CRITICISM OF EXAMINATION PAPER

Chronicle (Levin), 10 December 1946, Page 7

CRITICISM OF EXAMINATION PAPER

-Press ' Association

By Telegraphr-

JNr EW PLYMOUTH, Dec. 7. Criticism of the history paper fox the 1946 school certificate examination has been expressed by soiixe Taranaki parents ofl the grounds that the questions wero outside the syllabus and were not history questiohs. Opinions oi teachers differ sharply. Soine condemn the paper, roundly, but there are others who find iittle, ii any, fault with it. The views of .one. section of teachers may be suihinarised in the statement of oue, who said: "The paper was labelled history, but was almost completely devoid of history." On the other hand, there were those who cousidered the paper fair and in keeping with the spirit of the new syllabus, under which the subject is no longer pure history, but a social study coinprising history and geography and involving a certain amount of economics. . . The syllabus, it was pointed out, conlined the pupil's study .to the period from 1815 onward, biit the second question of the paper was: "Why did Britain and France go to war in 1793 1 What were the main aims :of British statesmen in the peace-making of 1814' 15?" Even those who found the paper to tlieir liking in other reSpects, ephceded that this question wai outside the scope of the syllabus". Critics of the paper eondemned the preponderance of questions jdealing with social legislation, and strong exception was taken to a question asking carididates to explain th'e general principles of cooperative methods in qrganising production or retail trading, and to illustrate their answers with cooperative factories or stores ih New Zealand. "That,"- said one tehcher,' "is- an economic degree questidn, and no boy or gin could answer it,." ' ' What was the greatest- . extent ' - of Nazi power in Europe during* World War Two? Make your answer clear.by a sketch map or maps," was another question. "Tell me the. text book in which the answer to that question can be found, ' ' said a critic of the paper., Another teacher replied. that in a Iive course of history maps relating to pre-sent-day events would be kept yery much before the class. He felt that the question wras not justifled, but. that it was fair to the extxent that it was a test of general knowledge. ,