CHIEF EXAMINER'S ANNUAL REPORT ALBANY, N. Y., December 30, 1911. To the State Civil Service Commission: GENTLEMEN.- The Chief Examiner submits the following report of the work of the examinations division for the year 1911. ORGANIZATION OF THE DIVISION The year 1911 has seen a smaller number of changes than usual in the personnel of the examinations division. Two new appointments have been made, and while the salaries for these positions have not yet been provided for, it is hoped that the present Legislature will make provision for continuing them on the regular salary schedule. The first appointment was that of Miss Georgia G. Smith of Kingston, who was appointed on April 20, 1911, by selection from the junior clerk eligible register; and on August 7, 1911, Miss Catherine C. Geier of Albany was appointed by selection from the stenographer register. On December 1, 1911, Frank P. Myers of Albany was appointed page by selection from page eligible register, to fill a vacancy caused by the transfer of Raymond Jones to the administration division of the office. The large increase in the work during the early part of 1911 rendered the new appointments absolutely necessary, and these positions should be made permanent. the THE WORK OF THE DIVISION The past year has been by far the busiest in the history of the Commission, there having been examined more than 20,000 persons, as compared with 13,658 in 1910, and 11,131 in 1909. The small number of examiners regularly employed in this division has not been able to handle all of the examining work, [29] and a considerable portion has been done outside the office. This method of doing routine examination work is always unsatisfactory and should be avoided whenever possible, but it would seem to be inevitable without such a large increase in the force of examiners as to leave some of them unemployed at times. Our work is not evenly distributed through the year, but may be very heavy for one, two or three months, then comparatively ligh again for an equal period. After a large examination we are extremely busy until that work is out of the way; it will be seen, therefore, that, in order to expeditiously handle our work entirely in our own office at all times, would be required the employment of some examiners who would probably be idle part of the time. On December 30, 1911, all examinations held during the year had been reported, with one exception. This was the examination for foreman of laborers, which will be completed and reported early in 1912. STATISTICS OF THE YEAR'S WORK The work of the examinations division for the year may be summarized as follows: Open competitive examinations.. Competitive promotion examinations... Non-competitive examinations, Rule VIII. The following table affords a comparison of the number of persons examined during the past five years: Continuing the policy of holding oral examinations when, in the judgment of the Chief Examiner, they are warranted, such tests have been included in a number of important examinations during the year 1911, among which might be mentioned the examination for inspector in modern languages, Education Department, $2,500, held January 28, 1911, which covered written and oral tests in French, German, Spanish and Italian; and the examination for principal keeper, State Prison service, $2,000, held December 9, 1911. In connection with the subject of oral examinations it is of interest to note that this method of examination has been adopted by the United States Civil Service Commission (see 27th annual report of the United States Civil Service Commission, page 47). Chief Examiner Wales, in referring to this matter, says: "Among the most important and essential of the qualifications in this highly responsible position is what may be termed the personality and address of the applicant; that is to say, his ability either by endowment of nature or by acquirement from broad experience and dealings with his fellow men impartially to investigate differences and controversies naturally arising and intelligently to adjust such differences with little, if any, friction and to the general satisfaction of the persons interested. It has usually been the practice to fill the higher grade and more responsible positions requiring this peculiar and rare sort of ability by careful selection from persons already in the classified service whose possession of these qualities there has been opportunity * * * sonality as here described an oral test was introduced as one of the subjects in the examination, and it was provided that those applicants who satisfactorily met the other requirements should appear for this oral test before a board of examiners designated for that purpose. Oral test' is here used more in the sense of personal inspection and measurement of the peculiar quality desired in the applicant by actual contact with him than in the sense of the propounding orally of merely scholastic questions." With regard to "oral and personal" examinations, the Chief Examiner of the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission, in his report dated December 31, 1910, states that this plan has been adopted in New Jersey " with signal success," and he recommends the continuance of such tests for positions in which the personal element plays so important a part. The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission, in its annual report dated December 8, 1909, referred to oral examinations in the following language: "As frequently pointed out in previous reports, written answers to questions on educational subjects, as well as answers to the technical and practical questions on the duties of the office involved, form only a part of Civil Service examinations. The experience and training of an applicant, as tested by his answers to specific questions, by his vouchers, and by replies made to letters sent to his employers by the Commission, are of very great weight in determining his position on the eligible list. Further progress in this direc tion has been made by commissions in other States and cities by adopting oral, in addition to written, examinations. This Commission has, during the past year, given such an additional oral examination for the position of head of the architectural division of the schoolhouse department of the city of Boston. The examination was framed and held by three able, practical architects, acting with the Chief Examiner. Its results were satisfactory, although the marking on oral examinations showed practically the same relative merits of the applicants as were shown on the marking of the written examinations (marked first and separately). Until the Commission has greater facilities as to appropriations and examiners, it will be impracticable to hold such oral examinations except for positions where the number of applicants to be examined is small." "THE EXAMINATION FETISH " The following extract from an editorial which appeared in the November 16, 1911, issue of School, a weekly devoted to the interests of teachers, emphasizes a phase of the subject of examinations which is attracting larger attention year by year. Referring to the controversy between the Board of Education and the city superintendent over the latter's claim to the right to merge eligible lists, the editorial says: "The controversy ought also to bring about a scientific investigation of the methods and tests employed in examining candidates for teachers' positions. It seems to us that in discussing Dr. Maxwell's custom of merging lists and confining its action solely to the adoption of resolutions, forbidding him to continue it, the Board overlooked an opportunity to probe for causes that are creating general dissatisfaction in the system, as well as among the licensees who believe that they have not been fairly rated. The school system's moral sense of justice is opposed to merging the lists under the present system of examining and rating candidates for teachers' positions. This dissatisfaction is too general to be blinked. It is appalling to read over the eligible lists and see how fine the differences are in scores of cases as expressed VOL. I-2 |