LB 3052 ■ N7 P3 L907 *opy 1 New York State Education Department MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE NEW YORK STATE EXAMINATIONS BOARD HELD AT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IN THE CAPITOL, ALBANY, JANUARY ia, 1907 H348n-F7-2ooo (7-2052) LJ> i o AUG 24 1907 D.ofD. MINUTES, JANUARY 12,1907 In response to a call issued 'by the Commissioner of Edu- cation under date of December 24, 1906, the New York State Examinations Board assembled at the Commissioner's room in Albany at 9.30 a. m., January 12, 1907, all members being present excepting Chancellor Day who failed to attend on account of the pressure of other business, and Assistant Commissioner Downing who was absent because of serious illness. At the opening of the session the Commissioner of Educa- tion read the following extracts from the records of the Board of Regents to indicate the function of the Board and the reasons for its establishment: RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCA- TION TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS APRIL 26, 1906 It has seemed to me for a long time that something should be done to bind our system of preliminary and aca- % demic examinations and our s>stem of schools more closely together, and to make the examinations more expressive of the feeling and more promotive of the progress of the schools. If this can be done at all it must be done in the preparation of the questions. . . Again, it is obviously desirable to share the responsibility for the trend and character of the examinations in some measure with the men and women who are actually engaged in the daily work of the schools, particularly of the advanced schools, if that can be done without interfering with the integrity or lessening the efficiency of the examination system. Accordingly, a plan embracing the organization of a State board, composed of leading teachers and superintendents which would prepare the questions or in some way assume responsibility for them has been under advisement for more than a year, and had matured sufficiently in the minds of the leading officials of the Department to justify submitting it to the consideration of the conference of college representatives recently held. The whole matter was very thoroughly con- sidered, occupying the larger part of two sessions of the conference, and resulting in the offering of the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : " That this conference expresses its opinion that it is desir- able for all the educational interests of the State, not only with a view to perfecting the examinations system, but also with a view of bringing the responsibility for educational standards home to every prominent educational factor in the State, — that the Education Department perfect a plan for a State board of representative college, secondary and ele- mentary school men to prepare question papers for the examinations held under the auspices of the State Depart- ment ; and that such plan be brought to the attention and consideration of the school superintendents and secondary school men of the State." It is clear that a move of this kind would be very welcome to the college men and would go far to secure their substan- tial participation in all of the activities of the State educational system. . . None of the details of a plan for the realization of this suggestion has been even tentatively settled, but in a general way it involves the creation by the Board of Regents of a State examination board composed of prominent superintend- ents and teachers who should, either directly or through committees or appointees, assume the responsibility of prepar- ing the questions in each subject, under such Department control as might seem advisable. REPORT OF A COMMITTEE ON EXAMINATIONS TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS, MADE AND ADOPTED JUNE 28, 1906 With the common consent and approval of the State, em- bodied in its statutes and the ordinances of the Board of Regents and expressed in a general use extending through more than 40 years, the State academic examinations have been established to guide and stimulate teaching, to insure a worthy and definite degree of training and scholarship in the schools, and to standardize the requirements for teachers licenses, for admissions to training classes, training schools and normal schools, and, so far as may be, for all education- al credentials tor which the State assumes responsibility. That these examinations may be as truly representative as possible of the teaching in the best schools and be quickly responsive to progress in education, a New York State Examinations Board is hereby provided for. This board shall consist of 17 persons — the Commissioner of Education, the three Assistant Commissioners, and the Chief of the Examinations Division shall be ex officiis mem- bers, and the Commissioner of Education shall be chairman. Twelve other members shall be appointed by the Board of Regents, ordinarily at the time of the University Convoca- tion, four of whom shall represent the colleges and univer- sides, four the high schools and academies, and four the city superintendents. Only such persons as are engaged in teaching or in supervision in this State shall be members of the board. The appointive members shall serve for four years but the first appointees for each group shall serve for one, two, three, and four years, as designated by the Board of Regents. The