Psychological Test, Columbia Research Bureau English Test. Form A

Description:

This test was coauthored by Harrison R. Steeves (1881-1981), an associate professor of English at Columbia University; Allan Abbott (1876-1956), an associate professor of English at Teachers College of Columbia University, and Ben D. Wood (1894-1986), associate professor and Director of the Bureau of Collegiate Educational Research at Columbia. It is designed for students in the upper high school grades and college. It was copyrighted by Steeves in 1925 and by World Book Company, the publisher, in 1926.

The test is in four parts. The first is a multiple choice spelling tests, where the student is to select the correct spelling from four choices. The second tests accuracy in composition, requiring insertion of omitted punctuation and corrections in errors in form. The third part is a test of vocabulary, requiring selection from among choices offered the term most nearly like a given word. The fourth and final part is a test of literary knowledge.

The battery was designed as a possible basis for assigning high school grades in English, as a standard for college entrance, as a guide to modifying emphasis in teaching, and for guidance purposes.

References:

“Harrison Steeves Dies at 100; Taught English at Columbia,” New York Times, August 4, 1981, p. B10.

Abbott, A., F. T. Baker, E. Hays, and L. Grey, A. A., Teacher of English Teachers; Some of his Writings on Teaching and Literary Art New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1941.