa ter throughcent igra de is ca ll ed

The process by which hea t is ca rr ied from hotter bod ies to colder bod ies bya moving fluid is ca lled The process by which it ist ra nsferred through substa nces tha t a re a t rest is ca lled

The coefficien t ofexpa nsion is the ra t io ofthe increa se in volume to the

or igina l vo lume produced byThe number ofwork un its tha t correspond to a hea t un it is ca lledThe intensi ty ofra d ia nt hea t is inversely proport iona l toThe spec ific hea t ofa substa nce is the number of

to ra ise the tempera ture of throughcent igra de.

How ma ny weeks ha ve you stud ied hea t "N ame Da te

School C ity

Sound

Two tun ing forks whose frequencies a re 43 5 a nd 440 respect ively whensounded together wi ll produce bea ts per second .

The tone produced when a str ing vibra tes a s a single loop is ca lled .

Those produced when it vibra tes in two or more loops a re ca lledThe frequency ofvibra t ion ofa str ing va ries inversely a sI t a lso va r ies inversely a s when the length is consta nt .

I t a lso va r ies inversely a s when the length a nd tensiona re consta nt .

Sound t ra vels per second a t 2 0° C .

The p itch ofa tone depends upon

THE MEASUREMENT OF AB ILITY IN PHYSICS 1 9 1

44 . The qua l ity ofa tone depends upon45 . The loudness ofa tone depends upon

How m a ny weeks ha ve you studied sound "

N ame Da te

School C ity

Light

Two colors a re complementa ry ifthey produce whenthey a re m ixed .

Ifthe a ngle ofinc idence is 45 ° the a ngle ofreflect ion will bedegrees .

The ra t io ofthe Speed oflight in to its speed in a ny

med ium is ca lled the index ofrefra ct ion .

A photometer is a n instrument for mea sur ingA 4-ca nd le- power l ight must be pla ced feet from a screen

in order to give the same illum ina t ion a s a I 6- ca nd le-power light 9feet awa y .

Light tra vels per second .

A cont inuous spectrum composed ofthe colors fromis produced by pa ssing

a pr ism .

5 3 . The cr it ica l a ngle is tha t a ngle ofincidence which will produce5 4 . Ifthe ima ge ofa n ob ject 1 0 feet a wa y is 3 feet from the lens, the foca l length

ofthe lens is

How ma ny weeks ha ve you stud ied l ight "N ame

School

M a gnetism a nd Electricity

Electromot ive force is the difference in between

A dynamo is a m a chine forAn electric motor is a m a chine forThe rota t ing pa rt ofa dynamo

,consist ing ofthe coil with its core, is ca lled

the

A commuta tor is a device forA tra nsformer is a device forAn induct ion coil is composed of a

i

coil conta in ingturns ofcoa rse w ire a nd a co il conta in ing

turns offine wire .

The instrument for the compa rison ofcurrents bymea ns of

is ca lled a ga lva nometer .

Ifthe ga lva nometer rea ds in terms of it is ca l led a n

ammeter .


is the un it ofcurrent which will deposit .0 0 1 1 1 8

in one second .

is the un it of resista nce ofa column ofmercuryin cross sect ion a nd cm . long .

The res ista nce ofa conductor is d irect ly proport iona l toI t is a lso inversely propor t iona l toA vol t is the E . M . F . which w il l ca use a current of

flow through a resista nce of

Ifthe current through a n inca ndescent lamp is ampere a nd the potent ia l difference between its term ina ls 1 1 0 volts, the resista nce ofthe lampis Ohm s .

The wa t t is the power requ ired to keep a current of

ing under a drOp of

Wa tts amperes xAt 1 0 cents per k il owa t t hour it wil l cost to run a 2 2 0

volt motor for 1 0 hours, ifthe motor dra ws 2 5 amperes .

A Leyden j a r is a common type of consist ing of two

conductors sepa ra ted byThe resista nce of1 0 0 ft . ofcopper wire (K= I o . 1 9) NO . 2 4 in . )

ohms .

Ifa stora ge cel l ha s a n E . M . F . of2 volts a nd furn ishes a current ofsam

peres , its ra te ofexpend iture ofenergy is wa tts .

