LC 144 .N7 V3 Copy 1 m^ Copyright^" COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. CAUSES OF THE ELIMINATION OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF NEW YORK CITY BY JOSEPH KING VAN DENBURG, PH.D. 5ACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, NO. 47 PUBLISHED BY SIfart|?rfi (SoU^ge, ©nlttmhia Inittwattg NEW YORK CITY 1911 Monograph v^^^^" Copyright, 1911, by Joseph King Van Denburg ©CI.A300584 Iw.! I^ CONTENTS PART I The Problem Section Page I Introduction i II Method and Aim of this Study 4 III Decrease in Registration in Successive High School Grades. 7 PART II A Study of the Entering Population I Introduction to the Records 14 II Elementary School Graduates, Jan. 1906 17 III Ages 22 IV Nationality of Father 32 V Occupations of Parents 39 VI The Chosen Occupations of Pupils 49 VII Occupations of Older Brothers and Sisters 58 VIII Pupils' Valuation of a High School Education 69 IX Rentals 79 PART III A Study of Elimination I Eliminations 84 II Age and Elimination 91 III Nationality of Father and Elimination 96 IV Choice of Occupation and Elimination 100 V Early Intentions and Elimination 104 VI Monthly Rental and Elimination 110 PART IV Advancement in the School Course I Grades from Which Pupils were Discharged 115 II Group IX ; Retarded Pupils 119 III Pupils Who Graduated on Time 123 PART V Early Promise I Starting the Co-operative Investigation 136 II Introduction to Tables and Tabulations of Early Promise. 148 iii iv Table of Contents Section Page III Early Promise and Median Expectancy of Stay 155 IV Pupils Who Stayed Four Years but Did Not Graduate (Retarded Pupils): Group IX 161 V Pupils Who Graduated : Group VIII 165 PART VI First Term's Mark Elimination, Graduation, Retardation 171 PART VII The Human Side I Introduction 183 II Home Work 186 III New Courses and New T3'pes of Schools 188 IV A New Daily Program ig'i V Length of Stay and Length of Course 193. Appendix Courses of Study 195 Sample Tables of Home Work 205 ,.,■11% PART I THE PROBLEM SECTION I INTRODUCTION With the growth of pubHc high schools in the United States, there has arisen a situation which, so far, has found no satis- factory explanation. In almost every city where high schools have been established, the entering classes have tasked the accommodations of the high school to the utmost. The num- ber of pupils, however, who complete the course, is, when com- pared with the number which entered, so small as to excite surprise. To account for the dropping out of pupils, who enter ap- parently with the intention of completing the entire course, many hypotheses have been advanced. In only the last two or three years, however, has any attempt been made to make a statistical study of this elimination. Many of these investiga- tions, moreover, have been made under conditions, which, at the very outset, have been so open to charges of prejudice that the results have proved of little value to the students of this perplexing problem. One of the chief reasons why previous investigations have proved inadequate is the fact that few, if any, investigators have attempted to limit themselves to the study of objective phe- nomena. In most cases, the questionaire method has been fol- lowed, and there have been gathered many interesting opinions ; each, however, showing the personal bias of the individual answering the questions and all based on such doubtful and nebulous data, that, while each may have the appearance of reasonableness, still each lacks the evidence necessary for its establishment as truly trustworthy. 2 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools It is not the purpose of this present investigation to do more than to furnish assistance to those who are still studying the question of elimination of high school pupils. In one respect, however, this investigation will differ from those that have been made in the past. Whereas previous investigations have included opinions without concrete, objective backing, this in- vestigation seeks to gather only concrete, objective, indisputable data and to exclude opinions, except in so far as the class-room ratings of pupils may indicate the opinion of teachers, who gave each pupil a mark, showing his or her proficiency in cer- tain definite subjects. In order to make such a research pos- sible of accomplishment, the research worker is necessarily com- pelled to confine himself to a rather limited field and even, in that field, to omit much that would be valuable and instructive were the time and money for the tabulation of this informa- tion provided. In New York City, superintendents and principals have been disturbed by the fact that while money has been spent liberally, almost lavishly, upon magnificent high school buildings, and skilled instruction has been provided at a cost rather above that in the surrounding cities, still the student mortality shows that a comparatively insignificant proportion of the school popula- tion avails itself of this opportunity to complete the courses of instruction so freely offered. This situation is, moreover, ren- dered more disquieting by the fact that while all the entering classes are large (apparently showing that many intend to avail themselves of the opportunity granted for a high school edu- cation), yet the graduating classes are so small in comparison, as to indicate a condition of affairs needing some serious con- sideration. To those who are intimately acquainted with local conditions, the explanation, offered by some, namely, that the nine who drop out to the one who graduates, drop out because they have not the ability to complete the course, is insufficient. Moreover, unfitness of the instruction or the subjects of study seems in- sufficient to explain the elimination, because in specialized schools, such as the commercial and technical high schools, the elim- ination is just as great as in the old time classical schools. This investigation has, then, because of the promise it seemed to hold of being directly useful to the educational authorities The Problem 3 of New York City, been limited to the high schools of that city. The attempt was made to include all the high schools of prominence and to secure the co-operation of many hundreds of teachers. In most cases, the attempt was most cordially met half-way, by both principals and teachers. In a few cases, how- ever, the attempt to collect the necessary information met not only with a first refusal, but with such persistent opposition, almost to the point of bitterness, that certain schools and classes had to be omitted. SECTION II METHOD AND AIM OF THIS STUDY For the schools covered by this investigation we do not seek to answer directly the question : " Why do pupils leave high school before graduation ? " by tabulating all the answers to this question that can be secured ; but rather we seek to deter- mine by a large series of carefully collected measurements the kind of pupils who leave, as compared with the kind who stay. The difficulties in securing accurate answers by any purely questionaire method will be made plain by what follows. In a few concrete, definite cases direct inquiries were made of the pupil by cultivating a personal acquaintance and interest. Some of the personal friends of each of these pupils were inter- viewed. The pupils' teachers, the pupils' principals, the pupils' parents were each questioned in turn. In these special cases there was little semblance of uniformity in the reasons given. To one person, one reason was given and insisted upon as the reason, while to each of several other persons a different reason was in turn given as the " real " reason for leaving school. A questionaire to determine the assigned reasons for any pupils leaving high school would have to be addressed to a very large number of people and it is doubtful if even then any valuable data could be gathered. Consider, for instance, this concrete instance : A girl in a city high school left at the end of her first term. She was a good student and did her work well. Her parents were fairly well-to-do people of moderate refinement and education. A brother had graduated from a city high school and had entered college. The reasons given by this girl were carefully gathered by personal inquiry. The causes given and accepted by the people interviewed were : 1. Teacher: Dislike of Latin. 2. Teacher: Desire to study music and art. 4 The Problem 5 3. Principal: Ill-health (wholly false). 4. Classmates : Dislike of a certain teacher. 5. Girl chum : Desire to go to a boarding school. 6. Mother: Dislike of biology. 7. Father: Desire to go to a country school. 8. Brother : Desire to get away from the city. 9. The investigator : Uncongenial classmates. Probably all of the nine reasons given above were in part active agents in causing the girl to leave school at the end of one term, but what chance is there that any questionaire would have brought them all out ? Indeed an " official " inquiry would have elicited the answer " ill-health," which the girl herself ad- mitted to the investigator was wholly false. Furthermore, some experience with school questionaires has led the investigator to conclude that, with boys and girls of high school age, the answer to a formal question of this kind is seldom determined by the facts, but rather by a desire to give an answer that either will gain sympathy on the one hand, or on the other will magnify the virtues of the pupil who is answering. In each case the answer is a conscious " pose." The pupil desires to affect the recipient of the answer rather than to furnish truth. As in a written examination, the pupil answering a questionaire seeks to please the examiner and so strives to place his answer in the most favorable light. This rather long explanation of the shortcomings of the ques- tionaire method seems necessary in order to make it plain why this investigation does not go at the question directly, but rather chooses the long and difficult method which is hereafter ex- plained in detail. Therefore instead of answers to a ques- tionaire there will be presented in tabular form a series of care- fully secured records and tables extending over a course of four and a half years. The deductions which the original investigator may draw may not be of permanent value, but the records themselves are open to any other investigator to use in drawing his own con- clusions. These careful records may be studied, combined and compared by any student regardless of his previous experi- ence. A thousand pupils studied upon each of some ten or more measurements, makes an undertaking almost beyond the 6 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools power of one investigator unless he be able to pay for the con- tinued assistance of clerical experts of a high order. Merely to follow one thousand pupils through high school, keeping track of their progress, promotions, and discharges, without taking into account any other measurement and quality than their school work, is a sufficient undertaking for one man. The study of ages, nationality, father's business, home condi- tions, choice of occupation, etc., etc., in a thousand cases can- not in fact be done fully by one person. Experience and study has convinced the investigator that more value may result from an extremely limited group of pupils that is studied intensively than from a large group less carefully followed up. There is an extremely interesting and valuable field of research open to high school teachers whose minds are of a scientific character and who desire to add to the total of the world's useful knowledge. For example, a four years study of a group of one hundred or even fifty high school boys or girls, a study which necessitated a personal acquaintance with each pupil, which introduced the teacher to the children's parents and homes as well as to the pupils' confidences and aspirations would develop many facts which this study must, because of its wider range, omit. Perhaps the best service of this present investigation will be to serve as a basis for other investigations which will follow. If this present investigation assists other investigators who will do more, by attempting less, the ultimate benefit to the high schools of this country will be sufficient to compensate for the very great outlay of time and money which this investiga- tion necessitated. SECTION III DECREASE IN REGISTRATION IN SUCCESSIVE HIGH SCHOOL GRADES Explanation of System of Grading In order that one not familiar with the organization of the New York City high schools may understand the tables that are given in this section, a word or two of explanation is neces- sary in advance. In the New York City High School, pupils are admitted twice a year — in September and in February. Graduations occur therefore (at the end of three or four year courses) in January and in June. The periods from September to January inclusiv''c, and from February to June inclusive, make up the two " terms " of the school year. The " grades " of a regulation city course are named progressively as follows : J" 1st term of the course, Grade lA. I 2nd term of the course, Grade iB. 3rd term of the course, Grade 2A. 4th term of the course, Grade 2B. 5th term of the course. Grade 3A. 6th term of the course. Grade 3B. 7th term of the course, Grade 4A. 8th term of the course, Grade 4B. First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year The word " class " properly applies to those groups of pupils within a grade designated by a special class name or number and reciting together. As, for example, in the 2A grade of a certain high school, will be found from one to twenty or more classes, 2A^, 2A^, 2A*, etc., etc. However, despite the distinctions here made, both pupils and teachers frequently use the words " term," " grade," and " class " as synonymous. So that if any one asked a high school pupil, "In what term (grade, class), are you?" the answer would 7 8 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools probably be the same. " iB," " 2A," " 3B," etc., as the case might be. There appears then a need for a more exact use of words and in this article the words " term," " grade," " class," will be used as indicated below : Year: a school year of 40 weeks. Term: a half year, 20 weeks. Grade: point of advancement in the course toward graduation. Class: the particular student group with which a pupil meets for roll call daily during a term. In order to present more fully and exactly the progressive decrease in the number of enrolled high school pupils from term to term as one advances from the first to the fourth year of the course, a series of tables* will be given. These tables show the reported registration for the first month of each succeeding term within the dates given. It is known that these figures are not absolutely exact. There are always pupils who leave at the end of a term (especially at the end of the Spring Term) and these pupils rarely give formal notice of withdrawal. The names of these pupils are frequently kept on register for some time pending an investigation of the pupil's unexplained absence. The registration does not therefore correspond with the at- tendance. There are almost always a large number of non- attendants carried on the rolls. This percentage of non-attend- ants may rise as high as 25 per cent at the beginning of a term, because many of the pupils who leave at the end of a term are not discharged until some time after the succeeding term begins. However, despite this admitted discrepancy between pupils enrolled (i.e., on "register") and pupils actually in attendance at recitations, we are obliged to use the register, as on the whole the most satisfactory basis for our comparisons. For the table of high school enrollment by grades and dates and schools I am indebted to Associate Superintendent Edward * These tables, begun by Mr. Stevens some years before the first steps in this investigation, 1902, gave evidence of the fact that Mr. Stevens had been for some time an earnest student of pupil elimination. To Mr. Stevens, too, more than to any other man, except to Professor E. L. Thorn- dike of Columbia University, the writer is indebted for active assistance. Through Mr. Stevens's interest and assistance, this investigation was car- ried on in some schools, where otherwise it would have been excluded. The Problem g L. Stevens, who is in general charge of the New York City high schools. Mr. Stevens's tables show for each city high school the num- ber of pupils registered, in successive grades, the first month of each term, from September 1902 to February 1906 inclusive. One more point also must be remembered in interpreting these tables. When an entering class of 500 graduates but 50 at the end of four years it must not be supposed that 450 pupils have 'been eliminated. This is far from the case, as will be shown toward the close of this investigation. The actual figures may show that while but 50 of the original 500 reach the point of graduation at the end of four years' work, still as many as 200 may still be in school as " retarded " pupils pursuing the work of the lower grades and still working upward toward graduation. Similarly we may find that 500 pupils in the lA grades are composed not of 500 pupils beginning high school, but of, say, 400 real beginners plus 100 hold-overs ! TABLE OF HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT. (SUPT. STEVENS) Pupils on Register in the High Schools in Successive Grades from September, 1902, to February, 1906 1 Boys 2 Bryant 3 Commerce 4 Comm.ercia] 5 Clinton 6 Curtis 7 Eastern Dist 8 Erasmus Hall 9 Flushing I o Girls I I Jamaica 12 Manual 13 Morris 1 4 Newtown 15 Rockaway 16 Wadleigh 17 Washington Irving. 18 Richmond Hill.. . . Total lA Sept. 339 81 229 236 721 160 139 246 145 617 103 286 638 61 40 736 502 57 5-306 iB Feb. '03 254 70 167 215 550 122 104 213 126 509 87 171 446 50 25 479 323 37 3.948 2A Sept. '03 169 40 III 156 421 80 64 209 61 340 70 121 301 39 18 427 178 27 2,932 2B Feb. '04 133 37 86 125 256 63 72 163 58 261 40 102 248 32 12 342 128 25 2,183 Sept. '04 120 50 75 86 201 50 51 136 28 219 33 90 210 27 8 224 93 17 1,718 3B Feb. '05 33 45 69 149 52 49 126 33 186 37 57 194 9 4 162 56 16 1,373 4A Sept. 115 46 39 116 35 173 18 41 145 18 3 119 35 16 1,045 4B Feb. '06 75 25 » 26 tor. f- 146* 37 40 - i^^'2. ^33 - 25 rf7> — I J 166 29 50 140 18 2 118 29 13 IL% 1,072 lo Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools At the time this investigation was begun (September 1905) there were almost no data which were satisfactorily arranged to show the amount or the kind of elimination which was taking place in the New York City schools. Save for the hitherto unpublished tables, especially prepared and kept by Asso- ciate Superintendent Stevens for his personal study, there were no figures obtainable except such as could be secured from a study of the monthly and annual reports of the various high schools. There are still (1910) no figures by which we may accurately determine the exact percentage of pupils within any certain grade who leave school. There is no record of the total enrollment by grades, nor is there any record of the number separated by sexes, who leave. To get an accurate statistical basis for computing the exact yearly elimination we would need the net enrollment by grades and sexes as well as the eliminations arranged in the same man- ner. From existing reports these figures cannot be computed. Despite this lack of complete statistical information the re- ports of the Superintendent of New York Schools will be found to contain a great deal of illuminating information bearing upon the question of elimination. Superintendent Maxwell in his Eighth Annual Report comments upon the number of pupils who leave school annually, and gives a table to show their dis- tribution by schools and grades for 1906. The Problem " WHY PUPILS LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE GRADUATION " " The great weakness of our city high schools, as in all other city high schools, is the inability of the schools to retain their pupils. " The following table shows the number of pupils who were discharged from the several classes in each high school during the school year ending- June 30, 1906." School Year Ending June 30, 1906 lA iB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Total De Witt Clinton. Wadleigh. : Girls Technical . . H. S. of Com. . . . Stuyvesant Morris 187 320 738 175 216 391 352 245 613 T-33 351 180 95 27 38 8 27 29 162 98 152 313 128 83 276 175 85 266 87 142 104 40 24 13 3 15 II 75 83 93 195 94 31 151 227 106 165 102 106 61 28 II 10 2 14 ID 43 57 69 119 47 8 71 135 48 75 60 53 21 9 10 II I 3 8 24 34 32 69 33 25 17 3 16 10 7 2 6 12 2 3 481 713 1,460 485 338 1,032 1,067 571 1,214 524 704 418 187 92 88 18 70 66 343 80 68 33 64 61 42 26 2 7 12 2 4 6 20 39 55 31 25 33 10 12 9 6 2 I 2 5 15 40 23 6 45 9 15 3 Girls Boys Manual Training. Erasmus Hall. . . Commercial Eastern Dist. . . . Bryant Newtown Flushing Far Rockaway . . Jamaica Richmond Hill . . Curtis II 4 5 2 I 4 2 14 3 2 I Totals 4,287 2,090 1,532 829 595 275 207 56 9,871 These tables show that for the year ending June 1906 ap- proximately 10,000 pupils dropped out of the New York City high schools. Of these pupils almost exactly one-third left before completing their first term. From the first to the eighth grade there is a constantly decreasing percentage as shown below. Grade lA iJB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Per cent, of total who left during the year. . 33-3 21.3 15-5 8.3 6.0 2.8 2 .1 •5 These tables show that of the pupils who leave, the greatest number leave before they have completed the first term's work, and that more than half of all v/ho leave do not even complete the two grades (lA and iB) of the first year of the high school 1 2 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools course. The reader, however, will do well to remember that the percentages given do not refer to the proportionate numbers who drop out within a grade. The 33.3 per cent who leave in I A may be more or less than 33.3 per cent of the pupils in the lA grade. To find out the proportionate number of those who leave within a grade we need first the total net enrollment by grades for all the high schools of the city. These figures unfortunately are not obtainable. However, for the sake of establishing some rough basis for comparison, we can use the registration at the end of the second week in February 1906, and compare this registration by grades with the numbers which are reported to have dropped out during the school year 1905-06. To make this comparison as though all who dropped out in a 3^ear were eliminated only during the second term of the year would be manifestly absurd and so we will take half the annual total for each grade, admitting in advance that our figures here are only rough estimates even though worked out as well as can be from the existing data. As we read the following table we must remember that it is wrong to suppose that the number of pupils on register for any one grade (as for example 2B) represents the survivors of a certain single entering group. The reader should recognize the fact that it is quite possible for a group of pupils of Grade 2B to contain, for example, 60 per cent straight promotions, 25 per cent one-term hold-overs, 10 per cent two-term hold-overs and 5 per cent special or irregularly graded pupils. REGISTRATION BY GRADES COMPARED WITH PUPILS WHO LEAVE Total high school registers, mid-Feb., 1906, by grades One-half total pupils leav- ing 1905-06 Percentage of each grade leaving in a term lA 6,66s 2,144 32.1 iB 4,860 1,04s 2I-S 2A 3.609 766 21.2 2B 2,668 415 iS-5 3A 1,816 297 16.3 3B I,S2I 137 9.0 4A 004 103 II-3 1,072 28 2.6 Total 23.115 4,93s Avg. 21.3 In this table we note the gradual decrease, from grade to grade, in the fraction of pupils who drop out. We do not show however the final elimination which comes at the end of the 4B grade. These figures again are not easily obtainable. The Problem 13 but it is safe to say that of those who enter the 4B grade a very noticeable fraction fail to graduate. In another table we show that the actual total number of eliminated pupils has increased from 9,382, in 1904-05, to 13,688, in 1908-09, keeping up in a general way with the increased high school registration. TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS WHO DROPPED OUT OF NEW YORK CITY HIGH SCHOOLS, 1904-1909. DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO THE GRADES FROM WHICH THEY WERE DISCHARGED Supt's. Report lA iB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Total H. S. Register Total 7th 1904-05 8th 1905-06 gth 1906-07 loth 1907—08 nth 1908—09 3,954 4.287 4,576 5,042 6,211 2,014 2,090 2,132 2,271 2,756 1,380 1,532 1,610 1,629 1,913 821 829 923 939 1,092 559 595 690 628 68s 375 275 331 368 437 216 207 203 207 293 63 56 III 126 301 9,382 9,871 10,576 11,211 13,688 36,600 PART II STUDY OF ENTERING POPULATION SECTION I INTRODUCTION TO THE RECORDS The first step in this investigation was to plan a question card for the pupils, which would supply certain preliminary data regarding both the pupils themselves and the family from which they came. Objective facts, not opinions, were for the most part sought. After considerable study, the following card was devised. (i) Last name First name Initial School Year of birth Month Day (2) ; ■ Number Street Borough Number Street Borough (3) ■ From G. S. No. Borough Father's business Father's nationality f (i) (2) (4) I What do you intend to do for a living? j (i) Are four years of H. S. necessary? I (2) Do you intend to stayin H. S. four vears? (s) Older brothers or sisters Age What are they doing ? (6) ' (7) ( 8 ) ■ : (9) Height Weight What serious illness have you had ? When ? (10) Do you have severe headaches? How frequently? Do you wear glasses? (11) —— (12) About eleven hundred of these cards were filled in by the pupils who entered the various high schools in February, 1906. The reasons for asking most of these questions are obvious. 14 Study of Entering Population 15 The first question under caption 4, " What do you expect to do for a living ? " is not expected to furnish answers of any- permanent value as to what the boy or girl will really under- take as a means of livelihood ; but the answers to these questions should prove valuable either by showing the mental attitude of the pupil toward the occupation with which by name at least he is acquainted or by showing that the pupil enters high school without any definite aim or ambition so far as his or her life- work is concerned. In the same way under this caption (4) the question, "Are four years of high school necessary? " (Neces- sary to prepare for your life-work), is intended to bring out the pupil's knowledge or lack of knowledge of the educational requirements of the work he may have named. The third question under this same caption was intended to furnish evidence for or against a theory which the writer had long held, namely, that a great many pupils who each year enter the high school do so merely as an experiment to which they are impelled by curiosity, pride or the advice of older friends. Caption 5 asks information concerning the occupations of older brothers and sisters, to find out something about (i) the economic status of the family and (2) the kind of occupa- tions which the pupils themselves are likely to enter. One point came near being lost to the investigation. This was the influence of the relative age-position in his or her family of the pupil recorded. A boy or girl, who had several older brothers and sisters each earning good wages, is less apt to drop out for financial reasons than a boy or girl, who has a large number of younger brothers and sisters who earn no money. The possible value of this information was soon dis- covered, however, and the question " How many younger broth- ers and sisters have you?" was added under caption 11, though not until several pupils had been recorded. After these cards were filled out, a careful review of the pupils registered necessitated the casting out of nearly a hun- dred cards, as incomplete or untrustworthy, leaving about a thousand pupils as a basis for this investigation. Many cards were found which in the main were correct but which were evidently in error on one or two points. Where possible, personal inquiry elicited the information sought, but 1 6 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools in many cases this method was not feasible. In these latter cases the entire card was not cast out but only the defective answer. It therefore will happen that in but few totals will the number of answers recorded exactly equal the total number of recorded pupils. SECTION II ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADUATES JAN. 1906 The following figures relate to the number of boys and girls who by reason of graduation from the 8B grade of the public elementary schools in January 1906 were eligible to enter high schools in February, 1906. Graduates, January, 1906 9,186 The New York City Superintendent's Report for 1906 does not give separately the number of boys and the number of girls graduated at this time, but it does give separately the total number of boys and girls for the combined classes of January and June, 1906. Boys Girls Totals Graduates January and June, 1906. . . . 9,041 10,312 19,353 On this ratio of boys to girls we may gain a rough approxi- mation of the January conditions which if based upon the same ratio would give: Boys Girls Totals Graduates January, 1906 — By sexes.. 4,291 4,895 9,186 Each one of these pupils is free to enter without examination any course in the public high schools in New York City. These graduates in limited numbers are also eligible to enter without examination either the high school department of the College of the City of New York (for boys) or the high school department of the New York City Normal College (for girls). Each of these institutions while supported by city funds and free to city residents is under a separate Board of Governors and not controlled by the Board of Education of New York City. Technically, then, these institutions do not belong to what is known as the Public School System of New York City. Of the number of parochial and private school pupils who graduated from the elementary courses we have no estimate. 