UNIVERSITY EXAMS.

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 14, 18 January 1933, Page 14

UNIVERSITY EXAMS.

ERRORS IN PAPERS

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY?

A report from Professor E. J. T. Bell, of Otago University, in regard to an error in the algebra paper at tho recent matriculation examination was considered at a meeting of tho Senate of the New Zealand University yesterday afternoon. The authorised time for answering the algebra paper is two hours, but candidates, through a printed error % at the top of the paper, were instructed that throe hours would be allowed.

In his explanation of the position, Professor Bell said that after the draft examination paper, which contained merely the title of the paper and the note that only seven of tho eight questions were to be answered, had been submitted to the Board of Moderators (for approval), he assumed that ,the heading of the paper would then be completed in the university office before it was sent to the printer. He had' hitherto considered the headings of examination papers to be the affair of the office. "The proofs of the paper were handed to me at tho meeting of the Academic Board," said FroTessor Boll.^ "My practice in correcting proofs is to work. through each paper solely from the proof, and not to look at tho manuscript unless I discover a mistake in the proof. In this case there was no mistake, but one verbal alteration seemed to bo necessary in consequence of the change made by the Board of Moderators. With the idea in my mind that the heading was the affair of the office, I merely glanced at it. The ' possibility of an error in it never occurred to me.

"Steps have been taken to try to minimise the effect of the mistake. A list of code numbers was received corresponding to the centres where the candidates, according to the report of the supervisors, might have suffered. It involved about 700 papers, and these were all re-examined. If the work was of such a quality, nnd of such neatness as to suggest that the candidate was working slowly aud carefully on tho assumption that threo hours were allowed, or if there were signs that tho candidate seemed to be unduly hurried at the close of the "paper, an allowance was made. The seven questions asked were quite easily completed by the better candidates in two hours. Indeed,one candidate whose paper I corrected^ worked out the whole eight questions in the paper almost perfectly, and then deleted one of his answers." '

The Hon. J. Hanan said he thought

the examiners should take the responsibility of errors in such cases. Dr. W. P. Evans said he did not think it would ,be right to put all responsibility in such cases on the examiners; that might lead to a difficulty in getting examiners. A motion, by the Hon. J. A. Hanan, was ultimately adopted in the following form: "That the explanatory letter of Professor Bell be received, and the matter of tho time allowed and the permanent portion of the heading required to bo stated on the examination papers shall be the joint responsibility of the- examiner and the registrar."