,,the ,,high ,,school ,,failures ,a ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,records ,,of ,,pupils ,,failing ,,in ,,academic ,,or ,,commercial ,,high ,,school ,,subjects ,by ,,francis ,p4 ,,obrien ,submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of ,doctor of ,philosophy in the ,faculty of ,philosophy1 ,columbia ,university ,,published ,,by ,teachers ,college1 ,columbia ,university ,,new ,,york ,,city #aiai ,copyright1 #aiai1 by ,,francis ,p4 ,,obrien ,,preface ,grateful acknowledgment is due the principals of each of the high schools whose records are included in this study1 for the courteous and helpful attitude which they and their assistants manifested in the work of securing the data4 ,thanks are due ,dr4 ,john ,s4 ,tildsley for his generous permission to consult the records in each or any of the ,new ,york ,city high schools4 ,but the fullest appreciation is felt and acknowledged for the ready criticism and encouragement received from ,professor ,thomas ,h4 ,briggs and ,professor ,george ,d4 ,strayer at each stage from the inception to the completion of this study4 ,f4,p4,o4 ,,contents ,,page ,i4--,,the ,,general ,,introduction ,,of ,,the ,,subject #a4 ,the ,relevance of ,this ,study #a #b4 ,the ,meaning of ,failure in ,this ,study #c #c4 ,scope and ,content of the ,field ,covered #d #d4 ,sources of the ,data ,employed #f #e4 ,selection and ,reliability of ,these ,sources #h #f4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #aa ,,ii4--,,how ,,extensive ,,are ,,the ,,failures ,,of ,,the ,,high ,,school ,,pupils8 #a4 ,a ,distribution of ,all ,entrants in ,reference to ,failure #ab #b4 ,the ,later ,distribution of the ,pupils by ,semesters #ad #c4 ,the ,distribution of the ,failures--by ,ages and by ,semesters #ad #d4 ,distribution of the ,failures by ,subjects #ai #e4 ,the ,pupils ,dropping ,out--,time and ,age #bd #f4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #bg ,,iii4--,,what ,,basis ,,is ,,discoverable ,,for ,a ,,prognosis ,,of ,,the ,,occurrence ,,or ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures8 #a4 ,some ,possible ,factors--,attendance1 ,mental and ,physical ,defects1 ,size of ,classes #bi #b4 ,employment of the ,school ,entering ,age for the ,purpose of ,prognosis #ca #c4 ,the ,percentage of ,failure at ,each ,age on the ,possibility of ,failures for ,that ,age #cf #d4 ,the ,initial ,record in ,high ,school #cg #e4 ,prognosis of ,failure by ,subject ,selection #ci #f4 ,the ,time ,period and the ,number of ,failures #dj #g4 ,similarity of ,facts for ,boys and ,girls #de #h4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #de ,,iv4--,,how ,,much ,,is ,,graduation ,,or ,,the ,,persistence ,,in ,,school ,,conditioned ,,by ,,the ,,occurrence ,,or ,,by ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures8 #a4 ,comparison of the ,failing and the ,non-failing ,groups in ,reference to ,graduation and ,persistence #dh #b4 ,the ,number of ,failures and the ,years ,required to ,graduate #di #c4 ,the ,number of ,failures and the ,semesters of ,dropping ,out1 for ,non-graduates #ea #d4 ,the ,percentages ,that the ,non-graduate ,groups ,form of the ,pupils ,who ,have ,each ,successively ,higher ,number of ,failures #ee #e4 ,time ,extension for the ,failing ,graduates #ef #f4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #eg ,v4--,,are ,,the ,,school ,,agencies ,,employed ,,in ,,remedying ,,the ,,failures ,,adequate ,,for ,,the ,,purpose8 #a4 ,repetition as a ,remedy for ,failures #fj a4 ,size of ,schedule and ,results of ,repeating4 b4 ,later ,grades in the ,same ,kind of ,subjects1 ,following ,repetition and ,without it4 c4 ,the ,grades in ,repeated ,subjects and in ,new ,work4 d4 ,the ,number and ,results of ,identical ,repetitions4 #b4 ,discontinuance of the ,subject or ,course1 and the ,substitution of ,others #fh #c4 ,the ,employment of ,school ,examinations #fi #d4 ,the ,service ,rendered by the ,regents' ,examinations in ,new ,york #gj #e4 ,continuation of ,subjects ,without ,repetition or ,examination #gc #f4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #gd ,,vi4--,,do ,,the ,,failures ,,represent ,a ,,lack ,,of ,,capability ,,or ,,of ,,fitness ,,for ,,high ,,school ,,work ,,on ,,the ,,part ,,of ,,those ,,pupils8 #a4 ,some ,are ,evidently ,misfits #gf #b4 ,most of the ,failing ,pupils ,lack ,neither ,ability nor ,earnestness #gg #c4 ,the ,school ,emphasis and the ,school ,failures ,are ,both ,culminative in ,particular ,school ,subjects #ha #d4 ,an ,indictment ,against the ,subject-,matter and the ,teaching ,ends as ,factors in ,producing ,failures #hc #e4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #he ,,vii4--,,what ,,treatment ,,is ,,suggested ,,by ,,the ,,diagnosis ,,of ,,the ,,facts ,,of ,,failure8 #a4 ,organization and ,adaptation in ,recognition of the ,individual ,differences in ,abilities and ,interests #hg #b4 ,faculty ,student ,advisers from the ,time of ,entrance #hi #c4 ,greater ,flexibility and ,differentiation ,required #ij #d4 ,provision for the ,direction of the ,pupils' ,study #ib #e4 ,a ,greater ,recognition and ,exposition of the ,facts as ,revealed by ,accurate and ,complete ,school ,records #id #f4 ,summary of ,chapter1 and ,references #if ,a ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,records ,,of ,,the ,,pupils ,,failing ,,in ,,academic ,,or ,,commercial ,,high ,,school ,,subjects ,,chapter ,i ,,general ,,introduction ,,of ,,the ,,subject #a4 ,,the ,,relevance ,,of ,,this ,,study ,as the measuring of the achievements of the public schools has become a distinctive feature of the more recent activities in the educational field1 the failure in expected accomplishment by the school1 and its proficiency in turning out a negative product1 have been forced upon our attention rather emphatically4 ,the striking growth in the number of school surveys1 measuring scales1 questionnaires1 and standardized tests1 together with many significant school experiments and readjustments1 bears testimony of our evident demand for a closer diagnosis of the practices and conditions which are no longer accepted with complacency4 ,the ,american people have expressed their faith in a scheme of universal democratic education1 and have committed themselves to the support of the free public high school4 ,they have been liberal in their financing and strong in their faith regarding this enterprise1 so typically ,american1 to a degree that a secondary education may no longer be regarded as a luxury or a heritage of the rich4 ,no longer may the field be treated as either optional or exclusive4 ,the statutes of several of our states now expressly or impliedly extend their compulsory attendance requirements beyond the elementary years of school4 ,many1 too1 are the lines of more desirable employment for young people which demand or give preference to graduates of a high school4 ,at the same time there has been no decline in the importance of high school graduation for entering the learned or professional pursuits4 ,accordingly1 it seems highly probable that1 with such an extended and authoritative sphere of influence1 a stricter business accounting will be exacted of the public high school1 as the great after-war burdens make the public less willing to depend on faith in financing so great an experiment4 ,they will ask1 ever more insistently1 for facts as to the expenditures1 the finished product1 the internal adjustments1 and the waste product of our secondary schools4 ,such inquiries will indeed seem justifiable4 ,it is estimated that the public high schools had #hd per cent of all the pupils 7above #a1ejj1jjj7 enrolled in the secondary schools of the ,united ,states in #aiaf4a ,the majority of these pupils are lost from school--whatever the cause--before the completion of their courses2 and1 again1 the majority of those who do graduate have on graduation ended their school days4 ,consequently1 it becomes more and more evident how momentous is the influence of the public high school in conditioning the life activities and opportunities of our youthful citizens who have entered its doors4 ,before being entitled to be considered a big business enterprise1#b it seems imperative that our ,american ,high ,school must rapidly come to utilize more of business methods of accounting and of efficiency1 so as to recognize the tremendous waste product of our educational machinery4 ,the aim of this study is to trace as carefully and completely as may be the facts relative to that major portion of our high school population1 the pupils who fail in their school subjects1 and to note something of the significance of these findings4 ,if we are to proceed wisely in reference to the failing pupils in the high school1 it is admittedly of importance that such procedure should be based on a definite knowledge of the facts4 ,the value of such a study will in turn be conditioned by the scrupulous care and scientific accuracy in the securing and handling of the facts4 ,it is believed that the causes of and the remedies for failure are necessarily closely linked with factors found in the school and with the school experiences of failing pupils1 so that the problem cannot be solved by merely labeling such pupils as the unfit4 ,there is no attempt in this study to treat all failures as in any single category4 ,the causes of the failures are not assumed at the start nor given the place of chief emphasis1 but are regarded as incidental to and dependent upon what the evidence itself discloses4 ,the success of the failing pupils after they leave the high school is not included in this undertaking1 but is itself a field worthy of extended study4 ,even our knowledge of what later happens to the more successful and the graduating high school pupils is limited mainly to those who go on to college or to other higher institutions4 ,one of the more familiar attempts to evaluate the later influence of the high school illustrates the fallacy of overlooking the process of selection involved1 and of treating its influence in conjunction with the training as though it were the result of school training alone4#c #b4 ,,the ,,meaning ,,of ',,failure' ,,in ,,this ,,study ,the term 'failure' is employed in this study to signify the non-passing of a pupil in any semester-subject of his school work4 ,the school decision is not questioned in the matter of a recorded failure4 ,and although it is usually understood to negate ability plus accomplishment1 it may1 and undoubtedly does1 at times imply other meanings1 such as a punitive mark1 a teacher's prejudice1 or a deferred judgment4 ,the mark may at times tell more about the teacher who gave it than about the pupil who received it4 ,these peculiarities of the individual teacher or pupil are pretty well compensated for by the large number of teachers and of pupils involved4 ,the decisive factor in this matter is that the school refuses to grant credit for the work pursued4 ,the failure for a semester seems to be a more adaptable unit in this connection than the subject-failure for a year4 ,however1 it necessitates the treatment of the subject-failure for a year as equivalent to a failure for each of the two semesters4 ,two of the schools involved in this study 7comprising about #aa per cent of the pupils7 recorded grades only at the end of the year4 ,it is quite probable that the marking by semesters would actually have increased the number of failures in these schools1 as there are many teachers who confess that they are less willing to make a pupil repeat a year than a semester4 ,by employing this unit of failure1 the failures in the different subjects are regarded as comparable4 ,since only the academic and commercial subjects are considered1 and since they are almost uniformly scheduled for four or five hours a week1 the failures will seem to be of something near equal gravity and to represent a similar amount of non-performance or of unsatisfactory results4 ,there were also a few failures included here for those subjects which had only three hours a week credit1 mainly in the commercial subjects4 ,but failures were unnoted when the subject was listed for less than three hours a week4 ,there are certain other elements of assumption in the treatment of the failures1 which seemed to be unavoidable4 ,they are1 first1 that failure in any subject is the same fact for boys and for girls2 second1 that failures in different years of work or with different teachers are equivalent2 third1 that failures in elective and in required subjects are of the same gravity4 ,it was found practically impossible to differentiate required and elective subjects1 however desirable it would have been1 for the subjects that are theoretically elective often are in fact virtually required1 the electives of one course are required in another1 and on many of the records consulted neither the courses nor the electives are clearly designated4 #c4 ,,the ,,scope ,,and ,,content ,,of ,,the ,,field ,,covered ,as any intensive study must almost necessarily be limited in its scope1 so this one comprises for its purposes the high school records for #f1ada pupils belonging to eight different high schools located in ,new ,york and ,new ,jersey4 ,for two of these schools the records for all the pupils that entered are included here for five successive years1 and for their full period in high school4 ,in two other schools the records of all pupils that entered for four successive years were secured4 ,in four of the schools the records of all pupils who entered in ,february and ,september of one year constituted the number studied4 ,there is apparently no reason to believe that a longer period of years would be more representative of the facts for at least three of these four schools1 in view of the situation that they had for years enjoyed a continuity of administration and that they possess a well-established organization4 ,the fourth one of these schools had less complete records than were desired1 but even in that the one year was representative of the other years' records4 ,the distribution of the #f1ada pupils by schools and by years of entering high school is given below4 ,,high ,,school ,,pupils ,,in3 ,,entering ,,high ,,school ,,number ,,in ,,the ,,years ,,studied ,white ,plains1 ,n4,y4 #aijh1 '#ji1 '#aj1 '#aa1 '#ab #fei ,dunkirk1 ,n4,y4 #aiji1 '#aj1 '#aa1 '#ab #cgj ,mount ,vernon1 ,n4,y4 #aiab #bbd ,montclair1 ,n4,j4 #aijh1 '#ji1 '#aj1 '#aa1 '#ab #idf ,hackensack1 ,n4,j4 #aiji1 '#aj1 '#aa1 '#ab #gcf ,elizabeth1 ,n4,j4 #aiab #ccc ,morris ,h4,s4--,bronx #aiab #agab ,erasmus ,hall ,h4,s4--,brooklyn #aiab #aafa ---- ,,total #fada ,as it is essential for the purposes of this study to have the complete record of the pupils for their full time in the high school1 the #f1ada pupils include none who entered later than #aiab4 ,thus all were allowed at least five and one-half or six years in which to terminate their individual high school history1 of successes or of failures1 before the time of making this inquiry into their records4 ,no pupils who were transferred from another high school or who did not start with the class as beginning high school students were included among those studied4 ,post-graduate records were not considered1 neither was any attempt made to trace the record of drop-outs who entered other schools4 ,manifestly the percentage of graduation would be higher in any school if the recruits from other schools and the drop-backs from other classes in the school were included4 ,no attempt has been made to trace the elementary school or college records of the failing pupils1 for our purpose does not reach beyond the sphere of the high school records4 ,in reference to the differentiation by school courses1 some facts were at first collected1 but these were later discarded1 as the courses represent no standardization in terminology or content1 and they promised to give nothing of definite value4 ,as might be expected1 the schools lacked agreement or uniformity in the number of courses offered4 ,one school had no commercial classes1 as that work was assigned to a separate school2 another school offered only typewriting and stenography of the commercial subjects2 a third had placed rather slight emphasis on the commercial subjects until recently4 ,only four of the schools had pupils in ,greek4 ,the ,spanish classes outnumbered the ,greek both by schools and by enrollment4 ,in the classification by subjects1 ,english is made to include 7in addition to the usual subjects of that name7 grammar1 literature1 and business ,english4 ,mathematics includes all subjects of that class except commercial arithmetic1 which is treated as a commercial subject1 and shop-mathematics1 which is classed as non-academic4 ,industrial history1 and 'political and social science' are regarded along with academic subjects2 likewise household chemistry is included with the science classification4 ,economics is treated as a commercial subject4 ,at least a dozen other subjects1 not classified as academic or commercial1 including also spelling and penmanship1 were taken by a portion of these pupils1 but the records for these subjects do not enter this study in determining the successful and failing grades or the sizes of schedule4 ,yet it is true that such subjects do demand time and work from those pupils4 #d4 ,,sources ,,of ,,the ,,data ,,employed ,the only records employed in this whole problem of research were the official school records4 ,no questionnaires were used1 and no statements of pupils or opinions of teachers as such were sought4 ,the facts are the most authoritative and dependable available1 and are the very same upon which the administrative procedure of the school relative to the pupil is mainly dependent4 ,the individual1 cumulative records for the pupils provided the chief source of the facts secured4 ,these school records1 as might be expected1 varied considerably as to the form1 the size1 the simplicity in stating facts1 and the method of filing2 but they were quite similar in the facts recorded1 as well as in the completeness and care with which the records were compiled4 ,it may be added that only schools having such records were included in the investigation4 ,after the meanings of symbols and devices and the methods of recording the facts had been fully explained and carefully studied for the records of any school1 the selection of the pupil records was then made1 on the basis of the year of the pupils' entrance to the school1 including all the pupils who had actually entered and undertaken work4 7,pupils who registered but failed to take up school work were entirely disregarded47 ,these individual records were classified into the failing and the non-failing divisions1 then into graduating and non-graduating groups1 with the boys and girls differentiated throughout4 ,as fast as the records were read and interpreted into the terms required they were transcribed1 with the pupils' names1 by the author himself1 to large sheets 7#afx#bj7 from which the tabulations were later made4 ,there was always an opportunity to ask questions and to make appeals for information either to the principal himself or to the secretary in charge of the records4 ,this tended to reduce greatly the danger of mistakes other than those of chance error4 ,the task of transcribing the data was both tedious and prolonged4 ,this process alone required as much as four weeks for each of the larger schools1 and without the continued and courteous cooperation of the principals and their assistants it would have been altogether impossible in that time4 ,some arbitrary decisions and classifications proved necessary in reference to certain facts involved in the data employed in this study4 ,all statements of age will be understood as applying to within the nearest half year2 that is1 fifteen years of age will mean within the period from fourteen years and a half to fifteen years and a half4 ,the classification in the following pages by school years or semesters 7half-years7 is dependent upon the time of entrance into school4 ,in this sense1 a pupil who entered either in ,september or in ,february is regarded as a first semester pupil1 however the school classes are named4 ,as promotions are on a subject basis in each of the schools there is no attempt to classify later by promotions1 but the time-in-school basis is retained4 ,in reference to school marks or grades1 letters are here employed1 although four of the eight schools employ percentage grading4 ,whether the passing mark is #fj1 as in some of the schools1 or #gj1 as in others1 the letter ,c is used to represent one-third of the distance from the failing mark to #ajj per cent2 ,b is used to represent the next third of the distance2 and ,a is used to express the upper third of the distance4 ,the plus and minus signs1 attached to the gradings in three of the schools1 are disregarded for the purposes of this study1 except that when ,d occurred as a conditional passing mark it was treated as a ,c4 ,otherwise ,d has been used to signify a failing grade in a subject1 which means that the grade is somewhere below the passing mark4 ,the term 'graduates' is meant to include all who graduate1 either by diploma or by certificate4 ,any statement made in the following pages of 'time in school' or of time spent for 'securing graduation' will not include as a part of such period a semester in which the pupil is absent all or nearly all of the time1 as in the case of absence due to illness4 #e4 ,,the ,,selection ,,and ,,reliability ,,of ,,these ,,sources ,,of ,,data ,by employing data secured only from official school records and in the manner stated1 this study has been limited to those schools that provide the cumulative pupil records1 with continuity and completeness1 for a sufficient period of years4 ,some schools had to be eliminated from consideration for our purposes because the cumulative records covered too brief a period of years4 ,in other schools administrative changes had broken the continuity of the records1 making them difficult to interpret or undependable for this study4 ,the shortage of clerical help was the reason given in one school for completing only the records of the graduates4 ,in addition to the requirements pertaining to records1 only publicly administered and co-educational schools have been included among those whose records are used4 ,it was also considered important to have schools representing the large as well as the small city on the list of those studied4 ,since many schools do not possess these important records1 or do not recognize their value1 it is quite probable that the conditions prescribed here tended to a selection of schools superior in reference to systematic procedure1 definite standards1 and stable organization1 as compared to those in general which lack adequate records4 ,the reliability and correctness of these records for the schools named are vouched for and verbally certified by the principals as the most dependable and in large part the only information of its kind in the possession of the schools4 ,in each of these schools the principals have capable assistants who are charged with the keeping of the records1 although they are aided at times by teachers or pupils who work under direction4 ,in three of the larger schools a special secretary has full charge of the records1 and is even expected to make suggestions for revisions and improvements of the forms and methods4 ,in view of such facts it seems doubtful that one could anywhere find more dependable school records of this sort4 ,it was true of one of the schools that the records previous to #aiji proved to be unreliable4 ,there is no inclination here to deny the existence of defects and limitations to these records1 but the intimate acquaintance resulting from close inquiry1 involving nearly every factor which the records contain1 is convincing that for these schools at least the records are highly dependable4 ,however1 there is some tendency for even the best school records to understate the full situation regarding failure1 while there is no corresponding tendency to overstate or to record failures not made4 ,not infrequently the pupils who drop out after previously failing may receive no mark or an incomplete one for the last semester in school4 ,although a portion or all of such work may obviously merit failure1 yet it is not usually so recorded4 ,in a similar manner pupils who remain in school one or two semesters or less1 