One of the earliest types of school work to be standardized was handwriting. Standard “scales,” as they are called, have been prepared by several investigators, and their use has become very common.
The first scale was prepared by Professor Thorndike.[71] He secured a number of specimens of children’s writing, and asked experienced judges to arrange these specimens in a series of descending degrees of excellence. By combining the judgments returned by the experts it was possible to secure an average judgment. Certain typical specimens were then set aside, representing equal steps in the descending scale. In practical use, a given sample of handwriting which is to be judged is compared with the successive steps in the scale until an approximate equality in degree of excellence is found. The sample to be judged is then marked with the grade agreed on for the standard specimen.
A second scale was prepared by Ayres[72] on a more objective basis. The specimens were arranged in a series, not in accordance with the judgment of experts, but according to the time which was required to read them.
A third scale, more elaborate than either of the others, was prepared by Freeman.[73] He first made an analysis of the different characteristics which enter into excellent writing, such as uniformity of slant, uniformity in the height and spacing of letters, and other like essential characteristics, and then selected specimens exhibiting decreasing grades of excellence in each of these characteristics. Since each characteristic of writing is capable of definite measurement, the specimens could be graded on the basis of direct measurements. Thus the slant of a number of specimens was measured letter by letter, and objective grades were established.
Finally, the preparation of scales of handwriting has gone so far that special scales or series of graded specimens for particular school systems have been prepared.
Speed as a Correlate of Quality
In the meantime the matter of speed in handwriting has also been a subject of careful measurement, and tables of average speeds for different grades have been prepared in a number of school systems.
A device for presenting in a single diagram both speed and quality and at the same time comparing several grades in the same school with each other was worked out in the Cleveland survey. The figure and a description of its meaning are given on pages 218, 219.
The relative emphasis on speed and quality actually found in a number of different schools is set forth in the following diagram. The separate parts of this diagram are made up as follows: The average speed of a grade is represented by distances in the horizontal, and average quality by distances in the vertical, scale. Thus, taking the first section of the diagram, that of the North Doan School, the fifth grade has an average speed of 71 letters per minute, and an average quality of 41. The sixth grade shows progress in both speed and quality, though speed increases more than quality. The seventh and eighth grades show further progress in both speed and quality, the two changing at about the same rate. The diagram for the Kentucky School shows progress of a slightly different type. In this school the sixth grade, as compared with the fifth, shows progress in quality, but very little in speed. Progress from the sixth grade on is about equal in quality and speed. Memorial School emphasizes speed almost exclusively up to the eighth grade, while Mt. Pleasant emphasizes quality.
The various schools which have been reported in the four upper sections of the diagram are all regular in the sense that each school shows steady progress from grade to grade in both speed and quality. Without attempting to comment in detail on the special cases, attention is called to the series of results presented in the lower part of the diagram.[74]
