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FINAL EXAMINATION TIME IN HIGH-SCHOOL CHEMISTRY ELBERT C. WEAVER Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
A
s u n v m was undertaken to discover the mechanics of end-of-year formal testing in chemistry. The survey is based on returns from a countrywide sampling of secondary schools, both public and independent. No effort was made to obtain a distribution of schools according to size. Returns are chiefly those ohtained hy the efforts of a committee of the National Science Teachers Association acting jointly as a committee of t,he Division of Chemical Education of the A.C.S. to make a test in high-school chemistry. The primary purpose of the survey was to determine the length of a &st that would be most serviceable. The method of giving final examinations in chemistry varies. Examinations are given in a special examination period ill 54% of the cases, and in a regular class period in 32% of the cases of those who replied to the questionnaire. As applied to those who answered this item, 63% give examinations in a special period and 37y0 give examinations in a regular class period. Iq'inal chemistry examinations are given to all st,udents in a t least 72% of the cases. This percentage may be low hecause some replies were vague. Excusing from final examination may be done for a variety of reasons which inrlude illness, discretion of instructor, honor-roll grade in class work, or class standing up to a specified standard. The length of time available for examination varies greatly as may be seen in the accompanying table. Minutes used i n chemistry final ezan,,inalion.q
Less than :3O 40 to 49 50 to 59 GO to 69 70 to i!) 80 to 89 !I0 to !I) 100 or more TOTAL
Number of schools 4 17 9 10 4 8 11 8 71 replies
The conclusion of the committee, guided by the advice of the A.C.S. advisers associated with the committee, was to use 45 minutes as the optimum length, but to have two sections. Each section of the test is expected to consume 45 minutes. The two sections rover the entire range of elementary rhemistry.
Section I is a fair sampling, but Sections I and I1 together represent a more comprehensive sampling. The test is arranged so that both parts may he given at one sitting, or a break may be made a t the end of the part without mechanical difficulty.' The maximum flexibility could be ohtained thereby, and direct application to the available time of 40% of the time schedules was accomplished. With additional local essay-type questions, the time schedules of about 94% can he accommodated. This study amply justifies the establishment of 45-minute units for testing purposes in high-school chemistry. Returns came from 72 schools, representing an enrollment of 79,134 in four-year high schools, and 28,635 in three-year senior high schools or a total of 107,769. The average school 'ize is 1497 students. In these 72 schools are 404 chemistry classes, essentially general (college preparatory) in scope but including a t least four in the Advanced Placement program and two others miscellaneous. The average numher of chemistry classes is 5.6 per school or 3.75 per thousand children in school. These 404 classes enroll 10,845 students, so the average class size is 26.8. Chemistry students among the total high-school population are 10%. This fact, however, has little significance. A much more significant figure is the number of students among those qualified to do so who study, chemistry. This survey did not gather evidence on that particular point. The average length of class period is 52 minutes. The median class period is 50 minutes long. The average length of the laboratory period is 70 minutes and the median 56 minutes. We find that 37% of the schools have so-called double laboratory periods (two consecutive periods) while in only one case no mention was made of any laboratory time. In some cases the teacher has the option of class or laboratory period distributed according to the needs of the class. The total number of minutes per meek given to chemistry is 276 on the average, and 275 for the median. The range is from 175 to 850 minutes per week for the study of chemistry.
' The examination is A.C.S. Cooperative Ezamination Form N . Norms have been established. Direct inquiries to Dr. Theodore A. Ashford, Department of Chemistry, St. Louis Unive~sity, 1402 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 4, Missouri.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
