Qualifying Exam

One of the dreaded rituals of graduate school is the qualifying exam. (At least in physics, in the US) So, asks the faculty, what the hell have you been doing the last four, five or six years as a physics major, and what have you learned? Such exams are supposed to winnow the grad school grain from the chaff, and if the experience of my classmates was typical, it is a career ender for a large fraction. Those who pass, the theory is, know at least enough of the fundamentals not to embarass the University.

Despite it's many humiliations, the American Presidential primary system can hardly claim to effectively serve a similar function. Winnow it does, but it would be hard to claim that the best consistently survive. Consequently, I am proposing that we add a Presidential Qualifying Exam to the mix. The idea would be to hustle a few of the more egregious idiots off the stage early, while perhaps calling a bit of attention to the better students.

We can dismiss one popular subject out of hand, since the Constitution is quite explicit about there being "no religious test" for any office. No such prohibition exists for history, economics, law, or science. My proposal would be for a fairly broad based exam, with five main topic areas: American, World, and Military History; Economics; Law and the Constitution; Society and Culture; and Science and Mathematics. In addition, there should be three or four case study Presidental crisis simulations to be dealt with.

Questions should emphasize fact over interpretation, and questions where the answers are broadly controversial should be avoided where possible. The case study questions should be graded by experts required to present their reasoning. The tests, and the test scores, would be purely advisory. I would require all candidates to take the exams, but not to release their scores or answers, although they would be encouraged to release both.

For the case studies, scores would be far less relevant than the answers. Suppose, for example, that some hypothetical candidate, faced with a hypothetical hurricane threatening to destroy an American city, decided that his best strategy would be to play a bit of air guitar, cut some brush, and put a failed horse show lawyer on the task. Some critics might churlishly complain, but if the voters found his answer apropos, so be it - but they would get a chance to read the complaints.