How m a ny weeks ha ve you stud ied m a gnet ism a nd electricity "N ame

School

Scores . Since the test is in process ofsta nda rdiza tion ,there a re no

esta blished scores . The following scores were m a de by a cla ss in a

good hi gh school which ha d spent fourteen weeks onmecha nics . It

will be n oticed tha t the scores a nd the tea cher ’s m a rks a gree veryclosely . The ha lfscores a re due to the fa ct tha t certa in ofthe sta te

ments may be ha lfright , a s, for example, Number 7.

Pupils Scores Tea cher ’s Ma rks

1 E

E

O

xo

oo

xr

Ch

m-h

oo

k)

C)

M

CHAPTER XV

THE USE OF STANDARD TESTS IN SCHOOL EXPERIMENTS

A GREAT dea l ofexperimenta l work ha s been done in the psychology ofindivi dua l d ifferences a nd in the psychology oflea rn ing ingenera l . But pra ctica l ly nothing ha s been done in the psychologyof the lea rn ing of school subjects under school condi tions . We

ha ve a very considera ble body offa cts a bout the lea rn ing ofmore or

less a rtificia l m a ter ia l such a s syl la bles,words

, poetry , prose a nd

sym bols ofva r ious sorts . We know something a bout the effect uponthe ra te oflea rn ing ofsuch fa ctors a s the length a nd d istri but ionofdifferent periods ofwork

,the length ofthe amount ofm a teria l

to be lea rned ,logica l versus rote lea rning , the effect ofa ttention a nd

effort,the occurrence ofpla teaus a nd the l ike . But there is not a

Single school sub ject rega rding which we ha ve a nything more tha na fra gmenta ry psychology ofthe fa ctors a nd conditions tha t affectthe progress oflea rn ing tha t pa rt icula r subject . Let us ta ke a s a n

il lustra tion the sub ject ofwriting . We know,for example, l ittle or

nothing a bout the a ctua l effect ofthe m a ny complex fa ctors tha tenter into the process oflea rn ing to write . We do not know whetherpupils will m a ke grea ter progress by empha sizing qua l ity ofwr iting ,or speed ofwriting , or qua l ity a nd speed simul ta neously

,or qua lity

a nd speed a ltern a tely ea ch for a given number ofda ys or weeks .

We do not know defin itely wha t the opt imum length ofthe writingperiod is, or wha t it ought to be for d ifferent a ges in order to m a ke

possible the most ra pid progress in rela tion to the time expended .

We do not know whether form a l dril l in d ifferent types ofmovemen ts

such a s ova ls,vertica l a nd sla nt lines

,or whether pra ctice instea d

with letters a nd words is productive ofgrea ter progress . We do

not definitely know the a ctua l effects ofm a ny other fa ctors tha tmight be enumera ted

,such a s a rm movemen ts in the a ir

,tra cing of

letters,visua l iza tion ofthe forms ofletters

,a nd so on . To be sure

there a re beginnings in these directions,but there is ha rdly a single

1 94

THE USE OF STANDARD TESTS IN SCHOOL EXPERIMENTS 1 95

problem to whi ch we ca n give a precise a nswer with scient ific fina lity. A sim ila r enum era tion ofthe fa ctors a nd problems in evengrea ter complexity coul d be ma de in a ny other bra nch of instruc

t ion .

The point , therefore, tha t is to be empha sized in this connectionis the necessity ofen l isting the coopera tion ofscien tifica lly spiritededuca tors to ta ke up these problems for solution under school condi tions

,but control led a ccording to definite, r igorous procedure.

Accordingly, a n experimenta l procedure wil l be outlined which

ca n be fol lowed in the solution ofa grea t m a ny problems withoutinterfering seriously with the norm a l opera tions of a school . We

m a y designa te this pla n a s the equa l squa d method . This m ethodha s been used in a lim ited wa y in va rious types ofinvestiga tions

,

not so much with hum a n beings a s wi th a nim a ls a nd pla n ts in a gricultur a l experiment sta tions . But it ha s prom ise ofequa l ly widea nd frui tful a pplica tion in experim en ta l educa tion a s wel l . The

genera l procedure ofthe equa l squa d method m a y be outl ined a s

fol lows : Suppose we wish to determ ine whether pupils wi ll m a ke

m ore ra pid progress in lea rning to write when they strive for qua l ityprim a r ily

