PART I: GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE PREDICTION OF COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

CHAPTER I: THE PROBLEM

OR EFFECTIVE guidance of students into college work it is necessary to be able to make some articulation between the student's capacities and interests and the program of studies offered in the college or university. The place of the college in the educational scheme is an important item in discussing the problem of college admission and placement. Many educators consider the college or university to be but an extension of secondary education while others believe that the college or university is for a comparatively few individuals who are particularly able to profit by higher education, and still others contend that college is a place to prepare oneself for a vocation. Whichever one of these particular views is held by a college will influence materially the kind of regulations set up for entrance.

If college work is considered to be an extension of secondary education it may easily be argued that the pathway to further education (i. e. college education) should be made as easy as possible. If college education is of the same sort, essentially, as high-school education, it means that as many individuals as possible should have the benefit of it since universal secondary education is considered by most educators to be desirable. Guidance of pupils from high school into college in this case would have for its purpose the keeping of students in school for the required period of education. The view that college should be a place for a selected few to acquire culture-a place primarily for study and the cultivation of appreciation for the arts and sciences would require a different kind of guidance scheme. Much sifting of student material would be necessary. The view that college is a preparation directly for vocations would also require that serious consideration be given to the kind of student material.

The difficulty level of the curriculums of the different colleges will vary to some extent according to the purposes of the individual institutions. That there is a great variety of ability in student personnel in different colleges has been

shown by several studies and particularly by the reports of the American Council on Education Psychological Examination. The level of instruction in individual colleges must therefore differ materially. Colleges having students in the lower ability ranges naturally adapt, to some extent at least, their work to their student body, but as far as the marks obtained in the various schools show, no differences are discernible. These variations in the level of difficulty of the college curriculums indicate a certain lack of standardization of the meaning of the term "college." The problem of Who should go to college? is therefore made complex through the varying objectives and the curriculums of colleges and universities. The students who have been educated in different kinds of institutions, and have different capabilities, achievements, social backgrounds, personality traits, and interests must be considered. This interaction of student material and the college curriculums must be studied carefully.

RELATION TO PRINCIPLE THAT EDUCATION SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO ALL TO THE LIMITS OF THEIR ABILITY

Youth always demands another chance. Insofar as any system of college entrance we now have is concerned, there is some truth in youth's insistence that he may succeed if given a chance in any particular institution of learning. No subjective or objective method of estimating success has as yet been inaugurated which is perfect. It is true that the most valid method for finding out whether or not a student can achieve a certain scholastic standing or be successful in an occupation is for him to try it. If, for instance, a student wants to become an engineer, the most valid method for him to find out if he can become one is first to attempt the training necessary to become an engineer and then to go out and attempt the job. This trial and error method however is costly for both the individual and for society. For the individual it is a costly procedure because he may spend much time in trying out various lines of work. In failing at jobs for which he is actually unfitted, he comes to believe that he is unfitted for any job.

It is costly for society to spend time and effort in educating individuals to do tasks which they, at best, will perform on

1 Reported in various issues of the Educational Record.

a very low level of efficiency. Both the individual and society have a stake in education. Consider, for instance, the students who intend to practice medicine. There is room and need in society for men and women who are able practitioners of medicine. There is hardship, however, on the one hand for the student who finally gets through and is ill-fitted to the profession, and on the other hand, for the public when served by poor practitioners.

Harold Clark and others have studied occupational distribution and trends. They have found that there is no close relationship existing between the number of persons preparing or asking for positions in an occupation and the number of workers needed each year in the occupation. They recommend that some system of following the changes in occupational distribution be made and that information about occupational distribution be made available to college students and others. There is usually no definite relationship between the number preparing for an occupation and the number the occupation can absorb. This fact is important because it shows clearly that our present methods of vocational guidance do not have very clear working objectives. It shows that information regarding the relative availability of employment opportunities is needed so that those who are best fitted for different occupations, insofar as this can be determined, will be directed into them.

