APPRENTICE  TOOLMAKERS  AND  MACHINISTS  I2g
consequently  the  difficulty  of  discovering  the  value  of  a
certain  group  of  tests.
Some  apprentice  shops  take  it  upon  themselves  to  give  a
test  to  those  who  wish  to  enter.  The  test  usually  is  one
M  the  essentials  of  arithmetic.  Naturally,  a  prospective
toolmaker  should  be  able  to  perform  certain  mathematical
derations  before  he  is  allowed  to  enter  the  course,  and
the  best  way  in  which  to  determine  this  is  by  an  actual
Mathematical  test.  (See  Appendix,  test  number  47.)
_  The  results  of  this  experiment  indicate  a  very  decided
S1 gnificance  in  the  tests  applied.  One  of  the  most  important ­
  facts  about  these  tests  is  that  they  have  nothing
whatsoever  to  do  with  the  acquired  ability  or  education  of
an  individual  in  the  work  of  toolmaking.  The  foreman-In
 s  true  tor  of  the  first  shop,  for  instance,  an  expert  tool-Maker,
  was  excelled  in  the  tests  by  more  than  a  third
his  men  including  the  sixteen-year-old  boy.  The  purpose ­
  of  these  particular  tests,  as  distinguished  from  the
trade  tests  which  will  be  described  later,  is  to  detect  a
person’s  innate  ability,  the  faculty  for  thinking  in  ways
Which  will  be  of  value  when  applied  to  the  work  of  a
Machinist  or  toolmaker.  As  has  been  stated  at  the
° u tset,  they  are  intended  to  serve  as  a  forecast  of  what  an
a Pprentice  will  be  able  to  do  after  he  has  been  trained  for  a
c °nsiderable  length  of  time.