functions of the Examinations Board shall be to appoint, with the approval of the Commissioner of Education, committees to prepare question papers for State examinations, and to advise with the Commissioner in respect to the form and contents of syllabuses covering the subjects of study in the elementary and secondary schools. This board shall serve without compensation, but the ordinary expenses incident to attendance upon meetings called by the Commissioner of Education shall be paid by the State. The committees appointed by the State Examinations Board to prepare question papers shall consist ot three per- sons each. One of each. committee shall be an officer of the Education Department ; the other two members, for pre- academic subjects shall be principals of elementary schools, and for academic subjects a college teacher and a secondary school teacher. Each teacher shall serve for one year and shall receive from the State the necessary expenses in attend- ing meetings of his committee in each year and an annual honorarium as follows : on preacademic subjects, English, Latin, Greek, history with civics and economics, mathe- matics, biologic science, and commercial subjects, $50 ; on German, French, Spanish and drawing, $40; on physics, chemistry and physical geography, $30. On the 25th of October 1906, the Board of Regents amended the foregoing report as follows : This board shall consist of 20 persons — the Commissioner of Education, the three Assistant Commissioners, and the Chief of the Examinations Division shall be ex officio mem- bers, and the Commissioner of Education shall be chairman. Fifteen other members shall be appointed by the Board of Regents, ordinarily at the time of the University Convoca- tion,^^ of whom shall represent the colleges and universities, five the high schools and academies, and^frv the city superin- tendents. Only such persons as are engaged in teaching or in supervision in this State shall be members of the board. The appointive members shall serve for five years but the first appointees for each group shall serve for one, two, three, faux, and five years, as designated by the Board of Regents: On the same date, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commissioner of Education, the Board of Regents made the following appointments to the State Examinations Board in addition to the five members representing the Education Department ex ofrlciis : Representatives of the State Education Depart- ment, ex officiis : Commissioner of Education, Andrew S. Draper, Chairman First Assistant Commissioner of Education, Howard J. Rogers Second Assistant Commissioner of Education, Edward J. Goodwin Third Assistant Commissioner of Education, Augustus S. Downing Chief of the Examinations Division, Charles F. Wheelock Representatives of the colleges : President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University, to serve 5 years President Rush Rhees of the University of Rochester, to serve 4 years Chancellor James R Day of Syracuse University, to serve 3 years President David W. Hearn of the College of St Francis Xavier, to serve 2 years President A. V. V. Raymond of Union University, to serve 1 year Representatives of the secondary schools: Associate City Superintendent Edward L. Stevens, in charge of high schools, New York city, to serve 5 years Principal Walter B. Gunnison, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, to serve 4 years Principal Frank Rollins, Stuyvesant High School, Man- hattan, to serve 3 years Principal Frank D. Boynton, Ithaca High School, Ithaca, to serve 2 years Principal L. F. Hodge, Franklin Academy, Malone, to serve i year • Representatives of the elementary schools : Superintendent William Henry Maxwell, New York city, to serve 5 years Superintendent Henry P. Emerson, Buffalo, to serve 4 years Superintendent A. B. Blodgett, Syracuse, to serve 3 years Superintendent Charles E. Gorton, ^Yonkers, to serve 2 years Superintendent Richard A. Searing, North Tonawanda, to serve 1 year The following list of topics proposed for discussion at this meeting had been prepared by a committee consisting of President Butler, City Superintendent Maxwell and Assistant Commissioner of Education Goodwin, in pursuance of a reso- lution adopted at an informal meeting of the board, held on the day following the University Convocation, October 27, 1906. 1 The selection of committees to prepare question papers in English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, history with civics and economics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biologic science, physical geography, commercial subjects, drawing, preacademic subjects 2 The preparation of special question papers for commer- cial, technical and other schools 3 Method of giving credit to notebooks in physics, chem- istry, physical geography and the biologic sciences 4 Time limitation for reporting to schools the results of the examination 5 Shall the State Department accept the ratings of the College Entrance Examination Board for academic creden- tials ? 6 Shall the State Department accept for academic cre- dentials ratings hitherto attained in examinations set by the Superintendent of Schools of New York City ? 7 Shall the question papers be submitted to a committee for^nal revision or approval? If so, how shall this com- mittee be appointed ? 8 Shall the answer papers be rated in the school before they are sent to the Department ? 