17 1 8 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools We only know that 245 pupils (185 boys and 60 girls) entered the high schools this term from other than the public elementary schools of this city. The tables heretofore printed are not given for the sake of advancing any theory but merely to show^ something of the amount and kind of elimination that goes on with little varia- tion from year to year in the New York City high schools. No one has yet attempted to discuss the relative percentages of the total number of pupils eliminated, the comparative elimination by grades nor the number of pupils eliminated by grades who have previously once or twice failed of promotion. However, we print from the 8th Annual Report of New York City Super- intendent of Schools, Dr. Maxwell, some of the explanations ad- vanced for the presence of elimination. " Extremely difficult it is to detemiine fully all the causes why so many pupils leave school without graduating. Undoubtedly, however, the chief cause is that many leave to go to work. Probably in the majority of such cases, the hard necessity of earning money is the controlling motive. Such students gen- erally take supplementary courses in the evening high schools. Others there are who leave school to go to work, not because of necessity but because of that restlessness of mind which comes to all students at the period of adolescence, and which is par- ticularly marked amid the excitements of a large city. There are many, however, whose leaving school cannot be attributed to either of these causes. The following explanations are approximately true: 1. Children leave school because they have not the natural ability to cope with high school studies. The number of such children is, in my judgment, small. 2. Children are withdrawn from high school by parents be- cause the latter fear that their children's health will be injured by what they regard as the excessive amount of home study required by some teachers. 3. Children leave high school because they are bewildered for a time and sometimes scared by a school atmosphere very dif- ferent from the atmosphere of the elementary school which they left — an atmosphere in which the teacher stands more aloof and in which the pupil is thrown more on his own resources. 4. A few pupils leave before graduation because they find that there are colleges which will receive them, despite their slender academic attainments, into the freshman class. These reasons, I believe, summarize the reasons, as far as they are known at present, why children in such large numbers Study of Entering Population 19 leave the high school without graduating. It must be the imme- diate duty of the educational authorities, and particularly of the Board of Superintendents, to remove the causes of dissatisfac- tion on the part of parents and of pupils." Applicants for Admission to High Schools In February, 1906, the date of the inception of this research, according to the earliest complete reports received by Superin- tendent Stevens there were 5,871 boys and girls applying for admission to the New York City high schools. The distribution of those pupils is shown by the following table: (Where both boys and girls attend the same school figures separating the sexes were not obtainable.) High Schools 1 Boys 2 Bryant 3 Clinton 4 Commerce 5 Commercial 6 Curtis 7 Eastern 8 Erasmus 9 Far Rockaway I o Flushing I I Girls 1 2 Irving 13 Jamaica 14 Manual 1 5 Morris 16 Newton 1 7 Richmond Hill 18 Stuyvesant 19 Wadleigh Boys 335 314 417 476 235 Girls 20 478 718 517 Totals 335 129 314 417 476 128 211 454 18 AO 478 718 66 674 520 71 70 235 517 5-871 In some cases not all the applicants could be accommodated at the school where first they applied, and so were not admitted. In most cases pupils who were refused admission where they first applied secured admission later to other high schools which were evidently their second choice. In few cases, however, the figures given of the pupils actually admitted seem to show that some 100 or more pupils (evidently for the most part girls) decided not to enter any high school at all, when refused ad- mission to the school of their choice. On the other hand, the entering classes were slightly increased later in February by 20 Elimination of SUidents in Public Secondary Schools boys and girls who had appHed but had been refused admission to the preparatory departments, respectively, of the College of the City of New York and the New York City Normal College and who then turned to the regular public high schools. There will therefore be found some discrepancies between the appli- cations for admission and the actual admissions with which we are directly concerned. The following table gives the actual number of admissions to the entering (lA) grade of February, 1906, as copied from the ofiEicial monthly reports of the various high schools for January and February, 1906. TOTAL PUPILS ADMITTED JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 1906 January, 1906 February, 1906 High School Boys Girls Boys Girls P. s. o.s. P. s. o.s. P.S. O.S P. S. O.S. Boys Girls Total 310 7 51 282 348 6 431 11 57 51 79 3 8 20 13 223 13 149 33 27 183 78 59 III 21 214 II 10 20 400 4 491 47 411 7 274 38 36 S17 12 7 I 17 43 44 26 25 29 1 I 5 5 4 15 18 2 2 33 32 5 22 1 4 45 2 177 13 14 24 I 9 68 336 ... 52 83 342 424 496 59 59 56 155 87 229 8 10 20 20 451 681 17 61 251 443 167 283 35 38 29 36 248 ... 585 135 Clinton 342 Commerce Commercial 211 424 496 Eastern Erasmus Far Rockaway . . Flushing Girls 118 316 18 40 451 681 Jamaica Manual 78 694 450 Newton Richmond Hill. . Stuyvesant Wadleigh 73 65 248 58s Totals 2,26s 40 2,706 43 177 145 368 17 2,627 3,134 5,761 Note. — P. S.^Public Schools. O. S. — other than Public Schools. Percentage of Public Elementary School Graduates Who Entered Public High Schools in New York City Janu- ary AND February, 1906 It is not necessary for the purposes of our study to find out the exact percentage of all the elementary school graduates of January, 1906, who entered high school. Indeed such figures are nowhere published by sexes at present. However, we may, by using the official total of 9,186, compare this with the 5,516 pupils who entered from public elementary schools (5,761 less 245 from other schools) and find that 60 per cent so entered. Study of Entering Population 2l Using our approximate division of boys and girls we find that about 57 per cent of the boys who graduated from the elementary schools have entered high school and that about 63 per cent of the girls similarly entered. Comparison of Total Numbers There were admitted to the nineteen public high schools at the time of the inception of this study in all 5,761 pupils (2,627 boys and 3,134 girls). To the particular eleven schools where this investigation was begun there were admitted 4,520 pupils, 61 per cent of the total (1,634 boys and 2,886 girls). The 1,002 pupils (382 boys and 620 girls) for special study represent 17.4 per cent of the first total, 14.7 per cent of the boys and 19.8 per cent of the girls, who entered high school. Of this total we may say we are dealing in our study with approximately one-sixth of the total entering number or in the neighborhood of one-eighth of all the boys and one-fifth of all the girls who entered at this time. The thousand chosen fairly represent the totals in respect to both hereditary and environ- mental conditions. A preliminary classification of the pupils selected for the in- vestigation is here given. TOTAL ADMISSIONS TO THE ELEVEN HIGH SCHOOLS SELECTED FOR INVESTIGATION; JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1906 Borough School Manhattan... DeWitt Clinton. . . " ... Wadleigh " ... Commerce " ... Irving " ... Stui'vesant Bronx . . . Morris Brooklyn . . . Girls " ... Erasmus Hall .... " ... Eastern District. . " ... Manual Training. . Richmond . . . Curtis Total Boys 342 424 248 167 87 56 251 59 1,634 Girls 585 681 283 45 1 229 155 443 59 Total 342 585 424 681 248 450 451 316 211 694 118 Selected Classes Boys Girls Total 62 38 37 33 58 63 61 127 59 121 62 lor 90 117 86 58 SECTION III AGES The first point to be considered in a study of our recorded group is their ages on entering. Since a study of the table furnished by the City Superintendent giving the ages of elementary school graduates shows there is no substantial difference between the ages of the boys and the girls who graduated in January, 1906, we have not separated the sexes in our table. We give first the figures of the City Superintendent and then the distribution by ages of our recorded group. AGES OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADUATES Borough Und'r 13 13 to 14 14 to IS 15 to 16 16 to 17 17 to 18 18 to 19 19 to 20 Total OF ALL Manhattan. The Bronx. Brooklyn. . 443 73 234 21 8 2,189 460 1,440 244 63 3>248 642 2,661 469 114 2,111 441 1,975 351 93 669 201 699 122 49 117 27 134 17 5 13 2 15 2 I 8,791 1,846 7,is8 Queens. . . . 1 ,226 Richmond . 332 Totals. . . . 779 4,396 7.134 4,971 1,740 300 32 I 19,353 From this table it appears that a little over 60 per cent of the graduates of the elementary schools are of the normal age, and about 40 per cent over the normal age. The following table shows the average ages of the children graduated from the elementary schools during the year: Borough Manhattan, The Bronx Brookl5m . . Queens . . . . Richmond . Boys Yrs. Mos 14 14 14 14 14 9 10 10 Girls Yrs. Mos. 14 14 14 14 14 10 3 Study of Entering Population 23 GO H OWOOOHOOOOOO N d OOOOOHOOOOOO " m OHOOOOOOOOOO " t^ H HMMOOC^wOOOOOO On d MHHOOOOOOOOO CO w OOOroiNMOOOOOO H t^ H M t-~ CKO 000 (N (N ro 10 CO d H LOt^Tl-t^rOlJ^'^H H H On fd vOO Tt-roM ro-^-^w H (N NO CO UO H ^ 10 N (N t-O 00 IN 'i- t^ !>■ (N Cq(N(MMI-IHH-r;\0 w loONu^co ^ r^ r^o ^ 00 0) vc CO Q W Q P^ f^' 00 ooi-H M M r^roO iocoOnOn w M COM c^rocoroci rO!N 01 d t^ONI-t co0 ro w -^O M ro MHMHMHHHHMMO 00 M < pq' iJ^O OnwCO ONOt^clNO •* M MM MM M 0) M H mOOOC-im7 15 — 15-1 1 mos. "Rather unsuccessful" 22 24 23 16 — 16-11 mos. "Unsuccessful" 10 8 9 17 and over "Very unsuccessful" 2 i i 100 100 100 From this table it would appear that the high schools get the most successful graduates of the elementary schools in about one-third of its entering children and its staple in about one- third, together a total of two-thirds upon which the elementary school has set its stamp of decided approval. Whether the pupils who were most successful in the ele- mentary schools drop out of high school as quickly as the duller ones is one of the questions to be answered in this research, but at the very start we must notice that the high school pupils will largely represent a selected class of successful elementary school pupils. Legal School Age Aside from showing ability which should enable the pupil to remain in high school, the ages may have a bearing upon the time when a pupil is permitted to drop out of his school. It is well to note from the start that the compulsory educa- tion law included in 1906 the ages eight to fifteen so that a pupil to leave school, to do nothing specific, must legally be sixteen years old. " Work certificates," however, may be immediately issued to all children of fourteen or over that are included in our records. If the compulsory education law had then been capable of complete enforcement we could calculate from our table exactly the earliest date at which each school child would have the possibility of leaving school presented to him. Ac- cording to the legal possibilities we may make the following classification : May legally leave at once to go to work 69 per cent May legally leave by or before the beginning of the second term 86 per cent Study of Entering Population 27 May legally leave by or before the end of the second term 96 per cent An examination of these per cents should weaken to some extent the value of an explanation frequently offered to account for the high school elimination, namely : " The pupils enter high school to comply with the compulsory education law and leave as soon as the law allows." Legal requirements would hold less than four per cent after the first year. Or in other words, if all left school as soon as they were legally entitled to seek employment there would be an elimination of 96 per cent in the first year of our investigation. Ages of Brothers and Sisters There are nearly twice as many boys who are either the young- est in the family or are children with no brothers or sisters, as there are all other boys (with younger brothers or sisters) combined. Among the girls however we find more girls that have younger brothers or sisters than we do girls who are without brothers or sisters or who are the youngest in the family. This contrast is marked and may perhaps be taken as evi- dence that often when family resources are meagre the older boys are sent to work and only the youngest boys are sent to high school. The older girls on the other hand are frequently sent to high school, it appears, possibly in the hope of making teach- ers of them and so of gaining assistance for the family in a more substantial way than they could hope for as shop girls or factory workers. We cannot but note if "our surmise be a true one that the general public hopes to find for their children in the high schools not primarily a broadened intellectual life, nor culture, nor training, but instead chiefly at least a means to making better wages and so in the end to helping the family itself. > 8 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools " How many children younger than you are there in your family f Blank (no answer) . . None younger One younger Two younger Three younger Four younger Five younger Six or more younger Totals Man- hattan AND Bronx Boys Girls fi3 42 26 13 5 ^25 75 45 33 19 3" Brooklyn AND Richmond Boys Girls 37 104 8 6 6 [70 86 24 17 7 5 310 Total Boys Girls 37 217 50 29 32 14 387 170 211 99 62 40 24 10 5 621 Totals 207 428 149 91 72 3S i9 7 1 ,008 Age and Health The question was asked " What serious illness have you had?" The word "serious" was defined as one in which the sick person's life was in danger or a sickness " one might have died of." To prevent the tabulating of infant's diseases and to confine ourselves to sickness which would directly interfere with school work at the time of the sickness, the date of each illness was asked. Where the sickness occurred in infancy or before they first entered school, the children were asked not to record the disease, and if recorded the disease was not tabulated. What serious illness have you had? Manhattan Brooklyn AND AND To TAL Bronx Richmond Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls 41 55 25 59 66 114 lOI 152 94 156 195 308 2 4 2 4 4 8 6 25 14 20 20 45 13 II 4 21 17 32 27 26 13 25 40 51 4 4 3 7 7 II 4 10 2 8 6 18 4 5 2 6 5 6 4 10 18 13 3 5 21 18 220 311 162 309 382 620 Totals Blank No serious disease Appendicitis Diphtheria Pneumonia Scarlet fever Typhoid Two of above Serious accidents Nerve or brain diseases Miscellaneous Totals 180 503 12 65 49 91 18 24 II 10 39 1,002 Study of Entering Population 29 Again the investigator has to plead guilty to an oversight in arranging the question card for the pupils. The question was asked " What serious illness have you had ? " with the idea of finding the possible relation between serious illness and the en- durance, mental and physical, required by a high school pupil. There was also present a desire to find the connection, if any, between illness and the entering age. The mistake lay in not also asking the question : " How many terms of school did you lose through sickness or quarantine ? " The answer " None," " One," etc., would help us in finding out how many of the older entering pupils had been kept back by ill-health rather than by lack of mental ability. However, even with the figures we have, we may form some idea of the situation. Our answers tell us that about one-third of the total number of our recorded pupils have suffered from some serious illness since their school life began. As bearing upon our study of the success of our pupils in elementary school work this fraction would tend to show that our estimates of this success is extremely conservative because if one-third of our pupils suffered serious illness, the supposition that most of these children were retarded at least one term in their elementary school course is not at all absurd. The arrangement by boroughs is without special significance. The comparison was made for the purpose of finding out if our recorded pupils in one locality were more free from disease than those in another. There seems to be practically no difference in the main. The differences that appear under diphtheria and pneumonia seem if anything to be sex differences rather than borough differences and are probably of no particular value to our study. A second question bearing upon the health of the pupils and their fitness for hard study was the question " Do you have severe headaches ? " A " severe headache " was defined as a headache sufficiently painful to prevent the pupil from studying while it was present. Unless the headaches were stated to recur more frequently than once a month the answers were not tabu- lated as "Yes," but as "Rarely." The answers are tabulated as follows : 3 o Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Boys Girls Totals Blank o o o "No" or "Never" 305 451 756 " Rarely," " Very seldom " 26 35 61 "Yes" 51 134 185 382 620 1,002 These totals show that over 18 per cent of our group do suffer from more or less regular headaches. As might be expected from their indoor life and manner of dress as well as from other physiological causes the girls are the greater sufferers. Approximately two girls in nine suffer from frequent headaches while but one boy in seven similarly suffers. That this matter of headaches stands as handicap in the way of progress of any pupil almost all physicians unite in affirm- ing. If these pupils with frequently recurring headaches perse- vere as well as the non-sufferers it must be at the expense of more mental energy and through the possession of a more serious determination to succeed. The answers to the question " Do you wear glasses ? " are now given. Boys Girls Totals Blank o No 345 535 880 Yes 37 85 122 382 620 1,002 In simpler ratios we may say that about one in ten of the boys and one in seven of the girls wear glasses. The question regarding eye-glasses accompanied the one con- cerning the presence of headaches to see if there was any con- nection between the wearing of glasses and freedom from head- aches. No such freedom appears from a comparison of the answers. Of the 37 boys and 85 girls who wear glasses we find that almost exactly half of each group complains of regular and frequent headaches despite the fact that they wear glasses. This would tend to show either that these regular headaches do not in many cases arise from eye-strain or else that many pupils are suffering from poor and ill-adjusted glasses.* From * This qviestion of imperfect vision and eye-strain has at this later date of 1910 become more widely appreciated than it was in 1906. Great pressure is now brought to bear upon parents, to have their children's eyes properly fitted with glasses when such need is discovered. Study of Entering Population 31 experience with pupils on this very point the investigator indines to the latter explanation as more credible. It still might be not an entirely irrational prophecy based upon the fact that half of those who wear glasses suffer no headaches, to state that if our one hundred and twenty-four pupils, who suffer from headaches and wear no glasses, were to secure properly fitted glasses there might be a decided lessen- ing in the number who formerly suffered. One startling defect, however, still exists and it is one that demands attention. Parents who regard the remedy of defec- tive vision as a fad or an extravagance will when sufficiently " persecuted " by school officials provide their children with " glasses " which are often unsuited to the needs of the child whose vision is defective. Parents have even been known to purchase glasses at pawn shops or similar places without even having their children's eyes tested by an oculist at all. Simi- larly many irresponsible shop-keepers go through a show of eye testing and the fitting of glasses with no real knowledge of the requirements of the process. There appears to be now a need for the most careful testing of defective eye glasses as well as the testing of defective vision of school children. This testing of glasses is not overlooked, but, on the other hand, the physicians and nurses who make the tests do not claim to be oculists. Moreover, the schools are not provided with the apparatus for making accurate tests. A few central bureaus which children could be compelled to visit in school hours would probably serve to correct within a few months after the opening of each school year most of the defects due to poorly adjusted glasses. Such bureaus even ex- pensively and elaborately equipped might still save the city money through the lessening of retardation and its accompany- ing evils to say nothing of the increased efficiency it might give to hundreds of future citizens. SECTION IV- . NATIONALITY OF FATHER , , . , Up to the time this study was begun (February, 1906) there had been no detailed record of the nationality of the fathers of our high school pupils. Such a study as was then made (Febru- ary, 1906) must seem crude and incomplete when compared with the extremely careful and exact investigation made by the United States Immigration Commission in December, 1908. Had the investigator known more about ethnography, or had he been able to explain to the pupils the racial distinctions of a nation like Austria-Hungary (with its nineteen races) a more useful tabulation might have been secured from our recorded pupils. As it is, we still have some interesting totals which we might briefly note, though for our discussion we shall use the summar- ies from the tables prepared for the United States Immigration Commission. As we look over these tables it may help us to understand the situation if we keep in mind the ratios given below from the Census of 1909 for the country, state, and city. Residents of U.S. N. Y. S. N. Y. C. Per Cents Father born in U S 65.7 40.6 23.1 Father born in other countries 34.3 59.4 76.9 100 100 100 COUNTRY OF FATHER'S BIRTH Blank U. S. A Austria Hungary Bohemia Canada English Canada French Denmark 32 Boys Girls 16 25 41 153 293 446 16 19 35 7 5 12 I 2 3 3 6 9 4 4 3 2 5 Total Study of Entering Poptdation COUNTRY OF FATHER'S BIRTH— Continued 33 Boys Girls Total England , France Germany , Holland, Belgium. Ireland Italy Norway Poland Russia Roumania Scotland Sweden Switzerland Spain Turkey (Armenia) European Hebrew 15 I 53 3 30 10 51 4 7 5 90 I 46 45 14 620 47 6 143 4 76 15 96 6 21 1 ,002 Report of Immigration Commission Summarized tables of the parentage of our high school pupils have been prepared from the statistics collected by the United States Immigration Commission. These tables and practically all that follows were secured for this investigation from data most generously furnished by Associate Superintendent Edward L. Stevens to whom acknowledgment is again made at this time. The first table shows the totals for boys and girls attending high school in December, 1908. [Note. — One may be led to criticise the classification here followed on the basis that the Hebrew should not be separately classified because of his religion. In my own early classification no such distinction was made, all parents being tabulated according to the country of birth. However, in using the figures furnished by the U. S. Immigration Investigation of 1908, I was obliged to classify Hebrews as our Government had done — that is, as a distinct race regardless of the country of birth. The reason given for this was the infrequency of intermarriage, keeping the Hebrew racial stock nearly pure and so racially separate, no matter what language was spoken or where citizenship was established.] 3 4 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools 1908 HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE FOR GREATER NEW YORK Parentage of Pupil American White American Negro Bohemian Bulgarian Canadian English Canadian French Chinese Croatian Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Hebrew German Hebrew Polish Hebrew Roumanian Hebrew Russian Irish Italian North Italian South Japanese Lithuanian Magyar Norwegian Polish Roumanian Russian Ruthenian Scotch Slovak Slovenian Spanish American Swedish Welsh Austrian Armenian Swiss Syrian Negro, foreign Portuguese Cuban American Indian West Indian Turk Flemish Greek Spanish Scotch Irish Dalmatian Bermuda English Australian white Australian English Chinese Total Boys Girls 4,666 6,610 II ,276 78 123 201 51 31 82 9 9 84 131 215 13 25 38 5 2 7 2 2 47 130 177 18 23 41 323 598 921 6 II 17 67 103 170 1.330 1,443 2-773 624 652 1 ,276 171 i6s 336 143 no 253 1,661 1-354 3,015 618 T.043 1,661 148 105 253 194 92 286 3 3 7 4 II 67 S3 120 49 76 125 35 31 66 13 8 21 36 87 123 2 2 140 244 384 5 5 10 2 I 3 38 34 72 lOI 164 265 7 24 31 9 II 20 4 I 5 3 I 4 3 2 5 S 5 10 I I 2 3 3 I I 2 4 4 I I I I 5 5 3 6 9 3 4 7 Total 10,797 13,531 24,328 Study of Entering Population 35 1908 TOTAL HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ARRANGED BY PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES Parrntage of Pupil American white - Russian Hebrew , German Irish , German Hebrew English Italian North and South . . . . Scotch Polish Hebrew Swedish Roumanian Hebrew , Canadian English , American Negro Danish French Norwegian Russian Magyar (Austria-Hungary) . . Bohemian Spanish American , Polish Holland Dutch Canadian French Welsh Roumanian Austrian Scattering Foreign , Unclassified Foreign Hebrew, Total Boys 4,666 i,66i 1.33° 6i8 624 323 342 140 171 lOI 143 84 78 47 67 49 36 67 51 38 35 18 13 7 13 9 66 666 II ,463 Girls 6 , 610 1.354 1.443 1.043 652 598 197 244 165 164 no 131 123 130 103 76 87 53 31 34 31 23 25 24 8 II 59 458 13.987 Total II ,276 3.015 2,773 1,661 1 ,276 921 539 384 336 265 253 215 201 177 170 125 123 120 82 72 66 41 38 31 21 20 125 1 , 124 25,460 Boys Versus Girls Comparing first the relative number of boy pupils with girl pupils of the same race, it is interesting to note that the English- speaking parents send a much higher percentage of girls to the high schools than of boys. This is especially true of the children of Irish parentage where the ratio is approximately ten girls to six boys. Two races alone of those that are represented in any con- siderable numbers send more boys than girls to high school : The Hebrew races — Russian, German, Polish, Roumanian, etc., send more boys than girls to the high school in the approximate ratio of five boys to four girls (3,265 boys to 2,739 girls). Again the Italians, of whom there is a constantly increasing 36 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools number in New York City, send more boys than girls to high school. Here the ratio is, as seen, approximately three boys to two girls. The ratio of sex in the high schools of America, so far as can be secured from obtainable figures, is, according to the com- putations of Superintendent Stevens, approximately four boys to six girls (43 per cent boys, 57 per cent girls) which makes the larger ratio of boys from Hebrew and Italian parentage still more marked. General Population Versus High School Population Regarding the relative representation in the city and in the high schools of the predominating nationalities we could speak with more certainty if we had the results of the Census of 1910 which are not yet obtainable. We must then make our comparisons between the city popu- lation of 1900 and the high school population of 1908. (In the Census of 1900, Hebrews are not separately tabulated but are distributed with Russians, Germans, Polish, and " other coun- tries.") POPULATION OF NEW YORK CITY Countries of Origin Numbers High Schools 1908 Population 1900 Percentage High Schools 1908 Population 1900 United States. . Germany Russia Ireland England Italy Poland Scotland Sweden Canada, English Denmark France Norway Canada, French . Wales Other countries . Total 11.477 4,049 3 , 166 1,661 921 539 392 384 265 215 177 170 125 38 31 1,942 907.351 735.992 240 ,805 649.302 116,044 217 ,920 51 .621 37,668 41.234 19,623 8,223 23,203 16, 746 3.899 3,119 361,472 45-1 15-9 12 .4 6.5 3-6 3-1 1-5 1-5 1 .0 .8 .6 .6 .5 .1 . I 7.6 26 .4 21.4 7.0 18.9 3-4 6.4 1-5 1 .1 1 .2 .6 .2 •7 •5 .1 .1 10.5 25.452 3.434.222 100. o Study of Entering Population 37 In making all deductions a large allowance must be made for the changes in relative population in eight years 1900-1908. The reader is urged to keep constantly in mind this marked difference. From this table we find that while native-born parents formed but 26.4 per cent of the population in 1900, such parents fur- nished nearly half of all the children in high school in 1908. On the other hand, we find that over half of all the children in high school are children of foreign-bom fathers. Not all of these children however are of non-English speaking parentage. On the basis of the native language of the father, we have a comparison as follows : 1908 1900 Native Language High School Population Per Cent Per Cent English Speaking 57.5 61.4 Non-English Speaking 42.5 38.6 The brunt of all the struggle to educate children first in the English tongue and second in the subjects of instruction, rests of course upon the elementary schools where it remains con- stantly a most vexing problem. However, in the high school, though all pupils understand English perfectly, still a surprisingly large number of pupils speak it imperfectly. This is largely because of the confusion of English and foreign idioms and an imperfect acquaintance with good usage at home, particularly in the matter of our irregular verbs. Yet the real handicap which a high school pupil of non-English speaking parentage suffers is from the bar which is raised between teacher and parent in the matter of a clear understanding of school aims and school requirements. That so many of our pupils of foreign born parents succeed even better than the children of the native born is a high tribute to the indomitable courage and perseverance of these pupils and their parents. Comparing the percentage of population in the city at large with the percentage represented in the high schools we find the Irish to be apparently the most poorly represented. Form- ing about 19 per cent of the population they furnish but 6.5 per 38 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools cent of the high school pupils. Next come the Italians who made up in 1900 6.4 per cent of the population and furnished in 1908 but 3.1 per cent of the high school pupils. These figures are in part misleading if they are taken to represent the fixed attitude of these parents toward secondary education. Most Irish and Italian immigrants are extremely poor when they land in this country. The struggle for the necessities of life presses too hard upon them to permit their children to continue in school after the legal age for employ- ment (14 years). With the second generation we find a decided increase, in the percentage of girls of Irish-American extraction. Though these girls are not separately tabulated, a perusal of the high school roll-books will show that the distinctively Irish names appear in sufficient numbers to justify this statement. The Italians, however, have not as yet made the same advance. On the other hand the Hebrews despite all limitations of poverty or deprivation send from the very first their children to the high schools in large numbers. Our tables for Russia (largely Russian Hebrews) show that whereas Russian parents make up but 7.0 per cent of the popu- lation in 1900, they furnish 12.4 per cent of all the high school pupils in 1908. A large influx of Hebrews between 1900 and 1908 makes this race's devotion to education appear greater in our tables than it really is. However, the fact remains that of all the races represented in considerable numbers the Hebrews far exceed all others, in- cluding the native born Americans, in their appreciation and use of the New York City high schools. 