but take no examinations and receive no semester grades1 might reasonably be considered to have failed if they shunned examinations merely to escape the recording of failures1 as sometimes appears to be the case when judged from the incomplete grades recorded for only a part of the semester4 ,a few pupils will elect to 'skip' the regular term examination1 and then repeat the work of that semester1 but no failures are recorded in such instances4 ,some teachers1 when recording for their own subjects1 prefer to indicate a failure by a dash mark or by a blank space until after the subject is satisfied later1 and the passing mark is then filled in4 ,one school indicates failure entirely by a short dash in the space provided1 and then at times there occurs the 'cond' 7conditioned7 in pencil1 apparently to avoid the classification as a failure by the usual sign4 ,one finds some instances of a '8' or an 'inc' 7incomplete7 as a substitute for a mark of failure4 ,again1 where there is no indication of failure recorded1 the dates accompanying the grades for the subjects may tell the tale that two semesters were required to complete one semester's work in a subject4 ,some of these situations were easily discernible1 and the indisputable failures treated as such in the succeeding tabulations2 but in many instances this was not possible1 and partial statement of these cases is all that is attempted4 ,how far these selected schools1 their pupils1 and the facts relating to them are representative or typical of the schools1 the pupils1 and the same facts for the states of ,new ,jersey and ,new ,york1 cannot be definitely known from the information that is now available4 ,it seems indisputable1 however1 that the schools concerned in this study are at least among the better schools of these two states4 ,if we may feel assured that the #f1ada pupils here included are fairly and generally representative of the facts for the eight schools to which they belong and which had an enrollment of #ad1fbj pupils in #aiaf2 and if we are justified in classing these schools as averaging above the median rank of the schools for these states1 then the statistical facts presented in the following pages may seem to be a rather moderate statement regarding the failures of high school pupils for the states referred to4 ,it must be noted in this connection1 however1 that it is not unlikely that such schools1 with their adequate records1 will have the facts concerning failure more certainly recorded than will those whose records are incomplete1 neglected1 or poorly systematized4 ,a partial comparison of the teachers is possible between the schools represented here and those of ,new ,york and ,new ,jersey4 ,more than four hundred teachers comprised the teaching staff for the #f1ada pupils of the eight schools reported here4 ,of these about #dj per cent were men1 while the percentage of men of all high school teachers in ,new ,jersey and ,new ,york#d was about #ch for the year #aiaf4 ,the men in these schools comprised #ej per cent of the teachers in the subjects which prove most difficult by producing the most failures1 and they were more frequently found teaching in the advanced years of these subjects4 ,it is not assumed here that men are superior as high school teachers1 but the endeavor is rather to show that the teaching force was by its constitution not unrepresentative4 ,it may be added here that few high schools anywhere have a more highly selected and better paid staff of teachers than are found in this group of schools4 ,it is indeed not easy to believe that the situation in these eight selected schools regarding failure and its contributing factors could not be readily duplicated elsewhere within the same states4 ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,i ,the ,american people have a large faith in the public high school4 ,it enrolls approximately #hd per cent of the secondary school pupils of the ,united ,states4 ,high school attendance is becoming legally and vocationally compulsory4 ,the size of the waste product demands a diagnosis of the facts4 ,this study aims to discover the significant facts relative to the failing pupils4 ,failure is used in the unit sense of non-passing in a semester subject4 ,failures are then counted in terms of these units4 ,this study includes #f1ada pupils belonging to eight different high schools and distributed throughout two states4 ,the cumulative1 official1 school records for these pupils formed the basis of the data used4 ,the schools were selected primarily for their possession of adequate records4 ,more dependable school records than those employed are not likely to be found1 yet they tend to understate the facts of failure4 ,it is quite possible that a superior school1 and one with a high grade teaching staff1 is actually selected by the requirements of the study4 ,,references3 #a4 ,annual ,report of ,united ,states ,commissioner of ,education for #aiag4 #b4 ,josslyn1 ,h4,w4 ,chapter ,,iv1 in ,johnson's ,modern ,high ,school4 #c4 ,the ,money ,value of ,education4 ,bulletin ,no4 #bb1 #aiag1 ,united ,states ,bureau of ,education4 #d4 ,new ,york and ,new ,jersey ,state ,school ,reports for #aiag4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,how ,,extensive ,,are ,,the ,,failures ,,of ,,the ,,high ,,school ,,pupils8 #a4 ,a ,,distribution ,,of ,,all ,,entrants ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,failure ,with no purpose of making this a comparative study of schools1 the separate units or schools indicated in ,chapter ,i will from this point be combined into a composite and treated as a single group4 ,it becomes possible1 with the complete and tabulated facts pertaining to a group of pupils1 after their high school period has ended1 to get a comprehensive survey of their school records and to answer such questions as3 7#a7 ,what part of the total number of boys or of girls have school failures8 7#b7 ,to what extent are the non-failing pupils the ones who succeed in graduating8 7#c7 ,to what extent do the failing pupils withdraw early8 ,the following tabulation will show how two of these questions are answered for the #f1ada pupils here reported on4 ,,all ,,all ,,entrants ,,failing ,,graduates ,,failing ,totals #f1ada #c1egc 7#eh4b7 #a1icf #a1abe 7#eh4a7 ,boys #b1fdf #a1fde 7#fb4a7 #gif #dhi 7#fa4d7 ,girls #c1die #a1ibh 7#ee4a7 #a1adj #fci 7#ee4h7 ,from this distribution we readily compute that the percentage of pupils who fail is #eh4b per cent 7boys--#fb4a1 girls--#ee4a74 ,but this statement is itself inadequate4 ,it does not take into account the #hjh pupils who received no grades and had no chance to be classed as failing1 but who were in most cases in school long enough to receive marks1 and a portion of whom were either eliminated earlier or deterred from examinations by the expectation of failing4 ,it seems entirely safe to estimate that no less than #fj per cent of this non-credited number should#e be treated as of the failing group#f of pupils4 ,then the percentage of pupils to be classed as failing in school subjects becomes #ff per cent 7boys--#fi4f1 girls--#fc4d74 ,in considering the second inquiry above1 we find from the preceding distribution of pupils that #eh4a per cent 7boys--#fa4d1 girls--#ee4h7 of all pupils that graduate have failed in one or more subjects one or more times4 ,this percentage varies from #cd per cent to #gc per cent by schools1 but in only two instances does the percentage fall below #ej per cent1 and in one of these two it is almost #ej per cent4 ,we may now ask1 when do the failing and the non-failing non-graduates drop out of school8 ,of the total number of non-graduates 7#d1bje71 there are #b1ddh who drop out after failing one or more times1 and #a1geg who drop out without failing4 ,the cumulative percentages of the non-graduates in reference to dropping out are here given4 ,,cumulative ,,percentages ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,non-,,graduates ,,as ,,they ,,are ,,lost ,,by ,,semesters ,,lost ,,by ,,end ,,of ,,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i ,per ,cent #ad4a #cc4i #df4d #fd4i #gb4i #he4b #ia4i #ig4f #ii4a ,,cumulative ,,percentages ,,of ,,non-,,failing ,,non-,,graduates ,,as ,,they ,,are ,,lost ,,by ,,semesters ,,lost ,,by ,,end ,,of ,,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i ,per ,cent #fa4a #gh4j #he4i #ib4a #id4e #ih4d #ii4e 44 44 ,briefly stated1 the above percentages assert that more than three fourths of those who neither fail nor graduate have left school by the end of the first year1 while only #cc4i per cent of those non-graduates who fail have left so early4 ,more than #ej per cent of the failing non-graduates continue in school to near the end of the second year4 ,by that time about #ij per cent of the non-failing non-graduates have been lost from school4 ,by a combination of the above groups we get the percentages of all non-graduates lost by successive semesters4 ,,cumulative ,,percentages ,,of ,,all ,,non-,,graduates ,,lost ,,by ,,successive ,,semesters ,,lost ,,by ,,end ,,of ,,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h ,per ,cent #cc4g #ec4d #fb4f #gf4b #ha4i #ij4g #id4j #ih4f ,these percentages of non-graduates indicate that more than #ej per cent of those who do not graduate are gone by the end of the first year1 but that there are a few who continue beyond four years without graduating4 #b4 ,,the ,,later ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,by ,,semesters ,consideration is here given to the number of the total entrants remaining in school for each successive semester1 and then to the accompanying percentages of failure for each group4 ,the following figures show the rapid decline in numbers4 ,,the ,,persistence ,,of ,,pupils ,,in ,,school1 ,,by ,,semesters ,,end ,,of ,,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f ,graduate #f1ada 7,total7 #d1gbc #c1hic #c1ejh #b1ice #b1fig #b1bcd #a1icf ,percentages #gf4i #fc4d #eg4a #dg4h #dc4i #cf4d #ca4e ,as was pointed out in ,section #c of ,chapter ,i1 the above group does not include any increment to its own numbers by means of transfer from other classes or schools4 ,we find1 accompanying this reduction in the number of pupils1 which shows more than #ej per cent gone by the end of the second year in school1 that there is no corresponding reduction in the percentage of pupils failing each semester on the basis of the number of those in school for that semester4 ,,percentage ,,of ,,pupils ,,failing ,,of ,,the ,,pupils ,,in ,,school ,,for ,,that ,,period ,semesters #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h ,per ,cent #cd4b #cg4c #ch4e #dj4b #ch4b #cg4a #cj4j #bd4j ,there is no difficulty in grasping the simple and definite significance of these figures1 for they tell us that the percentage of pupils failing increases for the first four semesters1 slightly declines for two semesters1 with a greater decline for two more semesters4 ,these percentages of failures are based on the number of pupils enrolled at the beginning of the semester1 and are accordingly lower than the facts would really warrant since that number is in each case considerably reduced by the end of the same semester4 #c4 ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,failures ,that the failures are widely distributed by semesters1 by ages1 and for both boys and girls1 is shown in ,table ,i4 ,,table ,i ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,failures ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,age ,,and ,,the ,,semester ,,of ,,their ,,occurrence,a ,,semes- ,,ages ,,undistrib- ,,ters #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba #bb ,,uted ,,totals #a ,b4 #j #bj #cba #fej #ege #afg #cd #af #b 44 44 #aj #agie ,g4 #a #ai #cef #hac #faa #bcf #fg #c #j 44 44 #ac #baai #ciad #b ,b4 44 #b #ie #dbc #ecd #bef #eg #bg #d 44 44 #e #adjc ,g4 44 #f #ii #dhc #ehi #bhj #ia #e #j 44 44 #g #aefj #bifc #c ,b4 44 #j #ag #bfg #ddc #cfc #if #bb #e #j 44 #b #abae ,g4 44 #a #bh #cah #edh #cag #ii #ae #j #b 44 #a #acbi #bedd #d ,b4 44 44 #e #aja #dcg #djc #afi #cb #g #b 44 #e #aafa ,g4 44 44 #d #ajb #dge #dbe #afj #ci #f #b 44 #f #abai #bchj #e ,b4 44 44 #a #ai #aie #cgg #bad #fa #ac #c 44 #f #hhi ,g4 44 44 #j #ae #bgg #dch #bab #fj #ae #j 44 #c #ajbj #aiji #f ,b4 44 44 44 #d #gj #cbb #cbf #ii #cc #c 44 #f #hfc ,g4 44 44 44 #i #aag #djg #cdi #gh #cc #d 44 #c #ajjj #ahfc #g ,b4 44 44 #a #j #ag #aee #bbg #ajf #af #d #a #d #eca ,g4 44 44 #j #b #ad #bjj #bii #abg #ch #j #j #c #fhc #abad #h ,b4 44 44 44 44 #j #db #agc #aji #di #b 44 #e #chj ,g4 44 44 44 44 #b #eh #bdd #adj #di #aj 44 #c #ejf #hhf #i ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 #j #ca #cb #ah #a 44 44 #hb ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 #d #ci #fg #ca #e 44 44 #adf #bbh #aj ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 44 #a #af #i #c #j 44 #bi ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 #c #ac #aj #c #a 44 #cj #ei ,summary ,b4 #j #bb #ddj #adfd #bbga #bjhe #acbh #ebj #aef #ah #a #dc #hcdh ,g4 #a #bf #dhg #agdb #bfcc #bcfe #aefc #edg #ahb #bf #a #ci #ifab #ag1ifj ,footnote ,a3 ,the expression of the above facts in terms of percentages for each age group was found to be difficult1 since failures and not pupils are designated4 ,but the total failures for each age group are expressed 7on p4 #cf7 as percentages of the entire number of subjects taken by these pupils for the semesters in which they failed4 ,such percentages increase as the ages rise4 ,a similar statement of the percentages of failure by semesters will be found on p4 #da4 ,table ,i reads3 the boys had #bj failures and the girls had #ai failures in the first semester and at the age of thirteen2 in the second semester1 at the age of thirteen1 the boys had #b failures and the girls #f4 ,for each semester1 the first line represents boys1 the second line girls4 ,there is a total of #ag1ifj failures listed in this table4 ,in addition to this number there are #a1idg uncompleted grades for the failing non-graduates4 ,the semesters were frequently completed by such pupils but the records were left incomplete4 ,their previous records and their prospects of further partial or complete failure seem to justify an estimate of #ee per cent 7#a1jgj7 of these uncompleted grades as either tentative or actual but unrecorded failures4 ,therefore we virtually have #a1jgj other failures belonging to these pupils which are not included in ,table ,i4 ,accordingly1 since the number can only be estimated1 the fact that they are not incorporated in that table suggests that the information which it discloses is something less than a full statement of the school failures for these pupils4 ,in the distribution of the totals for ages1 the mode appears plainly at #af1 but with an evident skewness toward the upper ages4 ,the failures for the years #af1 #ag1 and #ah1 when added together1 form #fh4a per cent of the total failures4 ,if those for #ae years are also included1 the result is #hf per cent of the total4 ,of the total failures1 #fe4g per cent are found in the first two years 7#aa1hja out of the total of #ag1ifj74 ,but the really striking fact is that #cd4c per cent of the failures occur after the end of the first two years1 after #eb4b per cent of the pupils are gone1 and with other hundreds leaving in each succeeding semester before even the end of the eighth4 ,in ,table ,,ii we have similar facts for the pupils who graduate4 ,,table ,,ii ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,failures ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,ages ,,and ,,the ,,semesters ,,of ,,their ,,occurrence ,,for ,,the ,,graduating ,,pupils ,,ages ,,semesters #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba #bb ,,totals #a ,b4 #j #ff #hd #fj #e #b #c 44 44 44 #bbj ,g4 #d #fh #abc #fh #bc #d #j 44 44 44 #bij #eaj #b ,b4 #j #cj #ie #if #da #c #b 44 44 44 #bfg ,g4 #a #be #aai #aba #cj #aa #b 44 44 44 #cji #egf #c ,b4 #j #f #ajh #ih #ga #bb #a #c 44 44 #cji ,g4 #a #ae #aja #aeh #gh #bj #e #j 44 44 #cgh #fhg #d ,b4 44 #d #ed #aeg #ajg #cf #f #j 44 44 #cfd ,g4 44 #a #de #ahf #adc #ea #g #b 44 44 #dce #gii #e ,b4 44 #a #aj #hb #adb #hb #ag #d #c 44 #cda ,g4 44 #j #i #ade #ahg #hh #bb #i #j 44 #dfj #hja #f ,b4 44 44 #d #cd #aeh #aci #cb #i #b 44 #cgh ,g4 44 44 #b #gj #bce #agh #dj #ac #a 44 #eci #iag #g ,b4 44 #a #j #aj #aae #adj #fe #d #d #a #cdj ,g4 44 #j #b #g #acj #ahg #fi #ai #j #j #dad #ged #h ,b4 44 44 44 #j #ca #abb #fe #be #b 44 #bde ,g4 44 44 44 #b #de #aej #ie #cg #b 44 #cca #egf #i ,b4 44 44 44 44 #j #bd #bc #ac #a 44 #fa ,g4 44 44 44 44 #d #cb #dj #bd #j 44 #ajj #afa #aj ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 #a #aa #e #c 44 #bj ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 #c #ab #f #a 44 #bb #db ,summary ,b4 44 #ajh #cee #ecg #fgj #ega #bbe #fc #ae #a #bede ,g4 #f #aji #dja #geg #hge #gbd #bib #aaj #d #j #cbgh #ehbc ,footnote3 ,in the facts which are involved and in the manner of reading them1 this table is similar to ,table ,i4 ,the mode of the distribution of totals for the ages is at #ag in this table4 ,further reference will be made to both ,tables ,i and ,,ii in later chapters of this study4 7,see pages #cf1 #cg1 #da1 #db74 ,a further analysis of the failures is here made in reference to the number of pupils and the number of failures each4 ,,table ,,iii ,a ,,distribution ,,of ,,failing ,,pupils ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,,per ,,pupil1 ,,in ,,each ,,semester ,,no4 ,,of ,,semesters ,,totals ,,failures #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj #a ,b4 #dei #dcj #cge #ceb #bga #bba #aeg #aac #bb #aa #bdaa ,g4 #efa #ece #dbh #dba #cbh #bfa #afg #abc #ce #i #bhfh --------------------------- #cb4e #ebgi #b ,b4 #bga #bdb #baa #bjf #adi #add #gi #fh #ai #d #acic ,g4 #bga #bec #bch #bjd #agg #adb #abg #hd #ag #f #aeai --------------------------- #cd4i #biab #c ,b4 #add #ajf #ha #gc #ei #fj #de #bg #f #b #fjc ,g4 #bjg #ajc #ha #ge #ge #hc #eb #ch #bj #c #gcg --------------------------- #ce #acdj #d ,b4 #hc #ci #cc #cj #bg #cb #aj #aj #a #a #bff ,g4 #ie #ej #ch #ce #bg #ci #ai #ai #c #j #cbe --------------------------- #ca4h #eia #e ,b4 #f #c #e #h #g #h #g #b #j 44 #df ,g4 #c #b #f #e #a #aj #f #e #a 44 #ci --------------------------- #ee4c #he #f ,b4 44 44 #c #c #j #a #a 44 44 44 #h ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 --------------------------- #be #h ,tot4 ,b4 #ifc #hbj #gjh #fgb #eac #dff #bii #bbj #dh #ah #dgbg ,g4 #aacg #idc #gia #gdj #fjh #ece #cga #bfi #gf #ah #edhh #aj1bae ,table ,,iii tells us that #dei boys and #efa girls have one failure each in the first semester of their high school work2 #bga boys and the same number of girls have two failures in the first semester1 and so on1 for the ten semesters and for as many as six failures per pupil4 ,the failures represented by these pupils give a total of #ag1ifj4 ,a distribution of the total failures per pupil1 and the facts relative thereto1 will be considered in ,chapter ,,iv of this study4 ,the above distribution of ,table ,,iii is repeated here in ,table ,,iv1 so far as it relates to the failing graduates only4 ,,table ,,iv ,a ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,pupils ,,who ,,graduate1 ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,,per ,,pupil ,,in ,,each ,,semester ,,no4 ,,of ,,semesters ,,totals ,,failures #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj #a ,b4 #aaj #aca #acg #aej #afb #aci #abj #aah #ai #aa #ajig ,g4 #acf #adb #aha #bjj #aig #ahj #aba #hi #bj #c #abfi ---------------------------- #ej #bcff #b ,b4 #cd #di #fa #fi #fa #ge #dg #bh #ae #c #ddb ,g4 #di #fd #fc #hf #ha #gc #ha #fb #aj #e #egd ---------------------------- #ec4b #ajaf #c ,b4 #aj #aj #ad #ah #ab #ag #bg #ag #d #a #acj ,g4 #af #i #ad #ac #bg #dc #cj #bj #af #c #aia ---------------------------- #fg4f #cba #d ,b4 #c #b #b #c #d #h #f #e #j 44 #cc ,g4 #b #c #f #f #e #af #i #ab #c 44 #fb ---------------------------- #ga4f #ie #e ,b4 44 44 #j #b #a #j #c #j 44 44 #f ,g4 44 44 #a #j #j #d #a #b 44 44 #h ---------------------------- #gh4f #ad #f ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 #a #a 44 44 44 #b ,g4 44 44 44 44 #j #j 44 44 44 #j ---------------------------- #ajj #b ,tot4 ,b4 #aeg #aib #bad #bcg #bdj #bdj #bjd #afc #dh #ae #agaj ,g4 #bjc #bah #bfe #cje #caj #caf #bdb #ahe #di #aa #bajd #chad ,this table reads similarly to ,table ,,iii4 ,there is not the element of continuous dropping out to be considered1 as in ,table ,,iii1 until after the sixth semester is passed1 for no pupils graduate in less than three years4 ,the failures represented in this table number #e1hbc4 ,this same distribution will be the subject of further comment later on4 ,it discloses some facts that ,table ,,iii tends to conceal1 for instance1 that the greater number of graduating pupils who have #b1 #c1 #d1 #e1 and #f failures in a semester are found after the end of the second year4 #d4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,failures ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,the ,,subjects ,,in ,,which ,,they ,,occur ,the following tabulation of failures will show how they were shared by both boys and girls in each of the school subjects which provided the failures here listed4 ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,,distributed ,,by ,,school ,,subjects ,total ,math4 ,eng4 ,latin ,ger4 ,fr4 ,hist4 ,sci4 ,bus4 ,span4 or ,subj's4 ,greek ,b4 #hcdh #bjae #aeee #aebc #iag #dgc #ega #hej #dbd #bj ,g4 #ifab #bcjj #adbd #ahcc #hab #ehh #ajcf #ajac #eic #ac ,per ,cent of ,total #bd4a #af4e #ah4g #i4f #e4i #h4i #aj4c #e4f 4#b ,the abbreviated headings above will be self-explanatory by reference to section #c of ,chapter ,i4 ,the first line of numbers gives the failures for the boys1 the second line for the girls4 ,mathematics has #bd4a per cent of all the failures for all the pupils4 ,latin claims #ah4g per cent and ,english #af4e per cent of all the failures4 ,these three subjects make a total of nearly #fj per cent of the failures for the nine subject groups appearing here4 ,but still this is only a partial statement of the facts as they are1 since the total enrollment by subjects is an independent matter and far from being equally divided among all the subjects concerned4 ,the subject enrollment may sometimes be relatively high and the percentage of failure for that subject correspondingly lower than for a subject with the same number of failures but a smaller enrollment4 ,this fact becomes quite apparent from the following percentages taken in comparison with the ones just preceding3 ,,percentages ,,enrolled ,,in ,,each ,,subject ,,of ,,the ,,sum ,,total ,,of ,,the ,,subject ,,enrollments ,,for ,,all ,,pupils ,,and ,,all ,,semesters ,math4 ,eng4 ,latin ,ger4 ,fr4 ,hist4 ,sci4 ,bus4 ,span4 or ,subj's4 ,greek #ag4c #bd4j #aa4i #h4e #f4h #aj4b #ab4e #h4c 4#e ,we note that the percentages for mathematics and ,english1 which represent their portions of the grand total of subject enrollments1 are virtually the reverse of the percentages which designate the amount of total failures produced by the same two subjects4 ,that means that the percentage of the total failures produced by mathematics is really greater than was at first apparent1 while the percentages of failures for ,english is not so great relatively as the statement of the total failures above would alone indicate4 ,in a similar manner1 we note that ,latin has #ah4g per cent of all the failures1 but its portion of the total enrollment for all subjects is only #aa4i per cent4 ,if the failures in this subject were in proportion to the enrollment1 its percentage of the failures would be reduced by #f4h per cent4 ,on the other hand1 if the failures for ,english were in the same proportion to the total as is its subject enrollment1 it would claim #g4e per cent more of all the failures4 ,in the same sense1 ,french1 history1 science1 and the business subjects have a smaller proportion of all the failures than of all the subject enrollments4 ,the comparison of failures by subjects may be continued still further by computing the percentage of failures in each subject as based on the number enrolled in that subject4 ,such percentages are here presented for each subject4 ,,percentage ,,of ,,the ,,number ,,taking ,,the ,,subject ,,who ,,fail ,,in ,,that ,,subject ,latin ,math4 ,ger4 ,fr4 ,hist4 ,sci4 ,eng4 ,bus4 ,span4 or ,subj's4 ,greek #ah4g #af4j #ac4e #aa4f #aj4d #i4h #h4b #h4j #d4a ,it becomes evident at once that the largest percentage of failures1 based on the pupils taking the subject1 is in ,latin1 although we have already found that mathematics has the greatest percentage of all the failures recorded 7p4 #ai74 ,but here mathematics follows ,latin1 with ,german coming next in order as ranked by its high percentage of failure for those enrolled in the subject4 ,history has the median percentage for the failures as listed for the nine subjects above4 ,the failures as reported by subjects for other schools and other pupils will provide a comparison which may indicate something of the relative standing of this group of schools in reference to failures4 ,the failures are presented below for thirteen high schools in ,new ,jersey1 involving #bd1hie grades1 as reported by ,d4,c4 ,bliss#g in #aiag4 ,as the schools were reported singly1 the median percentage of failure for each subject is used here for our purpose4 ,but ,mr4 ,bliss' figures are computed from the promotion sheets for ,june1 #aiae1 and include none of those who had dropped out4 ,in this sense they are not comparable to the percentages of failure as presented in this study4 ,yet with the one exception of ,latin these median percentages are higher4 ,the percentages as presented below for ,st4 ,paul#h are in each case based on the total number taking the subject for a single semester1 and include about #d1jjj pupils1 in all the classes1 in the four high schools of the city4,b ,footnote ,b3 ,it is a significant fact1 and one worthy of note here1 that the report for ,st4 ,paul is apparently the only one of the surveys which also states the number taking each subject1 as well as the percentages of failure4 ,percentages alone do not tell the whole story1 and they do not promote the further utilization of the facts to discover other relationships4 ,the facts presented for ,st4 ,louis#i are for one school only1 with #b1jhi pupils1 as recorded for the first half of the year #aiae-af4 ,all foreign languages as reported for this school are grouped together4 ,history is the only subject that has a percentage of failure lower than that of the corresponding subjects for our eight schools4 ,the figures for both ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,louis are based on the grades for all classes in school1 but for only a single semester4 ,one cannot avoid feeling that a statement of facts for so limited a period may or may not be dependable and representative for all periods4 ,the percentages for ,paterson#aj are reported for about #d1jjj pupils1 in all classes1 for two successive semesters1 and are based on the number examined4 ,for ,denver1#aa the records are reported for #d1abj pupils1 and cover a two-year period4 ,the percentages for ,butte#ab are based on the records for #c1aaj pupils1 for one school semester4 ,the figures reported by ,rounds and ,kingsbury#ac are for only two subjects1 but for forty-six widely separated high schools1 whose enrollment for these two subjects was #eg1fhj4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,failure ,,by ,,subjects--,,quoted ,,for ,,other ,,schools ,math4 ,latin ,ger4 ,fren4 ,eng4 ,hist4 ,sci4 ,bus4 ,subj's4 #ac ,n4,j4 ,h4,s4's4 #bj4j #ah4j #af4j 44 #ad4j #aa4j 44 #aa4e ,st4 ,paul #ba4h #ac4f #ad4c #ag4j #aj4j #aj4i #g4c #aa4g ,st4 ,louis #ah4j -------#af------ #ac4j #g4j #ai4j 44 ,paterson #bc4a #ba4f #bc4d 44 #ab4b #ac4i #ah4c #h4e ,denver #bd4j #ba4j #ab4j 44 #aa4g #aa4j #ag4j #aa4j ,butte #ah4f #be4j #bd4j #cb4f #e4d #g4j #ac4j #h4d ,r and ,k #bd4g 44 44 44 #ah4e 44 44 44 ,our #h ,h4,s4's #af4j #ah4g #ac4e #aa4f #h4b #aj4d #i4h #h4j ,in some schools the reports were not available for all subjects4 ,it is not at all probable1 so far as information could be obtained1 that the failures of the drop-out pupils for any of the schools were included in the percentages as reported above1 or that the percentages are based on the total number in the given subjects1 with the exception of one school4 ,moreover1 it is certain for at least some of the schools that neither the failures of the drop-outs nor the pupils who were in the class for less than a whole semester were considered in the percentages above4 ,so far1 however1 as these comparisons may be justified1 the suggestion made in ,chapter ,i that the schools included in this study are doubtless a superior group with respect to failures appears to be strengthened by the comparisons made above4 ,it becomes more apparent1 as we attempt to offer a statement of failures as taken from the various reports1 that they are not truly comparable4 ,the bases of such percentages are not at all uniform4 ,the basis used most frequently is the number enrolled at the end of the period rather than the total number enrolled for any class1 for which the school has had to provide1 and which should most reasonably form the basis of the percentage of failure4 ,furthermore1 the failures for pupils who drop out are not usually counted4 ,yet1 in most of the reports1 the situation is not clearly indicated for either of the facts referred to4 ,still more difficult is the task of securing a general statement of failures by subjects1 since the percentages are most frequently reported separately for each class1 in each subject1 and for different buildings1 but with the number of pupils stated for neither the failures nor the enrollment4 ,the ,st4 ,paul report#h is an exception in this regard4 ,to present the full situation it is indeed necessary to know the failures for particular teachers1 subjects1 and buildings1 but it is also frequently necessary to be able to make a comparison of results for different systems4 ,consequently1 in order to use the varied reports for the attempted comparison above1 the plan was pursued of averaging the percentages as stated for the different classes1 semesters1 and years of a subject1 in each school separately1 and then selecting the median school thus determined as the one best representing the city or the system4 ,this method was employed to modify the reports1 and to secure the percentages as stated above for ,denver1 ,paterson1 and ,butte4 ,any plan of averaging the percentages for the four years of ,english1 or similarly for any other subject1 may actually tend to misstate the facts1 when the percentages or the numbers represented are not very nearly equal4 ,but1 in an incidental way1 the difficulty serves to emphasize the inadequacy and the incomparability in the reporting of failures as found in the various studies1 as well as to warn us of the hopelessness of reaching any conclusions apart from a knowledge of the procedure employed in securing the data4 ,the basis is also provided for some interesting comparisons by isolating from the general distribution of failures by school subjects 7p4 #ai7 the same facts for the failing graduates4 ,that gives the following distribution4 ,,the ,,failures ,,by ,,school ,,subjects ,,for ,,graduates ,,only ,total ,math4 ,eng4 ,latin ,ger4 ,fr4 ,hist4 ,sci4 ,bus4 ,span4 or ,subj's4 ,greek #ehjc ,b4 #ffj #djc #eba #bda #aia #ahj #bea #ia #g #fccd ,g4 #ghb #cdg #fgc #beg #bdj #daj #cid #afb #ab ,per ,cent of ,totals #bd4h #ab4i #bj4e #h4e #g4d #aj4a #aa4 #d4c 4#c ,,similar ,,percentages ,,for ,,the ,,non-,,graduates ,as above #bc4f #ah4c #ag4g #aj4a #e4c #h4d #aj4 #f4c 4#a ,it is a noteworthy fact that the percentages of failure 7based on the total failures for the graduates7 run higher in mathematics1 ,latin1 history1 ,french1 and science for the graduates than for the whole composite number 7page #ai74 ,the non-graduates have a correspondingly lower percentage of failure in these subjects1 as is indicated above4 ,the school influences in respect to the failures of the non-graduates differ from those of the graduates chiefly in the fact that the failures of the former tend to occur to a greater extent in the earlier years of these subjects1 since so many of the non-graduates are in the school for only those earlier years2 while the failures of the graduates range more widely and have a tendency to predominate in the upper years of the subject1 as will be further emphasized in the later pages of