Exam and Class Rank May Serve As Guide for Induction Decisions

Rank in class and scores on a nationally administered test will probably be considered by local draft boards in granting deferments to college students, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

Lewis B. Hershey, director of the Selective Service, told a news conference in Washington last night that the "odds were strong" that a system similar to that used during the Korean War would be re-instituted.

He added that he expects to reach a decision during the next ten days.

Several weeks ago President Pusey and Dean Monro endorsed a request by the American Council on Education that the Selective Service system reinstates the draft criteria used during the Korean War. During that war deferments were based on either class standing or results of a nationally administered aptitude test.

Korean War Standards

Since the Korean War, however, the Selective Service law has been amended so that no local draft board is required to defer any student solely on the basis of his rank in class or his score on an aptitude test.

At yesterday's news conference Hershey emphasized that a return to the old system would mean a return to an amended system. In other words, the results of the test and the information about class standing would serve as guides for the local boards but would not necessarily be the basis of the boards' decisions.

If reinstated, the system would probably apply to students during the next school year, Hershey said. He noted that the Selective Service could work out details for the system very quickly.

Hershey was asked if college students would be drafted if they failed to obtain a passing grade on the test or were unable to maintain their standing in the specified upper portion of their class. He said that he could not estimate when such students might be drafted.