'V, SECTION V OCCUPATIONS OF PARENTS Regarding the occupations, we have more difficulty in estab- lishing a true classification, because of the indefinite way in which many pupils answered Question 3 on the register card " What is your father's business ? " It is perhaps but natural for a boy or girl to give the most high-sounding title permissible to his or her father's occupation; therefore it is necessary in many cases to allow considerable latitude in the application of some terms used by the pupils. For example, in some known instances children applied the term " tailor " to their father's occupation when the parents worked at some special bit of piecework in a sweatshop. In the same way, it is often hard to distinguish in nomenclature between the head of a shop in which certain things are made and the salesman or employee in the same shop. In a few known cases the children did not distinguish between the employer and employed so far as the nomenclature was concerned. Therefore, in the classification " tradesmen " especially, there will probably be found a small percentage of wrongly classified occupations. For example, when a child answers butcher, the parent may be either a salaried employee who may be discharged on a week's notice or the owner of the shop. However, with all possibility of error fully recognized, there still will be found in the tables a fund of information as to the occupations of the parents who send their children to high school, even though in certain cases we are unable to deter- mine with extreme accuracy the occupation referred to by the pupil. A classification like that followed in the U. S. Census of Occu- pations 1906, would be too vague if we were to use only the five large headings : 39 40 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Agricultural Pursuits, Professional, Domestic and Personal, Trade and Transportation, Manufacturing and Mechanical. So a classification peculiar to this article is used. No classification would satisfy all workers and the following arrangement has many faults. It will, however, save the reader some of the difficulties attending the reading of a very long alphabetical list. FATHER'S OCCUPATION Total Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn Rich- mond Blank Dead Retired Invalid 89 76 13 I 37 44 II I 38 29 2 14 3 Professional Architect Civil engineer Dentist Doctor 179 4 3 2 9 4 10 4 93 2 I I I 3 5 2 69 I I I 5 I 5 2 17 I I 3 Elec engineer Lawyer Minister Semi-professional Artist 36 6 2 I 4 2 7 2 I 5 3 I I 15 4 2 I 4 2 2 I 16 I 2 I I 2 I 3 2 I 2 I 5 I Chemist Curator Draughtsman Drugrsfist Editor Musician Music teacher Photographer P. S. Teacher I Sculotor I Singer Survej'^or 36 I I 16 17 I I 3 Undertaker 2 2 Study of Entering Population 41 FATHER'S OCCUPATION— Coj-^imM^d Total Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn Rich- mond Federal or City Employee Caretaker 4 12 2 4 21 7 9 2 3 7 I I 14 I 5 I I 4 I 3 6 5 4 I Civil service I Custom house Fireman Policeman I Political appointment I Postman Street Cleaner Artisans Blacksmitli 61 3 8 21 I 4 2 II 26 9 12 I 2 5 22 3 I I Si 2 4 12 I 2 2 5 9 6 8 I 13 10 I I 25 I 4 6 2 5 17 2 4 10 9 2 I 3 Cabinetmaker Carpenter 3 Carver Electrician Fire v'i'z Mason I Metal worker Painter I Plumber Roofer Stationary engineer 2 Contractor and builder Carriage maker 3 Piano maker Ship builder Printing Trades Compositor 150 29 4 I I 77 14 I 63 14 3 I 10 I Engraver I Publisher Printer Transportation Chauffeur 35 I 6 9 2 3 2 I I 4 I I 4 4 I 15 I 3 4 2 I 2 3 4 I I 18 3 5 2 I I I I 3 2 Coachman Driver Expressman Longshoreman Milkman Pilot Sea captain Seaman I Steam R. R Street car conductor Street car motorman 42 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools FATHER'S OCCUPATION— CowiwM^d Total Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn Rich- mond Transportation — Cant . Truckman and mover 4 2 4 2 Telegrapher Clerical Assistants Bar clerk 46 I 28 3 15 2 3 22 12 3 7 I 23 I 14 8 I 3 I Bookkeeper 2 Cashier (store) Clerk Collector Secretary Personal Service Barber 52 7 I 2 4 I 4 4 5 8 2 3 2i 5 I 2 3 3 2 4 5 I I 27 I I I I I 3 I 2 2 I Chef Elevator man Janitor Turkish bath attendant Waiter Watchman I Hotel keeper X Restaurant keeper Laundry Hospital superintendent Middlemen {Office Workers) Auctioneer 41 I 12 22 12 30 21 2 I 5 27 I 6 12 4 15 6 2 I 3 II 6 9 7 14 13 2 3 Broker Commission agent Insurance agent I I Real estate agent I 2 Theatre agent Transportation agent Unclassified ("agent") Unclassified "Fireman" 106 20 8 I 7 50 12 4 4 51 7 3 I 2 5 I "Factory hand" 1 Knitter Laborer I Manufacture and Trade 36 I 4 3 15 20 4 2 II 13 4 3 I Baker Brewer I Butcher Study of Entering Population 43 FATHER'S OCCVFATIO'N— Continued Total Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn Rich- mond Manufacture and Trade — Cont. Cigars i6 I I 2 5 2 2 2 I lO 3 I 2 3 12 6 2 I 2 33 54 20 7 13 I I t 2 I 1 I 3 2 I I I 9 2 2 I I 13 32 II I 3 I I I 5 4 I 3 4 I 20 22 8 5 Coal Flowers Fruit Furnishings Furniture Furs 5 Garden truck I Hardware Ice I Jeweler 7. Junk I Lumber Milliner I Papers and stationery Saloon Shoes Silk. Silversmith I "Stands" "Store" "Tailor" "Manager" (store) I "Manufacturer" I 226 126 83 17 In order to gain a better basis for comparison and discussion an abbreviated list seemed desirable. If we disregard the smaller subdivisions and confine our attention to the large combined groups of occupations we may arrange a table as shown on page 44. This table gives us an approximate basis for com- parison between the high school entering population and the population of the city at large. In determining the percentage of the male population employed in various occupations, the Census of 1900 was made the basis for our calculations, but these figures were found in some cases too indefinite for our comparison, so additional information was sought from various sources. In the first place the census figures were tabulated under the smallest groups given and then re-classified to accord with our grouping of the parents of high school pupils so far as that 44 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools was possible. These figures were then somewhat modified by comparison with other sources of statistical information to give us the totals we used in calculating our percentages. It can be readily seen that our final percentages are carefully prepared estimates of the distribution by occupations, but will not be easily capable of verification because of the number of sources of information from which the figures were secured. The most uncertain figure is that given for Federal and City employees which might be raised to 6.0 per cent under another basis of classification. SUMMARY OCCUPATION OP FATHER Occupation Professional Semi-professional Artisans — contractors Federal and city employees Clerical helpers Office workers, agents Manufacturer and trade . . . Printing trades Personal service Transportation Factory — labor Total 36 36 150 61 52 106 227 35 41 46 36 826 High School 1906 Per cent 4.4 4.4 18. 1 7-4 6.3 12.8 27-5 4.2 4.9 5-5 4.4 Popula- tion 1900 Per cent 1- 28. 2 . 1- 6. 10 . In comparing the percentage of males above seventeen em- ployed at various occupations with the per cent in these same occupations who send children to high school we must take into consideration the necessarily uncertain figures of our 1900 Census. How many in the percentages given have any children at all, how many have children of high school age we cannot determine. In some ways it might have served our purpose better to have taken the Census of 1890 as our basis as we would thereby gain an estimate of more of the men old enough to have children of high school age. On the other hand, the influx of foreign Study of Entering Population 45 born parents and immigrants between 1890 and 1900 would make for inaccuracy in our estimates. On the whole, our present plan seems the best obtainable. At the start we note that the children of city and govern- ment employees apparently use the high school to a much greater extent than the proportional percentage of their parents in the population would suggest. It seems quite evident that the value of a secondary education is most seriously appreciated by the policemen, firemen, and postmen of this city. Our re- corded pupils show over twice the percentage that we should expect on the basis of an equal representation in school and in the city population. This may, however, be due to our classi- fication. Men engaged in the printing trades also seem to be better represented in high school than their numbers in the city would suggest. In proportion to their numbers they come next to the city employees in their use of the high schools. Third in their relative representation comes the class we have tabulated as professional or semi-professional occupations. Had we not the figures before us we would probably attribute to the children of the better educated parents a much higher per cent of the high school population. It might reasonably be expected that a majority of the patrons of the high schools would be parents with the better education. Such does not seem to be the case in this investigation, for the children of the pro- fessional and semi-professional classes form less than 9 per cent of the children recorded. Among the explanations offered, are the following: 1. The children of the professional classes largely attend pri- vate high schools. 2. The families of professional men are very small in com- parison with the families of other classes of workers. Fourth in their relative use of the high school comes the group called " Office Workers and Agents." These men are brokers, commission agents, insurance and real estate agents who are very evidently of the better educated classes themselves, — often men of means as their rentals indicate. That these men should send their children to high school in considerable number is to be expected. 46 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Artisan-contractors, manufacturers and tradesmen send to high school nearly half of all the children who attend. The repre- sentation of these men in the population and in the high schools is about the same (approximately 45 per cent). Clerks and bookkeepers apparently do not use the high schools in as large a proportion as their numbers in the population would at first suggest but it must be recalled that very many men recorded as clerks, bookkeepers, etc., are young men, often unmarried, who are " working up " in their various lines of business. Those engaged in transportation (drivers, truckmen, street car employees) ; are not as well represented as most groups, yet as well as we might expect, ages and salaries being con- sidered. As bearing upon the use made of the high school by the chil- dren of artisans, mechanics and other skilled hand workers, there may be another factor beside the ambition of the parents in impelling the boy or girl to attempt a secondary education. This may be illustrated by the following condition : The writer had occasion in a neighboring city to compare the parentage of the children attending the two high schools there, the one a classical school of the older type, and the other a manual training school. It was observed that the classical school drew not only from the richest classes (where a college educa- tion was assured the boy or girl) but equally or even more from the classes where manual work in factories or shops was bound to be the ultimate occupation of the majority of children. On the other hand, the manual training school was patronized very largely by parents whose own work was largely or wholly brain work and whose children never did manual work outside of school. The reason why the children of the brain workers should seek to acquire some manual dexterity is more obvious than the reason why the future manual workers should avoid the training that was intended to be directly useful to them. So far as the writer was able to explain this condition he found it to rest upon : I. A false pride that led the sons and daughters of manual- workers to look down on hand-work and seek as long as possible to avoid it. Study of Entering Population 47 2. The idea that the study of the classics would make " ladies and gentlemen " of the students and give them a refinement that they otherwise would miss forever. Both of these motives, present-day educators would be rather inclined to class as unworthy, and yet there is much in the elementary education of boys and girls to-day to force them into just such conclusions. The standard argument for making a boy study when he wishes to leave for work, or even when he fails in his daily lesson, is the horrid example of the day-laborer. " Do you want to be a ditch-digger? " " Do you want to work with your hands all your life ? " are the interrogations he con- stantly hears. Year after year the boy hears one teacher after another anathematize hand-work until he regards hand-work somewhat as he does pauperism or crime, forgetting that hand- and-brain-work may be labor of the very highest type. The cultural benefit of the classics has already begun to be more truly estimated by students of education, but in the schools the classics are still all-powerful things to conjure with. The elementary school boy who cannot see the use of English gram- mar (which Shakspere never studied) is told that it will give him " culture," make him more refined, take him from the dreaded hand-labor class. So there is built up in his mind a connec- tion between the classics and an escape from hand-labor which works strongly in the decisions he is called upon to make when he graduates from elementary school. How far this same spirit is found in the New York City schools the writer is unable to say, but it seems probable that the possibility of escape from manual work is a strong factor in sending some boys and girls to high school ; and it may be that the children of skilled hand-workers, who make up such a large fraction of the high school population, are impelled by some such motives to con- tinue their education when the children of other classes " go to business " at the end of the elementary school course. Returning again to our tabulations we may agree that on the whole the figures may well cause surprise because they appar- ently show that the high schools are used chiefly by the children of parents who themselves never, in all probability, carried their own education beyond the earlier years of the elementary schools. Even the class we have tabulated as unskilled labor is repre- sented by 5 per cent in high school, which on the basis of our 48 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools records would apparently show that approximately every other unskilled laborer had one child in high school. The democratic nature of the high school is, so far as its patronage goes, indicated beyond question by our records, though through its traditions as shown in the course of study the high school still stands as a representative of a training school for the privileged classes, the aristocracy of earlier days. In their struggle toward higher intellectual levels the city laborers of to-day send more children to the public high schools than do the lawyers of our city. The question that must constantly recur is again suggested: Does the curriculum which we have inherited from earlier and different social conditions still stand as the best one to meet the present situation? SECTION VI CHOSEN OCCUPATIONS OF PUPILS THE CHOSEN OCCUPATIONS OF BOYS "What do you expect to do for a living?" No Choice Made Partial Choice Blank 27 Undecided 129 156 (41 per cent) Architect 7 Artist 2 Banker i Bookkeeper 3 Botanist i Brewer i Broker i Business 36 Cheese-merchant i Chemist 2 Dentist 2 Draughtsman 3 Electrician 9 Engineer 5 Civil 39 Electrical 27 Mechanical 5 Locomotive i Steam i Engraver i Farmer i 149 Go to college 9 Some profession ... 6 1 5 (4 per cent) Forward 149 Forester i Insurance i Law 24 Literary work i Machinist i Medicine 7 Merchant i Pharmacist 3 Policeman i Printer i Salesman 2 Ship-builder i Stenographer i Surveyor i Teacher 11 Teacher of gymnastics i Teacher of music i U. S. army 2 U. S. navy i 211 (55 percent) Studying the totals in the above table the reader will note that of the 355 boys who made some answer to the question "What do you expect to do for a living?" some 129 boys had not in reality or even in imagination a sufficiently clear con- ception of their probable or desired work to be able to state it in answer to a simple question. At first glance it may strike the reader as remarkable that so large a number of the boys (7 per cent Blank, 34 per cent 49 50 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Undecided) have not thought of any definite kind of work as means of earning a Hving. This may still seem more strange when one considers that within two years a majority of these boys will be at work earning part or all of their living expenses. The fact that these boys are young is not in itself a complete explanation since the great majority of all New York City school boys go to work at fourteen years of age and these boys are already older than many of their friends and playmates who are at work. Viewed from opposite standpoints the boy who, at fourteen and a half years, has no definite work in mind may be either of superior or inferior mental material. The boy who wants to know more of the business world, to know more of the earth and its people, to make more acquaintances, to get the judgment of more men before making a choice of his life work is a boy of a superior mental type. But the boy who just wants " a job," i.e., any chance to make money, not caring what, is not apt to be of as fine a mental fibre. In either case, however, the failure to choose may be due to immaturity evidenced by the lack of information at the pupil's command. However, not only the immaturity of the boy himself but the conventional way of securing a position may be to blame for this lack of definite aim on the boy's part. The boy knows the way he will secure a position finally. Either his father or a friend of the family will find him a " job " (about which the boy has no choice) or else the boy himself will follow the " want columns " of the daily papers and accept almost any position that promises beginners a fair weekly salary. Possibly the boy who knows the difficulties surrounding the securing of a really promising position feels diffident about expressing him- self definitely regarding a chosen line of work particularly when he feels that he must beg rather than choose at the beginning of his period of employment. The 211 boys expressing some definite choice cover 40 occu- pations. As compared with the very varied occupations of the fathers or the older brothers this selection is an extremely nar- row one. Narrow as this is, when we cut down the list to occu- pations selected by more than 2 per cent of our 211 boys who made a choice, we have but nine occupations remaining. Study of Entering Population 51 CHOICE OF OCCUPATION BY BOYS Occupations Chosen by Five or More (2 Per Cent) of the 2x1 Boys Who Expressed a Choice Architect Business Electrician Engineer Engineer, civil Engineer, electrical Engineer, mechanical Law Medicine Teacher t Miscellaneous trade j Miscellaneous construction j Scattering Total Approx. Per Cent 3-3 17 .0 4.2 2.3 18.4 12 .7 2.3 II. 4 3-3 9.0 $ No single occupation chosen by 2 per cent of the total who made a choice. tt Total making a definite choice, 211, or 55 per cent, of the total num- ber of recorded boys. So far as our recorded boys indicate the true condition, the engineering occupations appeal most strongly to our high school pupils. This can in part be accounted for by the tremendous amount of engineering v^ork which has been going on in New York City during the past ten years. Aside from the con- stant erection of huge twenty to thirty story buildings in con- siderable numbers, three immense bridges have been begun or completed, the subway has been built. Riverside Drive extended, trolley lines extended, the elevated roads electrified, North and East Rivers have been tunnelled, railroad stations have been remodelled and the newspapers have been full of engineering schemes for Greater New York. Little wonder then that so many of our pupils have been affected by these gigantic under- takings and that their desire to take part in this work of con- struction and re-construction has been thoroughly aroused. To newspaper reading may in part be attributed the rather large number of boys who have selected the practice of law as their occupation. With the reports of celebrated trials the newspapers have ..appealed to the public for attention. The origination of h^ffe combinations of industries, the formation of 5 2 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools trusts, have been prominently displayed in the news columns of the daily press. Finally, the reports of immense fees of cor- poration counsels have undoubtedly appealed to the imagination of many boys. On the other hand, with nearly one-third of all our male popu- lation (Census 1900) engaged in Transportation and Trade we find a surprisingly low percentage of our total group selecting an occupation within this group. If we add to our 36 boys who expect to follow some " business " occupation all others who would come under the heading of " Transportation and Trade " we still have only 44 or approximately 21 per cent of those who expressed a choice. Whereas if we add to the civil, electrical and mechanical engineers the other allied occupations of construction, we have a total of 106, or 50 per cent, of those naming their choice of an occupation. To a certain extent the recent construction of several magnifi- cent high school buildings together with the rather recent estab- lishment of new high school courses in manual training and mechanical lines may also have drawn still more boys toward mechanical work and construction. On the other hand, ap- parently the high school as a means of better preparation for trade is either not appreciated by parents or pupils or else it is correctly understood but not chosen because it seems to point to a preparation for other occupations than that of trade. Certain it is that there is a demand for a business education short and introductory in its nature, and that this demand i? not encouraged or met by our high schools. Side by side with our high schools, hundreds of " business " schools and " business colleges," flourish under the patronage of thousands of pupils who cannot find in the public schools the combination of sub- jects that they demand within the time at their disposal. Educators are apt to turn up their noses at the " business training " of those short-course schools. And yet this is exactly what the public wants and wants badly enough to pay tuition for, even when books and tuition are furnished free in our com- mercial courses at the public high schools. It is an ethical as well as an educational question whether the parents or the teach- ers should decide upon the length and difficulty of a commercial course. Surely the longer course is the better one; but surely too the parents who wish a shorter course for their children Study of Entering Population 53 should receive some consideration from the public school system which they directly or indirectly support. Finally, the records of previous high school classes have shown us that probably not more than one in eight of our entering boys will even graduate from high school, to say nothing of completing a college course, yet practically all the high school boys who have in any numbers chosen a definite line of work, have, with the exception of 36 who are going to " business " and 14 electricians and engineers, limited themselves to eight or nine lines of work each of which requires at least graduation from both high school and college or professional school. It would then appear that very many of the boys regard the high school course as the first step in a specialized training toward a rather narrowed field of work. These boys look for definite preparation rather than general training. Although with our technical courses and commercial courses (included as they are in this study) we might expect to find a tendency on the part of many pupils toward expressing a limited choice of occupa- tions still we would not expect by any means a tendency as extreme as the one which our figures indicate, on the part of the very great majority of those who are looking ahead to their ideal occupation. Out of nearly four hundred boys who were asked to name their expected vocation but forty occupa- tions were named. Of these forty the majority of those making a selection named but nine occupations : Architect, Electrician, Engineer, Civil Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engi- neer, Law, Medicine, Teacher. Business (meaning trade) may also be included in this list making a tenth occupation ranking next in choice to engineering occupations. The large number of girls who either avoided this question or recorded their answer as " Undecided " may possibly be un- derstood as girls who expect to be sometime wives and mothers and who have not seriously considered the question of doing anything for a living themselves. A more tactful question on this point might have disclosed the reason for so many " Don't know," " Haven't decided," " Can't tell," answers among the girls. Practically one girl of every two was unable or unwilling to state what occupation she would like to follow. 54 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools THE CHOSEN OCCUPATIONS OF GIRLS " What do you expect to do for a living?" Bndfcided::::Jo}(S.Percent) " College " 26 342 (55 per cent) Artist 2 Author I Bookkeeper 9 Business 4 Designer 6 Designer of book covers i Dressmaker 7 Housekeeper 2 Librarian 3 Law 2 Medicine i Milliner 2 Musician 7 Office work 2 Pharmacist i Stenographer 46 Teacher, public school 167 Teacher, elocution i Teacher, music 12 Teacher, physical culture i Telegrapher i Total 278 ( 45 per cent) Grand total 620 (100 per cent) One explanation is that many of these girls recorded as undecided are expecting some time to marry and keep house, but did not wish to record this on their answer card. Until that time comes they will help their mothers at home but will not work regularly in stores or factories. A number of these girls with whom the investigator talked after the cards were filled out frankly said that they did not expect to " work out " for a living. How large this fraction is there is no way of determining now that the pupils are scattered. On the other hand, the above is not by any means the only possible explanation. Another entirely different view may be taken of this large number of undecided girls. More than 41 per cent of the boys have no chosen line of work, the possible reasons for which were discussed. May it not be reasoned that of the 51 per cent of " Blank " or " Undecided " girls, very many are governed by the conditions that affect the 41 per cent of undecided boys? Study of Entering Population 55 Supposing similar conditions to obtain for boys and girls we find that but 51 per cent less 41 per cent, or ten per cent, of the girls undecided for purely feminine reasons. Indeed the striking difference between the attitude toward life and work of the modern girl and the girl of seventy-five or even fifty years ago, is nowhere better shown than in looking at our replies to this very question, " What do you expect to do for a living ? " We have noted the large number that are undecided or un- willing to answer and in doing so perhaps have lost sight of the more important fact, namely, that nearly half of the girls who enter high school, do so apparently with the idea of becom- ing self-supporting in the not far distant future. Whereas, only 55 per cent of the boys, all of whom must become self-support- ing, have in mind some chosen line of work, the girls show 45 per cent that have selected something definite which they hope to take up as a means of self-support. It is interesting, too, to note that there are girls, as well as boys, expressing their intentions of preparing to enter the practice of law or of medicine. Of the twenty-one occupations, chosen by the girls who ex- pressed their choice, only seven are included when we narrow the list to those occupations selected by more than 2 per cent of the pupils making a choice. CHOICE OF OCCUPATION BY GIRLS Occupations Selected by More than 2 Per Cent of the 278 Expressing A Choice Approx. Occupations Pupils Per Cent Bookkeeper Designer Dressmaker Musician Stenographer Teacher, in public school Teacher, music t Scattering t No single occupation chosen by 2 per cent of those expressing a choice. }J Definite choice made by 278, or 45 per cent, of total 620 recorded girls. 