SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS

Chronicle (Levin), 14 December 1946, Page 4

SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS

PRINCIPAL EXPLAINS METHOD ©F ACCREDITING v . The methnd adopted in granting matriculation passes by- accreditmg was explained by the prinbipal Of Horowhenua. College, Mr/ N. A. ByiiVe, when presenting his report on the occasion of the prize-giving ceremony on Thursday. '* . Mr. Byrne mentioned that there had been 20 candidates * for matriculation this year, « ten of whom had been granted a pass by accrediting. In this regard the College had adhered to ihe standards set by tne-best schools in the Dominion, and by the tjniversity . authorities, said MT-. Byrne. 4 "If standards of scholarship are to be maintained, ihe power t6 accredit must be used with discretion and. integrity," he added. In grarttijagmatriculation b'y this -means,^" principal certifled that in ■ i , opinion the student was fit to tth-v. up university studies. A student should be accredited only if his work for the year was of such a Standard that there could be no reasonable djubt as to his ability to pass the txaiiiination. If there was any doubt of a student's readiness for universicy studies, a principal would be abusing his power if he granted accrediting, and would be lowering the standard of scholarship and tlie general status of the school. He would also be encouraging in students a belief that they could gain results with- . out hard work. ! ' /

School Certincate Gf the 59 candidates for the school certificate, the -majority were third year students, said Mr. Byrne. It should be realised ■ that the examination was planned as a four-year course. Only. the more gifted could reasonably expect to pass in three years, and the average student would be advised .to wait till the end of his fourth year, by which time the curriculum would. be covered reasonably. If parents insisted on their children sitting in the third year, .it defeated the real purpose of the examination, which was to estafolish a leaving certificate which could.be gained by the average student on a broadly cultural curriculum, Without the "examination cramming" which had been so severely criti-r cised in the earlier educational sysoem. ... .. .. :