Researck Putlications of the University of Minnesota Vol. VIII No. 1 - February,! 1919 Current Protlcms Numter 10 The Relation between Dependency and Retardation: A Study OF 1,351 Public School Children Known TO THE Minneapolis Associated|Charities BY Margaret Kent Beard. B.A. <^«^T^^'^^%. ^ Price: 25 CentB Amplication for entry as second-class matter at the ^ott-ofjfice at J^innea^olis, Minnesota, pending RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA These publications contain the results of research work from various depart- ments of the University and are offered for exchange with universities, scientific societies, and other institutions. Papers will be published as separate monographs numbered in several series. They are issued six times a year. Application for any of these publications should be made to the University Librarian. STUDIES IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 1. Thompson and Warber, Social and Economic Survey of a Rural Township in Southern Minnesota. 1913. $0.50. 2. Matthias Nordberg Orfield, Federal Land Grants to the States, with Special Reference to Minnesota. 1915. $1.00. 3. Edward Van Dyke Robinson, Early Economic Conditions and the Develop- ment of Agriculture in Minnesota. 1915. $1.50. 4. L. D. H. Weld and Others, Studies in the Marketing of Farm Products. 1915. $0.50. 5. Ben Palmer, Swamp Land Drainage, with Special Reference to Minnesota. 1915. $0.50. 6. Albert Ernest Jenks, Indian- White Amalgamation: An Anthropometric Study. 1916. $0.50. 7. C. D. AixiN, A History of the Tariff Relations of the Australian Colonies. 1918. $0.75. 8. Frances H. Relf, The Petition of Right. 1917. $0.75. 9. Gilbert L. Wilson, Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians : An Indian Inter- pretation. 1917. $0.75. 10. Notestein and Relf, Editors, Commons Debates for 1629. In press, 11. Raymond A. Kent, A Study of State Aid to Public Schools in Minnesota. 1918. $1.00. 12. Rupert C. 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(Continued inside back cover) Researck Putlications of the University of Minnesota Vol. VIII No. 1 February, 1919 Current Problems Number 10 The Relation between Dependency and Retardation: A Study OF 1,351 Public School Children Known TO THE Minneapolis Associated Charities BY Margaret Kent Beard, B.A. :>ia^yofCo|;^-.^ ". 7\-^^Q Amplication for entry as second-class matter at the ^ost-office at J^innea^olis, J^innesota, pending .0^ Copyright 1919 BY THE University of Minnesota PREFACE It is the purpose of this preface to acknowledge the service rendered by various individuals, and to express my understand- ing of the scope of the following study. It is fitting that acknowledgment be made first to Mr. Frank J. Bruno, General Secretary of the Minneapolis Associated Chari- ties, who conceived the idea that such a survey be undertaken. To him, and, in as full measure, to Dr. Arthur J. Todd, Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota, I am indebted for encouragement and counsel in the development of the work. The Department of School Attendance, under the directorship of Mr. David H. Holbrook, was of great service in the collection of data. This department not only made accessible files and registers, and lent its name to printed circulars of inquiry, but also showed a very ready appreciation of the function of such work. Sincere thanks are due Superintendent B. B. Jackson whose letter of introduction acted as an "open sesame" to the schools. The principals of the four schools — Miss Kate Allen of the Holland, Mr. Ernest J. Hardaker of the Logan, Miss Irene Joslin of the Lyndale, and Miss Maria A. Lynch of the Washington — gave many minutes of their valuable time, enabling me to make the respective statistics more accurate. Our schools are mines of material which by the researcher's perseverance and skill must be fused into a useful product. Indi- vidual experience isolated may mean little ; individual experience, amassed, arranged, interpreted, becomes history upon which the future may be builded. It is indeed a source of gratification when the officials of our schools appreciate this. I am grateful to Miss Jean E. Hirsch of the Medical Art Shop at the University of Minnesota for giving her time and skill to the execution of the figures. The aim of the study has been to establish a definite relation- ship between dependency and retardation. It is hoped that in the future some one may make this complete and more valuable, first by determining how many dependent children there are in the Minneapolis Public Schools, and secondly by discovering those causes coexistent with dependency w^hich are retarding the child. This work is, therefore, but the first of three steps. Moreover, it is an attempt in a field, at present, almost unentered by the research worker, and for that reason does not pretend to be other than a simple statement of facts. Margaret Kent Beard CONTENTS Page Introduction — Statement of the problem 1 The norm established 1-9 Introduction — necessity for a norm 1 The typical group selected and characterized 1 Definitions 2 Sources of information 2 Average retardation 2 Average advancement 5 Average age for each grade 8 Summary 9 Retardation among children of dependent families 9-16 The typical group of dependent children selected and character- ized 9 Definitions 10 Sources of information for grades 10 Sources of information for birth dates 11 Numbers eliminated and studied 11 Distribution among grades and ages of number studied 12 Retardation statistics 12 Advancement statistics 12 Average age for each grade 13 Summary 16 Conclusions based on facts 16 The relationship between dependency and retardation 16 The next steps to be taken Discovery of causes 16 Elimination of retardation 17 THE RELATION BETWEEN DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Are the financial dependence of a family and the intellectual retardation of the children coexistent? Does the fact that the family can not independently maintain the normal standard of living mean that most likely the child can not maintain the normal standard of intellectual life as measured by school grades? This is the problem involved in seeking for the relation between de- pendency and retardation. The results of a study made in Min- neapolis, Minnesota, in 1917, are here given as an answer to the question. THE NORM ESTABLISHED Before discovering whether dependent families furnished a disproportionate share of retarders it was necessary to establish a "norm" or authoritative standard for measuring retardation. This was accomplished by determining the amount of retarda- tion in a typical group of school children. Four schools in Minneapolis were selected — the Washington, the Lyndale, the Holland, and the Logan. These schools may be roughly characterized as follows. The Washington School rep- resented the most problematic district. Originally a pioneer resi- dence district, it had degenerated into a rooming-house section of the city. There was the problem of extreme poverty, of immo- rality, of congested living conditions, and of an alien population. There were but six grades in the Washington. The Lyndale School in contrast represented a prosperous residence section of the city which was inhabited by people of sturdy American stock. Most of the homes were owned by their residents, who were sal- aried men. There were still many open lots and plenty of play room. The Holland district presented the problem of a large foreign, non- English- speaking population, mostly Slavic. Many of the children attended parochial schools for several years. The Logan district was a combination of the best residence district of North Minneapolis and the worst. Like the Lyndale it rep- resented mainly a home-owning population. Unlike the Lyndale the population, largely German and Scandinavian, was of the 2 MARGARET KENT BEARD successful wage-earning class rather than of the salaried class/ Such was the typical group chosen as the basis for determining retardation in the normal group. The study was based on the enrollment at a given date falling between February 19, 1917 and March 14, 1917, when each school was surveyed. The ages were for February 1, 1917^ — the begin- ning of the semester. The years of a child's age were counted only when they were completed; e.g. a child was not called 14 unless he was fully 14 on February 1. "Normal age" was called 6 to 8 years for the first grade, 7 to 9 years for the second grade, etc.