,or for speed prim a rily

,or for qua l ity a nd speed simul

ta neously. A gra de ofthirty pupils could be divided into threesqua ds often ea ch . These squa ds should be m a de up so a s to ha vea pproxim a tely equa l initia l a bil ity . This could be done by m a kinga n in itia l test oftheir wr iting a bil ity both a s to speed a nd qua litya s m ea sured by the number ofletters written per m inute a nd a s

ra ted by the Thorndike or the Ayres sca le . The entire cla ss of

t hirty pupils coul d be kept together , receive their instruction a t the

s ame t ime,for the same length ofperiod ,

a nd from the same tea cher,

but ea ch squa d woul d be working for its own pa rticula r a im . At

regula r interva ls the progress ofthe squa ds should bemea sured,ta bu

la ted a nd compa red . Such a n experiment would not interfere withthe norm a l opera tion ofthe school or without enta iling a grea t dea lofextra work . Al l tha t would be required would be a tea cher whowould a pprecia te the conditions ofa rigorously controlled experiment .

There a re scores ofproblems not only in writing but in a l l schoolsubjects which coul d be a tta cked in precisely the same m a nner .

Further il lustra tions fol low :


In writing : (a ) The length Ofthe writing period ;whether a 1 0,

1 5 or 2 0 m inute period woul d be the most profita ble for the t ime

spent . (b) Form a l movemen t dril l versus no such dril l .In rea ding : (a ) Silent versus ora l rea ding . (b) Empha sis on

speed ,or on comprehension ,

or on both together .

In spel l ing : (a ) The lea rn ing ofhomonyms together or a pa rt .

(b) Column versus contextua l spel ling . (c) The lea rning ofrules

versus om ission ofrules . (d) The use ofm isspel ling in a l l wri tten

work a s a pa rt ofthe spel ling work .

Woul d it not be wise for every school system, pa rticul a rly the

l a rger city school systems,to set a side _0 ne school or a pa rt ofone

school a s a n experiment sta t ion for the investiga t ion ofthe problem s

ofeduca tion " I would suggest one school or even a pa rt ofone

school ra ther tha n a wholesa le exper im enta tion in severa l schoolsor in the ent ire system

,because the wholesa le experim ent is a pt to

go beyond the l im its of a thoroughly controlled experiment a nd

beca use the a vera ge tea cher a nd the a vera ge pri ncipa l do not a ppre

cia te the impor ta nce ofobserving str ict scientific conditions . The

pa rticul a r school set a side could be equipped with proper ly qua l ifiedtea chers who coul d be en l isted in experimenta l work . Such a pla n

woul d enta il l ittle or no extra cost a nd ought to be productive of

inestim a ble good . Experiment sta tions in a griculture ha ve m a de

the scien ce of a gri cul ture a nd ha ve yielded resul ts ofenormous

va lue.

Why ha s so l ittle been done in the scientific study ofeduca tiona lproblems" Chieflyfor two rea sons . First

,we ha ve not ha d the tools

with which to m a ke such experiments possible, a nd second,educa tors

ha ve la cked init ia tive a nd scientific temper to ina ugura te a nd prose

cute educa tiona l experim ents .

Tools in the form ofsca les a nd tests a re now a t ha nd or a re beingdeveloped . The sca les a nd tests for m ea suring educa tion a l productsWil l do for educa tion

,it is hoped ,

wha t the ga lva nometer ha s done

for electricity,or wha t the thermometer ha s done for tempera ture,

or wha t the ba la n ce a nd the footrule ha ve done for mecha n ics . The

science ofda irying wa s pra ct ica l ly impos'

sible until the milk tester

wa s invented .

The chiefuse ofeduca tiona l mea suring devices ha s consisted thus

B IBL IOGRA PHY

CHAPTERS II AND III

Ca jori , F . A New M a rking System a nd Mea ns ofMea suring Ma thema tica l

Abi l ities . Sc ience, 3 9 : 1 9 1 4 , 874—88 1 .

Ca rter , R . E . Correl a tion ofE lementa ry Schools a nd H igh Schools . Elementa rySchool Tea cher , 1 2 : 1 09

— 1 1 8.

