HOW COMPETITORS ARE JUDGED.
Methods by Which the Examiners Keep Candidates’ Identity Secret.
After the examination, which is conducted with the most scrupulous
care to guard against favoritism or fraud, the local examiners
arrange the papers by sheets or subjects and all are forwarded
under seal to the United States Commission. When they are reached
in the order of rating, they are distributed by sheets to the
examiners, Examiner A being given all of sheets 1, Examiner B all
of sheets 2, Examiner C all of sheets 3, and so on, the sheets
being distributed to as many examiners as there are subjects in the
particular examination to be rated. After the papers are rated in
the first instance they are redistributed, and the first rating is
reviewed by other examiners.
When all of the papers of an examination have been rated and
reviewed, those of each competitor are then, for the first
time, assembled or brought together, his average percentage
is ascertained, his declaration envelope is opened, and the
declaration sheet to which he has signed his name is attached to
his examination papers. The identity of the competitor, therefore,
is not disclosed until his papers have been rated and reviewed and
his average percentage determined. As the charges for specific
errors are all fixed by the rules for rating, and as each subject
is rated by two examiners acting separately and then reviewed by
both jointly, it will be seen that absolute impartiality, accuracy
and uniformity are secured in the work.
Appeals from the ratings are sometimes made by competitors, but the
prospect of securing a higher rating is very remote. Errors on the
part of examiners in making charges are seldom found, as the work
of each examiner is verified and checked in every particular by
another.