No one is deprived of the privilege of consulting his marks. Even those cadets serving punishment, such as confinement to rooms, can obtain permission to inspect the reports. More often, however, they send some plebe to copy the marks for them. The publicity of the marking has an excellent effect upon the cadet, for he knows what each man in his section accomplished during the week and sees that no partiality is shown nor injustice done by the instructor. The scale of marking that is used at West Point was introduced when Major Sylvanus Thayer was Superintendent in 1837. Upon this scale a perfect recitation receives a mark of 3.0; good is represented by 2.5; indifferent by 2.0; bad, 1.5; imperfect, 1.0; and complete failure 0.0. The instructor may mark as close as a tenth giving a 2.8 or a 2.1 or a 1.4 as the recitation merits. Since the marks determine a cadet’s graduation standing and affect his whole career as an officer, they naturally are given by him no little consideration. Sometimes I think that the cadets give entirely too much thought to attaining a good grade rather than to the thorough mastering of the subject; that is, they have a tendency to develop the memory at the expense of the thinking functions. As I have explained before West Point methods are strictly opposed to such a system, and the departments discourage verbatim recitations. The marking offers many difficulties at an institution such as West Point because a difference of a few hundredths between two cadets’ standing will alter their choice of a branch or Corps and affect their relative promotion by years. At colleges and universities this condition does not exist, for a man’s standing has little connection with his future career. The cadet is not allowed to select his own course, or follow his own inclinations in regard to the curriculum. The mental diet is prescribed and no deviation therefrom is permitted. The three broad fundamentals governing the Academic course are: first, that every cadet shall take every subject; second, that before advancement every cadet shall be proficient in every subject; and third, that every cadet must recite every day. As regards the above principles there is, of course a little qualification in each, sufficient to admit of some flexibility in application. While no cadet is permitted to elect whether or no he will take a subject, but is required to take all of them, still, some of the more advanced cadets go further in the subjects. In nearly every department the higher men have advanced or special courses. As for the second principle, a cadet who is deficient in any one subject is usually dismissed. Occasionally, however, where a man stands especially well in all of his studies but fails in one, he may be conditioned by the Academic Board, or in some cases turned back to join the next class. Among the cadets, he becomes known as a “turnback,” a name that usually sticks to him, but conveys no reproach or stigma.