Handbook Of Cumulative Records PDF Download

The impact of war has shown the need for cumulative records by its sudden demands for the training and placement of teen-age persons. Actually, need for such records has been there all the time. During war-times the need for information about large numbers of persons is immediate and the best condition to satisfy such a need is the cumulative record. This is because of the nature of the cumulative record, which by definition and by the best practices is a record of all the facts about pupils considered significant by the school, recorded over a period of time. If the facts recorded are valid indicators of the pupil's traits, these facts establish growth curves which are the best predictors of attainment in the future. If valid records have been kept for a period of time, no costly check-up regarding a pupil's traits is necessary when an emergency arises. It is costly to ascertain at any particular time, when cumulative records are not available, what traits pupils possess because of the special tests that need to be given and the special personnel needed. The savings both to the school and to the individual in good guidance need not be discussed here. What does need to be emphasized both for schools having cumulative record systems and those which do not have them is that such records, well kept, are necessary tools in good guidance and therefore rate high priority in regard to the expenditure of school funds. The National Committee on Cumulative Records appointed by the U. S. Office of Education and functioning under the chairmanship of Dr. David Segel has prepared this bulletin on the basis of its experience with the use of cumulative records in schools, the review of literature on the subject, and two conferences of the committee called by the U. S. Office of Education.