This paper constitutes a report on a part of the work which we are doing in studying the value of the Aptitude or Placement Examination and of semester grades in predicting the future performance of our students.OurFreshman classes areconducted similarly to those in other institutions.In 1926-27, 879 students who had not had chemistry registered for General Chemistry. In the first week these students were given the Iowa Chemistry Aptitude Test, CT-1,A. From the results of this test the students were sectioned for quiz and lahoratory into groups of twenty-five students. There was no sectioning in the two hours devoted to lecture, demonstrations, and tests. For laboratory and quiz the whole class was divided into six groups of 150 to 200 students, depending solely upon the afternoon the pupil took laboratory. This group was then subdivided according to the Aptitude Test or term grades into groups of twentyfive students each. Thus on one afternoon the best twenty-five students would be in one group, the next best in another, etc. The lahoratory and quiz for any one group was under the same instructor. One important difficulty of this method lies in the fact that there are five or six best groups of twenty-five students each, where there should be only two or three (10% of class) of these groups.This sectioning according to ability was carried out throughout the three terms. The score made in the first term was used as a basis for sectioning in the second term, and similarly the score in the second term was taken as the basis for the sectioning in the third.The examinations given were largely of the objective type and graded by means of scores. The term grades in per cent were obtained from score grades. In each examination scores were plotted and a curve drawn to see how well the markings were distributed. During the latter part of the last term a group of 164 students took the Iowa Chemistry Training Examination. These examinations were scored in the Departments of Chemistry and Education of the University of Iowa.'Of the 164 students discussed by Dr. Jacob Comog, only 131 started in the fall and completed the work in a regular manner. It is the performance of these 131 students which we will discuss. We believe these *Read before the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society at St. Louis, April 17, 1928.' Cornog and Stoddard, "Chemistry Training of High-School and College Students," THIS JOURNAL, 6,85-92 (Jan., 1929).
This article deals with a study of grades made in chemistry by the students in the six schools in the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College with the object of determining, first, if the students in any school receive higher marks in chemistry than those in the other schools, and second, if possible, the causes thereof. The results of two year's study, 1927-29, show that those students in the Engineering school rank first; those in Science and Literature, second; and those in Commerce, Education, and Agriculture, as Osborn found,1 ranked the lowest. This college is composed of six schools, Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics, Science and Literature, Education, and Commerce. Chemistry is required of all freshmen in all schools except Commerce. Opportunity for substitution of other sciences is given, and often taken. Owing to the number of students involved the writers believe the residts to be representative of the average of the students. The tests used to determine these standings are the Iowa Chemistry Aptitude Examination CA-1, Revised A,2 the student's score in the grade given at the close of the semester,3 the Iowa Chemistry Training Examination CF-1, Revised A,4 and the George Washington University General Chemistry Test.5 The data is taken from the records made in the scholastic years of 1927-28 and 1928-29. In 1927-28 all students were given the same work regard-
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