MATRICULATION EXAMINATIONS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1702, 19 March 1913, Page 4

MATRICULATION EXAMINATIONS.

ANOTHER SIDE OF THE SI'OEY. Sir,—'Your sub-loader of March 3, and gome of the letters which have recently appeared in, your paper, give quito a wrong'impression of tho actual results at the reccnt matriculation. You made a statement to the effect that 00 out of 150 Wellington candidates failed to pass. Lot mo explain that, though. 150 candidates entered for tlio examination in Wellington, three of these either absented themselves or failed to complete. Therefore, tho actual number of candidates was 117; of these 59 passed, and 17 mere granted partial passes, leaving 71 as the correct number of complete iailures. The following notes on thoso who did not obtain complete passes will show clearly that they had no claims to be allowed to proceed with a university oourse:— 507—Only passed in one subject: undor 00 per cent, in each failed subject. ' 508—Failed in all subjects; • average marks, 35 per ccnt. , 500—Failed in three subjects; only fair in two subjects. 510—Failed in three subjects; moderate marks in only two subjects. 511—Partial pass. 512 —Failed in two subjects; generally weak, except mathematics. ■ 513—Failed mathematics; only fair in passed, subjects. • 515—Failed three subjects; badly in two;; generally weak.; 517—Passed (just) in two subjects; failed subjects average 27 per cent. 51S —Failed three subjects; bare ipasses in three. 510—Partial pass; 520—Failed to complete. 521—Highest marks 'in any subject 25 per cent., average 11 per cent. 522—Passed in drawing only; aVcrago other subjects, 20 per cent. . 523—Partial pass. 525—Failed all but one; average under .31 per cent; . 528—Partial pass. 531—Failed badly in three subjects, two subjects good. ; • 533—Absent.- . .. . 531—Bare pass in one, average 35 per cent. l 536—Failed four; two bare passes. 537—Failed .three, others only fair. 540—Failed five, one bare pass, i 513—Partial pass. r 514—Failed all; average 30 per cent. 545—Failed ..two; good matKematicg; rest, bare passes. 517—Failed badly in one, rest only bare passes. i . 548—Failed two, rest only fair. 549—Failed foul, two baro passes. 551—Failed in three, three bare passes. 552—Failed ill two; goad mathematics; other, two fair only. - 553—Failed badly in three; two good. 551—Partial pass. 555—Failed in three; three bare passes. 559—Partial pass. i sGo—Absent. sGl—Failed ia all; average 26 per cent. 562 —Partial pass. 563—Failed all; average under 30' per cent. '

561—Failed in three; three bare passes. sGs—Partial pass. 508—Failed in live; one bare pass. , 571—Partial pass. 572—Three failures; two fair passes; one bare pass. 573—Failed in three; three bare passes. 575—Failed in three, v three bare passes. 57(i—Failed' ill all; average 21 per cent. 577— Partial pass. 578—Failed in four; two bare passes. sS2—Failed in all; average 17 per cent. . 583—Failed in all; average 12 per cent. 581—Failed in two, one lair pass, three bare passes. - . 585—Failed in four, two bare passes. ' 586—Failed in four, just passed in two. 590—Failed in two, badly in one; rest bare passes. 592—Failed in two compulsory; rest only fair. ' 593—Failed in two, three clear passes. 591—Failed in two, four bare passes. 595—Failed in three, three bare passes. 596—Failed in two, generally weak, except in music. BO I )— Failed in two compulsory, threo bare passes. 602—Failed badly "in four, two bare passes. 604—Failed in three, two bare passes. 605—Partial pass! 607—Failed in all; average 20 per cent. 609—Failed in three, two bare passes, one moderate. 610 —Failed in two, just passed in four. • 611—Failed hopelessly in one, four moderate only.. . • • . . 1 612 —Failed badly in two, mathematics fair, three moderate .passes. ... 613—Failed in'two, very' badly in one; drawing and geography good, other two, just passed.' •: 615—Three very bad failures, one good pass, one bare pass. ■ .'6l6—Filled'in three, three bare passes. ■ 619—Partial pass. ■ 625—Failed in four, ono good pass, one bare pass. 626—Failed in two, good in mathematics, two bare passes. • ' ■ ' r, 628—Failed in two, good in mathematics, three "bare passes.':' ■ ' ;> 630—Failed badly in four, two • bare pisses. . 031—Hopelessly failed in three, three medium passes. 633—Failed bailly in four, two bare passes. <338—Failed very badly in all but one. 639—Partial pass. 610—Failed in one, good in geography, rest baro passes. 611—Partial, pass.. ■ , ■ ' 6-12—Failed in all, average 19 per cent. 613—Partial pass. , 616—Partial pass. .617—Faiied in two compulsory, three medium passes. . .618—Failed in three, one good pass, two baro passes. 651—Failed hopelessly in four, two fair passes. Ail seventeen who . obtained partial passes have done well in their other subjects, and those who have failed in tlio pno necessary subject only, and who have not been given partial passes, have not done well in their other subjects, and in tlio opinion of Senate deserved to bo failed • completely. . Of the 71 who failed completely seven 'may be. said to have "just failed," fortyono to have ''failed badly." and twentytwo to have "failed hopelessly." Now, the Wellington Girls' and Boys' Colleges and St. Patrik's College presented 80 candidates; 39 passed, 10 obtained partial passes, and 31 failed; there were -no bad failures. (The Girls' College obtained 63 per cent, of passes.) " This means that of candidates not attending any of'these scliools_67 were presented, 20 passed,- 7 obtained partial passes and 40 failed. Working this into percentages, wo find that, excluding partial passes, 19 per cent of the candidates from these three schools passed, while of the remaining candidates only 30 per cent, passed. Including partial passes,,/62 per cent, of the candidates from thews threw schools passed the examination, while only 10 j.er cent, of the remainder passed. Therefore,' 1 it would seem that the 'argument that the percentage of pisses is reduced by students who either have private tuition or- read by themselves, ■and who .probably have ! no intenti'on of taking up University work, is correct. It would also seem truo that neither examination nor ex/iminer is at fault, but that the great majority of non-school candidates are badly prepared. 1 haVo not worked out details of the results in other centres, but 1 have satislied myself that in the case of all the belter schools a high percentage of passes is recorded, and, as in Wellington, the non-school candidates are responsible for the larger, percentage, of failures At one small centre, where it is known there is an excellent school (and all the candidates are from this school), ten candidates were presented and nine passed. At another , centre a school presented 12 and noiif) passed:. this school apparently did not prepare its candidates so well. 1 understand that it is generally believed tliat a larger-proportion of candidates failed at the recent examination than in. previous years. I make no other comment, oh this than to give the following figures,

In IDOS, 47 per cent. passed In 1909, :;9 por cent, passed In 1010, 37 per . cent, passed , 111 1911, 10 por'cent. passed 111 .'912, 42 per cent, passed but, if partial passes are added, tlie percentage ior 1!II2 is 53, and this is in spito of «• distinct raising of the standard. As ".r.IUS." pointed out in his letter of Saturday last, tho examination should be

criticised only as what it is intended for —iiu entranco examination to tho University—not. as a school leaving or general proficiency examination. Tho secondary schools, from which almost exclusively the University students aro drawn, luivo welcomed the raising of the standard of Ti '^"Wonlati'jn■ examination. I might add, in conclusion, that tho headmaster of tho largest secondary school in New Zealand has stated emphatically that no boy from his school who lias failed in 1912 deserved to pass.—l am etc., : B. HECTOR, Registrar. University of New Zealand, March 17.