56 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Teaching easily leads all other occupations as the favorite choice of the girls. Indeed there are almost twice as many girls who choose teaching as those who choose all other occu- pations combined. For teaching, the way is open through free training schools to actual positions attractively paid. No initia- tive is required, but merely the compliance with certain scholastic standards. The candidate is given a socially respectable position which is secured her for life on good behavior. The salary for a beginner is $600 (or $660 in a boys' class) with small annual increments during fifteen years to over $1,200. Figures collected by Mayor Gaynor's Commission on Teach- ers' Salaries show that the average length of service among women teachers is approximately five years in the elementary schools. Until a girl marries she finds in teaching a gentle position with apparently short hours and long vacations. More- over, most girls are very fond of their teachers and the impulse to emulate them is strong indeed. The salary, too, though gen- erally agreed to be inadequate for the actual service rendered, is enough higher than that of the ordinary positions open to New York City girl-workers to prove very attractive to a girl in her teens. Incidentally we are here furnished with a sidelight on the cam- paign which has been carried on by certain women teachers for equal pay. The higher salaries* offered to men teachers in elementary school attract 11 out of 382 boys to teaching as a means of making a living while the lower salaries offered to women teachers attract 167 out of 620. In other words, less than 3 per cent of all the boys are attracted to teaching while more than 25 per cent of all the girls hope to become teachers. On this basis one might be tempted to assert that even without " equal pay " teaching is now more than eight times as attractive to girls as to boys. When we consider only the numbers expressing some definite choice we have only 11 boys in 211 attracted to teaching, and 167 girls in 278 similarly attracted. Here our percentages are: boys 5.2 per cent; girls 60 per cent. From this the relative attractiveness of teaching as a means of livelihood might be * Elementary schools — Men $900-2,160; women $600-1,320. High schools — Men $900-2,400; women $700-1,900. Study of Entering Population 57 estimated in 1906 as 11 times greater among the girls than among the boys. Next to teaching, but a long way separated from it in num- bers, comes stenography as a means of livelihood. The great number of girls employed as stenographers are evidently trained in the " business colleges " already discussed, for the demand would not be met by our limited percentage. Here again arises the ethical educational question as to the responsibility of the public school system in the preparation of girls for office positions. SECTION VII OCCUPATIONS OF OLDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS The occupations of the older brothers and sisters of our recorded pupils are valuable as an index to home conditions, economic and educational, and also, to some extent, to the probable occupations of our pupils themselves a few years later on. We have noted the extremely abbreviated list of the occupa- tions which our pupils think they will prepare to follow as a means of livelihood. In contrast with this narrow choice of at most forty selected occupations we find in these same families upwards of i6o different occupations represented by older brothers or sisters. These tabulations will show the character and quality of our high school pupils and of the homes which they represent nearly as well as a house to house canvass could grade it. By reading these tables we may to some extent infer the probable distribution of our pupils a few months after they have dropped out of school to go to work. As one reads the list it will perhaps assist in making vivid the situation if one asks himself " What does the high school do (or perhaps what should it do) for boys and girls many of whom will shortly take similar positions ? " 58 Study of Entering Population 59 CONTINUING EDUCATION B — Brothers S — Sisters Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond To TAL Totals B. S. B. S. B. S. College (not named) C. C. N. Y Columbia lO 3 5 o o o o 3 o o o I o o 6 2 O 2 O I I 3 16 5 5 2 I I 6 I 22 5 5 Cornell Normal . . . West Point Yale I Law student i8 2 I 3 o o o o 4 o o 3 4 o o 2 12 5 I I I o I o 3 I 3 I 4 30 7 2 4 I I 7 4 7 I 6 37 7 Medical college. . . . . Technical school (trade). . Business school 8 8 Music school Normal school Training school for teachers 6 High school 6 22 3 9 II o 9 28 9 36 15 SO 3 18 47 33 97 3 Elementary school Boarding school 25 o o II o I 28 36 2 I 53 47 2 2 100 Private school Going to school . . o lO I 8 8 3 9 18 4 17 4 35 Studying lO 3 o 8 2 O 8 9 5 18 3 17 2 5 35 5 5 3 2 5 3 7 10 6o Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools PROFESSIONS Professional Architect Civil engineer Dentist Doctor Lawyer Minister School teacher Semi-professional Actor — Actress Music teacher Newspaper artist Pianist Singer Violin teacher Singer Surveyor Government service Board of health Dep't ferries Firemen PostofG.ce Police Tenement house inspector U. S. Army U. S. Navy Man- hattan AND Bronx B. 17 13 S. Brook- lyn AND Richmond B. S. Total B. 23 4 19 s. 30 Totals 4 7 I 33 53 5 4 14 19 * Officer. Study of Entering Population 6i CLERICAL POSITIONS Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. S. B. S. Bookkeeper 12 I I 2 O O o I 2 2 O 8 I 2 ° II 4 3 9 6 2 2 I 2 7 2 I 23 S 4 II 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 15 3 3 38 5 7 14 6 Broker's office Cashier Clerk Bank Pile 2 Insurance 2 Lawyer's Postoffice 2 Shipoinsf 2 Stock Office boy 21 14 o I I 3 II 40 3 I 6 10 61 17 I I I 9 21 82 17 I I I 9 Dentist's office Real estate office Publisher's office Works in an office Private secretary Stenographer and type- writer 19 9 3 40 10 I 6 40 29 I 15 3 80 29 4 95 Telegraph operator Telephone operator 9 43 I 3 7 40 6 16 83 7 3 99 7 3 Tabulator 4 6 I 10 I 10 I I I I 62 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools TRADES Barber Bricklayer Carpenter Contractor Cutter Designer Diamond cutter. Draughtsman . . . Dressmaker Electrician . . . . Electrotyper. . . . Engraver Engraver, photo Engraver, wax. . Engineer Harness maker. , Housekeeper. . . , Lithographer . . . Machinist , Mechanic Milliner , Mosaic worker . . Painter , Pastry cook ... Plumber - Printer , Steamfitter . . . . , Steeplejack .... Stonecutter. ... Tailor Man- hattan AND Bronx B. 30 S. 16 Brook- lyn AND Richmond B. 43 S. Total 73 S. o 20 32 Totals 4 20 12 I 5 6 II II 4 105 Study of Entering Population 63 SALESMEN AND SALESWOMEN Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. s. B. S. Baker I I I I I I 2 I I I I 9 I 7 3 I I 2 I 3 4 I 2 I 2 2 2 6 4 I 4 I I 5 I I I 2 I 3 2 I 2 6 I I 4 2 I I I I I 13 I I 7 3 I I 2 I I 8 4 I Butcher I Buyer I Coal 2 Coffee I Commission merchant. . . . Clothing business Dairy 3 2 I Feed trade 2 Grocery store 7 I Hardware store Jewelry Jeweler I 4. Lace business 2 Lace saleslady I Linen business I Liquor store I Merchant I Merchant tailor I Notion house I Salesman 2 1 Silk business I Silver business I Store (cloaks) (mfg.?). . . . Traveling salesman Wholesale II 3 I Window trimmer Woolen store I 2 36 8 26 6 62 14 76 64 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools FACTORY WORK Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. S. B. S. Blankbook maker Bookbinder I 2 I I I I I 4 I 3 I 6 I I I I I I 3 I 2 Pamphlet folder Publishing house Envelope maker I I I Foreman (or forelady) . . . Operator 9 I Bank note business Burnt leather 4 I I I 4 I I I I I I 2 I I 2 2 4 I I I I 4 2 I I I I I I 8 I I I I I I I 8 2 I I I I 2 I I I I 2 I I I 3 2 16 2 2 Cloak sorter Collars and cuffs Embroiderer Examiner Factory work Lace runner Marker and sorter Neckwear Ostrich feathers .... Packer Patterns Ribbons Ruchings Shoes Standard oil works Trimmings Waists, worker on Waists, examiner on 3 2 3 14 4 8 7 22 29 Study of Entering Population 65 MISCELLANEOUS Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. S. B. s. Agriculture I o o o I o I o o ° o o o o o o o o o o o o o I o I o I o I I I 2 o o I o o o o o o o o I I o I I I I I I I o o I o o o o o o o ° Confidential Detective j- Elevator man Gas business Gymnasium Janitor Laborer Prize fighter Ranchman Traveling for health 2 Agent 3 o 4 o o o o o o o o o 8 2 O 3 o o o I 4 I o o o o o o o o II 3 I 4 I I I I 8 I o o o o o o o o 12 Banker I Broker 4 I I Claim agent Collector Insurance placer Life insurance I I Real estate 8 lO o 10 o 20 o 20 66 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools TRANSPORTATION Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. S. B. s. Cab driver I o I o I o I I o o o o o I o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o I I 2 O I o o I I I I I o I o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o I I 2 2 I I I I I I I I I I I ° I Captain (boat?) I Driver 2 Express agent 2 Messenger I Railroad agent I Railroad station I Railroad work I Sailor I Seaman I Transfer agent I Telephone line I Trainman I Truck driver I Tunnel inspector I 6 o II 17 17 WORKING (UNCLASSIFIED) Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. S. B. S. B. S. ' 'Business" 20 23 8 26 30 26 2 II 18 50 49 2 19 44 69 93 2 "Working" 'Working at home" Blank 43 39 34 27 58 22 29 II lOI 61 63 38 164 99 39 27 22 II 61 38 99 Study of Entering Population NOT WORKING 67 Man- hattan AND Bronx Brook- lyn AND Richmond Total Totals B. s. B. S. B. S. At home 4 2 II I 42 8 37 7 5 6 52 27 II 7 17 I 94 8 64 IS 81 "Doing nothing" "Married" Sick at home I 18 87 18 79 36 166 202 Having finished the perusal of our tables we are ready to repeat our question — " What should the high school do for the pupils who drop out to take positions such as in our lists ? " Some will of course claim that our courses just as they stand will prepare our boys and girls for these varied occupations as well as any other lessons could do. Others will claim that after all it is the " incidental " instruction that comes from daily association with the cultured and earnest teachers that is of most importance. Some will urge that the inter-association in work and play of the pupils among themselves will in itself broaden and deepen their mental lives, while still others will maintain that pupils who' must ultimately leave for unskilled occupations should not be catered to at all, but rather forced out as soon as possible. However, all, it seems, must agree that we should not en- deavor to keep any pupil in school beyond the point where the school work and school life is surely of benefit to that pupil. To determine that point is worthy of serious study. We may safely say that this point is not yet determined, and yet we may also suggest that this may be because too little attention has been given to its determination. It must be recognized that there are those to-day who will advance arguments to show that for some pupils much high school work means time worse than wasted in that it really unfits the pupil for the work he must of necessity soon take up. Surely it would be a far-sighted man who would attempt to select in advance all the pupils who soon must leave, but it 68 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools would take no such foresight to provide for the pupils who never expect to stay for more than a year or two. For these pupils there is need for a general short-course such as has been previously suggested and will again be urged — a course unified, complete, attractive and truly illuminating which will be undoubtedly beneficial to the many who soon will leave, rather than to the few who will stay to complete their high school course. SECTION VIII PUPILS' VALUATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION Having secured from each registered pupil some statement regarding the work he or she was expecting to undertake as a means of making a Hving (or as in the case of many, a statement of present indecision), the next step was to find out what the pupil thought of the value of a high school education as a preparation for that work^ or for his or her general well- being. The question asked was " Do you consider a high school edu- cation necessary for the realization of your plans for the future ? " Our first tabulation of this answer will show the totals for the entire number studied. " Yes " (high school education is necessary) 470 Doubtful 201 " No " (high school education is not necessary) 331 Total 1 , 002 The striking feature of these replies is evident at the first glance. Slightly less than half (47 per cent) of the recorded pupils consider a high school education an essential to their careers. One-fifth are doubtful as to whether or not they need a high school education. One-third consider a high school education positively unnecessary. These figures argue well for a speedy elimination of nearly fifty per cent of the total registration. In other words, a ma- jority (53 per cent) of the entering pupils enter the high school either with a decided prejudice against its usefulness for them- selves, or else with a reasonable doubt as to the value to them of a high school diploma. 69 yo Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools A complete tabulation of these answers by schools and sexes is given below. tDo you consider a high school education necessary for the realization' of your plans for the future?" School 6 7 8 9 lO II Sex Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Girls. Boys. Girls . Boys. Girls. Girls. Boys. Boys. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Total Boys. " Girls. Grand total. Total 37 8o 58 62 90 ^i 53 34 24 121 62 59 61 127 38 63 382 620 Yes 24 37 34 25 43 28 18 16 7 38 43 21 37 57 12 30 215 255 470 Doubt- ful 3 21 15 II 41 9 22 9 9 66 135 No 10 34 13 26 36 14 3 6 42 30 IS 17 24 lOI 230 3?>^ Length of Stay Before discussing further this question of the pupils' valua- tion of a high school course it would be well to consider the answers to the question concerning the purpose of the pupil regarding graduation or the pupil's probable length of stay. These are given in the table that follows on page 71. Study of Entering Population 71 School Sex Total Yes Doubt- ful No 6 7 8 9 10 II Boys Girls Boys Girls Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Girls Boys Boys Boys Girls Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Grand total 37 80 58 62 90 33 53 34 24 121 62 59 61 127 38 63 29 57 31 26 59 28 26 14 10 49 33 16 45 58 II 31 4 13 22 18 14 10 44 21 33 7 54 13 16 4 10 28 4 6 6 4 28 10 9 15 14 16 382 620 207 316 115 179 60 125 523 294 185 The two tables already given when arranged to show per- centages are as follows: BOYS "Is a high school education necessary for your plans for the future f " Yes No Doubtful Total 56% 27% 17% 100% ' "Do you intend to complete your high school course? " Yes No Doubtful Total 54% 16% 30% 100% GIRLS "Is a high school education necessary for your plans for the future? " Yes No Doubtful Total 41% 37% 22% 100% "Do you intend to complete your high school course? " Yes No Doubtful Total 51% 20% 29% 100% 7 2 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools BOYS AND GIRLS "High school education necessary? " Yes No Doubtful Total 47% 33% 20% ioo% "Do you intend to complete your high school course? " Yes No Doubtful Total 52% 19% 29% 100% An examination of the answers shows that nearly one-fifth (19 per cent) do not intend to graduate. Over one- fourth more (29 per cent) enter the high school with no set determination to complete their course. There is lacking, then, in almost exactly one-half of the pupils, a definite intent to stay the full course. Such pupils are not apt to be over-serious about their work or to deny themselves any social pleasure that would interfere with their studies. They come, impelled by curiosity, perhaps, or because their parents " wish to keep them in school a little longer." It is not to be wondered at if difficult lessons early discourage many of the experimenters, particularly when the contrast is so marked between their previous exalted position as members of the " graduating class " and their present position in the " entering class." Possibly, too, there may be found here some explana- tion of the continuously repeated complaint of nearly all high school teachers that the entering classes are so lacking in ability. It has been shown that some 66 per cent are boys and girls of considerable elementary school ability, and nearly 30 per cent are children considered very successful by teachers that knew them. The explanation of this contrast between the estimates of the high school teachers and those of the elementary school teachers may be found in the change in the pupil's attitude toward his or her work. In elementary schools, the compulsory attendance, the interest of teachers known for several years, the attitude of employers in preferring graduates to non-graduates, the nearness of the goal and per- sonal pride in graduation, the pressure of parents insisting that their children shall have a " common school education," — all these combine to make the elementary pupil's work unques- tioning and serious, to emphasize personal effort, and to increase the necessity for the study of home lessons. Study of Entering Population 73 But now the graduate is freed from nearly all of these im- pelling motives. Those parents who are better educated may still insist upon careful study; but in very man}^ cases the pupil now becomes his own master ; he is free to decide for himself for better or for worse. Moreover his attitude toward his work has changed completely. He studies either because he has some definite work to prepare for, or because he becomes interested in his new subjects of study. His attitude is no longer one of unquestioned obedience to authority. Each day he may ask himself the question, " What is this study good for ? " " Why should I have to study that ? " With the strange contortions of a new language, the dry formalities of a new mathematical system, the analytical study of an English masterpiece which is beyond him, and the exam- ination of some strange bugs and flowers — in most or all of these, his new studies, he lacks interest. He cannot satisfactorily answer the question, "What is that study good for?" a ques- tion he never stopped to think about until now. Yet here is the pupil " trying " high school and in half the cases assuming a critical or suspicious attitude toward his work. Little wonder, then, that the high school teacher with high ideals of scholastic efficiency, greets too often with disdain a class of little children who in spite of their ignorance and im- maturity sit in judgment upon his favorite study. The condi- tions certainly are not favorable for the retention in the high school of a large number of each entering class. Borough Differences In the answers as to the valuation of a high school course and the necessity for completing it, pupils in Manhattan and the Bronx agree quite closely in their answers and somewhat disagree with the decisions made by Brooklyn and Richmond pupils. The table which is hereafter given will show that a larger percentage of both the boys and girls of Brooklyn feel the necessity of a high school course and intend to complete one, than is the case in Manhattan and the Bronx. So far as the desirability of, or the necessity for a high school education is concerned, the girls of the four boroughs do not vary greatly; but when it comes to a question of their plans 74 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools for actually staying, Brooklyn leads all the other boroughs. This may possibly be because more Brooklyn girls live in homes their parents own and where they expect to live for some years to come; possibly too because a much greater percentage of Brooklyn girls expect to become teachers as contrasted with the larger registration in Manhattan for technical pursuits. TABULATION BY BOROUGHS AND SEXES Manhattan and Bronx Brooklyn and Richmond Boys Girls Boys Girls Necessary 1^3 34 73 125 72 114 102 32 28 130 63 116 Doubtful Not necessary Totals 220 105 74 41 311 138 114 59 162 102 41 19 309 178 65 66 Stay full course Doubtful Will not stay Totals 220 3" 162 309 About 60 per cent of the Brooklyn girls intend to finish, whereas only 47 per cent so expressed their intention in Man- hattan and the Bronx and less than 42 per cent in Richmond. So far then as our figures show the real condition of affairs, the Brooklyn high schools apparently contain a much greater number of pupils who are taking their high school course seri- ously and who intend to get from the high school whatever it may have for them. An allotment of city funds for buildings, equipment, and maintenance based upon the intent of the pupils could not fail to provide for Brooklyn girls much more liberally than for those in any of the other boroughs studied. Length of Stay and First Language Upon studying the expression of opinion on the part of the pupils as to their probable length of stay in high school, one very important connection seems to appear between the language first selected by the pupil and the answer to the ques- tion " Do you intend to stay in high school until you graduate ? " Study of Entering Population 75 High school principals throughout the city have frequently remarked the connection that seems to exist between the study of Latin and the staying power of a pupil. For example, in a high school organizing at the beginning of a certain year ten entering classes (five Latin and five German) there would be left at the end of two years usually not over four classes, three of which as a rule would be Latin classes. With this condition repeated year after year it would seem to be fairly evident that there must be some connection between the study of Latin and the determination of a pupil to remain in school. Even further than this, more than one principal has been influenced by this relation to advise and urge pupils to elect Latin, believing that there was something not quite appre- ciated or understood but still very effective about the study of Latin which either made it easier for the pupils electing Latin to stay in school or harder for them to give up school entirely if they thought of dropping out. To illustrate the relation which is shown in this investigation between the language elected and the length of stay proposed it is not necessary to take the figures for the entire city, but a Latin and a German class selected from any one school at random will not vary greatly from the conditions existing in the other similar high schools. Let us from a certain girls' school take one hundred pupils equally divided between those electing Latin and those electing German. A tabulated state- ment of the relations between the language elected and the pupil's attitude toward his or her high school life and work, is attempted below. First let us note the answers to the question " Do you con- sider a high school education necessary ? " Latin German Total "Yes" 36 14 50 "Doubtful" 8 5 13 "No" 6 3i 37 Totals 50 50 100 In this school 72 per cent of the Latin pupils regard a high school education as necessary for their future plans or welfare. On the other hand, 62 per cent of the German pupils are posi- tively decided that the high school course is not necessary for Latin German Total 31 18 49 19 22 41 10 10 5° 50 100 7 6 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools their welfare or ambitions. It is now possible for us to fore- cast the probable eliminations by languages even without the following table which however should be closely examined. From the same 100 pupils answers were obtained to the ques- tion " Do you intend to stay in high school until you graduate ? " The answers are given below : "Yes" "Doubtful" "No" Totals As the table shows, in this school some 64 per cent of the German pupils are either doubtful about the value for them of a high school course or else already decided against it, while on the other hand, only 36 per cent are really determined to graduate. One would hardly be rash enough to say that one week of Latin or one week of German (for these answers were written in the first week of the new term) was sufficient to make the marked difference between the intentions of Latin pupils and German pupils. The fact should, however, be perfectly clear that the great majority of pupils who come to high school with the purpose of graduating elect Latin, while the great majority of those who do not intend to stay long in school elect German. Most previous explanations have regarded the effect as the cause and decided that studying Latin made a pupil determine to stay in school whereas it would appear that it is a pupil's determination to stay, that makes him or her elect Latin. Before finally leaving this interesting if not astonishing sub- ject of the relation between language and length of stay let us finally take up the question from the standpoint of the inten- tions of all the entering pupils and then tabulate our results. From the 523 registered pupils who said positively that they intended to stay for the full high school course, one hundred pupils were taken at random from the school where both Latin and German were offered as electives. A tally of this hundred gave 69 electing Latin and 31 electing German, just such a ratio as we should expect from our previous examination of the conditions. Study of Entering Population 'j'j Let us now take the opposing group of pupils and examine the election of languages made by the one hundred and eighty- five pupils who expressly stated that they did not intend to stay in high school until they graduated. Many of these pupils are found in schools where no Latin is offered. To a certain extent then these pupils may be regarded as electing German or avoiding the study of Latin, but to avoid any doubt we confine our figures to schools where both Latin and German are offered as electives and schools in which the Latin and German are repre- sented by approximately equal numbers among our registered pupils. In order to find over sixty such pupils determined not to stay in school for the full course it was necessary to include six schools. These schools gave a total of sixty-one such pupils. An examination of the pupils' choice of language showed that 52, or approximately 85 per cent, elected German, while only 9, or 15 per cent of those not intending to finish, elected Latin. Enough figures have been given to show that it is the selecting power of Latin rather than its effect upon the pupils that makes it the elected language of the more determined student. It is not so much that Latin makes a boy or girl able or determined to stay in school as it is that the very great majority of those who are more determined to stay (and probably more able as well) select Latin as their first language. In order to make a complete comparison between the staying power of the Latin and German students, it would be necessary for us to take in all the high schools the total number of Ger- man pupils zvho intended to graduate and to compare them with the total number of Latin pupils who similarly intended to graduate. These two groups could then be followed for four years and the number finishing the course in each language would give us a more just basis for comparing the retaining or eliminating power either of the two languages or of their re- spective teachers. Bearing on the Introductory Courses In discussing the value of a high school education the figures printed may lead us to believe that a little more time can well be spent at the opening of a high school course in explaining the practical and the theoretical value of each study taken up. 78 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools With the disciplinary theory of education decidedly on the wane there will be found much difficulty in rationally establish- ing the claim of many old-time courses to the place they now hold in the curriculum. If as is now generally held by all scientific students of education, we have no " faculties " which trained in any field of study may be applied equally well in all fields, then some subjects, whose great and almost only claim is " training the faculties of memory and reasoning " for use in other lines, will have to give way. Perhaps, after all, these unlearned and unabashed children who decide that the high school studies are of no use to them, may be nearer the truth than many of us who are unreasoning servants of tradition and habit. So many subjects have kept their place in the high school curri- culum because they were once put there for college prepara- tion that we often have for the great majority of the pupils of to-day a notoriously ill-balanced course. Theoretically the high school was once a college preparatory institution. To-day in New York City less than two per cent of the entering pupils ever reach the freshman class in college. Undoubtedly from this two per cent will come the highest type of leaders, but to disregard the ninety-eight per cent in order to develop the two per cent seems a tremendous economic waste. For the most part then, at present, the high school curriculimi, while open to the many, is still planned largely to be of value only to the extreme few. So we have, at least in the classical high school, an aristocratic institution of a very pronounced type under the guise of one supposed to be popular and democratic. SECTION IX RENTALS Our study of the rents paid by the parents of the high school pupils, incomplete as it is, yet furnishes some of the most sur- prising information which the whole investigation has yielded. Only 420 homes were visited out of a thousand so marked for investigation. Lack of time and money combined to prevent a complete canvass. The method followed in the majority of cases was to visit the house, explain that the investigator was making a study of rents, and ask the actual rents paid by the tenant. In most cases the janitor gave the information willingly. In only a few cases was it necessary to pose as a prospective tenant or to visit the renting agent. If any errors resulted from this method it will probably be that in some cases the figures are too high as the " rent asked," as it is known in New York, often exceeds the " rent paid " by actual lessees. In our selection of homes to be visited certain localities were selected such as, in Manhattan the middle and upper West Side, the lower East Side, Harlem, the lower West Side. In Brook- lyn, Williamsburg, Flatbush, and the Park Slope were selected. Home addresses were tabulated by localities and wherever a large number of addresses were found to come within an area of ten blocks or so square the rents were looked up. It was practically impossible to visit scattered homes in the Bronx, Coney Island section, or Staten Island or in sections where a half day's work would even at the expense of many carfares give less than a dozen rentals as the result. The rents were originally recorded in two different numbers, the lowest and the highest asked in the tenement, flat or apart- ment house. These two figures were then arranged and the rent recorded in our tables according to the multiple of five which it most nearly approached. For example rents from 79 8o Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools $io to $i8 would average $14, and appear in our tables as $15. Rents $14 to $20 would average $17 and also be re- corded as $15. Thus it will be seen that extreme accuracy is not pretended but merely a trustworthy approximation of the money paid each month by the families under observation. Rent as an indication of a family's financial condition must also take into consideration several points we did not have time to consider. For example, a family of three paying twenty dollars a month for three rooms may represent an entirely dif- ferent financial condition from that which is shown by a family of six paying twenty dollars for three rooms. It is not only the rent itself, but the number of rooms and the number in the family that must be considered. Any scientifically accurate study of rents as an indication of a family's financial responsibility must include among other things : 1. Rent actually paid. 2. Number of rooms. 