- "Retarded pupils" were those over normal age; "advanced pupils" were those under normal age. So that the school district might be especially typical, all children in "special rooms" for the defective or delinquent coming from the four districts were in- cluded in their own district. ' The sources of information were the teachers' registers for three schools. In these, September ages v/ere given, to which five months were added to bring February ages. Some registers were much confused, and it was discovered that while some teachers determined ages by reference to birth dates on school nati-vity cards, bthers did so by asking the pupil. In the Logan, an age and grade report for February 1, prepared by the prin- cipal; was usfedV For pupils in special rooms, birth-record cards Were used' for ages, and as most of the special classes were un- graded, approximate grades were given. The' four' -schools had an enrollment of 2,828 pupils; 504 pupils 'were 'found to be retarded, or 17.8 per cent (see Figure 1). 332 pupils or 11.74 per cent of the whole were retarded 1 year 118 pupils or 4.17 per cent of the whole were retarded 2 years 35 pupils '6r 1.23 per cent of the whole were retarded 3 years 9 pupils or I .32 per cent of the whole were retarded 4 years 6 pupils or .21 per cent of the whole were retarded 5 years ■■ 2f pvipils or .1 per cent of the whole were retarded 6 years 1 pupil or .03 per cent of the whole was retarded 7 years These 504 pupils represented 764 years of retardation. ' This . description was received from Miss Anne Ferguson, Public School At- tendance Department. ^ Normal age- is so designated by Mr. Leonard Ayres in Laggards in Our Schools. It 'also follows that such would be normal when school entrance age is 6 to 7 years. DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION Age o[ Pupils ?^1 ■s 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1^ 13 14 15 /6 (7 IB 21 Dl 31 6 & 2 /l93 10 lA m 60 19 4 2 1 4 210 156 7 26 12 7 91 Ab 7 1 ZA 3-0 I 84 58 18 4 7 1 1 I J68 ,181 .1 25 23 22 93 43 J4 l^ 5 09 65 15 5 I 1 2 3 i J 87 5 28 4Ti 2 31 88 34 16 5 1 1 178 3^ 23 4A A 65 68 36 ]] 3 1 2 190 4 53 5B 20 76 48 23 7 5 2 181 2b ^'^ 5A 6 72 66 25 12 I J ] J 85 ^ 41 6-B 2 M 70 42 Zt 3 2 173 31 30 &A 7B 7 1 81 66 28 2J 7 8 210 158 2-5 .56 30 24 6) AZ 2^ 7A 6B 1 J8 55 55 37 13 17 3 5 182 117 19 19 53 n 1 16 47 29 fiA i 7 66 50 24 10 1 159 b 35 Totals: £1 263 205 y\b 3c0 3ZG 2.78 3(8 286 173 79 20 1 2628 228 504 Total number of .Is £828 lumber oj pop Total fiumbep of pupils cvdvanced 228 ; Total number of pupils Petapded- 5o4 Figure 1. Holland, Logan, Lyndale, and Washington Schools The four schools individually presented the following results . In the Holland (see Figure 2) out of an enrollment of 694 pupils, 140 pupils or 20.1 per cent were retarded. 96 pupils or 13.8 per cent of the whole were retarded 1 year 31 pupils or 4.5 per cent of the whole were retarded 2 years 10 pupils or 1.4 per cent of the whole were retarded 3 years 2 pupils or .3 per cent of the whole were retarded 5 years 1 pupil or .1 per cent of the whole was retarded 6 years The 140 pupils were retarded 204 years. In the Logan (see Figure 3) out of an enrollment of 751, 117 pupils or 15.5 per cent were retarded. MARGARET KENT BEARD 80 pupils or 10.6 per cent of the whole were retarded 1 year 26 pupils or 3.5 per cent of the whole were retarded 2 years 9 pupils or 1.2 per cent of the whole were retarded 3 years 1 pupil or .1 per cent of the whole was retarded 4 years 1 pupil or .1 per cent of the whole was retarded 5 years The 117 pupils were retarded 168 years. <1) -o 2 <2 Age of Pupils 1 1 4 5 6 7 6 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 IB lA Z Z8 7 23 18 3 I 4 1 41 46 2. O 4 5 ZB 1 24 10 A 39 I 4 2A 1 13 ZZ 1 4 I 41 1 5 JB I 17 12 4 3 3T I 7 ^A 2 13 lA 3 1 1 44 Z 5 4B 3 l\ 8 5 1 58 5 6 A^ L Zb 12 J J J J 45 a 6 5B 3 14 10 7 1 e 37 3 10 5A 6B i. 13 16 6 2 6 i 1 41 40 z 5 ID 9 5 16 10 6A 16 11 7 6 1 41 14 7B I 20 17 & 5 5Z a 13 7A J 8 24 24 15 6 1 70 9 22 &B 5 11 & G 30 5 6 6A 14 17 11 1 43 12 ToUls. 