Evening Star Newspaper, October 26, 1930, Page 87

THE -SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., OCTOBER 26, 1930. 5 How Uncle Sam May Help You Find aJob Could you be a Government chauffeur? F. H. Robinson, W hite House chauffeur. BY MARJORIE VAN DE WATER. Dear Sir: 1 saw your advertisement in today’s paper, and should like to apply for the position. I have taken the United States standard test for typists, and have a certificate to show that I can type better than 60 per cent of the typists now employed in your industry. You can therg- fore trust me jrom the start on important work. May I have the privilege of an interview? Very truly yours, MARY MARTIN. HIS is the kind of letter that you will probably write in applying for a job 10 years from now, if the plan of the United States Civil Service Commis- sion and several of the largest indus- trial organizations are carried to successful completion. The Civil Service Commission is now working on a series of vocational tests which will be made available to all Uncle Sam’s young nephews and nieces in public high schools. The scores made by any boy or girl on these examinations will indicate to the youngster and to the parents or vocational ad- wvisers particular aptitude for a variety of jobs. The first series is designed to show the stu- dent’s fitness for a position as stenographer. Several other series are being planned for other occupations. When the tests have been given widely, as is planned, in high schools all over the country, any one taking them can know exactly how he compares with thousands of his fellow stu- dents. He can estimate his own comparative chances of success in a wide choice of occu- pations. ;. But the Government research workers who are developing the plan have devised another and better basis of comparison. The same tests prepared for use in the schools also will be given to great numbers of people who are already being paid dollars and cents for their skill in industry. Almost 50 industrial concerns, thousands of office workers, have offered to help the Government officials by giv- ing these tests to their employes. 5 all these papers are assembled and tabulated, a of 70 will mean much jnore than just “passing.” It will give the person attaining it a measue of his ability on a standard scale. The employer’s question, “How well can you type?” can then be answered with a definite, meaningful figure, as “I can do better than three-fourths of your employes.” Employers will be able to set definite stand- ards for employment, and employes will be able to know just what proficiency they must attain in order to give satisfaction. A Series of New Tests Being Planned by the Civil Service CommissionWill Grade HighSchool Students and Work- ers of All Occupa- tions in a.Scicnnfic Effort toKeep Square Pegs Out of Round Holes. It is planned to provide for each student In the public schools a vocational guidance card listing the requirements, in terms of test scores, for a great variety of positions. When the boy compares his own scores with those given on the card, he can see for himself what his abili- ties will be worth to industry and can even roughly estimate his chances for employment and making good in his chosen vocation. Thus the chances will be reduced that the round-peg person will try to pound himself into the square hole, and the great problem of labor turnover may be somewhat alleviated. This interesting approach to the unemploy- ment problem has been worked out in the re- search division of the United States Civil Com- mission, of which Dr. L. J. O'Rourke is the director. Dr. O'Rourke, aside from his position in the country’s greatest employing agency, has de- voted years of study to the problem of voca- tional guidance and the testing of special apti- tudes. During the World War he was one of the psychologists called into the Government service to study the problem of the proper plac- ing of the mass of carpenters, lawyers, bakers, scientists, clerks and day laborers, all gathered for the common purpose of winning the war. He is the author of a series of vocational guid- ance tests. In the Civil Service Commission he has been in charge of the gradual revision of the exam- inations given to men and women applying for positions in the Government service. The old types of examination, which tested the appli- cant in a stereot; way on his knowledge of “readin’, writin’ and ’rithmetic,” and penman- ship, and inquired into his knowledge of politi- cal boundaries of the States, are giving way before the newly developed psychological exam- inations. These psychological examinations are designed to test not so much what the applicant has learned by rote, but more his native ability and his aptitude for the position applied for. The new type of question to be used for the Government service, for example, represents & revolution in test procedure. It is this examina- tion, or a modification of it, that will be given in the schools. IT is now possible for an applicant to complete the entire examination and make a good score without writing more than a half dozen words in longhand, besides those filled in on the = A1) states are now oparating under the Neticaal YT RBducation Act,Viatsumme states sms now developing pro| wY ; Actiacludi-g Wl avd S, c;i which accepted the 1) P faad e £ Tnduetrial andt Fart-tize-- &, X Trade extension... General coatifftion.. g:i 1,049 1 248 02 >0 39 wbb <! 