3. Number of self-supporting (rent-paying) grown children living at home. 4. Number of children in school. 5. Number of " roomers " who sublet rooms or beds. However, with all these data omitted, we can still trust our figures as maximum rentals, very confidently, because all the five items mentioned above except No. 4 tend to lower the net rent and to enable a family to live in a tenement or flat where more rent is charged than the same family would be able to afford on the basis of the father's wages alone. Our figures, especially those recorded as below $20, may then be considered as erring only on the side of being too high, rarely if ever too low. For our purposes they may be accepted as fairly accurate maximum figures rather than true averages for the homes visited. From our tables it can be seen at a glance that a monthly rental of approximately $15 is the most common one for our recorded pupils. That this is a very low rental for New York City will be generally admitted without argument. Steam- heated apartments with water and elevator service, average rather above ten dollars a room. The same apartments with- Study of Entering Population 8i out elevator service, but in fairly good neighborhoods, may be secured at approximately a fourth less. However, for a non- elevator apartment of parlor, dining-room, kitchen, two bedrooms and bath from $30 to $35 is not exorbitant, in a moderately good residence section. The same class of apartment with elevator service in the better sec- tions will bring upward of $50. However, it must be remembered that as one moves from the center of population MONTHLY RENTAL OF PUPILS' HOMES SchooL . . Totals Pupils . 34 32 76 30 58 31 50 83 420 Monthly Rental $10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 no 120 130 140 150 39 6 16 2 6 30 6 13 3 7 25 I 13 2 6 33 C54 34 76. 16 33 5 22 3 6 5 4 420 [Note. — Before a discussion of rentals is begun it might be said that a comparison of the rentals with the language first elected failed to show any decided differences. However the rents above $45 are slightly more common in classes where Latin is the first language. On the other hand, the technical courses, while they show but a little more in proportion among the very lowest rents, still do not show the higher rents (with one exception) at all. The commercial courses, though they do not prepare for college, con- tain relatively as many pupils from apparently well-to-do homes as one finds in the straight preparatory courses.] 82 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools in Manhattan, the rentals for similar homes decrease so that the Brooklyn rentals of School No. 4 which are centered at $15 possibly would represent a range of $15 to $25, for similar homes in Manhattan. Nevertheless one can with difficulty secure anywhere a tenement flat for less than $10 a month even for two rooms only. Our $15 group represents almost the lowest monthly rate compatible with decency. It may represent two, three, or rarely four rooms in a crowded tenement house section. The most rooms at that price will usually be found in the least attractive neighborhoods. This whole investigation of rentals shows a rather surprising condition. If rental is taken as a criterion we find a class of pupils, whose parents are struggling for the bare necessities of life, pursuing at high school for the greater part the remnants of an aristocratic secondary education to which are added many subjects chiefly dictated by the colleges or modern culture. We are preparing for a college to which few will ever go and for a life of ease and refinement which few will ever enjoy, the greater part of our thirty thousand pupils. Where the necessities demand a short course of two years, we offer one twice as long. Where the necessities call for a better appre- ciation of modern social conditions, we offer German or Latin grammar. Where the necessities indicate the advantage of turn- ing boys and girls into some position where they can command respectable wages, we give them Algebra or " The Ancient Mariner." It is true that from one point of view it may be regarded as a grand struggle upward. From boys whose parents are struggling with poverty will come successful merchants, lawyers, doctors, college professors, one in a thousand perhaps. Leaders are being selected though perhaps by a too trying process of deprivation. The shame of it all is that to advance the one boy in a hundred or the one in a thousand, we may be leaving the 99 or the 999 to struggle hopelessly with an education entirely unsuited to their own individual needs. From the girls whose parents are working hard to keep the family fed and clothed will come many successful teachers who will in turn repay all sacrifices with later support. More how- ever will enter upon married life, without any further appre- ciation of household economics than that gained by observation Study of Entering Population 83 of the not too certain expenditures in their own home. Music which might have brightened the home was put aside for Caesar's Commentaries, and sewing had to give way to home work in Physics. The mother of the household cooks, washes, sews, and sweeps, slaving, day in and day out, that her daughter may learn by rote a thousand things she can never remember, and never will try to remember unless she becomes a teacher and learns them all anew. If this investigation does no more than to open our eyes to the home conditions of our pupils it will have still made a genuine contribution to the cause of education in New York City. Of course this mere fact that these boys and girls are poor does not prove that they may not need precisely the old- style curriculum, but in consideration of the fact that three- quarters of them abandon it, one surely has a right to question its fitness. In any case the rental report stands as a testimony to the democratic nature of the student body of New York's high schools, and to the parental devotion and sacrifice by which they are supported. A Nezv York high school is a people's college in its student body and should he in its course of study. PART III A STUDY OF ELIMINATION SECTION I ELIMINATIONS Introduction to Discussions The mass of material which we have at our disposal to review in our attempt to find some of the factors in elimination is too complex for complete presentation. The card (page 14) called for information on twelve or more points giving over 12,000, separate measurements. In connection with the teachers' esti- mates of the pupils' ability, industry, and results we have tabu- lated and combined nearly 10,000 measurements. The progress of the pupil through school has involved the study of upward of 10,000 class marks. The checking up of promotions and discharges from term to term has necessitated about 8,000 ad- ditional measurements. In all 40,000 measurements would be a conservative estimate of the number of individual records that confront us at the beginning of our study. To handle and develop thoroughly all these measurements and to show all their relations at this time, is, of course, impossible. But it is hoped that some investigators may see fit to do this in the future. The entire information concerning each indi- vidual, together with all the compilations made, but not here reported, is on file with Professor E. L. Thorndike of the Department of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Co- lumbia University. So far as our discussions are concerned we shall endeavor to make them brief and to the point. So far as we draw any conclusions they must be tentative, but the material from which conclusions are drawn will be in the great majority of instances presented. Anyone is at liberty to study the original records A Study of Elimination 85 and to draw from them such conclusions as seem logical whether or not they agree with those hereinafter published. All of our original information is tabulated by individuals, by classes, by sexes and by schools. The first plan of printing involved the publication of all data by schools but this alone would multiply by eleven all the tables we here present. Fur- thermore, there might appear in parallel columns suggested com- parisons capable of misunderstanding and productive of no good result. However much local students of education may be interested in individual high schools, their interest in the high school popu- lation at large is much greater, while to those outside of the city the comparison of individual schools is of no interest. By embracing all types of schools and all courses offered, we have made certain of unbiased data. We are fairly sure we have an accurate index of the situation as a whole. The valid objection will be raised that the combination of classical, commercial, and technical pupils in one group, will fail to show the distinctive advantages of any one type of course or of school. This objection is of course admitted, but we must answer that this comparison may properly be left for a special study at some later time. The information we need for this study is at hand, but is, for the present, held in reserve. So too with the separate tabulation of the sexes : not all such tabulations are shown, though such tabulations were always previously made. Where prominent sex differences appear, boys and girls are separately tabulated; but, where differences are slight or peculiar to only one group, the entire table by sexes is not presented but only the total of boys and girls combined. Where percentages are shown they are almost entirely limited to whole numbers ; the decimals of a per cent are not shown but combined in the customary way, one-half or over being con- sidered as one per cent. It is hoped that in this way the reader will be saved unnecessary fatigue in comparing percentages and since no hair-splitting comparisons are attempted, nothing will be lost by close approximations rather than mathematically com- plete decimal percentages. It should be constantly remembered that in all our conclusions we are thinking of the one thousand registered pupils with 86 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools whom we are directly concerned. We do not attempt to make generalizations for the entire high school population but leave that wholly to the judgment of the individual reader. So far as our registered pupils are concerned, our conclusions will be found to be carefully considered and conservatively stated. It is for the student of local conditions to determine how far our cross section of the high school population is a true indication of the high school situation at large. Elimination Groups Explanation of Totals in Groups Because of proved removal from the city or because the pupils left before they could be properly estimated by their high school teachers, a certain number of the 382 boys and 620 girls who were true entering pupils still could not be considered when we came to the question of eliminations. During the first half-year of this investigation many pupils were discharged be- cause they had moved from the address from which they regis- tered when entering. Out of the 139 pupils who left during their first term, 7 boys and 10 girls were actually found to have moved from the city, a total of 12 per cent of those who left during the first five months. However, by no means all of those reported as moving from the city or " not found " at their original address actually moved from the neighborhood as care- ful following up discovered. Not infrequently a family would move but a few blocks, yet leave no word at their original address as to where they had gone. Such families were traced through friends of the pupils who left. When it could be estab- lished beyond a reasonable doubt that a family had moved from the city the pupils so discharged from the high school were not counted as eliminations but subtracted from the total of the group. However, as the investigation proceeded it became harder and harder to find the time to test removals as to their genuineness so that finally, except in proved cases, pupils (in an ever de- creasing percentage), who were reported as moved, were not taken from the recorded groups but tabulated with the rest as eliminated. To a certain extent then, each eliminated group may contain a few (from 4 to 6) whose genuine elimination is A Study of Elimination 87 in doubt. These pupils may have, or may not have, been " elim- inated " in the true sense of the word. However the percentage of those in doubt is always very small, rarely exceeding five in one hundred, and so while not forgotten may be considered as not reflecting any great degree of doubt upon the general con- clusions drawn from the study of a group. Explanation of Groups Our entering pupils were 382 boys and 620 girls, a total of 1,002. The pupils whom we shall consider in our study of elimination are 366 boys and 592 girls, a total of 958. We have divided these 958 pupils for purposes of discussion into nine groups. The first seven groups are composed of the eliminated pupils arranged according to their dates of discharge from high school. The eighth group is made up of the pupils who graduated by or before the close of their fourth high school year. The ninth group is made up of the retarded or left-over pupils who were still on the rolls at the beginning of their fifth high school year. Since in our tables it will be impossible to repeat a descrip- tion of the arrangement of each group, it is very important that the reader remember the group name for each one of the following groups. Before we even begin to discuss the groupings of our pupils it may be well to caution the reader against confusing with the pupil who stays, let us say, one year, the pupil who has completed one year of the high school course. In all the discussion which immediately follows, we are concerned only with the length of stay. So it may be that several pupils who have com- pleted two years of their stay in high school may have com- pleted but one year of the high school course. With this dis- tinction clearly in mind, we will proceed to a very brief statement of the groups. Group I. Pupils who were discharged during their first term in high school, i.e., during the first half of their first high school year. These pupils were discharged between March i, 1906 and June 30, 1906. Group II. Pupils who stayed in school for their first term but who did not return to school in September, 1906 to do any 88 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools school work. They were discharged from school in September, 1906. Group III. Pupils who began but did not finish their second term in high school, the second half of their first school year. These pupils were discharged between October i, 1906 and Jan- uary 31, 1907. Group IV. Pupils who began their second year in high school February i, 1907, but who were discharged before June 30, 1907, during their third term in school. Group V. Pupils who were discharged during the fall of 1907 from September i, 1907 to January 31, 1908. This group includes the pupils who did not return to school after the summer of 1907 as well as those who re-entered and subsequently were discharged. These pupils had all stayed three terms in high school and some stayed nearly four terms or nearly two years. Group VI. Pupils who were discharged from school between February i, 1908 and January 31, 1909, that is, during their third year or 5th and 6th terms in high school. Some of these pupils were discharged in the spring of 1908, some failed to return after the summer and others were discharged late in the fall or early in the winter. Group VII. Pupils who were discharged during their fourth year, or seventh and eighth terms in high school between Febru- ary I, 1909, and January 31, 1910. This group does not include the few who graduated or were certificated before the close of their fourth high school year. Group VIII. Pupils who were certificated or graduated at or before the end of their fourth year in high school January 31, 1910. Group IX. Pupils still on the school rolls February i, 1910. These are the left-over or retarded pupils who stayed four years (eight terms) in high school but who failed in that time to complete satisfactorily the work necessary either for a certificate or for a diploma. Summarizing all our figures we may say that before the close of their fourth term in high school half of all our pupils have left. Indeed we may say that nearly half of our pupils do not even stay to begin their fourth term. As to the rate of elimina- tion we may say that approximately one-quarter do not stay longer than one term ; over one-third stay no longer than two A Study of Elimination 89 terms (one year) ; one-half, as has been stated, do not stay for two years ; two-thirds do not begin their fourth year ; three- quarters do not stay for four years. ARRANGEMENT AND SIZE OF THE GROUPS I-IX Boys Girls Total Group I — Feb., 1906-June, 1906 Group II — Sept., 1906 41 57 43 29 50 67 73 75 48 65 108 130 118 Group III — Oct., 1906— Jan., 1907 Group IV — Feb., 1907— June, 1907 77 Group V — Sept., 1907— Jan., 1908 Eliminated during first and second years 220 37 33 328 57 35 548 94 68 Group VI — Feb., 1908— Jan., 1909 Group VII — Feb., 1909— Jan., 1910 Eliminated during first, second, third and fourth years 290 43 33 420 68 104 710 III Group VIII — Certificated or Graduated Group IX — In school Feb., 1910 137 Revised totals, nine groups 366 16 592 28 958 44 Original entries, now omitted, " unclassified "...,. Original total recorded pupils 382 620 SAME GROUPS SHOWING PERCENTAGE OF ELIMINATION BY SEXES Group I . . . . Group I-II. . Group I-III. Group I-IV . Group I-V. . Group I- VI . Group I-VII Group VIII . Group IX... Total. . . Boys 4-1 98 141 170 220 257 43 33 366 Per cent OF TOTAL BOYS II 27 39 46 60 70 79 Girls 67 140 215 263 328 38s 420 68 104 592 Per cent OF TOTAL girls 1 1 24 36 44 55 65 71 Total 108 238 356 433 548 642 710 III 137 958 Per cent OP TOTAL II 30 37 45 57 67 74 12 14 Qo Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools In four years there is then an elimination of about three- quarters of our group at the rate shown. Finally of our re- maining fourth, about one-half graduate on time and the other half remain as retarded pupils. Without spending any time in a discussion of the differences in elimination between boys and girls it may be briefly noted that the boys are eliminated somewhat more quickly than the girls, this difference being most marked at the end of the first term in the first year and again during the seventh and eighth terms in the fourth year. Almost exactly the same fraction of boys and of girls gradu- ate on time, but there are relatively twice as many girls as boys in the retarded group of pupils beginning their fifth year in high school. SECTION II AGE AND ELIMINATION There is now given a table showing the ages of the pupils who left during the periods covered by Groups I to VII. The graduates are shown in Group VIII and the pupils still in school in Group IX. The ages are arranged on the basis of the entering age only. Eleven years means from eleven years zero months, to eleven years eleven months, inclusive. All ages are calculated from February i, 1906. Inasmuch as not all the pupils gave their age correctly at first and some could not be verified later, the totals of a group of ages rarely equal the total number of pupils in that group. ELIMINATION BY AGES Age I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Totals B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. G. 1 1 years . . . . I 1 2 12 years. . . . 2 I I I 2 2 4 2 I I 2 5 2 4 IS IS 13 years. . . . 9 13 10 18 14 lb 7 12 10 14 II 15 10 10 10 33 10 27 100 158 14 years. . . . 10 29 20 25 13 28 12 lO 17 24 15 30 12 II 16 19 14 39 129 221 15. years 12 17 15 18 9 22 4 15 12 13 5 6 8 12 4 10 4 27 73 140 16 years.. . . s 7 8 9 4 7 4 3 7 II 4 4 I 2 2 I 1 5 36 49 i7'years. . . . I I 2 I I I I 1 6 3 18 years. . . . ;? Totals I I I I 38 67 57 71 43 75 29 48 SO 64 37 56 33 35 43 68 32 103 362 587 There are too few eleven-year-old pupils to consider. Of the twelve-year-old boys, two of fifteen graduated on time, and two are still in school retarded, while eleven have left school. Of the twelve-year-old girls five of fifteen graduated on time and four were retarded, leaving but six who have been thus far eliminated. Of the 100 thirteen-year-old boys 19 graduated and 10 are retarded while 71 were eliminated in the course of four years. Of the thirteen-year-old girls (158 in all) 33 graduated and 2y are retarded while 98 were eliminated. 91 92 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools The largest entering group by age was the fourteen-year-old children. The median by sexes as well as that of the entire number of recorded pupils was 14^ years old. At an age recorded as fourteen but not yet fifteen we have 350 entering pupils, 129 boys and 221 girls; 16 of these boys finished on time, 14 were retarded and the remaining 99 were eliminated ; while of the girls, 19 finished on time, 39 were retarded, and 163 eliminated. Of the 109 boys who entered at fifteen or sixteen years of age but six graduated and five remained at the beginning of the 9th term. Ninety-nine out of 109 have dropped out. Of the 189 girls of similar ages 11 graduated and 32 are retarded while 146 have dropped out. So far as age alone is concerned pupils who enter high school before they are fourteen years of age do- very much better than those who are older. Of these pupils almost twice as many remain as of those who enter high school between four- teen and fifteen, while of the fourteen-year-old pupils in turn about twice as many remain as do of those who are fifteen or over. The older pupils seem to leave in large numbers each fail. Many of these either do not return at all to school in September or else stay but a few weeks, possibly until they find a position to earn money, although many are attracted to the short courses of the " business colleges " already mentioned. The relation of elimination to age also points to a shorter unified high school course for those whose age indicates that about two years will be their entire length of stay. Pupils who do not graduate from the elementary school until fifteen might possibly be allowed to elect in high school those subjects best fitted to their immediate requirements without any great altera- tion of the curriculum as it now stands, but a more wholesome plan Avould be the arrangement of elective shorter courses, the unity and correlation of which would be guaranteed by those who planned them. A Study of Elimination Have you younger brothers or sisters f' 93 I II III IV V VI VII Total VIII IX Grand Total Yes.... No Blank. . 43 57 8 59 6o II 56 59 3 27 46 4 46 59 10 38 44 12 21 43 4 290 368 52 35 64 12 36 81 20 361 513 84 io8 130 118 77 115 94 68 710 HI 137 958 Have you had any serious illness f I II III IV V VI VII Total VIII IX Grand Total Yes.. .. No Blank. . 18 77 13 24 90 16 30 63 25 26 35 16 35 70 10 32 48 14 19 4^ 8 184 424 102 37 51 23 44 61 32 26s 536 157 108 130 118 77 115 94 68 710 III 137 958 Do you suffer from frequent severe headaches? ' I II III IV V VI VII Total VIII IX Grand Total Yes.. .. No Blank. . 23 79 6 27 91 12 26 84 8 16 57 4 23 76 16 IS 74 5 9 54 5 139 515 56 19 83 9 28 104 5 186 702 70 108 130 118 77 115 94 68 710 III 137 958 Do you wear glasses? I II III IV V VI VII Total VIII IX Grand Total Yes. . . . No Blank. . 15 89 4 II 106 13 10 99 9 7 62 8 II 85 19 15 74 5 10 53 5 79 568 63 16 86 9 13 115 9 108 769 81 108 130 118 77 115 94 68 710 III 137 958 94 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Younger Brothers and Sisters and Elimination An examination of the eliminations shown by children in high school who have younger brothers as compared with the eliminations of those who have none younger in the family may help us to determine how far this factor influences elim- ination. During the first two years 64 per cent of those having younger brothers or sisters are eliminated while but 55 per cent of those with no brothers or sisters younger, are eliminated. During the entire four years 80 per cent of those with younger children in the family are eliminated against 72 per cent of those with none younger. This contrast in percentages while not startling is still great enough to be worthy of consideration. It appears that the pupil who has no younger brothers and sisters stands a somewhat bet- ter chance of staying in school than do the older children in a family. On the average he seems to stay nearly a term longer. We have in these figures an estimate of the eliminating effect of narrow financial conditions that should be considered in con- nection with the factor of rent. Previous Serious Illness and Elimination In so far as previous serious illness has made a boy or girl enter high school at an advanced age we have already seen that it will increase that pupil's chances of early elimination. In so far as this illness leaves a pupil in a weakened state, unable to do the hard work required, one might also expect a greater early elimination. However, during the first two years those who report this early illness actually leave in less numbers than do those who make no such report. Only 50 per cent of those reporting previous illness have left as against 63 per cent of those reporting no illness. This is still more marked when we contrast these two factors (illness vs. no illness) in the total eliminations for four years. Those who report illness have lost 56 per cent while those who report no illness have lost 79 per cent. Apparently then, previous serious illness among our recorded pupils cannot be counted as a serious impediment to continu- ance in high school. If anything, it might be said to mirror the A Study of Elimination 95 attitude which may be discovered in families of meagre educa- tion where the strong healthy children are sent early to work as being able to take care of themselves in the struggle for ex- istence, whereas the weak or sickly are kept in school as needing all that the school can give in order to enable them to succeed in their struggle for a livelihood. Frequent Headaches and Elimination No striking contrast is found in the eliminations of those who report frequent headaches and of those who report that they never so suffer. A few more {62 per cent) of those reporting headaches leave early in the course than do those (55 per cent) reporting no headaches. However, at the end of four years the percentage of eliminations from each group is almost exactly the same (75 per cent vs. 73 per cent) so that this factor may apparently be disregarded. Wearing of Glasses and Elimination During the first two years 57 per cent of those not wearing glasses have left as against 50 per cent of those who do wear glasses. At the end of four years, however, the two percentages (74 per cent vs. 73 per cent) may be considered practically identical. In so far as eye strain is concerned there are no results from a study of our recorded group to show any very marked influ- ences. About all we can say is that during the first two years children who suffer from headaches and those who do not wear glasses leave in somewhat greater relative numbers than those who have no headaches and do wear glasses. So far as our study has shed any new light upon this ques- tion of eye strain it might be said to have weakened the previous value attributed to this factor as an influence in elimination. SECTION III NATIONALITY OF FATHER AND ELIMINATION COUNTRY OF FATHER'S BIRTH AND ELIMINATION II III IV VI VII Total VIII IX Grand Totals Blank U. S. A Austria Hungary. . . Bohemia . . . Canada, Eng Canada, Fr. Denmark. . . England. . . . France Germany. . . Holland Ireland Italy Norway .... Poland Russia Roumania. . Scotland . . . Sweden Switzerland. Spain Turkey Euro., Heb. Totals.. 27 307 106 3 66 37 428 34 12 3 9 4 4 43 6 140 4 73 13 91 6 958 I. Totals of Groups I-V Inclusive Before the close of the fourth high school term, Groups I-V, i. e., 57 per cent of our entering pupils, were eliminated. If the nationality of a pupil's father had any marked influence upon his retention in high school we should find the groups, when arranged by the father's nationality, varying markedly from the 57 per cent elimination which characterized the group as a whole. Such variation is, however, not conspicuous in any case. Indeed considering the possible variations that might arise from the selection of a necessarily limited number from the children of each nationality, it is remarkable how close to the 57 per cent line the number of eliminated children of each nationality comes. Among the nationalities represented by a large number of pupils, in only two cases do the percentages differ markedly from 96 r A Study of Elimination 97 the percentage of the entire group. The most significant com- parative loss is in the group whose parents were born in Ireland, Fifty-five out of a total of seventy-three have left, which shows an elimination of approximately 75 per cent. A considerable loss is shown by the children of Austro-Hungarian parents (not divided in this investigation into Bohemian, Bulgarian, German, Hebrew, Magyar, Polish, Slovak, etc.), namely, 63 per cent. The Scotch, represented by only twenty at the start have lost fourteen or 70 per cent, but the small number of children of Scotch parentage considered, makes any generalization here uncertain. So also among the Austro-Hungarians the probable combination of five or six distinct races under one national name makes our results somewhat ambiguous. There only re- mains then the probability that the children of Irish parentage leave during the first two years in decidedly larger comparative numbers than those of any other parentage. It is for the careful student of national traits to make the explanation of this situa- tion. It is beyond our province to attempt more than a mere statement of the facts. We may however suggest that no study of Nationality by itself alone will develop all the facts. The combination of Nationality with the parents' occupation, monthly rental, size of family (number of older and younger children) at least, would be necessary if we were to attempt to follow this factor to an unquestionable conclusion. 