2 55 65 74 91 61 B5 87 83 59 02 2 G94 38 140 Total number o^ pupils Total number of pupib a 117 Total number o| pupils _--.T5l Total number of popils advanced 66 Tbidl nomber of popils retarded 1 17 Figure 3. Logan School The 120 pupils represented 185 years of retardation. In the Washington (see Figure 5) out of an enrollment of 464 pupils, 127 pupils or 27.3 per cent were retarded. 80 pupils or 17.2 per cent of the whole were retarded 1 year 28 pupils or 6.0 per cent of the whole were retarded 2 years 9 pupils or 2.0 per cent of the whole were retarded 3 years 7 pupils or 1.5 per cent of the whole were retarded 4 years 2 pupils or .4 per cent of the whole were retarded 5 years 1 pupil or .2 per cent of the whole was retarded 6 years The 127 pupils represented 207 years of retardation. The four schools with their enrollment of 2,828 showed 228 pupils or 8 per cent advanced — that is under normal age (see Figure 1). 6 MARGARET KENT BEARD 220 pupUsfor 7.8 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 8 pupils, or .2 per cent of the whole were advanced 2 years The totdl number of 3'ears advanced by the 228 pupils was 236 years. ' ■ 1 ^ Age o| Fbpiis ill 1 3 "S 4; 6 T 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 :1b| : 5 32 5 42, 5 !A 2B ■ 45 15 3 49 3 3 3 3 3^ 9 3 Ifi^ 29 11 A 1 45 5 3D' 9 32 16 ] I 1 60 9 3 3A i 4B: 38 21 All J 1 69 64 16 10 7 16 35 6 4 2 1 4Ai 55; £. 31 21 T I 62 60 2 8 8 3 : s 31 18 ^ I 5A! 3 29 22 6 4 J 1 66 57 3 13 12 4 1 12 24 16 4 6A 7B ! 3 26 17 3 5 1 3 55 67 3 15 9 I 14 25 15 9 ?A 8B 7 16 17 15 6 5 1 5 54 7 12 2^ 10 1 il 2.1 11 3A 1 2 18 14 6 I i 44 3 9 Totals-. 0- 5 80 92 111 122 100 12T 1.00 64 56 23 9 1 9(9 99 120 Total number of pupils 919 Total number of pupib advariceci • - 99 Total number oj pupils retarded ■• 120 Figure 4. Lyndale School The report for the individual schools was as follows. From the Holland's enrollment (Figure 2) of 694, 38 pupils or 5.4 per cent were advanced. 37 pupils or 5.3 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 1 pupil or .1 per cent of the whole was advanced 2 years The total number of years advanced was 39. From the enrolhnent of 751 pupils in the Logan (Figure 3) 66 pupils or 8.7 per cent were advanced. DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION o Age of Pupi Is Hi 1 1 <2 ■4 5 6 7 8 S 10 II 12. 13 H 15 IG 17 1^ 3 21 8 Z 34 3 2 lA 33 12 8 3 2 1 59 35 i 14 3 1 11 18 3 Zh 14 15 7 I - 2 1 40 11 3B .5 J9 11 7 I 43 5 8 3A 2 7 12 6 3 J 1 J 3Z, 32 Z 8 11 3 Z 6 7 14 2 ^A 5B 15 13 6 2 11 2 I 1 38 40 3 23 12 3 13 12 6 5A 6B 10 14 7 5 11 1 1 36 34 i 12 13 ! 11 9 6A Z 15 11 8 6 1 43 ^ 15 75 7A 8B 6A loU\&: i 55 54 73 46 73 72 43 30 10 5 464 26 127 Total number o\ pupils - - ■ 464 Total number oj po pi Is advanced ■■ • 25 Total number of pupils retarded-- 127 Figure S. Washington School 65 pupils or 8.6 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 1 pupil or .1 per cent of the whole was advanced 2 years These represent 67 years of advancement. From the enrollment of 919 pupils m the Lyndale (Figm-e 4) 99 pupils or 10.7 per cent were advanced. 95 pupils or 10.3 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 4 pupils or .4 per cent of the whole were advanced 2 years The 99 were advanced 103 years. From the enrollment in the Washington (Figure 5) of 464 pupils, 25 pupils or 5.3 per cent were advanced. 23 pupils or 4.9 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 2 pupils or .4 per cent of the whole were advanced 2 years These represent 27 years of advancement. 