Ca ttel l , J . M cKeen . Exa mina tions , Gra des a nd Credits . Popula r Sc ienceMon thly , 66 : 1 90 5 , 3 67— 3 78 .

C lement , J . A. Sta nda rdiza tion ofSchools of Ka nsa s . The Un iversity of

Chica go Press . 1 9 1 1 .

Dea rborn ,W . F . School a nd University Gra des . Bullet in ofthe Un iversity of

Wiscons in ,No . 3 68 : 1 9 1 0 .

Dea rborn ,W . F . The Rela tive Sta nding ofPupils in the H igh School a nd the

University. Bullet in ofthe Un iversity ofWisconsin,No . 3 1 2 : 1 90 9 .

Ferry, Dean . Gra ding College Students . Will iam s College Bull et in, Series 8,

No . 5 : 1 9 1 1 .

Foster , W . T . Scientific versus P ersona l Distribution ofCollege Credits . Popu la rScience Monthly, 78 : 3 78—40 8.

Foster , W . T . Adm in ist r a t ion of the College Curr icul um . Cha pter 1 3 .

Houghton M imin Compa ny . 1 9 1 1 .

Fink elstein ,I . E . The M a rk ing System in Theory a nd Pra ct ice. Wa rwick

a nd York . 1 9 1 3 .

Gra y, C . T. Va ria t ions in the Gra des ofH igh School Pup il s . Wa rwick a nd

York . 1 9 1 3 .

Ha ll , W . S . A Guide to the Equi ta ble Gra ding ofStudents . School Science a nd

M a thema t ics,6 : 5 0 1

—50 1 , 1 90 6 .

John son ,F . W . A Study ofHigh School M a rks . School Review, 1 9 : 1 9 1 0 ,

1 3—2 4 .

Johnson ,F . W . A Compa ra tive Study in the Gra des ofPupi ls from Difierent

E lementa ry Schools in Subj ects ofthe Fi rst Yea r High School . Elementa rySchool Tea cher , 1 1 63

—78.

Jones , W . F . An Experimenta l - Critica l Study ofthe P roblem ofGra ding a nd

P romotion . Psychologica l C l in ic , 5 : 1 9 1 1 , 63 —69 , 99- 1 2 0 .

Judd ,C . H . A Compa rison ofGra ding Systems in H igh Schools a nd Col leges .

School Review ,1 8 460

—470 .

Kelly, F . J . Tea chers’ Ma rks . Co lumb ia Un iversity . 1 9 1 4 .

Meyer,M . The Gra ding ofStudents . Sc ience, 2 8 : 1 90 8, 2 43 - 2 5 0 .

M eyer , M . The Administra tion ofCollege Gra des . School a nd Society,2

I 9 1 5 , 577‘

588

M eyer , M . The Limit ofUniformi ty in the Gra ding ofCollege Students by Different Tea chers . Science, 40 : 1 9 1 4 , 5 3 0

-

5 3 2 .

1 99

2 0 0 B IBLIOGRAPHY

M eyer , M . Experiences with the Gra ding System ofthe Universi ty ofMissouri .Science, 3 3 : 1 9 1 1 , 66 1 .

M iles,W . R . A Compa rison ofElementa ry a nd High School Gra des . Peda gogica l Sem ina ry , 1 7 : 1 9 1 0 , 42 9

—45 0 .

M il ler , H . I . A Compa ra tiveStudy oftheGra des ofDifierent E lementa ry Schools inSubj ects ofthe Fi rst Yea r H igh School . E lementa ry School Tea cher

,1 1

1 6 1 — 1 75 .

Roecker , W . F. An Obj ective Study ofthe Ra ting ofTra il s in School Achievement .

School Review ,2 2

,1 9 1 5 , 406

—4 1 0 .

Rugg, H . 0 . Tea chers' M a rks a nd M a rking Systems . Educa t iona l Administra

t ion a nd Supervision , Februra ry,1 9 1 5 .

Sies , R . W . Scientific Gra ding ofCollege Students. Un iversity ofP ittsburghBul l et in ,

8 : 1 9 1 2 ,No . 3 1 .

Slossen ,E . E . A Study ofAmherst Gra des . Independent , 70 : 83 6

- 83 9 .

Smith , A. G . A Ra tiona l College M a rking System . Journa l ofEduca t iona lPsychology , 2 3 83

—3 93 .

