7.0381 Qs: Texts; Glottal Chronology; Visiting Scholar; OED (4/1

Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Sat, 1 Jan 1994 21:15:55 EST

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 7, No. 0381. Saturday, 1 Jan 1994.


(1) Date: Mon, 27 Dec 93 17:02:49 CST (88 lines)
From: stan kulikowski ii <STANKULI@UWF>
Subject: seeking old tests

(2) Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 09:15:11 +0800 (7 lines)
From: jernudd@ctsc.hkbc.hk (ENG)

(3) Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 16:49:04 PST (20 lines)
From: "Don W." <webbd@CCVAX.CCS.CSUS.EDU>
Subject: Visiting scholar query

(4) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 13:38:47 -0600 (CST) (9 lines)
From: William E Mishler-1 <mishl001@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: OED on CD ROM

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 93 17:02:49 CST
From: stan kulikowski ii <STANKULI@UWF>
Subject: seeking old tests



i am interested in the history of knowledge testing, especially back into
antiquity. i would appreciate any references you might be able to supply
me. most texts i have read so far claim objective testing begins with
horace mann (1845) when instituting written tests in place of oral
examination in the boston common schools. i have no examples of these
tests or their responses.

there seems to be considerable room for finding ancient tests. i am
familiar with egyptian and sumerian problem sets in mathematics, but it is
not clear it these were texts for study or given as problems for the
apprentice scribes to solve. dubois (1966) is often cited for civil
service testing from the chan dynasty in 1115 BCE. but his reporting is
second hand based on 19th century scholars and only general problem areas
are given (eg, confucian ethics, geography, arithmetic, etc). i am
interested in particular problems given to assess knowledge or skill.
apparently civil service exams were given in paris from 1791, until
napolean discontinued them.

someone has tried to cite the book of judges 12, 5-6 where the
gileadites questioned the edamites trying to cross the river, "say now
'shibboleth'" and slew any who answered 'sibboleth'. an articulation
test, i guess. 2040 were reported to fail. i have seen this
cited as the first password in cryptography security texts. i would date
this late 5th century BCE when the text enters our history after the
jewish captivity in babylon.

from 6th century BCE, plato's reporting of socratic method involves
questioning and student answering. but this is more often cited as an
instructional technique leading students to answers, rather than
discovering learned information or skills.

from here there is a huge void until the 20th century. so far, the
earliest actual test items i could find in the university library are as
follows (stanley 1964):

(1913)

Courtis standard research tests. Arithmetic Test No.1 Addition
Series B Form 1 : You will be given eight minutes to find the
answers to as many of these addition examples as possible. ...

927 297 136 486 384 176 277 837
379 925 340 765 477 783 445 882
756 473 988 524 881 697 682 959
837 983 386 140 266 200 594 603
924 315 353 812 679 366 481 118
110 661 904 466 241 851 778 781
854 794 547 355 796 535 849 756
965 177 192 834 850 323 157 222
344 124 439 567 733 229 953 525
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----


and there are two more rows of these problems to complete in 8 minutes.
what a test. i doubt i could complete it with a calculator. since this
is research test, i suspect i will try to find a report of its results
when given to students.

so i ask the assembled scholars on the internet to help me fill in the
gaps of such a history. i am particularly interested in the questions
asked, the answers given, and the sources we have for this. i would
consider even zen koans if anyone has good dated sources for them.
stan

references

p h dubois (1966) a test dominated society: china 1115 bc - 1904 ad;
_testing problems in perspective_ (a anastasi, ed) american
council on education; washington dc.

h mann (1845) report of the annual examining committees of the boston
grammar and writing schools; _common school journal_ vol 7
no 21 pp 326-336.

j c stanley (1964) _measurement in today's schools_ prentice hall;
englewood cliffs, nj.


. stankuli@UWF.bitnet
===
º º trust no one who uses the term 'empowerment'
--- -- a primer of late 20th century rhetoric
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------20----
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 09:15:11 +0800
From: jernudd@ctsc.hkbc.hk (ENG)


What should I read/whom should I contact about the present state of
glottochronology/lexicostatistics, esp in computer implementation?
Bjorn H Jernudd (Hong Kong)
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------32----
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 16:49:04 PST
From: "Don W." <webbd@CCVAX.CCS.CSUS.EDU>
Subject: Visiting scholar query

This posting is made on behalf of Ruth Sanders
rsanders@miamiu.bitnet
because of e-mail limitations at her node. Apologies to those
who find this message repeated on related lists.

=-=-=-=-= (original query follows) -=-=-=-=

Is there anyone out there who would be interested in having a guest
scholar from the University of Jena in eastern Germany for next year?
This person is writing a dissertation in philosophy of language for a
Ph.D. in Linguistics and German as a Second Language. He would like a
part-time position in teaching or research to support himself while he
does dissertation research. Most desirable is a university where there is
a compatible program in linguistics or philosophy; he can teach German
language or be a research assistant. If there is interest I can put you
in touch with the candidate. Write me (rsanders@miamiu.bitnet).
(4) --------------------------------------------------------------23----
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 13:38:47 -0600 (CST)
From: William E Mishler-1 <mishl001@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: OED on CD ROM

I've heard that the OED is available on CD ROM. Can anyone tell me
where I might get some information about it? I would appreciate it.
Bill Mishler
Mishl001@maroon.tc.umn.edu