Measurements of Teaching

Abstract

T HE extensive Pennsylvania Study has shared with other factors in bringing about many changes in teaching at the college level. The report of the investigation contains a large amount of interesting and valuable data, together with numerous challenging statements. Researchers in this field may well be expected to report on less extensive studies of phases of the investigation. The present paper reports certain results of a statistical study in which one of the Pennsylvania tests plays an important part. At Montana State University a course, The Introduction to Physical Science, has been offered for several years. This course is of the survey type and runs for three quarters. It is open to students at any stage in their college career who have not covered an essential part of the work in other college courses. A large portion of each class is made up of first-year students. year the class is tested at the beginning of the course and again at the end of the course by means of a comprehensive test over the field of physical science. The test used from 1934 to 1938, inclusive, is from one of the early editions of the Pennsylvania test; only the questions bearing on the particular field were included. The attempt has been made to compute an index of relative improvement from the results of this test, and to study this improvement. A second problem which presented itself was that of determining whether a certain portion of the students registering might not be exempted from the course on the basis of the test. This led to the comparison of progress made by those with little preparation, as measured by the comprehensive test, and those with much better preparation. Incidentally, this seems a fair test of the following statements from the report of the Pennsylvania study. Each individual has some level peculiar to himself at which his education in any given subject must begin. . . . There exist only different starting points from which alone progress is possible.' The statistical data upon which the present study is based, consist of six entries for each of 565 students. The nature of these entries is shown in Table I by giving actual data for the first five students. The first is standing in the comprehensive test in physical science before taking the survey course in physical science