Smith , F . O . A Ra tiona l Ba sis for Determining Fitness for Col lege En tra nce.

Un iversity ofIowa Stud ies in Educa t ion ,1 N 0 . 3 .

Sta rch , D .,a nd Ell iott

,E . C . The Reli a bi l i ty ofGra ding H igh School Work in

English . School Review ,2 0 : 1 9 1 2 , 442

—457.

Sta rch,D .

,a nd El liott

,E . C . The Reli a bility ofGra ding Work in M a thema tics .

School Review,2 1 1 9 1 3 , 2 54

—2 59 .

Sta rch , D .

,a nd El liott, E . C . The Reli a bili ty ofGra dingWork inHistory. School

Review,2 1 : 1 9 1 3 , 676

—68 1 .

Sta rch,D . Reli a bility a nd Distri bution ofGra des . Sc ience

, 3 8 : 1 9 1 3 , 63 0—6 3 6 .

Sta r ch , D . Ca n the Va ri a bi lity ofM a rks be Reduced" Schoo l a nd Society,2 1 9 1 5 , 2 42 .

Steele, A. G . Tra ining Tea chers to Gra de. Peda gogica l Semina ry, 1 8 : 1 9 1 1 ,

5 2 3-

5 3 1

CHAPTER IV

Ba lla rd ,P . B . Norms ofPerforma nce in Rea ding. Journa l ofExperimenta l

Ped a gogy , December , 1 9 1 5 .

Ch i lds , H . G . P rogress a s Mea sured by the Thorndike Vi sua l Voca bul a ry Test .

F ifteen th Yea rbook , 1 9 1 6 , 79—82 . Un iversity ofChica go Press .

Gray ,W . S . Melhods ofTesting Rea ding. Elementa ry School Journa l , Ja nua rya nd Februa ry , 1 9 1 6 .

Huey , E . B . The Psychology a nd Peda gogy ofRea d ing . Ma cm il la n . 1 9 1 0 .

Judd , C . H . Rea ding. F ifteenth Yea rbook,1 9 1 6 , 1 1 1

— 1 1 9 . Un iversity ofChi

ca go Press .

Kel ly,F . J . Bullet in . Norma l School

,Empor ia ,

Ka nsa s .

Sta r ch , D . The Mea suremen t ofEfiiciency in Rea ding. Journa l ofEduca t iona lPsychology , 6 : 1 — 2 4 ,

1 9 1 5 .

Star ch , D . Sta nda rd Tests a s Aids in the Cl a ssifica tion a nd P romotion ofPupi ls .

F ifteenth Yea rbook , 1 9 1 6 , 1 43- 1 48. University ofChica go Press .

Thorndike,E . L . The Mea surement ofAbil ity in Rea ding. Tea chers College

Record , 1 5 : No . 4, 1 9 1 4 .

2 0 2 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER IX

Ba l lou,F . W . Sca les for the Mea surement ofEngli sh Composition . Ha rva rd

Un iversity . 1 9 1 4 .

Hillega s , M . B . A Sca lefor the Mea surement ofQua l ity in Engl ish Composi

tion by Young People. Tea chers College Record , 1 3 NO . 4 , 1 9 1 2 .

CHAPTER XRugg

,H . O . A Sca lefor Mea suring Free Ha nd Lettering. Journa l ofEduca

t iona l Psychology , 6 : 2 5—42 ,1 9 1 5 .

Thorndike,E . L . The Mea surement ofAchievement ofDrawi ng. Tea chers

College Record ,1 4 : NO . 5 , 1 9 1 3 .

Childs , H . G . Journa l ofEduca t iona l Psychology,6 3 9 1

-

40 8, 1 9 1 5 .

GENERALReport ofa Survey ofthe School System ofSa lt La ke C ity , Uta h , 1 9 1 5 , 1 2 7- 1 86 .

Judd , C . H . Mea suring the Work ofthe P ublic Schools . (A sect ion ofthe C levela nd Survey . ) 1 9 1 6 .

Fourteenth Yea rbook ofthe N a t iona l Society for the Study ofEduca t ion , 1 9 1 5 .

F ifteen th Yea rbook ofthe N a t iona l Society for the Study ofEduca t ion , 1 9 1 6 .

