REASONABLE CARE HELD LACKING

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 184, 1 May 1940, Page 8

REASONABLE CARE HELD LACKING

University Examiners In Arithmetic

ACTION RECOMMENDED TO SENATE

The Executive Committee of the Senate of the University of New Zealand recently considered a report on the investigation into the marking of scripts in the University Entrance arithmetic examination for 1939, and passed the following motion: —

That the executive committee record its strong disapproval- of the lack of responsibility and of reasonable care shown by examiners of arithmetic in the 1939 University Entrance examinations, and recommends Senate to debar each of them from acting as examiner in any entrance examination during the pleasure of the Senate, but in no case for less than five years. Statement Issued. In a statement issued with . the resolution the Executive Committee states that it met on January 24 to consider the results of the University Entrance Examination, before they were issued. At this meeting, which was held before any publicity had been given to the matter, it was noticed that the marks in arithmetic presented anomalous features. It was, however, considered inadvisable to postpone publication of all results on this account, but, in order to ensure that no candidate suffered injustice from the marking in arithmetic, a special investigation was ordered. In the first place 50 scripts, selected at random, were submitted to one of the professors of mathematics for comment. As this preliminary scrutiny showed that the fears of the committee were justified, it was resolved to invite the senior professor of mathematics and his assistants to reexamine all the scripts in which an alteration in the arithmetic mark might benefit an unsuccessful candidate. This re-examination, though carried out with all possible dispatch, unfortunately involved considerable delay in the final adjustment of results. Re-examination disclosed a number of errors of various descriptions, involving a very large number of cases. Altogether 170 additional candidates passed the entrance examination as a result of the remarking. Delay Unavoidable. “The committee is well aware of the hardships that may have resulted from the unavoidable delay in reaching the final result of the entrance examination, but is of opinion that no other course than that adopted would have done justice to all candidates,” it is stated. “It may be explained that since 1931 the Senate has had in operation a scheme of scaling to ensure that the results in different subjects marked by different examiners in succeeding years do not vary too widely. In the case under review the low average in arithmetic necessitated a generous scaling allowance. Differences in marks announced to candidates after the remarking are due to the result of the remarking, taken in conjunction with the' sealing allowances. As the remarking of scripts in this case was not a reconsideration in the ordinary sense, no reconsideration fee has been charged. In the case of those candidates who sent in the usual deposit fee for reconsideration in arithmetic the fee is being refunded.”