9 Shall the theory upon which the answer papers are rated be determined by the committees of examiners ? io Miscellaneous business On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, Assistant Com- missioner Goodwin was elected secretary of the board. On motion of Superintendent Gorton, the following reso- lution was adopted : Resolved, That this board extend to Assistant Commissioner of Education Downing its regrets at his absence, sympathy in his sickness and the hope that he may speedily recover ; that we send this to him as a word of cheer and good will. Principal Gunnison presented the following resolution which was adopted : Resolved, That the Commissioner of Educa- tion be requested to appoint a committee of five consisting of two representatives of the State Department, one representative of the secondary schools, one representative of the colleges and one representative of the city superintendents to nominate the committees of examiners whose duty it shall be to prepare question papers for the academic examinations. In pursuance of this resolution, the Commissioner of Edu- cation made the following appointments : First Assistant Commissioner of Education Rogers Second " " Goodwin President Rhees Principal Gunnison Superintendent Blodgett Dr Maxwell presented the following resolution: Resolved, That it is the sense of the State Examinations Board that commercial and tech- nical high schools shall submit question papers in the special subjects taught in those schools for the consideration of the State Department, and that the answer papers, when rated, shall have the same relative standing as the answer papers written in answer to question papers pre- pared by the committees of the board. Assistant Commissioner Rogers offered the following sub- stitute which was accepted by Superintendent Maxwell : Resolved, That in the opinion of this board the special technical and commercial high schools of New York city should have separate examina- tions in certain specified subjects to be adapted to the course of study and methods of conduct- ing the same ; and that the chairman appoint a committee of three to arrange the details gov- erning this procedure to be reported to the Com- missioner of Education and to be subject to his approval and the approval of the Regents. This resolution was defeated by a vote of 10 to 5. Superintendent Gorton then presented the following reso- lution : Resolved, That in the judgment of this Board it seems likely that certain technical and com- mercial schools will require some special exami- nations and that the attention of the Board of Regents be respectfully called to this subject, to the end that the policy of the State may in the largest measure be helpful to these special schools. After a protracted discussion this resolution was adopted by a vote of 10 to 4. IO After a temporary adjournment |for luncheon, the com- mittee appointed to nominate committees of examiners made the following report, which was unanimously adopted : Committees of examiners appointed by the State Examinations Board and confirmed by the Commissioner of Education English Emma L. Johnston, Principal Training School for Teachers, Brooklyn Adelphi College, A.B. Laura J. Wylie, Professor of English, Vassar College Vassar, A.B. ; Yale, Ph.D. Mae E. Schreiber, Instructor in English, State Teachers Institutes Latin Josie A. Davis, Morris High School, New York city Boston University, A.B. Henry F. Burton, Professor of Latin, University of Roch- ester University, of Michigan, A.M. Vera Thompson, Examiner in Latin, Education Depart- ment Cornell, Ph.B. Greek Abraham R. Brubacher, Principal of High School, Sche- nectady Yale, B.A., Ph.D. Newton Lloyd Andrews, Professor of Greek, Colgate University Colgate, A.B., A.M. ; Hamilton, Ph.D. ; Chicago, LL.D. Ezra J. Peck, State Inspector of Schools Williams, A.B. ; Hobart, LL.D. German Alexis V. Miiller, Lockport High School Ohio Normal University, A.M. 1 1 Herman C. G. Brandt, Professor of German, Hamilton College ' Hamilton, A.B., Ph.D. Julia B. Kellogg, Examiner in Modern Languages, Educa- tion Department Syracuse, Ph.B. French Elwin A. Ladd, Principal High School, Batavia Cornell, Ph.B. John L. March, Adjunct Professor of Modern Languages, Union University Lafayette, A.M., Ph.D. William B. Aspinwall, State Normal College Harvard, A.B. ; State Normal College, Pd.M. ; Univer- sity of Paris, Ph.D. Spanish Alfred M. Cardenas, Central High School, Buffalo Mexico City National College John T. Fitzpatrick, Education Department Cornell, A.B. History and economics J. Herbert Low, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn Amherst, A.B., A.M. William H. Mace, Professor of History and Political Sci- ence, Syracuse University University of Jena, Ph.D. Eugene W. Lyttle, State Inspector of Schools Hamilton, A.B., Ph.D. Mathematics Arthur M. Scripture, Principal^ of High School, New Hartford Hamilton, A.B., A.M. Robert D. Ford, Professor of Mathematics, St Lawrence University St Lawrence, B.S., M.S. 12 Charles F. Wheelock, Chief of Examinations Division, Education Department Cornell, B.S. ; St Lawrence, LL.D. Physics George M. Turner, Masten Park High School, Buffalo Amherst College, B.S. Edward L. Nichols, Professor of Physics, Cornell University Cornell, B.S. ; University of Gottengen, Ph.D. Irving P. Bishop, State Normal School, Buffalo Alfred University, M.S. ; Fellow of the Geological Soci- ety of America Chemistry Robert W. Fuller, First Assistant in Physics and