Maston EC (1977), Letter to the Editor, Operative Dentistry, 2(4) 167.

Dear Sir:

Your editorial in Operative Dentistry, Spring, 1977, Vol. 2, No. 2, couldn’t be more apropos in your evaluation of the State Board Examinations.

If my memory serves me faithfully, it seems that state board examinations were instituted for the express purpose of controlling the nefarious, or fly-by-night, dental schools that were part of the scene at that time. Now, by some magic, the term ‘accreditation’ supposedly takes care of all of the necessary requirements for optimum professional training.

A case in point is the local public-school system, wherein teaching has been “innovated” to a point where some of the high school graduates cannot pass a third-grade reading test. Now, I understand there is a movement afoot by those concerned to institute a state board examination for high school graduates in an attempt to bring the teaching of basic skills back into proper perspective.

Sincerely,

Earl C Maston

5126 25th Avenue N.E. Seattle, WA 98105