STENOGRAPHERS,  TYPISTS,  AND  COMPTOMETRISTS  95

n ame  most  generally  applied  to  these  operators  is  comptometrist,
  and  the  number  of  comptometrists  is  already  beginning ­
  to  rival  the  number  of  typists  and  stenographers.
^  is  therefore  extremely  and  increasingly  important  to
establish  means  for  the  selection  of  operators  who  are
already  proficient  and  others  who  promise  to  become  so.
In  order  to  develop  tests  for  this  purpose,  various  studies ­
  were  made  and  experiments  conducted.  At  one  time
a  series  of  four  tests  were  given  group-wise  to  a  group  of
fort

ty-one  comptometrists.
eter  tests  were  given  to

At  another  time,  comptomgiven
  to  separate  groups  comprising
Ninety-three  operators.  As  soon  as  tentative  tests  and
standards  were  established,  they  were  given  in  the  employment
  office  where,  at  the  time  of  this  writing,  over  one
hundred  and  twenty  applicants  have  been  tested  and  the
results  followed  up.  In  addition,  tests  were  given  to  over
f’ghty  pupils  who  entered  evening  classes  conducted  to
instruct  girls  in  comptometry,  and  comparisons  made
between  the  performances  of  the  pupils  in  the  tests  and
’-heir  subsequent  progress  on  the  computing  machine.
a  result  of  these  experiments  the  tests  given  in  the
appendix  under  the  head  of  Tests  for  Computing-Marine ­
  Operators  were  finally  established.  It  must  be
stated  that  these  tests  were  developed  in  connection  with
the  use  of  comptometers  (really  a  trade  name)  and  the
burroughs  adding  machine,  probably  the  two  most  widely
Use d  machines.
The  tests  found  most  significant  for  this  purpose  were,
rst j  a  mental-arithmetical  test.  This  test  was  the  same
as  that  chosen  for  clerks  who  use  arithmetic  in  their  work.
h e  method  of  performing  arithmetical  operations  mec
 uanically  does  not  necessarily  presuppose  a  very  thor-°
 u gh  knowledge  of  arithmetic.  Adding,  multiplying,