DROPPED FRESHMEN

The new policy of increased restrictions on the readmission of dropped Freshmen, as announced by the college authorities, is the second move aimed at the elimination of the weak points in the scholastic records of the Freshman class as disclosed in Dean Hanford's report which was published earlier in the year. The Administrative Board had previously decided that September examinations would no longer be acceptable for admission, and together with the two rulings show that a determined effort is being made towards raising the standards of the first-year class to a more satisfactory level.

As to the third source of trouble, the men with low admission records, there is less possibility of improvement. Requirements of the College Entrance Board examinations have been raised repeatedly, and the secondary schools are already placing the chief emphasis of their curriculum upon obtaining a good record at these tests. Since low admission grades rank only third in the list of causes of poor standing in college, there are evidently other factors than that of proficiency at passing the entrance examinations to be considered in estimating a man's success after matriculation. Among these might be mentioned the familiar demand for greater correlation between the teaching methods of the school and the college so as to facilitate the transition. Such elements are only just beginning to be appreciated by the authorities of the secondary schools, and a further increase in the admission requirements would only serve to discourage this tendency by increasing the importance placed on obtaining high averages in the examinations.

Elimination of the readmitted Freshmen except in exceptional cases, who is the goal of the latest ruling, will have no such result. On the contrary, it should encourage the schools not only to cram their students with the knowledge necessary to pass the entrance requirements but also to teach them to study so that they can stay in college once they have gained admission.