2. Totals of Groups I -VI I At the close of the fourth high school year we find that nearly all the nationalities represented in our original entering population are also represented either in the graduating classes (Group VIII) or in the retarded group (Group IX). If we consider Poland with Russia, and undoubtedly many children so recorded it on their cards, we find that only Den- mark and Spain, with four and one original representatives respectively, are no longer represented. Of the entire original number of recorded pupils now reduced to 958 we found that 74 per cent* had left the high school. In our eliminations by Nationality, Ireland, as was to be expected, * See tables on page 98 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools leads with 90 per cent. Next in order come the smaller groups of Italian and Scotch parentage with 85 per cent each. Those of Austro-Hungarian, English and German parentage show an elimination about that of the total number (74 per cent), though the German percentage is slightly higher. Children of American parentage show about 72 per cent eliminated (in which, as we shall later see, the boys make up more than their share). The lowest percentage of eliminations among nationali- ties represented in any number is the Russian (largely Hebrew if not wholly so) with 71 per cent. The only nationalities present in sufficient numbers to allow a vaHd estimate of the median expectation of high school life are: U. S. A., Germany, Ireland and Russia (largely of course Hebrew). By the middle of the second term in high school half of the children of Irish parentage have left. By the middle of the fourth term half of the children of German parentage (German Hebrew included) have left. By the close of the fourth term (or second year) of high school half of the children of Russian (Russian Hebrew included) and of Amer- ican parentage have left. The children of Irish parentage thus stay about half as long as those of German parentage and not quite half as long as the children of parents born in America or Russia. So far then as our figures show the staying power of the races, the Russians (Hebrews) lead, with Americans second. However, this is not the complete story our records disclose. Staying in high school for four years may be no virtue and of little benefit if a pupil stays four years to make but two years' progress. A better appreciation of the situation may be secured when we come to study the parentage by Nationality of those who successfully completed their course. Further discussion on this point is therefore postponed until we come to a considera- tion of the graduating class groups. Nationality, Sex, and Elimination As a rule no greatly marked distinction occurs between the elimination of boys and of girls whose parents are of the same nationality. There are however a few marked sex differences that are worthy of mention. A Study of Elimination 99 There are about twice as many girls of American parentage in our recorded totals as boys of similar birth. This approxi- mates our total register of 38 per cent boys and 62 per cent girls but shows a slight excess of girls of American parentage over similar boys. However, when we consider the elimination of these children, we find that before the close of the second year of school, 58 per cent of the boys of American parentage have left, while only 48 per cent of similar girls have left. In the gradu- ating group no marked differences appear, boys and girls of American parentage being represented by approximately the same relative percentages (11). When however we come to the re- tarded pupils of Group IX, we find 11 per cent of the boys of American parentage contrasted with 21 per cent of the girls of similar birth. Among the children whose fathers were born in England, about the same sex differences appear as those just stated. The boys of Irish parentage also greatly exceed in their rate of elimination the girls of Irish parentage, though both leave very early. Between the boys and girls tabulated under all the other nationalities there are no marked sex differences in elimination. Why should these boys of English speaking parentage leave high school so much earlier than the girls of similar parentage ? Why should these boys leave earlier than the boys of other nation- alities? Why should the girls of English speaking parentage be found in the retarded group relatively in excess of all the girls of other parentage? So far as our recorded thousand is concerned these condi- tions are undeniably true. How far they mirror conditions throughout the city one must estimate. It may appear that the children of non-English speaking parentage use our public high schools to better purpose than those whose birth and language might give them an apparent advantage. Much of this responsi- bility, it might seem, must rest upon the parents themselves, rather than upon either the pupils or the school. SECTION IV CHOICE OF OCCUPATION AND ELIMINATION The tables which follow show the rates of elimination accord- ing to the occupation which the pupil expects or hopes to follow in earning his living.* WHAT THE RECORDED BOYS EXPECTED TO DO FOR A LIVING Unci.. 1 II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Totals Blank 2 6 o o o o o o o o 2 o o o o I 2 I o o o o o I o o I o o o o o o o o o o o o o s 17 o I o o o I o o o 4 o o o o 2 1 3 2 o I I o o o o I o o o o I I o o o o o o o o o o s i8 2 I I o o o o I o 8 o o o I 2 o 6 5 I o o o o o o 2 o o o o o o r o o o I I 1 o o o 4 i6 o o o o o o o o o 6 o o 1 o o I S 3 o o o I o o I I o I o o o o o I o I o I o o o o o 14 I I o o o o I o o 4 o o o o 2 O I o o o o o o o 2 O o o I o o I o o o o o o o o 3 i6 o I I I o 2 o o I s o I o I o 4 3 o o o o I o o 3 o o 4 o o o o o o o o o o 1 o o I II o o I I I o o o 3 o o I o o 2 4 7 o o o o o o 4 o o o I o o o o o o o o o o o o I lO I I I o o o o o o I o o o o o o 3 2 2 o o o o o o 4 I o I o I o o o I o o 2 o o I o 4 9 3 I 3 o o o o I o o o o o 8 2 O o o o o I o 4 o o I o o o o o o o o 4 o I I 2 12 2 O O o o o o o o 2 I I o 2 I 4 I o o o o o o o I o o o o o o o o o 3 o o o o 129 9 6 "Go to College" "Some profession" Architect Banker Bookkeeper 3 36 I Cheese merchant Dentist 3 9 5 39 27 5 Civil Electrical Mechanical. . . " Locomotive. . . " Steam Engraver Forester 24 Merchant Policeman Salesman Ship builder Surveyor Teacher Teacher of gymn Teacher of music U. S. Army U. S. Navy Totals i6 41 57 43 29 so 37 33 43 33 382 * See Part II, Section VI, pp. 49-57. 100 A Study of Elimination lOI WHAT THE RECORDED GIRLS EXPECTED TO DO FOR A LIVING Uncl. I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Totals Blank 2 lO 3 o I o o o o o o o o o o 2 o o 4 3 o I I 1 3 36 I I 3 I I I 2 2 I 9 6 S 41 I I I 1 8 14 I 13 32 I I I 2 1 1 I I I 5 IS 3 19 2 I I 2 I 6 13 8 26 2 2 I I I 7 13 I 3 4 25 2 I I I 2 19 2 4 II 1 1 3 15 7 22 4 I I I I 26 4 7 38 9 I I 3 I 43 I 56 College 26 Artist Author "Business" 6 "Book covers" Dressmaker I Housekeeper Librarian Law Medicine Milliner 7 Office work Pharmacist 46 Teacher, P. S 167 Teacher, elocution Teacher, music Teacher, phys. cult .... Telegrapher I 12 I Totals 28 67 73 75 48 65 57 35 68 104 620 Groups I, II, III, IV and V contain the pupils who left during the first two years of their high school experience. By this time 60 per cent of the boys and 55 per cent of the girls had left the high school where they were recorded. Of the boys in Groups I to V who were uncertain as to their probable future occupation we find that 68 per cent have dropped out ; while among the girls the larger fraction of uncertain girls has been somewhat less depleted (61 per cent approximately having left). This would tend to show that the boy or girl, especially the boy, who has some definite occupation in mind lasts a trifle better than the boy with no such determination. The great majority of boys who named business (36 in all) as their occupation have left school, only about one-fifth remain- ing to begin their third year in high school. About half of those who elected Civil or Electrical Engineering have left, while about the same fraction of those who elected Law have dropped out. On the whole, it may be inferred that the boys who elect occupations necessitating a college training remain longer than those whose aim is to prepare for other requirements ; and yet I02 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools it must be recognized that these boys by no means escape an already heavy ehmination (approximately 50 per cent) which is not so far below the 60 per cent of all boys combined. The number of girls leaving is made up to a considerable extent from the undecided girls and is augmented by nearly all the girls who have chosen business, bookkeeping, dressmaking, millinery, music and stenography. More than four-fifths of those that chose stenography have left. Of the total that remain practically the only girls choosing an occupation expect to be- come teachers and of these nearly two-thirds are still in school. Elimination in Groups VI and VII, or during the third and fourth high school years, is decidedly less marked, as has been noticed. Of the graduating group. Group VIII, we may notice that among the boys " Business "* with its 34 true starters has but one representative, which is nearly three times as poor a showing as that made by the undecided boys. Would-be Archi- tects, Civil Engineers, Lawyers and Teachers make up nearly three-quarters of those expressing a choice among the boys who graduate on time. Of the 68 girls who graduated 35 were those who expressed a definite choice and of these 35 not less than 26 hope to be (public) school teachers, while four others hope to be teachers of music. When we add to these graduates the 43 girls still in school who expect to become teachers, we may feel warranted in saying that our totals indicate that for girls the high school course stands above everything else as a preparation for teaching. Group IX, the group of hold-overs or retarded pupils, mostly girls, is really noteworthy, on the point of chosen occupation, only because it contains so many girls (43) who expect to teach. Reviezving the entire subject one might say that our figures suggest that hoys who think they can gain the necessary training *It is possible that in the elimination of boys one would find that a very potent factor is a strong desire to do something which to the boy's own way of thinking is " really worth while." Many boys, often among the more able, grow more and more impatient of work whose immediate resultant benefit they cannot perceive. Because they feel capable of " making a living for themselves " these boys, many of whom choose " business " for a future occupation, are anxious to win their spurs in the real world of commerce rather than to delay longer in a theoretical preparation whose real utility they are not able to comprehend. A Study of Elimination 103 for their life work in any other zuay than through high school have selected that other way. Of those to whom a high school education is an absolute necessity, as a means of preparation, from one-half to two-thirds still fail to keep up with the standards required. For the girls, business occupations, trades and stenography foretell an early elimination, while the girl who looks forward to teaching apparently stands the best chance of finishing her course. The reader who is interested in any occupation should follow the history of those choosing it, horizontally across the table. He will find, for instance, that boys reporting " college " or " teaching " as their expected work stay in high school about four times as long as do boys reporting " business." By study- ing the tables horizontally a great number of interesting com- parisons may be made which are necessarily omitted in our dis- cussion because of lack of space. SECTION V ' EARLY INTENTIONS AND ELIMINATION We have arranged tables which show both by numbers and by percentages the answers given by boys, by girls, and by totals to the question " Do you regard a high school course as necessary for the reaUzation of your plans for the future?" It must be recalled that this question was asked and answered at the very outset of the pupils' high school career, before they had practically any opportunity of estimating the value of a high school course from personal observation.* The tables which follow show the answers by sexes and by totals, first in actual numbers and afterward in percentages, ar- ranged according to our elimination groups. "Is a high school course necessary?" Number of Pupils in Each Group that Replied in Each Way Boys I II III IV V VI VII f Total I-VII VIII IX Grand Totals Yes No Undecided . 12 7 21 19 10 27 9 7 12 8 8 26 12 10 22 10 5 28 2 3 148 79 50 34 2 7 19 8 6 201 89 63 Total . . . 38 SO 43 28 48 37 2,3 277 43 Zi 353 Girls I II III IV V VI VII Total I-VIl VIII IX Grand Totals Yes No Undecided . 13 36 18 13 38 17 26 28 18 19 17 12 24 25 II 29 14 14 21 II 3 145 169 93 32 23 13 61 22 21 238 214 127 Total . . . 67 68 72 48 60 57 35 407 68 104 579 * See Part II, Section VIII, pp. 69-78. 104 A Study of Elimination 105 Number of Pupils in Each Group that Replied in Each Way — Cont. Boys and Girls Totals I II III IV V VI VII Total I-VII VIII IX Grand Totals Yes No Undecided 25 55 25 34 57 27 53 37 25 31 25 20 50 37 21 51 24 19 49 13 6 293 248 143 66 25 20 80 30 27 439 303 190 Total . . . 105 118 115 76 108 94 68 684 III 137 932 The one way of getting an idea of the situation as a whole is to compare the percentages shown under the Grand Total by sexes with the percentages shown in any group or combina- tion of groups of the sex studied/ For example 56 per cent^ of the boys at the outset regarded a high school course as necessary. If these boys left exactly as rapidly as the others, we might expect from the star to find 56 per cent of the boys who answered " Yes " in each group and totals of groups. This is not the case, for in the total number of boys leaving by the end of two years (Group 1-5) we find only 45 per cent elim- inated, at the end of four years (Group 1-7) 53 per cent, and in contrast the graduating group (8) shows that 79 per cent of its boys on entering the high school regarded its course as necessary. Similar comparisons may be made for those who answer " No " or " Undecided." In order to avoid a need- lessly lengthy discussion of details, we may proceed at once to the more obvious conclusions, leaving a detailed study of the tables (which are presented in full) to those particularly inter- ested in this one factor. Let us compare the pupils who were eliminated during the first two years of our study (the pupils of Group 1-5 inclusive) with the pupils who remained four years (Groups 7, 8 and 9). The comparison is clearly made in the percentile table. As of course we should expect, the kind of a boy who leaves high school early is shown to be much less likely to have regarded a high school course as necessary than the boy who stays four years. The same fact holds for girls, but not so markedly. A less obvious conclusion may be reached by a consideration See page 106. See page 71. io6 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools 'o ^ 5^ ^ s o o IX ^i O w (J tn 1 ■) ►^ 0* « D Ph o> > 1-) > W O r^ po OS ^O 00 M H o ■t3 a; o fl ■t3 S^ ^^ O '^ M '^^'^ 03 bfl ft ■^^ '^ S A^ •■-I 0) Oj ft 5^ (D ^ M o a CO -^ CO-O M CO ■t o -0>O POlO P) " •o Lo 000 ■too ■) 00 00 CO d H r^ IN "^ M W M o CO o 6^ m cocOMCODOiHONPicoioOMONcoONMCNOi-iO M VO H PI M M 00 o X ; " ■ " • CO : " CO 1 tr, 1 «^ f>00 HOOHWiOt^MW C5 ; " ; " • CO ■ o " 1 £ Ot^OOOOOi^OO • o ■ • '. " > vO t^oO o I-* N o tH ■ M H ; " '. " o> 1 o' M- CI 1 ^ • M O ■ o ■ o OO '1 VO 1 ^'S- roo N ^o O O H • " : " ^ 1 «# g « -«■ W5 CO « M . M 1 ^ ^ O 1 lO . CO M 1 «© O • o ■ o o 1 «s H O H N M • (N ' ^ " 00 ■-/-, > M M M " " r^ 1 lo CO M 1 ^ MOO " "IS 1-IM3HNOHHO O M M O *^ •o 1 o > Tfio to O "O w - M M " ^ " ■ O 1 lO , 1 f^ CO 0> O t~ H CO H o '"' • "II M \0 fO r^ O ro pq IH M " o ^ '. 1 ^ > CO Tf CO Ov . " ^ " " vO 1 o 1 ^» « CO coo *^ CO H o O t 1 o N CM 1 i» O^ CO pq ^ " '^ 1 «S 1— 1 >n H CO a « « C* M CN O M M M 1 lO 1 sS Eh COin-^I>HCO H ^M M H " pq H M 1 if> d c^ ^C c'jO m \0 m h M M 00 1 ©9^ m mOvmmooOcommm •^ MOM "1 ^ t— f H in M r^vo 01 O CO M IN " '1 CO 1 lO ^ M d CICVMD-CfMOOCN M M " '1 o 1 CO N 1 e© pq COO^MCIMOO^ O M • 1 00 1 lO ' 1 " 1 4© w X H o c > o > 1 -cf Ti o vO o r'. O 00 00 o o o o c a n u 112 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools When, however, we came to tabulate our rentals under the proper sexes and groups we found that little or no difference existed between the original ratios and the ratios of rentals by sexes. Of our 420 rentals 388 came within Groups I-IX. Of these 41 per cent were the rentals of boys' homes and 59 per cent the rentals of girls' homes. Inasmuch as so nearly the same proportionate number of boys' rentals and girls' rentals were secured, except where there is in a group great deviation from this ratio, the rental by sexes will not be separately discussed. Groups I-IX and Rentals In Group I the great majority of our 48 pupils come between $10 and $30. The median for the group is $15. It may be noticed, however, that four pupils whose parents pay $100 or more are included in this group. It may be that these four pupils and possibly also the three at $45 will later enter private schools. In the second group there is a marked rise in the median now $25 which is higher than the median ($20) of the combined groups. These pupils who failed to return to school in the autumn are apparently not chiefly those whom necessity would drive to work at once. Private schools again may have claimed some of this group. In Group III the median falls again to $15, possibly indicating that those who left during the fall term were pupils who felt the fruitlessness of continuing in school as a means of increasing their earning power and being in need of earning money before long, decided to go to work at once. Group IV repeats very much the conditions of Group III or Group I. Group V (the pupils who left during the summer and fall of 1907) repeats the conditions of Group II. The median is again high ($25) and the supposition that some of those who failed to return in the Fall have selected private schools is again possible. Groups VI and VII contain pupils who left school during their third and fourth years respectively. Those who left during their third year apparently outclass financially those who left during their fourth year as the median of Group VI is $25 and A Study of Elimination 113 that of Group VII is $15. More than in any other group, except Group III, we have in Group VII indications of possible finan- cial distress and the need for leaving school to earn money. It might be that Group VII represents pupils kept in school at considerable family sacrifice for nearly the four years and only when the prospect of graduation seemed doubtful or impossible, because of failures in lessons, were the pupils withdrawn to go to work. Group VIII, our graduating pupils, shows a group median of $20, which is the same as that of the nine groups combined, but in the girls of this group we find the median only $15. This is a striking and important fact. So far as our figures go, they show us that narrow circumstances or even poverty is not a hindrance in the usual sense, but rather a spur toward normal graduation. The girls from the low rental homes do better in high school and graduate earlier than their much richer sisters. Here again attention must be called to the inducements offered to girls to become teachers and to secure positions paying far above those that most of them could possibly reach in the com- mercial world. Especially to the girl in meagre circumstances the spur toward graduation offered by the possibilities of a posi- tion as teacher is, it would appear, very strong indeed. In Group IX (the " left-over " or retarded boys and girls), we find that the group median rises $5 above that of the graduates, while that of the retarded girls alone (girls make up three-quar- ters and more of this group) is $10 above that of the girls who graduated. Evidently these girls, many of whom will later graduate, do not feel the spur of necessity and are able to take four and a half, five, or even more years to graduate if necessary. On the whole the economic status of these pupils (so far as it is shown by monthly rental) seems to be only a slight factor in the determination of length of stay in high school. The one most marked influence seems to be that the superior economic status in girls leads to a longer stay in spite of failure to pro- gress at the " normal " rate. The general lack of evidence that poverty is a main cause of elimination, or perhaps a cause of any appreciable magnitude, is of course of the utmost importance. We saw in an earlier section that children remain through the elementary school and enter high school from homes of the most meagre financial resources. We now find that such chil- 114 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools dren remain in high school as long or nearly as long as do children whose parents pay $40 or more a month for rent. Summarizing our findings in this division of our investiga- tion we might say that early elimination from high school is favored by a late entering age; by having younger brothers or sisters ; by a childhood free from serious illness ; by foreign- born parentage of Irish, Austro-Hungarian, Scotch or Italian stock; by the choice of "business" as an occupation by boys or stenography by girls; by a disbelief in the value of a high school course; by an uncertainty as to probable length of stay or a determination to leave early. On the other hand elimination does not seem to be greatly increased by eye strain or frequent headaches. There is no evidence that poverty causes early elimination. PART IV ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCHOOL COURSE SECTION I GRADES FROM WHICH PUPILS WERE DISCHARGED GRADES FROM WHICH BOYS WERE DISCHARGED Group*. II III IV V VI VII Total VIII Grade lA iB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Graduated. . . . Totals . 41 41 57 43 29 50 103 40 23 20 7 II 37 ZZ 290 43 43 GRADES FROM WHICH GIRLS WERE DISCHARGED Group* . Grade lA iB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Graduated totals 67 67 II 73 III 75 IV 48 V 65 VI 57 VII 35 Total 141 129 55 52 21 420 VIII 68 68 * For the meaning of each group (I, II, III, etc.), see page 115 1 1 6 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools DISCHARGES: BOYS AND GIRLS COMBINED Group I II III IV V VI VII Total VIII Gjade lA 108 53 77 47 71 10 37 30 2 40 43 I 7 18 37 24 7 4 8 17 18 13 8 221 232 95 75 41 25 13 8 iB 2A 2B ^A 3B 4A 4B Graduated • • ■ III Totals 108 130 118 77 "5 94 68 710 III The tables we print showing the discharges of pupils from school by groups and by grades furnish us with some very interesting figures. Until we actually take up a definite group of pupils and trace their progress from term to term we are apt to underestimate the failure to gain semi-annual promotion that actually goes on. Considering first the boys we find that more than a quarter of all the boys discharged do not even complete their first grade (lA) of high school work. An additional third of those who leave do not complete the work of the second grade (iB). This makes a total of 63 per cent of boys eliminated who do not com- plete the work of the first high school year. Grades lA and iB. Almost exactly the same total per cent of the girls who leave are discharged from Grades lA and iB (64 per cent) but more girls than boys in proportion fail to finish even the work of the first grades. The percentages are for girls, from lA 33.6 per cent, from iB 30.7 per cent; and for boys from lA 27.6 per cent, from iB 35.5 per cent. From Grade 2A, the first grade of the second year's work, about 14 per cent of the eliminated boys and about the same per- centage of eliminated girls are discharged. We now have approximately yy per cent of our pupils who left during the four years, discharged before they have com- pleted satisfactorily the work of even the first three of the eight high school grades. In other words, more than three-quarters of our eliminated pupils have been discharged without complet- Advancement in the School Course 117 ing much more than one-quarter of the high school course. This surely is an alarmingly high percentage of eliminations in the lower grades. Granting that the pupils who leave early do not as a whole prepare their lessons well, nor recite well, nor pass examinations well, in fact granting that many are failures as students, there still remains open the question as to whether many or all of these pupils who fail in their lessons fail because, after having given sufficient time to study, they are not mentally able to do the work assigned, or whether they fail because though men- tally able, they simply do not attempt to do the work, having no interest in, or liking for it. At this point it would be well for us to suspend judgment and merely to keep clearly in mind the two quite different reasons that may be assigned for the failure of our recorded pupils to satisfactorily complete the work of the earlier high school grades. At first one might be led to attribute this most extraordinary showing entirely to the scholastic difficulty of the high school course. Any one who has taught in the earlier grades of the high school course will be very apt to testify to the apparently poor material which is given him for instruction. The pupils appear for the most part extremely ignorant and helpless. Above all they seem lacking in seriousness. In the later high school grades there is found a rather high moral standard and seriousness of purpose regarding the prepar- ation for daily work and the honest attempt to give each day's assigned work sufficient hours of home study. In the earlier high school grades, however, more pupils who shirk their les- sons and who take little or no interest in their work will be found. The study of our tabulated measurements under Ability, Industry, and Results, may aid us in determining whether this apparent change of attitude on the part of the pupils who stay longer is real or whether merely the more serious and more studious remain while the less studious are eliminated. In considering the discharges from Grade 2B, the fourth grade of the course, we find a much smaller representation in the total number of eliminated boys. A little less than 8 per cent of the boys discharged are discharged from the 2B grade. About 6 per cent are discharged from the 3A grade, 4 per cent from ii8 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools the 4A grade and 2 per cent from the 4B grade. There are, on the other hand, about 12 per cent of the eliminated girls dis- charged from 2B, 5 per cent from 3A, 4 per cent from 3B and less than one per cent from 4A and 4B. While the elimination of boys from successive grades during four years goes on in decreasing percentages from iB to 4B, that of the girls practically stops at 3B. This may in part be due to the fact that many boys who do not require the high school diploma in order to start upon their life-work drop out as soon as they feel they have secured from the high school about all the information or training it can give them. Espe- cially in the non-classical courses many boys feel no compulsion upon them to secure a certificate of the completion of a four years' course, but will accept what they consider an unusually promising position in an office or a shop even in the last grade of their four years' course. With the girls, however, gradua- tion from high school is a sine qua non for entrance to the train- ing schools for teachers and to them the high school diploma is of more direct and immediate value. It may also be possible, indeed it is probable, that a few of the boys who leave from 4A and 4B will, after perhaps a short period of employment, attempt to enter the high school depart- ment of the City College. Three such cases (discovered since the tabulation of all of our data) have actually been noted. On the whole, however, our figures for the last two grades apparently indicate that a high school diploma is not as seriously valued by many of our recorded boys as by the recorded girls. The facts of this section are also capable of interpretation on the basis of retardation. For example, in Group VI (pupils discharged during their third year in high school), our totals show 94 pupils so discharged. While the " normal " progress would find all our pupils in Grade 3A or 3B we notice that the great majority of the discharges are in Grades 2 A and 2B and even some in iB and lA. SECTION II GROUP IX: RETARDED PUPILS The 33 boys and 104 girls* who did not graduate but stayed in school for full four years form by themselves a group which would deserve the most careful examination and discussion were we able to accomplish this without extending our study beyond the bounds of reasonable length. The fact is that Retardation is almost as intricate and important a subject for investigation as Elimination itself. The two processes are undoubtedly closely related, how closely no one has yet determined. Both are im- portant from the standpoint of the school administrator and both are little understood at present. All things being considered, it has seemed best not to enter into a discussion of Retardation at this time but to hold much of our information for the present in reserve. By doing this we will not confuse the two processes, Elimination and Retarda- tion, and will avoid extending our study indefinitely. However, while omitting any extended discussion, we still recall that Group IX (our 137 retarded pupils) has properly been shown in practically all of the tables given and has in some cases been already discussed briefly. Therefore for the benefit of the reader we may sum up these former observations in a few brief paragraphs, first discussing the possible formation of the group. In studying this group one may take any one of four more or less opposing views : Either these pupils represent bright chil- dren but indififerent students who have neglected their school work either because they cared little for it, or because they are engaged in necessary wage-earning occupations out of school hours ; or they represent hard-working pupils who are doing their best but who fail in the attempt to accomplish work too hard for their normal rate of progress ; or they may represent fair students who have been led through an interest in athletics or school organizations to make no special effort to graduate on * See page 89. 