Article May 19, 1956 Issue

EXAMINATIONS

[Of Special Interest to Young People]

EDWARD DONALD SCHIVE

Since the dawn of civilization mortals have been attempting to improve their lives and to approach perfection. For this purpose standards have been set up by which to measure and evaluate progress. When these have proved to be deficient, new and supposedly better ones have been adopted.

In its human planning, the world has evolved a system, generally termed education, in which one studies the writings and theories of predecessors, is examined periodically on what he understands or remembers, and is graded accordingly. These grades determine progress through schools and are usually-combined with aptitude tests to indicate fitness for college.

Such examinations or tests have increased greatly in type, scope, and duration since their first recorded use by the Chinese (circa 1115 B.C.) for the selection of public officeholders. Yet educators are divided in opinion as to the value of such fallible criteria, fallible because of fear, tension, and nervousness which frequently come before and during examinations. These depressing mental conditions vary with the individual and are inimical to correct results.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

EXAMINATIONS

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access