A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

TEACHER TRAINING

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not be contemplated until the present ratio of trained to untrained
teachers in the service is practically reversed.
SELECTION OF STUDENTS.-The technical questions involved in the
second item of policy have to do with the selection of the persons to
whom training is to be given, and with the nature of the machinery of
technical preparation.
The science of vocational guidance has not yet been so far perfected
as to make possible the discovery, among persons of equal general ability, of those who have especial aptitude for teaching. The most that
can be done in selecting students for the normal school is to admit only
those who show high general mental ability, who are known to possess the moral qualities which are essential, and who can present
evidence of having reached that point in their education at which the
technical training is designed to begin.
The level of general mental ability can be discovered by use of proper
standardized tests. The term intelligence test is under fire. But whatever else "intelligence" may mean, as discovered by the tests available,
it does very definitely mean ability to profit by school experiences as
schools are now organized. That these instruments are too delicate to be
entrusted to the manipulation of persons untrained in their use needs to be
emphasized. Fortunately the essential training can be readily given.
The accuracy of the results depends then upon the honesty of the
examiner.
The scores made in the tests should be supplemented by examination
of the student's previous school record. Normal-school training is too
expensive to be offered to persons with a record of failure in other schools.
The moral qualities of applicants for admission to normal schools
can be estimated at the outset only by requiring that testimonials from
trustworthy and competent persons be presented. Moral deficiency, if
discovered after the student has been admitted to the school, should
cause his immediate dismissal.
What the student's educational status is when he applies for admission cannot be safely determined from school credentials. Legal opinion
should be taken to determine whether or not the normal schools are
required to admit without examination every pupil who can present
a certificate of graduation from the seventh grade in a public school
or in an accredited private school. If this is the actual situation under
the law, entrance examinations, either of the intelligence or attainment
type, cannot be required. Steps, in such a case, should be taken to
have the law changed. The admission to schools of persons whose
unfitness to do successfully the required work might have been discovered
by means more economical that the method of trial and error is a