 | Catalogue of the officers and students of the University of Virginia |  |
EXAMINATIONS.
These are of three kinds; first, the daily examinations, which
precede or alternate with the lectures; second, the public exami-
session, the other at its close; and third, the examinations for
graduation, held towards the end of the session.
DAILY EXAMINATIONS.
In the daily examinations the student is questioned both upon
the subjects of the preceding lecture and such portions of the
text-book as may have been designated by the Professor. His
preparation thus tested is noted numerically at the time of examination,
and the mean of these numbers, indicating his average
standing in each class, is communicated to his parent or guardian
in the printed circular which is sent home at the close of every
month.
The literary value attached to the numbers thus used is seen
in the following table:
| 5 | signifies very well prepared. |
| 4 | signifies well prepared. |
| 3 | signifies tolerably prepared. |
| 2 | signifies badly prepared. |
| 1 | signifies very badly prepared. |
| 0 | signifies entirely unprepared. |
PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS.
The two public examinations, embracing respectively all the
subjects treated of in the first half, and all those treated of in the
second half of the session, are thus conducted:
The Professor of the school prepares in writing a series of
questions to be proposed to the class, and affixes to them numerical
values, according to his estimate of their relative difficulty.
On the assembling of the class for examination, these questions
are for the first time presented to them; and they are required to
answer in writing in a prescribed time, without communication
with one another or with other persons, and without any reference
to books. Their answers are subsequently carefully examined
and compared, and a value attached to each, not exceeding that
of the corresponding question. In the schools of languages subjects
may also be selected for oral examination, and the values
of these exercises are marked at the time.
The students are then arranged into four divisions, according
to the merit of their examination, as determined by the following
method: The numerical values attached to all the questions
are added together, and also the values of the answers given by
each student. If this last number amounts to three-fourths of the
first, the student is ranked in the first division; if it be less than
one-half, and as much as a fourth, in the third; if less than a fourth,
in the fourth division. The examinations are conducted and the
results ascertained by a committee, consisting of the Professor
of the school and two other Professors.
The standing of the student at these examinations is communicated
to his parent or guardian in the last circular of the session.
Those who attain the first division receive in public, at the
close of the session, a printed certificate of their distinction at
one or both of the examinations, as the case may be, and their
names are mentioned in the published account of the proceedings
which terminate the course.
These public examinations, though less thorough than the examinations
for graduation, are sufficiently comprehensive and
difficult to render it impossible for the student, without steady
diligence, to secure a place in the first division.
EXAMINATIONS FOR GRADUATION.
These are partly oral and partly in writing, and are conducted
by the Professor of the Department, in the presence of two other
Professors, forming with him the committee of examination for
the school. Here the student is subjected to searching interrogations
upon the details and niceties as well as the leading principles
of the subject, and he is expected to be accurately versed in all
the topics treated of in the lectures and the correlative texts.
As a due acquaintance with our own language is made indispensable
to the attainment of even the inferior honours of the University,
all candidates for degrees are subjected to an examination,
in order to test their qualifications in this respect. At this, which
is called the English Examination, and is held near the close of
the session, the student is called upon to correct in writing numerous
errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and is required
to prepare at the time a short composition on some appointed
theme.
| Catalogue of the officers and students of the University of Virginia | |