72 riesseesere oo @0GI05. 900 335" 1808 LS o “EHice esdncilcs seools (al1 types) Cread tctalececesecccscscocece &05’ 8696 Tue totel expsnditure cf Ferr 1529 was £24,553,352, pseey for vosaticr oducation.in the pa2ils elsecgruntdy L] deowoesed 13 ide Federallyealisdefehooley yimy, 3/5° 6 7 M.«"v 172) haw i 1925 ¢ L % Stenographers are required to rewrite an exercise like that above. Accuracy in turning out a correct rewrite of the copy is the aim. ; How good would you be as a stenographer? Juanita Harnbrook is shown worle ing on the test illustrated at the bottom of this page. preliminary sheets giving reierences and other personal data. If the stenographer has learned to usz a shorthand writing machine for taking notes, she need only be able to write numbers and to write or print a few words in the spelling test. Handwriting, once thought vitally important for any one in a secretarial position, has in this machine age become so disused that it is not tested at all. The ability to read, understand and correctly interpret directions, letters and other written matter was, on the contrary, found to play a large part in the work of the stenographer. This ability is therefore tested by short ques- tions based on a given paragraph of quotation. The questions may be answered merely by reading over several given possible answers and then writing the number of the correct answer. Read the following question and see whether you have this talent yourself: (Reading) “Just as the procedure of a col- lection department must be clear cut and defi- nite, the steps being taken with the sureness of a skilled chess player, so the various paragraphs of a collection letter must show clear organiza- tion, giving evidence of a mind that, from the beginning, has had a specific end in view.” According to the statement, which of the following should be true of a collection letter? It should (1) show a spirit of sportsmanship; (2) always be divided into several paragraphs: (3) express confidence in the debtor; (4) be brief, but courteous; (5) be carefully planned. The correct answer is “5.” That “most uncommon sense, common sense,” is another quality demanded today of the ste- nographer. Yet the employer’s admonition to “Use your head” is futile unless he has had the forethought to select a girl or boy with a native supply of good judgment. The Civil Service Commission has developed questions which test judgment. Here is a sample: Which of the following is the chief value of a good mimeograph machine in an office? (1) It affords a quick way of getting out form letters; (2) it gives the “personal touch” to each letter; (3) it is not so large as the multi- graph; (4) it gives the office a businesslike appearance; (5) mimeographed matter is more effective than typed or printed matter. ‘The correct answer is “1.” The stenographer’s ability to use words cor- rectly is indicated by her answers to questions of this type: FEASIBLE means most nearly (1) capable, (2) practicable, (3) justifiable, (4) beneficial, (5) reliable. NE of the most interesting additions to the new type of examinations is the test of grammar. Formerly, ability in grammar was usually tested only through a letter-writing or composition test. In this the applicant was required to write a letter or composition. Since no two persons taking the examination would try to use the same construction or even try to express the same thought, the difficulty of the grammatical problems confronted by the differ- ent individuals varied extremely. The new examination for stenographer and typist is the problem to each person taking the test. Test yourself on this sample: Only one of the five sentences in the next item is grammatically correct. Write the num- ber of the correct sentence on the line at the right. (1) Our process not only insures a better, but also a cheaper finish. (2) A better finish, as well as a cheaper one, are insured by our proc- ess. (3) Our process insures an inexpensive finish that can't hardly be marred. (4) Our process insures a finish that is as good, as well as cheaper than any other. (5) Our process insures not only a better finish, but also a cheaper one. Moving machine from par- allel parking position on left side of street and dacking rear end of machine against curd to unlosd - - Making complete left turn (270°) #n narrow space. (This requires much dacking) -~ Froi - 1= Parking paraliel on right side of street Moving machine from par- allel parking position on right side of street and dacking rear end to ocurd to unlocd Backing machine to position abreast of another. (This last operation brings the car dack to the starting point for the nezt driver) g | " o} .-..J Problems of everyday driving are work- ed out with small dummy autos, as in this drawing. Your memory of grammatical rules may be rusty, but if you have formed the habit of cor- rect speech you would probably select “5” as the best sentence. The Government experts now consider that knowing what is right is much more important than being able to quote rules. F!RST wide use of the psychological type of examination for determining the fitness of individuals for different types of work was during the World War. At that time in one huge testing program, nearly 2,000,000 men were Continued on Seventh Page