119 I20 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools time ; or finally they may represent pupils who, while having no aptitude for the school work they follow, are still kept in school by ambitious parents. In reality, this group probably included some of each type mentioned together with some who have been retarded by chronic or temporary illnesses not reported and by still other reasons. The reader will do well not to confine his speculations to any one of the causes stated but to remember that all probably have some influence upon the formation of this group. GRADES OF PUPILS vSTILL IN SCHOOL— GROUP IX lA iB 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B Total Boys 2 6 3 9 8 24 8 24 12 37 ?>2> 100 Approx. per cent. Girls I I o 2 2 4 4 12 12 14 13 27 26 44 42 104 100 Approx. per cent. Totals I I o 2 I 6 4 15 II 22 16 35 26 56 41 137 100 Approx. per cent. RETARDED PUPILS NOT PROMOTED Boys Girls Totals Once 12 8 8 3 2 44 27 14 12 4 3 56 35 22 15 6 3 Twice Three times Four times Five times More than five times Present High School Grades More than half of our retarded pupils have failed of promo- tion more than once in the four years. More than a quarter of the group have failed three times or more. Seen from another standpoint, 61 per cent of the boys and 68 per cent of the girls of this group are in their fourth year of progress, while 39 per cent and 32 per cent respectively have more than one full year's work ahead of them before possible Advancement in the School Course 121 graduation. The one girl who is in lA had been promoted three times during the four years, but of her own wish decided " to begin all over again " and so is recorded in lA. There is no need to repeat in detail the facts as to grade reached in four years shown in the table. Ages Our retarded pupil's median age on entering was 14 years or over but not yet 15 years. Two of the nine pupils who were seventeen years old on entering are in this group as are also six of the original thirty who were not yet thirteen on enter- ing. The age shows little except that the retarded pupils are as a rule slightly older than those who graduate on time. Nationality of Father The greater part of the retarded group is made up of girls whose parents were born in America. These largely are the girls whose high home rental indicated easy financial circum- stances. Pupil's Choice of Occupation Most of the retarded boys who have remained four years are those whose choice would necessitate college graduation, while the retarded girls are made up almost wholly of the " undecided " and " teacher " groups in about equal proportions. Nearly twice as many girls who expect to teach are retarded as are graduated. High School Necessary? As has been suggested under choice of occupation most of our retarded pupils who have yet remained four years regard a high school course as necessary. Yet (though the gross num- ber of such boys is greater) there are relatively just as many retarded boys from the classes that thought high school un- necessary or were undecided. However, among the girls those who thought the course necessary are found in the retarded group in as great relative numbers as the other two classes of girls ("No" or "Undecided") combined. Stay Full Course? The retarded group shows very clearly that the early inten- tion of staying for the full course is most potent in keeping 12 2 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools pupils in school even though they do not graduate on time. Not only is the great majority of the total pupils in this group made up of boys and girls who intended to stay, but relatively as well the percentages show a very much greater number of those who intended to complete their full course. Younger in Family Retarded pupils who have no younger brothers or sisters exceed those who have them, more than two to one ; but in pro- portion to their original entries the ratio is only one-half greater for those with none younger in the family. Illness More pupils proportionately who have had previous serious illness appear in this retarded group than do those who report no illness (Ratio i6 to ii). In gross numbers those with no illness exceed. Headaches Practically the same relative per cent of our retarded group report headaches and no headaches. Surprising as this may seem, the two opposing classes are represented by equal ratios. In gross numbers, however, those with no headaches outnumber the others almost four to one. Glasses Those without glasses at entrance outnumbered those with glasses about seven to one. In the retarded group those without glasses outnumber those with glasses about nine to one. Rents The median rental of the retarded group is $25 which is one- fourth higher than the median of the entire number of rents looked up. Nearly one-third of the girls come from homes where the rental is $45 and upward and one-tenth of the girls come from homes where the monthly rental is $100, which is extremely high. SECTION III PUPILS WHO GRADUATED ON TIME Introduction In all the following tables we do not show the percentages of the graduating group classified according to the different measure- ments, but instead we show the influence of each factor separately in assisting normal graduation. Under the tables of Ages this distinction is not clearly shown, but under Nationality of Parent the distinction is clearer, viz. J of children of American parentage only lo per cent of those who enter, graduate on time, as against + i6 per cent of the Russians and + 16 per cent of the Germans who enter. Yet actually fewer Russians and Germans (in the totals we studied) graduate from high school than do children of American parent- age, the reason being, of course, that fewer Russians and Ger- mans originally entered. Therefore at the start it is well to re- member that we are not studying the characteristics of the gradu- ates as such ; that we are not especially interested in how many of the graduates were of certain ages, of certain parentage, of certain ambitions, of certain home conditions, etc., etc. We are interested rather in finding out how far any one factor appears to have assisted or retarded graduation. For this purpose our comparisons are constantly made with the number of pupils entering instead of with the totals graduating. If we wish to have some basis for estimating very roughly whether or not a trait is valuable in assisting normal graduation, we might take as our basis 11 per cent, which is approximately the percentage on the basis of the totals by number of those who graduated from our original group. In using this 11 per cent as a guide, we will rate as helpful, those characteristics which show markedly more than 1 1 per cent among the graduates, and as harmful, those which fall mark- edly below 1 1 per cent. On the other hand, characteristics which 124 EUinination of Students in Public Secondary Schools show approximately ii per cent would be regarded as neutral, or of no determining value either for or against graduation. The high school course is planned for the supposedly normal pupil. The work laid out term by term is supposed to be capable of accomplishment by such a pupil. If free from outside inter- ferences this pupil is expected to complete his secondary edu- cation in four years except in certain special courses where the time is shorter by a year. Out of 958 entering pupils we find that at the end of four years 43 of our 366 boys or about 12 per cent have either gradu- ated or received a certificate of attendance. Of the girls 68 out of 592 or about 11 per cent have either graduated or received certificates.* At the outset it may be noted, with perhaps no longer any surprise, that scarcely more than one pupil in nine of those who enter meets satisfactorily the conditions set in advance for the normal pupil. To be sure, not all of the eight who have failed to graduate on time have given up all hope of graduating. Some one or more in each nine are still in school hoping to finish the course within another year. However, with but 107 remaining who have completed even three years' work, one might be led to prophesy that certainly not more than two in ten of our original total will ever finish. Leaving for the time being the expectation of future gradu- ation out of our discussion we return to the fact that approxi- mately II per cent of the original nlimber are all that complete their supposedly normal course in the normal manner and time. One may of course claim that this is, when one considers the material that enters, as high a percentage as should be expected,^ indeed as high a percentage as is desirable. This same person will claim that the high school is the first step in the selection * Certificates, it may be explained, are granted to pupils who com- plete the high school course (the required subjects and hours of recita- tion) without meeting the full requirements for graduation so far as class standing or examination averages are concerned. Some pupils who intend to enter college upon examination do not attempt to graduate, but secure certificates to enable them to enter these college entrance examinations ; others who are unable to graduate because of poor standings in class work are still granted in deserving cases a certificate to show they have attended regularly the required recitations for the full course. For our purposes it does not seem necessary tO' exclude the certificated pupils from the group of pupils who finish their course in the so-called normal period. Advancement in the School Course 125 of leaders for the community and that one in nine is as high a percentage of the select as should be allowed to proceed. Fur- thermore one of this mind will claim that equality of oppor- tunity does not mean equality of accomplishment and that the evidence of a struggle with its subsequent elimination of the unfit is but a healthy sign of educational progress. One question, however, may be asked such an observer which should unsettle all his confidence: Can it be shown beyond a doubt that the eliminated pupils are " unfit " for educational ad- vancement and is it conversely true that those who are selected are really the most " fit " of the entering group ? PER CENT OF ENTERING PUPILS GRADUATING, BY AGES Age Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Boys II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Blank Girls II 12 13 14 IS 16 17 18 Blank Totals II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Blank 19 16 4 5 32 19 10 7 51 35 14 3 15 100 129 73 36 6 IS 158 221 140 49 3 30 258 3SO 213 8S 9 126 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Ages and Graduation More boys who are 14 but not yet 15 years of age enter the high school than do those of any other year. However, but 12 per cent of these boys complete their course on time, while 19 per cent of those between 13 and 14 years graduate. Boys who are 12 and not yet 13 years old are represented by only 15 pupils, 13 per cent of whom graduate. Boys who are 15 or 16 but not yet 17 graduate between 5 per cent and 6 per cent. No boys who are seventeen or over or under twelve have gradu- ated. Our records therefore show a greatly increased chance of normal graduation for the boys who enter high school within the year after their thirteenth birthday. Here it is probably not the degree of maturity alone or even primarily which functions, but rather the age which serves as an indication of previous success in the elementary school, as already discussed under Age and Ability. For the girls, the small group of girls who on entering were 12 and not yet 13 makes the best showing with 33 per cent gradu- ating on time, but this group is too small to permit us to give this percentage the greatest ability. The large group of 158 girls who were 13 and not yet 14 years old shows a graduation of 20 per cent about the same as that of the boys of equal age. Girls who are 14 and not yet 15 drop to 8.5 per cent with a drop of about one point more for girls who are a year older. Girls who are 16 but not yet 17 years old graduate 2 per cent. No girls (as was the case with the boys) who are 17 or more years old graduate on time. So far as age is concerned we may readily conclude that 13 is the ideal age for high school entrance. The pupil who so entered has about twice the probability of normal graduation that the pupil one year older has ; three or more times the proba- bility of the pupil two years older, and from nearly four times (in the case of boys) to six times (in the case of girls) the chance of graduation of the pupil who is three years older. To some, this may at once suggest the possibility of an age limit for entrance to the straight four years' course. To others it may suggest the value of a shorter course particularly planned for those whose age forecasts the probability of failure to gradu- ates in the required time if at all. Advancement in the School Course 127 PER CENT GRADUATING BY NATIONALITY OF FATHER Blank U. S. A Austria Hungary Bohemia Canada, English Canada, French. Denmark England France Germany Holland Ireland Italy Norway Poland Russia Roumania Scotland Sweden Switzerland . . . . Spain Turkey Euro. Hebrew . . Gradu- ates 5 45 5 I 22 15 Total Entering 37 428 34 12 3 9 4 4 43 6 140 4 73 13 91 6 Per Cent Gradu- ating 13-5 10.5 23-5 1-7 33-3 II .1 50.0 o .0 II. 6 16.6 15-7 25.0 1-3 o .0 50.0 o .0 16.4 o .0 5-0 9.0 o .0 o .0 o .0 10 .0 Of the nationalities represented by more than three per cent of the entering pupils, the children reporting Austrian parentage apparently make the best showing as 23 per cent of the original 34 have completed their course on time. Even when one com- bines Austria and Hungary, the percentage though it falls to 17 per cent is still the highest. Russia comes next with a little above 16 per cent. Then comes Germany with almost 16 per cent. From these three nationalities, each with its very large Hebrew element not separately shown, we drop four points before the next nationality appears, which is English with 11.6 per cent of the original entries graduating on time. Next to the last of the nationalities represented by more than 30 entering children come those whose fathers were born in America. Of these children 10.5 per cent have graduated, or 45 out of the original 428. Finally we find the children of Irish parentage with scarcely more than one per cent, only one of the 73 who entered gradu- ating: on time. 12 8 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools The other nationalities are so scattered and represented by such small original numbers that it is impossible to use their percentages in any conclusions. It is, however, interesting to note that out of 22 or 23 nationalities originally represented there are still 14 or 15 nationalities represented in our gradu- ating group ; eight or nine nationalities however are represented by but a single graduate and in some of these cases it is prob- able that many are really of one race, Hebrews. PER CENT GRADUATING BY FATHER'S OCCUPATION Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Professional Semi-professional City and federal Clerk Trade and manufacture Artisan Transportation Personal Office, Agent Laborer Blank 6 6 41 12 3 5 19 36 36 61 52 227 150 46 41 106 36 179 16.7 2.8 9 II , 6.6 12 .2 II .4 o .0 10. s Children whose parents' occupations were classed as Trade and Manufacture make the best showing in the graduating group, about 18 per cent of these children graduating on time. Next come the children of parents engaged in professional pursuits, with 16 per cent of the original group graduating. Third, fourth, and fifth, with little variation from 12 per cent of their entering groups, we find the children of parents engaged in Personal Service, Clerical Work and Agencies. Sixth, are the children of Municipal and Federal employees with 10 per cent of the original group among the graduates. The Artisans come next with 8 per cent of those who entered ; then those engaged in Transpor- tation with 6 per cent. Of those at all represented among the graduates the class named semi-professional has the lowest repre- sentation, but 2 per cent of such entries completing their courses on time. The children of Laborers are not represented in the graduating group at all, though as many such children entered as those whose fathers followed either professional or semi-pro- fessional pursuits. Advancement in the School Course 129 PER CENT GRADUATING BY CHOICE OF OCCUPATIONS Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Boys Blank Undecided "Go to College". . . . Some profession .... Architect Business Civil engineer Electrical Forester Law Medicine Teacher U. S. Army U. S. Navy Girls Blank Undecided College Artist Bookkeeper "Business" Designer Stenographer Teach. P . S Teach, music 27 129 9 6 7 36 39 27 I 24 7 14.8 6.8 33-3 16.6 42.8 2.7 20.5 7-4 100 .0 16.6 14 .2 36.3 50.0 100 .0 7 22 4 26 4 56 260 26 2 9 4 6 46 167 12.5 8.4 15-3 50.0 25. 16, 2 . 15. 33' In choice of occupation the seven boys selecting Architecture show 43 per cent graduated; of the 11 selecting Teaching 36 per cent have graduated ; of the 9 selecting " College " 33 per cent have graduated ; of the 39 selecting Civil Engineering 20 per cent have graduated; of the 24 selecting Law 17 per cent have graduated ; next comes Medicine with 14 per cent of its original 7; then Electrical Engineering with 7 per cent of 27; and finally " Business " with but 3 per cent of the original 36 which is lower than the 6 per cent of those " Undecided." These groups individually are too small to permit of generalizations but if we combine all the occupations which require a high school training, as an absolute prerequisite to later professional training in college, we find that in the neighborhood of 22 per cent of this class have graduated on time. From the standpoint of the graduating group alone, boys whose choice of their life work necessitates the completion of a high school course make up about two-thirds of the total graduating group. Indeed this 130 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools fraction is too small because we have included as 21 per cent the 9 undecided boys and as 9 per cent the 4 boys who gave no answer at all. It might be fairer to say that nearly the entire graduating group of boys is made up of those boys who must graduate to fit themselves for their future work. This is not equally true of the girls where we find several pupils graduating who do not absolutely need to graduate to meet the conditions of the work they intend to take up. Those who intend to teach music or be musicians graduate 4 out of 12 {2)2) per cent) ; whereas those who intend to teach in pubHc school or to enter college graduate 30 out of 193 or 16 per cent. Of those girls who chose a definite vocation, the girls expecting to teach made up about three-quarters of the entire graduating group. However, we find a very large percentage, nearly 43 per cent of the entire graduating group of girls, made up of the girls who were originally undecided or unwilling to state their choice. It would appear then that the girl who does not make an early choice of a vocation stands a better chance of graduat- ing than does the boy who is similarly reticent or undecided. PER CENT GRADUATING BY ANSWERS TO QUESTION : " Is a high school course necessary? " Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating No Boys 2 7 34 89 63 201 2 . 2 Undecided II .1 Yes 16.9 Total . 43 353 Girls No 23 13 32 213 127 238 10.7 10 .2 Undecided Yes 13-4 Total 68 578 Totals No 25 20 66 296 190 439 8.4 Undecided 10.5 12.5 Yes Total . . III 925 Advancement in the School Course 131 A larger percentage of boys who considered the high school course necessary have graduated than of similarly minded girls (17 per cent boys, 13 per cent girls). In both cases the pupils who regarded the course as necessary have graduated in much larger relative numbers than those who were undecided or opposed to the necessity for a high school course. However, of the girls who regarded the high school course as unnecessary nearly 11 per cent have graduated as against 2 per cent of similarly minded boys. This contrast lends color to the supposition that a large fraction of those girls who answered " No " to this question had in mind for themselves no " career " other than that of the wife and mother, but decided to employ their time profitably during their adolescent years in gaining the culture and training of a secondary education. Of the undecided pupils one-ninth of the boys and one-tenth of the girls have graduated. The percentage of graduations is here almost as large as that of the entire group. Summing up the situation we may say that early belief in the necessity of a high school education favors normal graduation. It is relatively less important among the girls than among the boys. Finally, boys who do not regard the high school course as necessary are extremety unlikely to graduate. PER CENT GRADUATING BY ANSWERS TO QUESTION: "Do yoii expect to complete your course?" Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Boys No I 10 32 49 106 205 Undecided. 9.4 15-6 Yes Girls No 4 9 55 102 166 305 3-9 5-4 18. 1 Undecided Yes Totals No 5 19 87 151 272 510 3-3 6.9 17 .0 Undecided Yes 132 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Of the bo3^s who upon entering intended to stay for the entire course, only 15.6 per cent have graduated, although 13.7 per cent of this group are still in school as retarded pupils. Of the girls who expected to stay, 18 per cent have graduated and 28 per cent are still in school. Over 9 per cent of the undecided boys have graduated and over 5 per cent of the undecided girls, while nearly 4 per cent of these boys and over 8 per cent of these girls are still in school. Of those who did not originally intend to stay for the full course, only 2 per cent of the boys and about 4 per cent of the girls have graduated while equally small percentages remain as retarded pupils. With about one-seventh of our pupils still in school we are not permitted to say what influence this intention of finishing will have upon the number who will ultimately graduate, but we can negatively state that those who do not intend to graduate at the start stand almost no chance of doing so. We can further- more state that a pupil's chances, particularly a girl's chances, of normal graduation appear to be decidedly increased by an early determination to do so. However, when seen from the standpoint of eliminations we must still remember that before these pupils whom we have just discussed, graduated, 71 per cent of the boys and 54 per cent of the girls who originally expected to graduate have left the high school. PER CENT GRADUATING WHO HAVE YOUNGER BROTHERS OR SISTERS Gradu- ates Total Entering Pkr Cent Gradu- ating Yes. . No. .. Blank 35 64 361 513 9.6 12.4 14.3 Advancement in the School Course 133 PER CENT GRADUATING WHO HAVE HAD ANY SERIOUS ILLNESS Gradu- Total Per Cent ates Entering Gradu- ating Yes 37 265 13-9 No 51 536 9-5 Blank 23 157 14.7 PER CENT GRADUATING WHO SUFFER FROM FREQUENT SEVERE HEADACHES Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Yes No 19 83 9 186 702 70 10 .2 11 .8 Blank 12.8 PER CENT GRADUATING WHO WEAR GLASSES Gradu- ates Total Entering Per Cent Gradu- ating Yes 16 86 9 108 769 81 14.9 II .2 No Blank Children who report no younger brothers or sisters graduate slightly more than 12 per cent, while those reporting younger children in the family graduate about 9.5 per cent. This would seem to show that being the only child or the youngest child increases a pupil's chance of normal graduation, though this is not a very marked advantage as the slight differences in the percentages given show. Previous serious illness, so far as it shows anything, seems, in the struggle toward graduation, to be of rather marked ad- vantage. The children reporting such illness graduate about 14 134 Elimination of Students in Ptiblic Secondary Schools per cent while those reporting no illness graduate only 9^ per cent. Headaches severe and frequent seem to have an influence of less than 2 per cent though this slight difference does exist in favor of those who do not suffer. Between those who wear glasses and those who do not there is a difference of nearly 4 per cent in favor of those who do wear glasses. This should prove an argument of some value in urging parents to have their children's eyes properly tested and provided with glasses if the need for them is shown. PER CENT GRADUATING BY RENT* Amount Gradu- ates Total Entering Percent. Gradu- ating Blank Boys 22 9 8 4 ■76 34 48 $8-17 18-27 28 and, up. . Girls II. 8 23-5 8-3 Blank $8-17 40 14 10 4 99 71 65 14. 1 14.0 6.1 18-27 28 and up Homes where the rental is between $18 and $27 graduate 24 per cent of their original number among the boys or somewhat more than as many as those with lower and with higher rentals combined. Boys whose parents pay less than $18 made a better showing (12 per cent) than those whose parents pay more than $27, of whom 8 per cent graduate. Girls whose parents pay less than $18 and those whose parents pay from $18 to $27 are almost exactly equal, with 14 per cent of their original entries graduating on time. Girls whose parents pay $28 and upward a month are represented among the gradu- ates by but 6 per cent of all such girls who entered. Extremely low rental is evidently less of an eliminating factor among the girls than among boys, but both boys and girls seem to show that low rentals indicate a markedly greater chance of *For data see page 11 1. Advancement in the School Course 135 normal graduation than do rentals more consistent with ease and social advantage. On the whole, we find graduation assisted by entering at 13 years of age, by Austrian, Russian, or German (Hebrew?) par- entage, by parents who are either shop-keepers or professional men, by the choice of an engineering or professional career for boys, or public school teaching for girls, by a belief in the personal value of a high school course and the fixed purpose of com- pleting the course. On the other hand, graduation is opposed by entrance at fifteen or older, by Scotch, Irish or Hungarian parentage, by parents who are journalists, actors or musicians or who are employed in transportation, or finally by parents who are unskilled laborers. Graduation is opposed by indecision as to future work or choice of a business career on the part of the pupil and is almost prevented in the case of boys by the lack of early belief in the value of graduation. For girls, however, the lack of belief in the value of graduation does not act very strongly in preventing graduation on time. Indecision as to whether or not a pupil will stay four years usually works against graduation while the early determination not to stay is rarely changed. Homes where the rentals are between $18 and $27 greatly assist in normal graduation though girls (alone) from homes where the rent is less than $18 do just as well as those from rentals of $18 to %2y. Rentals above $27 retard or oppose graduation on time. PART V EARLY PROMISE SECTION I STARTING THE CO-OPERATIVE INVESTIGATION From the point of view of society at large the purpose of the high school as an educational institution may be twofold: first the elevation of the general intelligence of the growing members of a community by the dissemination of useful or cul- tural information ; and second, the selection from the high school community of future leaders who will advance through higher institutions of learning to positions of responsibility and trust. The first aim is met by keeping in the high school, for as long a period as possible, all who enter, whether or not all who so enter show the ability which gives promise of future leadership. On the other hand, the second aim or purpose is accomplished by keeping in high school only those, few or many, who give promise of becoming at some later day leaders of thought and action in the various lines of work which they may select. To a certain extent these two purposes of the high school as a social institution are antagonistic. In the first case, elimination is a fault to be seriously studied and so decreased to the lowest possible amount ; while in the second case, elimination is no fault at all, but rather evidence of the successful progress of the process of selection which is one purpose of the high school to advance. In the minds of many students of secondary education there has been for a long time serious doubt as to whether the high schools of to-day were so fashioned as to economically or effi- ciently accomplish either of the two purposes which give the high school its reasons for existence. In order to gain some concrete 136 Early Promise 137 data for testing the efficiency of the high schools, it would be necessary for us to have some estimate of the general promise of our entering high school pupils. With such estimates in our possession, we could then follow these pupils from year to year and by studying the elimination of these pupils, find out to some extent whether the high school either kept all to what we might call the point of saturation, or whether, while it neglected the less fit and meritorious, it only kept those who early gave promise of later superior development. The very first thing to be done in such an investigation, was then to secure some fairly trustworthy estimate of the general ability of those pupils who enter the high school. To do this by personal study and observation in the case of a thousand pupils, was of course out of the question. In no practical way save by the co-operation of a great many teachers could such general estimates be formed. It was therefore decided to seek assistance of the teachers in the various high schools concerned. That such estimates, while endeavoring to express general abil- ities apart from success in school work, should have a coloring of school values, might be expected, and yet in no other way could we secure anything at all which might serve as an index to the pupils' general promise of future development. Because of different standards in different schools and because of different personal standards, there was no attempt made to secure grades for all the pupils on an absolute basis as, say, from o per cent to 100 per cent on any characteristic, but rather to arrange the pupils of a class in a linear sequence from the lowest to the highest within a class. The progress of the attempt to secure the co-operation of the many men and women who taught our registered pupils is best shown by giving all the steps in the correspondence which was initiated. The following letters read in the light of our previous discussion will serve as their own explanation. I give first the general letter sent to all the subject teachers of our recorded pupils. 