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shall be the maximum, for proficiency in the special work on which it is designed that the applicant be employed; and the remaining twenty per cent. shall be allowed for proficiency in such other knowledge and acquirements as in the opinion of the Examining Board may seem most necessary for the candidate to possess, to the correct transaction of his official duties."

This resolution, as understood by the Board, asked for the surrender of four-fifths of the examination into the hands of the heads of Bureaus. In the opinion of the Board, the acceptance of the proposition would have changed entirely the system of examination marked out by the rules, and, in effect, would have rendered the fraction of the examinations to be left to the Board needless, by neutralizing its results. While earnestly desiring to secure the coöperation and good will of the officers of the Department, in putting the new system into operation, the Board did not feel authorized to yield to so sweeping a proposition, without the assent of the Advisory Board, to which the resolution was accordingly referred.

The weight which has actually been given by the Board to the head of the Bureau's estimate of the efficiency of candidates for promotion, is eight out of a total of forty, or twenty per centum. It was thought that this weight, in addition to that given to questions pertaining to the office, prepared, in most cases, under the direction of the head of the office, and the prominence given in the arithmetical branch of the examination to practical questions arising in the business of the Department, would give to the efficiency of candidates all the weight that the regulations contemplate, and, in connection with the power possessed by the head of the Department of choosing from the three highest, would prevent the promotion of inefficient clerks. The Board, however, has not bound itself to adhere to this weight, but has reserved the right to change it, if circumstances shall render a change necessary. Shortly before each examination for promotion, after the names of all the competitors have been received, a list of the names is transmitted to the head of the Bureau, with the request that he will mark, on a scale of 100, the standing of each in respect to efficiency. The printed letter transmitted with the list states that "the term efficiency is understood to include ability, industry, and habits."

SCALES OF RELATIVE WEIGHTS.

The ninth of the "regulations governing admission to the Departments" provides that the average standing of each candidate on a scale of 100 in each branch of the examination shall be ascer tained, and that his general standing shall be reached by a system of relative weights to be affixed to the several subjects by the Boards of

Examiners. The scale of weights adopted by this Board in examinations for admission to the Department is as follows:

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The scale used in examinations for promotion is usually the same, with the addition of six for "questions pertaining to the office," and eight for "efficiency," making the sum of the weights forty. In the examinations to fill vacancies in the office of Deputy Comptroller of the Currency and in the position of Head of Division in the Internal Revenue Office, the only positions in the Treasury Department above. clerkships of class four that have been filled by competitive examinations, the following scales were used:

For Deputy Comptroller of the Currency.

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For Head of Division, Office of Internal Revenue.

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The reasons for giving so great prominence to the technical portion of the examination, and for reducing, in examinations for such positions, the weight ordinarily given to penmanship and the elementary branches, and for increasing the weight of the technical questions, are so obvious as to require no explanation.

It will be observed that in the scales used for admission and ordinary promotions, the sums of the weights given to arithmetic, including accounts, and to grammar, including letter-writing and briefing, are equal, and that equal weights are given to penmanship, syntax, and orthography. This was considered as fair an estimate of the relative importance of the subjects as could be made. The only features of the scale which seem to require explanation are the smallness of the weight given to the letter and brief and the omission of general aptitude, to which the rule above referred to declares that "relative weight will be assigned." The reason for giving so small a weight to the letter and brief was principally the fact that this exercise is the last in the examinations for admission, and that many are unable to complete it. By giving it so low a weight a candidate who is unable to write his letter within the prescribed time, but who displays great excellence in the remainder of the examination, may reach a sufficiently high average to receive a certificate. Moreover, proficiency in letter-writing and briefing, although an excellent test of general capacity, is not considered of great practical importance, as but comparatively few clerks are re

quired to write or brief letters. It has been the rule of the Board to attach the greatest weight to the indispensable requisites, such as penmanship, arithmetic, orthography, and syntax; special qualifications for particular kinds of duty, such as book-keeping, letter-writing, and briefing, being assigned a less weight in the scale. By this plan the great desideratum, general intelligence, is secured in all the appointees, and is not overshadowed by special qualifications. Independently, however, of its use in the work to which a clerk may be assigned, the Board regards the ability to write a good business letter and to brief it clearly and succinctly, without omitting any essential point, as a valuable indication of capacity for clerical service, and but for the lack of time to test it properly would be disposed to give it a much greater weight in the scale. Under the present plan the examinations for admission are deferred until a considerable number of vacancies in various offices has accumulated, all of which are filled from one examination or class of examinations. Among the large number of persons certified, the Department is quite sure to find enough possessing the special qualifications required. It is believed that this plan is more satisfactory in the long run, while it imposes much less labor on the Board, than that of holding special examinations for special positions. As in examinations for promotion, however, whenever peculiar qualifications shall be required the Board will be prepared to shape the examination so as to test them. General aptitude was intended to include the possession of qualifications which could not be marked under any other head-such as the personal appearance, age, and manners of the candidates, the neatness and care with which the papers are written, and, perhaps, the time consumed; in brief, the general impression as to their fitness made by them upon the minds of the examiners. As to the manners, demeanor, and appearance of the candidates, it was found that the number of competitors was so great, and the opportunity of the Board for personally observing them so small, that it was impossible to form a just or accurate estimate of their relative qualifications in those particulars. The Board, too, shrank from the expression of its judgment on points which are largely matters of taste and opinion, and the marking of which must necessarily be somewhat arbitrary and difficult to explain. In regard to the time consumed, it was found that not much more was allowed than was sufficient for most candidates, and that any credit which might be due to unusual rapidity was ordinarily more than balanced by inaccuracy or slovenliness. In such cases, it did not seem proper that any credit should be given to rapidity. As to inaccuracy and slovenliness,. it was thought that a penalty for them might be

affixed with greater method and uniformity by making a deduction from the marks for the papers in which they occur than by marking them under the head of general aptitude. Accordingly, general aptitude was left out of the scale, but any lack of neatness or deviation from the strictest accuracy in any point causes a deduction from the marks for the subject in which it occurs. By this plan, the spirit of the rule is complied with quite as effectually as if general aptitude had been given a weight in the scale.

The scales of relative weights above given are not considered by the Board as final or incapable of alterations which may be suggested by experience. The fact that the names of candidates who pass the minimum standard, but fail to receive appointments, must be brought forward, if they so request, has, however, made the Board reluctant to make any great changes in either the scale of relative weights or the scale of marking, since such a change might alter materially the standing of such candidates as compared with that of those examined subsequently to the change.

SCALE AND MODE OF MARKING.

When the examination-papers are handed in to the examiners by the candidates, the sheets which bear the same numbers are placed together. After the examination is completed, these are carefully examined by competent persons, and all errors are noted. Omissions are supplied, or, where that course is impracticable, a note or commentary is made upon the sheet to call the attention of the examiner to the particular in which it is defective. A criticism is also passed in the same manner upon the punctuation and style of composition, used in the letter and other portions of the examination, when the examiner's attention is required. Errors in orthography, occurring in any other sheet than that containing false orthography for correction, are noted on a slip and attached to the last-mentioned sheet. By these means, the papers are placed in such a condition that the examiner can proceed with the marking with expedition and accuracy, without having his attention distracted by the necessity of searching for errors.

The next step is the marking of the degree of accuracy of the answers on a scale of 100. This is done on the left-hand margin of each sheet opposite the questions. The scale of marking which has been adopted by the Board is as follows, fifty being considered the point of indifference, and excellence or inferiority being marked upward or downward from that point:

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