Philosophical Comments on Examinations

APOLOGIUM Many of the facts about examinations are well known to teachers, but it is difficult to analyze those facts or to synthesize them in a manner that can be designated as truly scientific. Furthermore, some of the facts are observed through a tinted glass, the jaundiced yellow of prejudice or the rose of gentle kindliness, and some are seen through the clear lens of objective detachment. Thus, at the present time it seems necessary and wise to employ the philosophical rather than the strictly scientific line of approach. To paraphrase Lippmann, the views expressed represent an attitude toward examinations which, when it becomes articulate and explicit, may be dignified as a philosophy. The purpose of this paper is not so much to discuss details of methods as to emphasize anew some aspects of the matter that appear to be of broad interest. The examination has a valuable place in