AN EDUCATIONAL TEST.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1971, 30 January 1914, Page 6

AN EDUCATIONAL TEST.

Gkouxbs f6r some hard thinking bv this educational authorities and all who take an intelligent interest in State education are to be found in the report- ori the examination of non-commissioned officers f6r first appointment to commissions irt the territorial .Force. The examiners-'state that the results of the examination can only be regarded as disappointing. and that the standard of educaI tion and military knowledge necessary for an officer t-o possess seems to have been greatly under-estimated not only by the candidates, but by those, recommending them as being likely to make good officers. ■ Out of 127 candidates presenting themselves for examination only 42-managed to qualify. Too great,stress should not bd laid upon the defects in military knowledge which the examination brought to light, as the new defence svstein is still in its infancy, and the report indicates that the machinery of preparation in military subjects has not yet 'been pnt into working operation. A much more disquieting feature of tho report is the disclosure that many of tho candidates wew found to lack even the elements of education which are-sup-posed to lift acquired in our primary schools. "Many of th« papers, both in military and purely etlncatinual subjects," tho e,\'a miners- state, "Were found remarkable for had spelling, bad grammar, bad writing, and'general untidiness. The questions were not carefully read, and there was too often a tendency to irrelevant." The examiner of infantry summed un the position by saying: "I feel sure that some of the candidates who sat for this examination are in no wiiy fitted for_ commissions from an educational point- of view." It. is impossible to read a statement of this nature without feelings of strong dissatisfaction. Non-commissioned officers' in the Territorials are.picked iVien in thrt first instance,- and it may be. taken for granted that factors of education and general ability are taken into account when a proportion

of them' are selected to sit for cornmissions. in ajiy case, a higher standard of elementary education '-might reasonably have been expcctcd cvdii iii the rank and file than the candidates at the late examination appear to have possessed. The report of the exftrniriers has a disiiifict bearing upon the efficiency of the State system of primary education, and suggests that it would Ijp none the worse tor a thorough overhaul. The examiners, of course, had no direct concern with the State system of education, lmt they have conducted a practical test of its efficiency, the result of which cannot be "overlooked. The persons subjected to the test were young men who may reasonably be supposed to exceed the average standard of intelligence. When it is shown that a considerable proportion of their number were found to be deficient in such elementary attainments as writing, spelling and grammar, there seems no escapo from the conclusion that similar deficiencies ftre shared by a large part of the population. Detailed criticism of the primary education system is a matter for experts, but there is a i widespread feeling that the syllabus of instruction in the State schools is being overloaded to the detriment of the essential ground-work of education, find this belief is fortified by the result of such a practical testas has bi(?,n mads in the present instance ■ by- the military examiners. The case is not an isolated one, for it has often been complained. that young people emerge from the_ State schools very poorly Endowed in the matter of a practical elementary education. Since the standard of intelligence throughout the community ;.is fairly high, it seems tp be it fair assumption that the system of education is at fault. . '