The individual student may say that he is willing to take all risks in placing himself in the right curriculum. But since it is society as a whole which is to be benefited by the proper distribution of effort in various fields some believe that the final disposition should be left in its hands. Assume that there are 200 individuals wishing to prepare for a certain vocation; suppose further that through the application of aptitude measures and other means and from a study of the needs of society, the school authorities, representing society, find that only 100 of the individuals should prepare themselves for the vocation. Some error will result in this selection, so that of the 100 selected not all will be of the best 100. Some of the rejected 100 will be those who would have made good in the preparation for the vocation and in the vocation

'References and material on studies in occupational distribution may be found in the February 1934 number of Occupations-The Vocational Guidance Magazine.

itself. From the standpoint of society this may be a defensible procedure even though detrimental to several individuals because the total result for society is a gain. For privately controlled institutions where the individual or the individual's family pays largely for his education, the question is not so important because the individual is taking a large share of the risk. Also privately controlled institutions may put into effect, within fairly wide limits, any kind of regulation they see fit regarding entrance. In publicly controlled institutions the problem is more acute because there a large part of the cost of education is borne by the State; also it is there that the greatest pressure is found for the admission of students. Indeed it has been so great that the courts have been resorted to at times in order to force admission. Jarvis (61) in reviewing the legal aspects of admission states:

The admission of applicants in a public educational institution is one thing and the government and control of applicants after they are admitted is quite another thing. The first rests upon well-established rules either prescribed by law or sanctioned by usage, from which right of admission is to be determined.

Regulations regarding the expulsion of students for failing in too many courses seem to be a matter left to the individual institution and are not subject to review by outside authorities. Admission regulations, on the other hand, appear to be subject to appeal to outside authority. Changes in entrance requirements especially in State colleges and universities must be inaugurated with very careful attention to the right of, and with due regard to the reasoning of, various elements of society. Particular care must be taken in using tests which determine the general intellectual level apart from achievement in specific subject matter. This is because of the rejection of testimony regarding such mental levels in some of our courts.

ARTICULATION OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AS A FACTOR IN COLLEGE ADMISSION AND GUIDANCE

The complete articulation of high-school and college work is considered a desirable goal by most educators. By complete articulation we mean the understanding and appreciation of the objectives of both institutions by the personnel in both institutions and the making clear of the relation between those lines of activity which run through both institutions.

This does not mean to imply that either institution will not have activities peculiar to its own level. The presence of various terminal courses in high school would not interfere with this concept of articulation.

Kelly (73) analyzes the tendency toward fusion between the high school and college. He finds the junior college to be largely the medium through which this is taking place. This is a movement which has important guidance implications. Kelly in his conclusions states:

The outlines above represent five ways in which the line which formerly marked the distinction between high school and college is being obliterated. First, the processes of education are continuous and permit of no sudden break between administrative units. Second, the student-centered curriculum as distinct from the subject-centered curriculum is valid alike for high school and college. Third, college teaching is a profession calling for definite training as does high-school teaching. Fourth, the scientific measurement movement is making rapid progress in the college and bids fair to become the largest influence in breaking down the artificial line between these two institutions. Fifth, and finally, the place of research as a basis for institutional planning is now gaining recognition in both high school and college.

TWO GENERAL ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN THE GUIDANCE OF ENTERING COLLEGE STUDENTS

In general, high-school and college education is a continuous line of endeavor to bring students to as high a standard of knowledge and cultural appreciation as possible, together with preparation for various vocations at different levels throughout the two segments of the school system with which we are here concerned. From the standpoint of guidance there seem to be two elements in the situation. One question, and one which will usually come first is: What level of schooling or what vocational preparation level will a given student probably attain? The other question is: In which specialized line of activity will the student do best? In the case of a few students the last question will come first. This will happen sometimes when a student shows considerable ability in a fairly specialized line very early in his scholastic career. If this specialized ability can be shown to be a marked variation from the general level of ability of the student, this significant variation is the important item. In such a case the further cultivation of the specialized ability is the important consideration.