138 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Teachers College, Columbia University New York City, Feb. i, 1906. My Dear Sir or Madam : The primary object of this letter is to interest you in the solution of a problem which is one of the most serious with which high school teachers have to deal. Between eighty and ninety per cent of our high school pupils do not finish their course. Various opinions are hazarded to account for this con- dition, yet at present there is little concrete data upon which to base such explanations. The aim of the collection of the data in which your assistance is sought is to scientifically determine in so far as the data allow, the reasons why the majority of pupils leave high school before graduation. This investigation, which is limited to one thousand pupils in the high schools of Greater New York, is being supervised b}^ Prof. Thorndike. _ It is with the greatest hesitancy the writer (himself a teacher in a city high school) asks you to assist him in this investigation, because he recognizes the mass of clerical work with which you are already taxed. At the same time, if anything is to be accomplished in this line it mitst be the result of the co-operative action of a number of teachers in the various high schools of this city. The results of this study cannot fail to be of some value. The degree to which they will be of value depends largely upon the care with which you, together with the other investigators, record your judgments. If you will assume a sympathetic attitude toward this work its disagreeable fea- tures will vanish. Your attitude toward the pupil is one of S3Tnpathy and helpfulness. May you not assume the same attitude toward this 'work which is intended to be of value to future high school pupils? If,_ after having looked over the following explanation, you find yourself unwilling to take part in the investigation, please say so frankly, so that an attempt may be made to find some one to take your place. You are asked to grade the class, a list of whose members accompanies this sheet, according to their relative rank so far as you can judge in each of six characteristics. In order that this work may be uniform, a more detailed explanation of the sense in which the various terms are used is given below. i._ Ability. Native ability apart from success or failure in any particular subject of study. Natural brightness. 2. Industry. Application to school work whether pleasant or unpleasant. Determination to accomplish an assigned task. Stick-to-it-iveness. 3. Intensity. A tendency to take things hard in general. " Going in for blood." Expenditure of energy in attack and accomplishment. 4. Results. General efficiency. Not only undertaking a task or a line of work,_ but actually accomplishing some result in it. (This does not mean reliability or trustworthiness.) 5. Breadth. Breadth of interests. Interest in a large number of things, topics, lines of work, outside of the required school work. 6. Independence. Dislike of restraint. Desire to be one's own master. The desire to plan and do for one's self. The method of marking is as follows: For example, take the first column. Mark the boy or girl whose native ability you consider the best in the class -j- i. The pupil whose native ability you consider the poorest mark — i. In the same way mark the next to the naturally brightest -f- 2, and the next to the naturally dullest — 2. In this way grade so far as possible the entire class. When you find the plus and minus rankings to approach each other so closely that you are unable to distinguish any differences, mark the remaining pupils " M." Do not permit a hesitancy Early Promise 139 concerning the accuracy of your judgments to keep you from attempting to grade the entire class. When your ratings are combined with the ratings of the four or five others that are judging this same class, their value will be greatly increased by your expression of opinion as to the relative rank of each pupil in each of the six characteristics tabulated. 7. Home. In this column yovi are asked to divide the pupils, in so far as you are able, into two classes. First, those whose parents are well able to keep their children in school until they graduate. Pupils of this class you will please mark "A." Second, pupils who are kept in school only by the real self-sacrificing efforts of their parents, and who may at any moment be forced to go to work to support themselves or to help support the famil}^ Pupils of this class you will please mark " D." It may be that you have no knowledge of the home conditions of most of the class, but if you are able to assign to their correct class even three or four of the pupils, you will assist materially in the investigation. Inasmuch as a very considerable number of pupils leave school during the first third of the term, you are asked to make your ratings at the earliest date at which you find yourself capable of expressing a fairly accurate opinion concerning the pupils in question. The record of your investigations will be collected during the week immediately following the Easter recess. Very truly yours, JOSEPH K. Van Denbueg. 140 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools JOSEPH K. VAN DENBURG, Teachers College, Columbia University, N. Y. C. SCHOOL CLASS GRADE DATE TEACHER FOR DEFINITIONS. ETC., SEE EXPLANATORY SHEET ACCOMPANYING Last Name First Name I < 2 n >> 4 5 ■a eq 6 fi (D 7 0) 8 9 10 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17- 1 18 ! 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Early Promise 141 In order to explain certain difficulties that had been brought out in interviews and letters received, this second circular letter was sent out on April 11, 1906. Teachers College, Columbia University New York, April 11, 1906. This circular letter is being sent to all who have been asked to take part in the investigation as a news-letter giving information concerning the progress of this work. In the first place not more than five teachers of the one hundred and ninety to whom letters were sent have expressed a desire to have some one selected to take their place. Even in these few cases the letters received expressed an interest in the investigation but gave particular reasons why they would be unable to take part. This augurs well at the outset for the success of the investigation we are carrying on. Some questions have arisen concerning the grading of pupils on the six characteristics in question, and to answer these questions and assist in your work I ask your attention to the following points: 1. If, when teaching the class whose record is being taken, you keep in mind the six characteristics (ability, industry ,_ intensity, results, breadth, independence) the class will almost unconsciously arrange itself into groups in each of the characteristics mentioned. 2. Each characteristic may often be graded more easily by keeping it particularly in mind during a certain recitation and theri marking the class on that characteristic as soon as possible after the recitation is over. 3. Actual measurements of time with high school teachers show that it takes about fifteen minutes to grade a class on any one point. A further expenditure of time does not seem to greatly increase the accuracy of the record. 4. Extreme accuracy is not possible on so short an acquaintance with the pupils, but it is necessary to grade each class before many have left the school so an apparently inaccurate rating is far better than none. 5. Often a few pupils will appear so nearly alike on any one point that it seems wholly impossible to assign them marks in sequence. In that case each pupil may be given several marks or rather a group mark. For example, you have selected the brightest pupil in the class and marked him or her -|- i ; the second brightest and marked him or her + 2, and so on until you come to the fifth pupil whom you cannot dis- tinguish from three others in ability. In that case you would mark each one of this four " -|- 5 to 8." By using this grouping method you may avoid hair-splitting difficulties in marking the classes and still furnish valuable assistance in the inves- tigation. 6. On the question of financial conditions at home, a few teachers have said : " I know nothing of the home conditions of my pupils." Surely this is an unfortunate statement if true, for how can we be of the most assistance to our pupils when we know nothing of the conditions under which they live. These suggestions are offered as helps to some on this point: (i) The pupil's own testimony, (2) Dress, (3) Bodily condi- tion, (4) Location of home, (5) Manners of the pupil. It has been sug- gested that we grade onty the extremes A (no financial difficulties at all), D (struggling against financial problems). However if you can distinguish classes, B (a shade below A) and C (a shade above D), so much the better. The results of this ranking of pupils when tabulated and compared with the record of those who leave high school will tend to show what kind of pupils leave the high school before graduation. 142 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools These questions are asked by teachers and principals. " Do the brightest pupils remain until they graduate?" " Do the most industrious remain?" "Do those who get good results in their work leave early in the course?" " Is breadth of interests a help or a hindrance to a high school education under present conditions ? " "Are financial reasons the chief ones that force pupils to drop out ? " So far there is no record of an investigation planned to answer these questions from a careful study of a large number of pupils other than that in which you are now taking part. Surely you may feel that such time and effort as you give to this work is well and profitably spent. You can see the possibility of our reaching results that will be of decided influence in secondary education in this city and in other cities similarly conditioned. Finally, let me remind you that this is essentially a co-operative investi- gation in which success depends upon each one doing his or her share as fully as possible. May I therefore ask that you grade the pupils as far as you can on each of the seven points so that the papers may be collected on Friday, April 20th. Very truly yours, Joseph K. Van Deneurg. Up to the beginning of May, about seventy-five teachers had sent in their graded Hsts ; but very few found it possible to cover all the ten headings on which each pupil was to be graded. So few, indeed, covered all ten points that it was found neces- sary to cut the number of points of comparison from ten to three, those three being Ability, Industry, Results. It was then planned to secure the co-operation of teachers and pupils in a " follow up " system by which each registered pupil would receive special attention in the school and the cause for his or her elimination would be recorded as each pupil left school. To assist in this tracing of pupils two circular letters were sent out. The first one, to the teachers who had filled out the graded sheets, was as follows : Teachers College, Columbia University New York, May 10, 1906. The first stage of the investigation of elimination from New York City high schools is nearing a successful termination. The general spirit of those who were asked to take part in the investigation has been, as was foreseen, sympathetic and earnest. Cutting down the number of co-opera- tive investigators to its smallest number 126, there remain only about fifty teachers still to be heard from. If any of these fifty happen to be in your school will you not use your influence to persuade them to mark the pupils on at least some of the characteristics chosen? This will increase the value of the marks already sent in by yourself and other teachers. The second stage of the investigation is now under way, namely the " follow up " of pupils who have left or are leaving. For this purpose blank-books with a complete list of the class have been handed to the class teacher or class secretary of each class under investigation. In this book entries will be made under the pupil's name whenever a pupil leaves Early ^Promise 1 43 school. In this way the reasons assigned by the pupil whO' is leaving, together with the opinions of his or her teachers and class-mates, will be recorded. As a third stage in tlie investigation, we are seeking to record the reasons assigned by pupils for leaving school. A ballot, of which the enclosed is a sample, has been prepared and pupils who are leaving" are asked to record their reasons by this ballot and mail it to me. To increase the accuracy of these reasons, it has seemed best that they be considered private information, the total results in figures only being hnaily published. The form of the ballot has been compiled from the reasons assigned by actual pupils. Of course, little objective value can be assigned to these ballots. They will merely serve to classify the reasons pupils may be willing to give. Regarding the first stage of the investigation, you may be interested in looking up the method in grading the pupils as a class by combining the estimates of the four or five subject teachers who have separately marked them. The method is fully explained in Professor E. L. Thorndike's book on Mental and Social Measurements. I cannot here give a full explana- tion of this method, for while it is clear and scientific, it is still necessarily rather elaborate. Finally let me thank you again for you valuable co-operation and ask for a continuation of your especial interest in the pupils under observation in the classes you have graded. We have already better data than have ever before been secured on this question, but the " follow up " calls for continual observation for some time to come on the part of those who wish to continue the investigation. Ver}^ gratefully yours, Joseph K. Van Denburg. The so-called third stage or " ballot test " did not prove suc- cessful from the start. It was found that pupils were leaving who would not fill out the ballots and so at the beginning of the last month of the first term of the investigation the follow- ing letter was sent to each of the class teachers and class secre- taries of the twenty-eight classes registered. Teachers College, Columbia University New York, June i, 1906. This circular letter is being sent to the class teachers or class secre- taries of the twenty-eight high school classes whose records are being kept in connection with the study of Elimination from High Schools. You have already received a blank book containing a list of the members of your class. In these books, as you know, we are trying to keep a record of the reasons assigned by the pupils for leaving high school together with comments by teachers and classmates. In this stage of the investigation great assistance is being given by the pupils themselves, for the majority of the pupils are seriously interested in the investigation which is intended to be directly helpful to them. In some schools this record is being kept wholly by the pupils, and they are doing the work very well as my examination of their records shows. To further assist in recording and classifying the reasons assigned by pupils, ballots (approved_ by the superintendent of high schools and ten principals) have been printed on postal cards and pupils who leave are requested to vote secretly and mail the postals to me. It is not absolutely necessary that the pupil sign his or her name, but the name of the school 144 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools and class should be filled in. A pupil may vote as many reasons as desired. Pupils will on the whole, I believe, vote honestly and not " for effect " when they know that their votes will never be made public except as total figures for the entire city. Of course, no names will ever be made public. The ballots printed on postal cards are for actual votes. The ballots printed on white paper are for distribution among the pupils who may be expecting to leave and want to look the ballot over. As you see the ballot is particularly adapted to explaining the reason so often given, viz., " Gone to work." Of course, practically everybody " goes to work " sooner or later and that reason is not an explanation of why any pupil leaves at any definite date. In this connection a single objection has been raised to this ballot-line " Money needed at home." Personally I can see no reason for sensitiveness on this point but rather pride that one so young as most of our pupils are should be called upon to help support younger brothers or sisters. Finally, of course, no pressure will be brought to bear on any pupil to vote unless he or she really wants to do so. The majority of the pupils will however be really glad to express themselves confidentially in this way. With continued thanks for your very greatly appreciated co-operation, I am, Very truly yours, Joseph K. Van Denburg. The first stage of this part of our investigation, the grading of pupils by their teachers, was, as will be seen, fairly successful on three of the characteristics named. The " follow up " con- ducted by paid helpers who went from school to school keeping track of discharges was, as will be seen, very successful, thanks to the very kind assistance rendered by the high school principals. The ballot by which it was hoped to secure information directly from the pupils themselves was an entire failure. In most cases the pupil who left would give no reason at all ; in fewer cases, the pupils gave such vague and indefinite reasons as to be value- less; while in still fewer cases the pupils gave reasons which were too apparently influenced by a conscious " pose " on the pupil's part. The ballot returns were therefore thrown out and this particular phase of the investigation was discontinued. To return now to the first stage of our co-operative investiga- tion, it is most pleasant to record that in the great majority [Note. — The tracing of pupils from term to term in the high school which included finding out the new class to which each pupil was sent at the end of each term was a most complicated task. This record of semi-annual promotion was rendered more confusing bjr the fact that a few high schools do not follow in their records the plan suggested by the Board of Superintendents, but use grade-names of their own devising so that " 3A " for example in one school will mean that a pupil is in grade " 2A" of the City System. In order to arrange all the pupils on a uniform basis the unique systems were each translated, at no little cost of time, into the uniform system recognized by the Board of Education.] Early Promise 145 of cases the teachers addressed responded most cordially. In other cases teachers yielded only after one or two interviews. When one considers the amount of time and labor required to grade pupils (four or five hours of difficult mental work), the number of teachers who responded favorably was surprisingly large. Such a response stands as indisputable evidence of the excellent professional spirit which exists in New York City high schools. When once the teacher was convinced that this investigation might be of real benefit to the educational authori- ties and to future high school pupils, active co-operation was almost always immediately given. In only a few cases, was the assistance which was asked withheld. The reasons given were, usually, lack of time, but with this was frequently coupled a statement of indifference as to the problem itself. In still fewer cases, the investigator met with active opposition, the teacher even going so far as to try to block the investigation by urging other teachers to with- hold assistance. A candid statement should include the names of these teachers, but an unwillingness to offend, makes it seem better to omit quotations that were at first selected for reference. To the following men and women acknowledgment is here made of the value of their services and most grateful recogni- tion is given to the service which made them joint investigators with the writer. DeW'itt Clinton High School Erasmus Hall High School Mr. Henry C. Moses Mr. Albert E. King Dr. Cyrus A. King Mrs. Brown Curtis High School JJ*"" Wnr F- TibbeUs *' Mr. Frederick ^. Huntington Mr. Henry F. Clark Miss Antoinette Lawrence Miss Whitney Miss Florence M. Scovill Miss Robinson Miss Jennie H. D. Stone Mr. Phillip Dowell Miss Lucy Burns Mr. Harlow McMillan Miss Mary M. Stone Mr. James H. Shipley Mr. Wm. M. Strong Eastern District High School Girls Hi^^h School Miss Mary R. Fitzpatrick Miss Lucy R. Bliss Mr. Henry E. Chapin Miss Sophia Ellis Mr. Wm. E. Fmnegan Miss Grace A. Beard Mr. Wm. A. Kauffman Miss Emma F. Pettingill Miss Dorothy E. Tuthill Miss Ida M. Clendenin Miss Grace B. Dowling Miss Maude R. Babcock Dr. Rachel L. Dithridge rrr 7 • Miss Mary Sullivan Washington Irving High School Miss Eloise B. Santee Mr. Woodford D. Anderson Miss Minnie Ikelheimer Miss Helen L. Cohen 1 46 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools Miss Louise B. Gere Mr. John C. Welch Miss Georgiana Hodgkins Miss Lillian B. Sage Miss Emma F. Lowd Miss M. M. Sinsbaugh Miss Christina M. Thompson Miss Mary Towers Manual Training Mr. Ernest C. Dodge Mr. Henry C. Wolcott Miss Mary B. Dickman Miss Georgiana C. Walton Miss Elizabeth Abeling Miss Lucia P. Chick Miss Louise M. Puig Miss Bertha Soule Dr. Vincent Aldridge Miss Marian Hackedorn Miss Abby B. Holmes Morris High School Miss Eva M. Gowing Miss M. G. Townsend Miss Jennie Ackerly Miss Anna A. Faulk Miss Emily J. Gilmour Miss Helene F. Konerman Dr. Jas. E. Peabody Miss Martha F. Goddard Mr. Archibald J. Matthews Stuyvesant High School Mr. Clifford B. Griswold Mr. Joseph L. Beha Mr. Ambrose Cort Mr. Joel Hathaway Mr. Edward Hollander, Mr. Ernest S. Quimby Wadleigh High School Miss Harriet C. Bugbee Miss Marie L. Minor Miss Hannah Wehle Miss Hattie Herrmann Miss Elizabeth Meserve Miss Henrietta Rodman Miss Elizabeth S. Underwood And one whose name is now lost. High School Teachers Classes A B C D E Clinton Curtis 9 8 9 10 13 6 19 17 12 7 16 2 6 10 II 6 10 II 9 6 8 2 2 2 3 4 2 5 4 3 2 4 2 3 4 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 Coinm.erce (See Note) 2 Eastern Erasmus Girls Irving 3 I I Manual Morris Stuyvesant Wadleigh 2 126 79 ZZ 22 II A — Teachers asked to take part. B — Teachers actually assisting. C — Classes which were included in the first census. D — Classes for which marks were secured. E — Classes for which ratings could not be secured. [Note. — All efforts to secure comparative ratings in the High School of Commerce were unavailing because, owing to an excellent system of re-grading, the entering classes were broken up a few weeks after the beginning of the term and the boys who made up our recorded classes were re-distributed into new class units which made comparative ratings on the old basis unobtainable.] Early Promise 147 In all, some fifty or sixty personal letters and nearly as many postals were received from the teachers co-operating in the in- vestigation. Many of the writers expressed a marked distrust as to the accuracy of their ratings but nearly all expressed a genuine interest in the subject under investigation. Had it not been for the active co-operation of these men and women one of the most important questions of this entire in- vestigation could not have been answered. With their aid we are able to publish a study of " Early Promise and Elimination " such as to the writer's best knowledge has never before been undertaken. SECTION II INTRODUCTION TO TABLES AND TABULATIONS OF EARLY PROMISE The discussion of Elimination, Graduation, or Retardation on the basis of the " Early Promise " of our recorded pupils has been re-written from the beginning no less than four times and is still unsatisfactory. To lead a reader through the exact statistics of so many recorded tabulations (approximately ten thousand in the original), without losing sight of the main points of the discussion in the multiplicity of details, is an almost impossible task. In order to avoid this probable confusion the discussion of Ability, Industry and Results by groups (I-IX) has been omitted even though finally prepared at the expense of two months' solid work. Instead we will take up for consideration only the Median Expectation for each characteristic, although we will print for the statistical reader the condensed tables arranged by elimination groups. The investigator must plead guilty to the omission of a re- vision of these tables on an exact linear sequence from 1-32. As we have some 22 classes graded in linear sequence we should expect to find the same number of pupils (22) graded as ist, 2nd, 3rd, etc., to 32nd in each class. Instead of finding this balance we find in its place totals, in AbiHty for example, that vary from two (graded 31st) to fifty-three (graded i8th). The explanation of this apparent inconsistency lies in the fact that after the three, four, or five ratings, given to each pupil by indi- vidual teachers, were combined, the median grade was kept and the class was not re-arranged on a linear sequence showing the pupils resultant linear place in his class from 1-32. For example, a certain pupil was rated by five teachers as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th in his class in Ability. The median rating is 3rd and the pupil in our tables is put in the third place in Early Promise 149 the sequence, even though it happened that no pupil in that class was given a combined rating higher than third. The result of tabulating all pupils on their combined ratings rather than upon a re-arranged linear sequence has been to lessen the total numbers shown under the ratings at the extremes (say ist to 9th and 23rd to 32nd) and to increase the totals shown for the pupils rated at or near the middle of their respective classes. If, however, we divide our sequence into thirds based upon the total of pupils included in a succession of ratings we will be sure of securing a fairly accurate division which will show a pupil's position as either in the top, middle, or bottom of his class on the characteristic in question. To illustrate: No matter if a pupil be ranked ist, 5th, or 7th in our tables he will appear in the fi^rst third of his class and in our discussions we shall need to make no finer distinctions. In making our divisions into approximate thirds for the sake of discussions we find that we cannot arrange these pupils into exact arithmetical thirds because to do so we would have to count some of the pupils, rated 12th for example, in the first third and some rated 12th in the second third. We are obliged, then, to draw our lines of division into thirds between the ratings which most nearly make the division we seek. Con- sequently in Ability our approximate thirds show totals of 235, 271 and 234 instead of 246.6, 246.6, 246.6, and similar deviations from exact thirds appear in the totals under the other char- acteristics studied. ABILITY— INDUSTRY— RESULTS I II III IV v Total I-V VI VII Total I-VII VIII IX Grand Total Ability 17 31 44 19 42 34 16 34 33 17 23 17 26 30 26 95 1 6a 154 20 29 23 15 21 10 130 210 i8v 70 21 10 35 40 37 235 271 234 Industry 16 30 47 24 36 33 22 26 30 20 18 17 23 27 27 105 137 154 17 29 25 13 21 10 13s 187 i8q 56 26 9 39 37 29 230 250 227 Results 15 25 54 13 46 42 24 27 36 17 25 16 23 37 28 02 160 176 27 25 32 17 22 15 136 207 223 70 25 8 42 52 34 248 284 26s 150 Elimination of Students in Public Secondary Schools ABILITY I II III IV V Total I-V VI VII Total I-VII VIII IX Total Boys 4 II IS 4 18 II S 7 8 3 7 3 8 4 13 24 47 SO 9 9 5 6 9 3 39 6S 58 23 5 6 9 9 5 71 79 69 Girls 13 20 29 IS 24 23 II 27 25 14 16 14 18 26 13 71 113 104 II 20 18 9 12 7 91 145 129 47 16 4 26 31 32 164 192 165 Boys 6 24 13 20 9 II 9 4 II 14 48 73 10 13 9 9 67 95 26 8 13 10 106 113 Girls 21 41 31 31 20 43 21 23 28 29 121 167 18 31 12 16 151 214 56 II 45 44 252 269 Boys AND Girls Totals 17 31 44 19 42 34 16 34 17 17 23 17 26 30 26 95 160 154 20 29 23 IS 21 10 130 210 187 70 21 10 35 40 37 23s 271 234 Boys AND Girls Totals 27 65 44 SI 29 54 30 27 39 43 169 240 28 44 21 25 218 309 82 19 S8 54 3S8 382 INDUSTRY I II III IV V Total I-V VI VII Total I-VII 1 VIII IX Total Boys 3 9 21 7 16 12 6 5 9 3 5 4 6 6 II 25 41 57 5 13 5 6 II 1 36 65 63 20 8 5 8 7 8 64 80 76 Girls 13 21 26 17 20 21 16 21 21 17 13 13 17 21 16 80 96 97 12 16 20 7 10 9 99 122 126 36 18 4 31 30 21 166 170 151 Boys 9 24 13 22 7 13 6 6 8 IS 43 80 9 14 8 10 60 104 22 II 14 9 96 124 Girls 1-15 25 35 22 36 23 35 25 18 25 29 120 153 19 29 12 14 iSi 196 46 13 44 38 240 247 Totals 16 30 47 24 36 33 22 26 30 20 18 17 23 27 27 105 137 154 17 29 25 13 21 10 I3S 187 189 55 26 9 49 37 29 230 250 227 Totals 34 59 35 S8 30 48 31 24 33 44 163 233 38 43 20 24 211 300 67 24 58 47 336 371 Early Promise RESULTS 151 I II III IV V Total I-V VI VII Total I-VII VIII IX Total I-IX Boys 3 8 22 2 18 13 10 3 9 4 6 3 7 7 IS 26 42 62 12 7 8 7 10 4 45 59 74 23 6 6 9 9 6 77 74 86 Girls 12 17 32 11 28 29 14 24 27 13 19 13 16 30 13 66 118 114 IS 18 24 10 12 II 91 148 149 47 19 2 33 43 28 179 BOTS i-iS 3 30 13 20 II II 7 6 10 19 44 86 13 14 8 13 65 113 24 II 12 12 16-32 136 Girls 1-15 20 41 29 39 20 45 21 24 28 31 118 180 22 35 13 20 153 23s 55 y:3 52 52 300 Totals IS 25 13 46 42 24 27 36 17 25 16 23 28 92 1 60 176 27 25 32 17 22 15 136 207 223 70 25 8 42 52 34 248 284 26s Totals i-iS 23 71 42 59 31 56 28 30 38 50 162 266 35 49 21 33 218 248 79 24 64 64 361 436 152 ElUnination of Students in Public Secondary Schools b; 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