Test Office Polls Student Attitudes

The office of Tests began distributing a 25-page curriculum questionnaire Wednesday in order to supply curriculum committees with data on student opinion concerning their experiences at Harvard.

During the next few days the survey will be administered in 40 classes representing a cross-section of subjects and teaching styles. Students will complete the questionnaire during class time.

Most of the questionnaire employs the so-called Osgood differential, which juxtaposes alternatives like "stimulating" and "stultifying" and then asks the person polled to rate an item (such as lectures) on a numerical scale between the two extremes.

The survey is divided into eight sections. Questions touch on topics ranging from concentration and gen ed requirements to the effects of the draft on student leaves of absence.

Privacy

One question dealing with student impressions of the political opinions of faculty members and fellow students was eliminated because some teachers and students felt it was "an invasion of privacy," said Office of Tests director Dean K. Whitla.

Whitla has been working on the ques-tionnaire with chairmen of the House curriculum committees since January. The questionnaire was first administered to a random sampling of students and was then revised in accordance with their comments.

The Office of Tests plans to supplement the questionnaire with interviews and to send revised questionnaires to random samplings of faculty, alumni, and incoming freshmen.