8 MARGARET KENT BEARD Normal age, as has been said, was called 6 to 8 years for the first grade, 7 to 9 years for the second grade, etc. Was the actual average different from the theoretical normal age? The statistics for average age computed froni the four schools were as follows : Grade Age IB 6.17 years 2B 7.45 years 3B 8.44 years 4B 9.3 years SB 10.71 years 6B 11.54 years 7B 12.49 years 8B 13.50 years P"or three schools Grade Age lA 6.57 years 2A 7.67 years 3A 8.81 years 4A 10.08 years 5A 10.89 years 6A 11.97 years 7A 12.84 years 8A 13.63 years Individually the schools showed the following results: Holland Grade Age IB 6.3 years 2B, 3B. 4B. 7.6 years 8.7 years 9.4 years 5B 10.86 years 6B 11.6 years 7B 12.88 years 8B 13.5 years Grade Age IB 6.1 years 2B 7.3 years 3B 8.26 years 4B Grade lA 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 12.83 years Age 6.7 years 7.7 years 8.9 years 9.7 years 10.87 years 12.1 years 8A, 14. years Logan 9.3 years 5B 10.81 years 6B 11.4 years 7B 8B Grade IB.. 2B.. 3B.. 4B.. 12.3 years 13.6 years Lyndale Age 6.0 years 7.2 years 8.3 years 9.1 years Grade Age lA 6.5 years 2A 7.4 years 3A 8.26 years 4A 10.10 years 5A 10.81 years 6A 12.02 years 7A 12.7 years 8A 13.6 years Grade Age lA 6.3 years 2A 7.9 years 3A 8.8 years 4A 9.5 years DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION Lyndale {Continued) Grade 5B.. 6B.. 7B.. 8B.. Grade IB.. 2B.. 3B.. 4B.. SB.. Age Grai 10.2 years 5A 11.1 years 6A 12.3 years 7A 13.4 years 8A Washington Age Grad 6.3 years lA 7.7 years 2A 8.5 years 3A 9.4 years 4A 11. years 5A Age 10.7 years 11.7 years 13.0 years 13.3 years l\GE 6.8 years 8.2 years 9.3 years 4A 11.05 years 11.2 years 6B 12.08 years 6A ....12.09 years To summarize, 17.8 per cent of retardation is contrasted with 8 per cent of advancement; 764 years of retardation with 236 of advancement. The Lyndale School, representing families living much above the marginal standard of living, presented the lowest retardation per cent and the highest advancement per cent, while the Washington with its many dependent families showed the opposite results. The average age was found in all but one grade to be in the first year of the two years called normal. The one grade showing an exception was 4A, which instead of giving an average age of 9-\- gave 10.08 years. This would indicate that retardation was especially acute at that period. In comparing the Washington and Lyndale, it was found that while the Washing- ton had 12.08 and 12.09 years as average ages for 6B and 6A grades, the Lyndale had 11.1 and 11.7, a difference in 6B of nearly a year. The 4A grade presented the most striking con- trast — 11.05 years for the Washington and 9.5 in the Lyndale — thus showing the pupils in the Washington 1.55 years older. These facts alone forecast the deduction that there is a definite relation between dependency and retardation. RETARDATION AMONG CHILDREN OF DEPENDENT FAMILIES Having determined normal school progress, thereby establish- ing a standard by which the retardation of children of dependent families might be measured, the next step was to select a typical group of these children. This was accomplished, it was judged. 10 MARGARET KENT BEARD by considering the children from tlie famihes coming under the care of the JMinneapoHs Associated Charities between October, 1916 and March, 1917. In general, children falling between the ages of 6 and 16, on February 1, 1917, were selected from the records for study. The grade for each child was established at any specific time, and the age at the beginning of that semester ascertained. Such proce- dure caused variation in dates but prevented the dropping of many children who could not be located at one set time. Most of the grades and ages were for February 1, 1917, a large num- ber were for September 1, 1917, while smaller numbers were for February, 1918, February and September, 1916 and 1915. The sources of information for the grades of the children were fivefold, being, in order of the frequency of their use, grade record cards, teachers' registers, school directories, the child's teacher, and the principal's memory. The relative merits of these are varied. Most accurate were the grade record cards. As these were classified generally according to grades and were often distributed in the rooms, it was not practical or possible to use them entirely. When these cards were once located their in- formation was authoritative. Least trustworthy were the prin- cipal's memory and an old directory wherein the advance from the fall grade to the spring grade was not consistently noted. In ascertaining grades the greatest difiiculty lay in the location of the child. The school district he was in at the time the Asso- ciated Charities case was active Avas