The Argument from Matriculation Used by Proprietors of Victorian Secondary Schools around 1900

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Argument from Matriculation Used by Proprietors of Victorian Secondary Schools around 1900
Language: English
Authors: Clements, M. A., Ellerton, Nerida F., Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia
Source: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. 2017Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (40th, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2017).
Availability: Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia. GPO Box 2747, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: sales@merga.net.au; Web site: http://www.merga.net.au/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 8
Publication Date: 2017
Document Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Secondary Education
Descriptors: Exit Examinations, Universities, Educational History, Academic Achievement, Academic Standards, Foreign Countries, College Entrance Examinations, Student Records, Mathematics Skills, Mathematics Teachers, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Secondary School Students, Reputation, Institutional Characteristics, Scholarships
Geographic Terms: Australia
Abstract: In this paper, we analyse data from the University of Melbourne's Matriculation examinations around 1900. The analyses reveal that many schools cleverly developed and applied strategies so that their Matriculation results would appear to be more impressive than they really were. After "excellent" results had been achieved, the schools advertised their Matriculation "successes" in ways which suggested that the schools' "outstanding" results derived from high-class teaching. In this paper, we argue that these tactics generated artificially high "standards", and that throughout the twentieth century there was a tendency to try to maintain those standards.
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 20
Entry Date: 2018
Accession Number: ED589555
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:In this paper, we analyse data from the University of Melbourne's Matriculation examinations around 1900. The analyses reveal that many schools cleverly developed and applied strategies so that their Matriculation results would appear to be more impressive than they really were. After "excellent" results had been achieved, the schools advertised their Matriculation "successes" in ways which suggested that the schools' "outstanding" results derived from high-class teaching. In this paper, we argue that these tactics generated artificially high "standards", and that throughout the twentieth century there was a tendency to try to maintain those standards.