Merit (1920-1945)
Subject Tests
Until 1924, all College Board admission tests were subject matter essay tests. "A Psychoanalytic History of the College Board Achievement Tests" written in 1961, provides a good overview of the Board's achievement testing program from its inception. The subject tests were achievement tests that measured the knowledge acquired by the test taker in high school. The College Board offered 45 different subject tests as late as 1934.
Devising and grading the College Board's many essay examinations were feats in themselves. The College Board had committees for each subject matter area. Many women served on the committees, constructed test items, and graded essays. The College Board brought the committees together at the Columbia University Library, and graders worked for a few days reading, discussing, and grading essays. The work of the graders was tedious but provided content specialists an opportunity to meet and discuss their fields with each other.
Although the College Board still produced and administered subject-based essay examinations, the general trend in testing was moving toward multiple choice tests in the 1930s.
Fewer candidates for college opted to take the subject tests. The College Board began to phase out some subject tests because so few candidates took the examination in that particular subject. Greek, for instance, had fewer students taking its examination. This is not too surprising given the fact that many colleges were no longer requiring Greek for college admission in the 1930s.
College Board committees suggested moving toward more objective tests, and this led to a greater emphasis on objective, multiple-choice examinations.
In 1937, the College Board introduced a multiple choice achievement (subject) examination but still administered the essay examinations in June of every year. The multiple-choice subject tests were administered in April, and only the essay examinations were given in June.
The College Board would resurrect its achievement tests in the 1950s as the Advanced Placement Program.