Chemis- try, Stuyvesant High School, New York city Harvard, A.B., A.M. Arthur P. Saunders, Professor of Agricultural and General Chemistry, Hamilton College Toronto University, A.B. ; Johns Hopkins, Ph.D. Everett O'Neill, Senior Examiner in Science, Education Department Cornell, Ph.B. Biology George F. Hargitt, Syracuse High School Syracuse University, Ph.B. ; University of Nebraska, A.M. Maurice A. Bigelow, Professor of Biology, Teachers' Col- lege, Columbia University Ohio Wesleyan, B.S. ; Northwestern, M.S. ; Harvard, Ph.D. Arthur G. Clement, State Inspector of Schools Rochester, A.B. Physical geography Frank L. Bryant, Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn St Lawrence University, B.S. Albert P. Brigham, Professor of Geology, Colgate Uni- versity Colgate, A.B. ; Harvard, A.M. l 3 Charles T. MacFarlane, State Normal School, Brockport Michigan State Normal College, M.Pd. ; New York State Normal College, D.Pd. Commercial subjects James J. Sheppard, Principal High School of Commerce, New York city. Harvard, A.B. Joseph F. Johnson, Dean School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University Harvard, A.B. Isaac O. Crissy, Senior Examiner in Commercial Sub- jects, Education Department Drawing- Harold H. Brown, Stuyvesant High School, New York city Student, one year, Lowell School of Design, Boston ; diploma, four years, Massachusetts Normal Art School, Boston ; student, two years, ficole des Beaux Arts, Paris Clarence A. Martin, Professor of Architecture, Cornell University Eugene C. Colby, Examiner in Drawing, Education Department Student, three years, Boston Normal Art School On motion of Associate City Superintendent Edward L. Stevens, it was, Voted, That the committee of five designated to nominate the committees of examiners be empowered to fill such vacancies in these com- mittees as may occur hereafter through declina- tion or other cause. . On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, it was, Resolved, That in the organization of the com- mittees of examiners the representative of the secondary schools in each committee shall be chairman and the representative of the Educa- tion Department, secretary. H The following resolution presented by Principal Gunnison was unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the Commissioner of Educa- tion be authorized to appoint a committee of final revision, consisting of seven members of the board, to pass upon preacademic and academic question papers prepared by the committees of examiners. In compliance with this resolution the Commissioner of Education made the following appointments for the calendar year 1907 : President David W. Hearn, College of St Francis Xavier Superintendent A. B. Blodgett, Syracuse Associate City Superintendent Edward L. Stevens, New York city Principal Frank Rollins, Stuyvesant High School, New York city First Assistant Commissioner of Education, Howard J. Rogers Second Assistant Commissioner of Education, Edward J. Goodwin Third Assistant Commissioner of Education, Augustus S. Downing On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, it was, Resolved, That it is the sense of the State Examinations Board that each committee of examiners shall draw up and transmit to the Department with each question paper or group of such papers a statement of the principles in accordance with which the corresponding answer papers should be rated, with the understanding, however, that this shall not be binding upon the Examinations Division in rating the answer papers. On motion of Superintendent Emerson, it was, Voted, That a committee of three, of which Assistant Commissioner Downing shall be chair- man, shall be authorized to appoint committees to prepare the preacademic question papers. In accordance with this vote, the Commissioner of Educa- tion made the following appointments : Assistant Commissioner of Education, A. S. Downing Superintendent C. E. Gorton, Yonkers Superintendent Henry P. Emerson, Buffalo On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, it was, Resolved, That it is the sense of this board that ratings obtained in the examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board shall be accepted in whole or in part for State academic credentials on a basis to be established by the Education Department, in lieu of examinations conducted by the State Examinations Board. On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, it was, Resolved, That it is the sense of this board that ratings obtained hitherto in examinations conducted by the Board of Superintendents of New York City shall be accepted by the Educa- tion Department for academic credentials in lieu of ratings obtained in examinations conducted by the State Examinations Board. On motion of Superintendent Maxwell, it was, Resolved, That the Commissioner of Educa- tion be authorized to appoint a committee of five to prepare a plan of certification for college entrance, to be submitted for consideration of the State Examinations Board at a future meeting. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS I 16 029 456 736 In pursuance of this resolution the Commissioner 01 ttau- cation made the following appointments : First Assistant Commissioner of Education, Howard J. Rogers, Chairman President Nicholas Murray Butler, Columbia University Chancellor James R. Day, Syracuse University President Rush Rhees, University of Rochester City Superintendent William H. Maxwell, New York city Secretary 7 #