very often not the one he was in at the time of the study. The schools of Minneapolis have not yet afforded the expense of an alphabetical file for all pupils giving their school district. Therefore when a child had once moved and his census card was transferred to his new district, he was extremely difficult to find. Two other methods were used to find the grades of children who had moved from the original school which they attended at the time the Associated Charities case was active. The first was made possible by Air. David H. Holbrook, director of the Department of Attendance and Voca- tional Guidance of the Board of Education. To forty-five school ])rincipals, circulars containing children's names were mailed with the request that the grades and present place of attendance be indicated. In this wav some 227 children were located. The DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION tl second method used for obtaining the grades of the residue of children still remaining was the telephoning of schools. The birth dates of the children were taken from the school census cards. These dates are considered sufficiently reliable for court evidence and are secured from "nativity cards" filled out at home by the parents of the child. In comparing them with the dates given on the Associated Charities records, many differences were found. As the Associated Charities records did not com- pletely give the birth dates for all the children, and as the method of obtaining them was usually subtraction by each Visitor of the given age, and was not done with pencil and paper in hand at the time of receiving the information, it was decided that of the two the school census cards were more accurate. However, in cases where deception was purposed, it is realized that ages given the school tended to be older than was true, for two reasons. An over busy parent may first have wished to enter the child in school early, and secondly, may have planned to secure an em- ployment certificate for him as soon as possible. In regard to ages, it is especially emphasized that a child was not called, for example, 14 on February 1, 1917, unless he had fully completed, his fourteenth year at that time — even if the incompleteness may have been only one day. This tended toward the report shoAving children )^ounger than they were and explains, for example, the twelve five-year-old children in IB grade (Figure 6) who were in reality probabl)^ six during the first month of the sepiester. This was the basis upon which the study of normal retardation was made. Such was the method of procedure. The names of 2,052 chil- dren were taken from the Associated Charities records. Of these, 386 children' could not be located, and for 41 the birth dates covild not be found, as the school census cards were misplaced ; 226 children were listed as attending parochial schools although their attendance there was not verified. These children were dropped as the normal retardation in parochial schools was not knoAvn. T^venty children had employment certificates and were therefore not in school, 14 had "home permits," 11 were in spe- cial state schools such as state reformatories, hospitals, or feeble- 12 MARGARET KENT BEARD minded homes, and 3 were married. This made a total of 701 who were eliminated, leaving 1,351 of whom the study was made. These 1,351 pupils were, of course, distributed among the dif- ferent grades and ages in proportions different from the 2,828 pupils in the four schools (Figures 1 and 6). The first, second, and third grades numbered respectively 237, 202, and 193 pupils of the 1,351, while the eighth grade had only 74 members. There was a drop from 137 in the seventh grade to 74 in the eighth, which may be partially accounted for by the fact that some be- coming 16 years of age in the seventh grade may have left school to be wage earners. Swelled numbers in the lower grades and scant numbers in the higher grades may also be due to the greater number of young children in dependent families. This may ex- plain too the disproportionately large number of children young in years. Among the 1,351, the maximum number in any year group was 182 who were 8 years of age. The numbers in the other year groups were almost uniformly graduated from this maximum. That the maximum number was not 6 or 7 years old, as the grade distribution would indicate, may be accounted for by the fact that the compulsory education law does not force the child to be in school till he is 8 years old. Of the 1,351 pupils, 418 were retarded or 30.94 per cent (Fig- ure 6). 