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This paper analyzes the results of a pilot study at Glendale Community College (Arizona) to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive multiple choice final exam in the macroeconomic principles course. The "pilot project" involved the administration of a 50-question multiple choice exam to 71 students in three macroeconomics sections. The assessment looked at four areas: (1) problems of test administration, such as quality of the questions and the problem of time constraints; (2) student reactions to the test as related to the hours they spent studying for it; (3) the relationship between the unit test (covering three to four chapters) scores and the comprehensive final exam; and (4) the relationship between the class writing assignment and the final exam. Results indicate that the use of a comprehensive final exam may be a redundant measure of student performance if unit tests are given throughout the semester. However, a case can still be made for comprehensive final exams on the grounds that they may promote a fuller understanding of the material, or that they provide a second chance for learning material that may have been missed or distorted. Appended are the final exam questionnaire, tables indicating hours studied, test score analysis, and a copy of the final exam. (AS)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert