Presbyterians (PCUSA) have a way of "gatekeeping" entry into ministry called "Standard Ordination Exams." It was introduced back in the turbulent 1960's when local ecclesial bodies called presbyteries might have discriminated against some seminarians' more progressive liberal stances or against women or minorities. Over the years, the procedure has not kept up with the times and the trends. Instead it has become more restrictive and less predictable. Many, including most seminaries, have declared the process crippled if not broken.
This week the denomination's Office of Vocation announced news of changes in the system. Unfortunately the changes are minimal and problematic. Most difficult is their decision to raise the cost of the tests so that a student has to pay $500 to take all five of the tests, and $100 each time a retake is necessary. The other two changes are only minor improvements in the process, regarding the grading scale and eliminating the use of handwritten tests and handwritten grading responses. Obviously the Committee (The Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates) has chosen not to address the larger issues of their processes and practices.
The fact is that these tests are not "standardized." The questions are created by committees and not tested in any scientifically defensible way. The graders are given general guidelines but have large discretion in passing or failing the exams. All of the anecdotal evidence I have from my own students' experiences suggests that the grading is random, idiosyncratic, and subjective.
My own view, that I have stated publicly before, is that the exams have outlived their usefulness. The conditions under which they were created have changed radically. Seminaries are now more responsive to the church in curriculum and standards. Presbyteries are bigger and better equipped to fairly and accurately judge the readiness of seminary graduates for ministry.
I call on the General Assembly to either abolish the exams entirely or insure that they are reformed to make them fair and effective standardized tests.