232 pupils or 17.17 per cent of the whole were retarded 1 year 119 pupils or 8.81 per cent of the whole were retarded 2 years 42 pupils or 3.11 per cent of the whole were retarded 3 years 17 pupils or 1.26 per cent of the whole were retarded 4 years 3 pupils or .22 per cent of the whole were retarded 5 years 5 pupils or .37 per cent of the whole were retarded 6 years The 418 pupils represented 709 years of retardation. Among the same 1,351 pupils there were 80 advanced pupils or 5.92 per cent. 75 pupils or 5.55 per cent of the whole were advanced 1 year 5 pupils or .37 per cent of the whole were advanced 2 years The 80 pupils thus represented 85 years of advancement. DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION 13 Age o\ Pupils 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1^ 1 11 7Z. 26 12 J22 \Z i2. i Z[ 63 IS 8 2 11 1 115 108 1 9 30 19 9 37 ^3 IIS ( ^A ^9 33 15 11 2 1 3 94 32 3^ 6 42 22 10 3 2 i 1 ) 86 * 6 18 3A 4B E 21 46 19 8 6 2 2 3 1 lo5 79 2 10 3G 26 10 ZZ 2J J2 9 AK 1 21 35 16 10 4 i 88 1 31 513 1 II 28 24 15 ?.•• 2 2 90 12 2G 5A 6B 1 I 19 27 15 17 15 6 5 5 2. 93 78 2 8 45 22 6 29 19 7B 4 i5 24 22 9 13 7 1 8 2 82 65 4 3 39 23 3 J7 18 7A 8b 6 15 J6 IT tz 13 2 8 J 74 39 6 3 37 9 i 1 10 BA 1 9 12 7 4 33 I IJ Totals: I 12. 102. 1« 18i lt>T 163 ]49 136 131 91 54 lO 1351 80 4l8 Toldl number oj- pupils 1351 Toldl mjmbep of popils advanced--- 80 Tb+al nomber o{ pupil? retdrdeii- - 416 Figure 6. Associated Charities The dependent group showed the following average ages for each grade. Grade Age Grade Age IB 6.30 years lA 7.22 years 2B 7.77 years 2A 8.38 years 3B . . 8.80 years 3A 9.40 years 4B 10.07 years 4A 10.32 years 5B 10.99 years SA 11.74 years 6B 11.82 years 6A 12.51 years 7B 13.22 years 7A 13.36 years 8B 13.61 years 8A 14.12 years 16 MARGARET KENT BEARD To summarize and interpret these figures, 30.94 per cent of the children in dependent famihes are retarded compared to 17.8 per cent in the average group. (See Figure 7.) Five hundred and four pupils of the normal group represent 764 years of retardation, while only 418 of the dependent group represent 709 years. Of the dependent pupils, 5.92 per cent are advanced, while 8 per cent of the normal group are advanced. (See Figure 8.) Average ages present a striking contrast. As has been before noted, average age in the normal group was, in all but one grade, the first year of the two years called normal. In the dependent group, average age in all of the A grades and in two of the B grades was in the second year of the two years called normal. The two B grades having an average age in the second normal year were 4B and 7B. The grade showing most retardation in the normal group studied was 4A. The greatest difference be- tween average age in the dependent group and in the normal group was found in 5A grade, the former being .85 years older. The least difference was in 8B and IB — the former being .11 and .13 years respectively older. The dependent group were on the average .46+ year, or nearly one half a year, older than the nor- mal group. CONCLUSIONS BASED ON FACTS Since, therefore, out of each 100 children of the normal group, approximately 18 will be retarded, while out of each 100 children of dependent families, approximately 31 will be re- tarded; since the average ages in the latter group are markedly higher — the increase ranging from 1 or 2 months to over 10 months, and averaging nearly half of a year — it is to be con- cluded that dependency has some vital connection with retarda- tion. Until we know the total number of retarded children in the public schools and the total number of retarded children of de- pendent families in the public schools, the proportion of retarders furnished by dependent families can not be stated. However, we do here know that families below the normal standard of living are furnishing 13 more retarded children in every 100 than is their share. We have the fact established. Next to be determined are those causes of retardation which are the inevitable accompani- ments of dependency. Is it malnutrition, is it continual shifting DEPENDENCY AND RETARDATION 17 of the family from one locality to another, is it late school en- trance, is it bad heredity, is it merely lack of intellectual back- ground — what is it in the life of the dependent family that is re- tarding the child ? Having established the fact and determined the causes, the next question is, Why shall we eliminate retardation ? What will happen if we do not cure or prevent it? Individually the retarded child is below the normal standard of mentality. He has not learned in the few years of his life as much of the 3 R's as his fellow mates. He has not kept up with the race. But from the' broader viewpoint of the common welfare, the retarded child, a future citizen, is starting his life as a social misfit. Unless some adjustment occurs, he, as an adult, will still be a misfit, a laggard in the social group. The efficiency of the state, therefore, demands not that the child who is retarded be merely carried along by the school from year to year till the law allows him to drop out uneducated and inefficient, but that the fact of his retardation be faced squarely with a sound program to involve ; first, amelioration of the existing condition by placing him where he receives specialized attention; second and more important, an attack individually and socially on the causes of his condition, that retardation may in the future be eliminated. STUDIES IN ENGINEERING 1. George Alfred Maney^ Secondary Stresses and Other Problems in Rigid Frames: A New Method of Solution. 1915. $0.25. 2. Charles Franklin Shoop, An Investigation of the Concrete Road-Making Properties of Minnesota Stone and Gravel. 1915. $0.25. 3. Franklin R. McMillan, Shrinkage and Time Effects in Reinforced Concrete. 1915. $0.25. STUDIES IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 1. Herbert G. Lampson, A Study on the Spread of Tuberculosis in Families. 1913. $0.50. 2. Julius V. Hofmann, The Importance of Seed Characteristics in the Natural Reproduction of Coniferous Forests. 1918. $0.25. STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 1. Esther L. Swenson, An Inquiry into the Composition and Structure of Ludus Coventriae; Hardin Craig, Note on the Home of Ludus Coventriae. 1914. $0.50. 2. Elmer Edgar Stoll, Othello: An Historical and Comparative Study. 1915. $0.50. 3. Colbert Searles, Les Sentiments de I'Academie Frangaise sur le Cid: Edition of the Text, with an Introduction. 1916. $1.00. 4. Paul Edward Kretzmann, The Liturgical Element in the Earliest Forms of the Medieval Drama. 1916. $1.00. 5. Arthur Jerrold Tieje, The Theory of Characterization in Prose Fiction prior to 1740. 1916. $0.75. 6. Marie C. Lyle, The Original Identity of the York and Towneley Cycles. In press. 7. Elmer Edgar Stoll, Hamlet: An Historical and Comparative Study. In press. CURRENT PROBLEMS 1. William Anderson, The Work of Public Service Commissions. 1913. $0.15. 2. Benjamin F. Pittenger, Rural Teachers' Training Departments in Minnesota High Schools. 1914. $0.15. 3. Gerhard A. Gesell, Minnesota Public Utility Rates. 1914. $0.25. 4. L. D. H. Weld, Social and Economic Survey of a Community in the Red River Valley. 1915. $0.25. 5. GuSTAv p. Warber, Social and Economic Survey of a Community in North- eastern Minnesota. 1915. $0.25. 6. Joseph B. Pike, Bulletin for Teachers of Latin. 1915. $0.25. 7. August C. Krey, Bulletin for Teachers of History. 1915. $0.25. 8. Carl Schlenker, Bulletin for Teachers of German. 1916. $0.25. 9. William Watts Folwell, Economic Addresses. 1918. $0.50. 10. Margaret Kent Beard, The Relation between Dependency and Retardation : A Study of 1,351 Public School Children Known to the Minneapolis Associated Charities. 1919. $0.25. 11. Thomas S. Roberts, A Review of the Ornithology of Minnesota. In press. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 020 730 341