Survey ofButte ,Monta na , Pub lic Schools .

Survey ofPort Townsend ,Wa shington , Public Schools .

Printed in the United Sta tes ofAmerica .

pages conta in advertisementsMacmil lan books kindred

Modern

Dexter

Ea ton a nd Stevens

I . IO

Ha l leck

Ha nus

Hol tz

THE MACM ILLAN COM PANYBOSTON NEW YORK ATLANTACHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS

Peda gogy (Continued )

History ofEduca tion in the UnitedSta tes

School HygieneSocia l Pha ses ofEduca tion in the

School a nd the HomeCommercia l Work a nd Tra ining forGir ls

Commercia l Educa tion in Germa ny

The Amer ica n Rura l School .Rura l Denma rk a nd its SchoolsThe Tea ching Bota nistA History of Educa tion . V0 1 . IBefore the Middle Ages

Vol . I I . A History ofEduca tionDuring the Midd le Ages

Vol . I I I . Modern TimesGrea t Educa tors ofThree Centur iesPeter Ramus a nd the Educa tiona lReforma tion ofthe 1 6th CenturyA Students

’ History ofEduca tionEduca tion ofthe Centra l N ervousSystem

Educa tiona l A ims a nd Va luesModern School , AEduca tiona l Resources ofVi llage

a nd Rura l CommunitiesPrinciples ofEduca tionOutlines ofEduca tiona l Doctr ineMea n ing a nd Pra ctice ofCommer

cia l Educa tion .

Prin ciples a nd Methods ofTea ching Geogra phy

Modern

Hom e

Howerth

Huey

Hummel a nd Hummel

Johnson ,Henry

Ka hn a nd Klein

KennedyKerschensteiner

Ki l pa tr ick , V . E.

Kil pa trick ,W. B.

Ma cVanel l

Monroe

TH E MACM ILLAN COM PANYBOSTON NEW YORK ATLANTACHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS

Peda gogy (Con t inued )

Philosophy ofEduca tionPsychologica l Principles ofEducationIdea lism in Educa tionThe Art ofEduca tionPychologya nd Peda gogy ofRea dingMa ter ia ls a nd Methods in HighSchool A gricultureTea ching ofHistory in E lementa ry

a nd Seconda ry Schools .

Commercia l Educa tion ,Pr inciples

a nd Methods inFundamenta ls in MethodsThe Idea ofthe Industria l SchoolDepa rtmen ta l Tea ching in E lementa ry Schools

Froebel’

s Kinderga rten Pr inciplesCr itica l ly Exam inedPlay in Educa tionTra ining the Gir lThe Industr ia l Tra ining ofthe BoyOutline ofa Course in the Philoso

phy ofEduca tionPrinciples ofSeconda ry Educa tionText-Book in the History ofEducation

Syl la bus ofa Course ofStudy on

the History a nd Principles of

Educa tionSource Book in the History ofEduca tion for the Greek a nd Roma n

Per iod

Modern

Monroe

O’shea

Perry

1 1 0

Snea th a nd Hodges

Sta rch

Stra yer

Stra yer a nd Thorndike

Ta ylor

Wa rd

Wa y la nd

TH E MACM ILLAN COMPANYBOSTON NEW YORK ATLANTACHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS

Peda gogy (Con t inued )

B riefCour se in the History ofEduca tion

Cyc lopedia o i Educa tion , 4 VolsDynamic Fa ctors in Educa tionLinguistic Developmen t in Education

Mana gement ofa C ity SchoolOutlines ofSchool Adm in istra tionTea ching in School a nd Col legeThe Exam ina tion ofSchool ChildrenThe Amer ica n Seconda ry SchoolsEssentia ls ofCha ra cterA l l the Children ofA l l the People(Tea chers Edition ) .

Mora l Tra ining in the School a ndHome

Exper iments in Educa tion a l Psy

chology

A B r ief Course in the Tea chingProcessEduca tion Adm inistra tion . Qua ntita t ive Stud iesH a ndbook ofVoca tiona l Educa tionPrinciples a nd Methods ofTea ching Rea dingEduca tion : A First BookKinderga rten , The, in America nEduca tion

The Montessori Method a nd the

America n SchoolHow to Tea ch America n History

Educational Measurements - Forgotten Books

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