this report 7see also ,table ,,iv74 #e4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,dropping ,,out--,,semesters--,,ages ,table ,v presents the facts concerning the time and the age at which the failing pupils drop out of school4 ,table ,,vi furnishes the corresponding facts for the non-failing drop-outs4 ,,table ,v ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,non-,,graduates1 ,,showing ,,the ,,semester ,,and ,,the ,,age ,,at ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,ages ,,undis- ,,semesters #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba #bb ,,trib4 ,,totals #a ,b4 #a #dj #di #ej #ah #j #a #a 44 44 #a #afj ,g4 #c #dj #fe #dg #bc #d #j #j 44 44 #c #ahe #cde #b ,b4 44 #i #ef #hh #ef #bb #f #b 44 44 #c #bdb ,g4 44 #f #gb #aai #fa #bd #c #j 44 44 #f #bia #ecc #c ,b4 44 #d #cj #dj #bc #aj #g 44 44 44 #j #aad ,g4 44 #c #ce #ea #cb #ac #g 44 44 44 #a #adb #bef #d ,b4 44 #a #af #ff #hf #cd #af #b 44 44 #c #bbd ,g4 44 #a #ai #fj #gj #ei #ah #c 44 44 #j #bcj #ded #e ,b4 44 44 #b #ab #cf #ba #h #d 44 44 #c #hf ,g4 44 44 #d #ag #dh #bh #i #c 44 44 #a #aaj #aif #f ,b4 44 44 #a #f #dh #eb #ch #aj 44 44 #a #aef ,g4 44 44 #a #aa #eb #di #bf #e 44 44 #b #adf #cjb #g ,b4 44 44 44 #b #ab #ce #ba #g #j 44 #a #gh ,g4 44 44 44 #b #ae #ba #ae #d #a 44 #j #ei #acg #h ,b4 44 44 44 #j #aj #bc #ai #ai #b #j #b #ge ,g4 44 44 44 #b #aj #ca #bi #aj #d #b #c #ia #aff #i ,b4 44 44 44 44 #a #d #d #b 44 #a #a #ac ,g4 44 44 44 44 #a #f #ab #d 44 #j #j #bc #cf #aj ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 44 #a #c #c #a 44 #h ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 #d #c #c #a 44 #aa #ai #aa ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #j #j #j 44 #j ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #b #a #a 44 #d #d ,tot4 ,b4 #a #ed #aed #bfd #bij #bja #abj #ej #f #b #ad #aaef ,g4 #c #ej #aif #cji #cab #bce #abc #cd #i #d #af #abib #bddh ,table ,v reads3 ,in the first semester #a boy and #c girls drop out at age #ac2 #dj boys and #dj girls drop out at the age of #ad2 #di boys and #fe girls1 at the age of #ae4 ,in this table1 as elsewhere1 age #ae means from #ada_/b to #aea_/b1 and so on4 ,any drop-out1 as for the second semester1 means either during or at the end of that semester4 ,,table ,,vi ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,non-,,failing ,,non-,,graduates1 ,,showing ,,the ,,semester ,,and ,,the ,,age ,,at ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,ages ,,semester #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba ,,totals #a ,b4 #ag #aah #ada #ajf #ci #c #d #a #a #dcj ,g4 #aa #aei #bce #afj #ea #ai #d #d #j #fdc #ajgc #b ,b4 #j #g #di #ej #ah #g #c #j 44 #acd ,g4 #a #a #ei #db #ca #aj #g #b 44 #afc #big #c ,b4 44 44 #g #af #aa #e #a #j 44 #dj ,g4 44 44 #ad #bb #cc #ae #c #b 44 #hi #abi #d ,b4 44 44 #e #ac #aa #aj #a #j #a #da ,g4 44 44 #g #bj #ca #af #b #a #a #gh #aai #e ,b4 44 44 #a #b #i #a #b #j 44 #ae ,g4 44 44 #j #c #aj #i #d #a 44 #bg #db #f ,b4 44 44 #a #d #ad #c #b #j 44 #bd ,g4 44 44 #j #e #ag #ac #g #c 44 #de #fi #g ,b4 44 44 44 #j #b #b #b #a 44 #g ,g4 44 44 44 #a #b #g #a #a 44 #ab #ai #h ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 #a #a #a 44 #c ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 #c #a #a 44 #e #h #i ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #j 44 #j ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #a 44 #a #a ,tot4 ,b4 #ag #abe #bjd #aia #ajd #cb #af #c #b #fid ,g4 #ab #agj #cae #bec #age #ib #bi #af #a #ajfc #ageg ,table ,,vi reads similarly to ,table ,v4 ,the distribution of the age totals for the pupils dropping out gives us medians which1 for both boys and girls1 fall within the #ag-year group for the failing pupils1 but within the #af-year group for the non-failing pupils4 ,for ,table ,v the mode of the distribution is at #ag1 but for ,table ,,vi it is at #ae4 ,the percentages of dropping out for each age group are given below4 ,first1 all the pupils of ,tables ,v and ,,vi are grouped together for this purpose1 then the boys and the girls for ,tables ,v and ,,vi are considered separately to facilitate the comparison of facts4 ,,percentages ,,in ,,each ,,age ,,group ,,of ,,the ,,total ,,number ,,dropping ,,out ,ages #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba ,per ,cent #j4h #i4e #bj4g #bd4b #ba4j #ac4c #f4h #b4d #a4b ,it is readily seen from the above percentages that1 as would be expected1 the drop-outs are most frequent for the very ages which are most common in the high school4 ,there is no special accumulation of drop-outs for either the earlier or the later ages4 ,but1 if in any semester we consider the drop-outs for each age as a percentage of the total pupils represented for that age1 the facts are more fully revealed1 as is indicated below for certain semesters4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,drop-,,outs ,,for ,,each ,,age1 ,,on ,,the ,,totals ,,for ,,such ,,age ,,in ,,the ,,first1 ,,second ,,and ,,fourth ,,semesters ,,ages #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba ,semester #a #f4h #ah4b #bc4a #cb4f #ch4c #ce4j #dj4j #dj4j 44 ,semester #b #d4j #h4a #ad4h #ah4c #bb4b #cj4j #dj4j #cc4j 44 ,semester #d #j #i4j #aa4h #ab4e #af4e #bd4f #ce4b #ej4j 44 ,if these semesters may be taken as indicative of all1 an almost steady increase will be expected in the percentages of drop-outs as the ages of the pupils rise4 ,it follows1 then1 that the older ages have the higher percentages of drop-outs when this basis of the computation is employed4 ,we may1 however1 make some helpful comparisons of the ages of drop-outs for boys and for girls by merely using the percentages of total drop-outs for the purpose4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,failing ,,drop-,,outs ,,in ,,each ,,age ,,group1 ,,for ,,boys ,,and ,,girls ,,separately ,,ages #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba ,boys #j #d4f #ab4e #bb4h #be4a #ag4d #aj4c #d4c #a4i ,girls 4#b #c4h #ae4a #bc4i #bd4a #ai4j #i4e #b4f #b4b ,here it appears that1 of all the boys and girls who fail before dropping out1 the school loses at the age of #ad1 for example1 #d4f per cent for the boys and #c4h per cent for the girls4 ,as a matter of mere convenience1 the percentages for age #ba are made to include also the undistributed pupils in ,table ,v4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,the ,,non-,,failing ,,drop-,,outs ,,in ,,each ,,age ,,group1 ,,for ,,boys ,,and ,,girls ,,separately ,,ages #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj ,boys #b4d #ah4j #bi4d #bg4a #ae4j #d4d #b4c #j4g ,girls #a4a #af4j #bi4f #bc4h #af4d #h4f #b4g #a4f ,these percentages are computed from the age totals in ,table ,,vi1 just as the ones preceding are computed from ,table ,v4 ,it seems worthy of note here that close to #ej per cent of the non-failing drop-outs occur under #af years of age1 for both the boys and the girls2 but that the number of the failing pupils who drop out does not reach #bj per cent for the boys or the girls in these same years4 ,it is likewise remarkable in these distributions that the percentages for boys and for girls show such slight differences in either of the two groupings4 ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,,ii ,if to the recorded failures the virtual but unrecorded ones are added1 the percentage of failing pupils is #ff per cent4 ,this percentage is higher for the boys than for the girls by a difference of #f per cent4 ,of the graduating pupils1 #eh4a per cent fail one or more times4 ,of the non-failing non-graduates #gh per cent are lost from school by the end of their first year4 ,but the failing non-graduates have not lost such a percentage before the end of the third year4 ,the percentage of pupils failing increases for the first four semesters1 and lowers but little for two more semesters4 ,one third to one half of the pupils fail in each semester to seventh4 ,in the distribution of failures by ages and semesters1 #hf per cent are found from ages #ae to #ah inclusive4 ,thirty-four per cent of the failures occur after the end of the second year1 when #eb4b per cent of the pupils have been lost and others are leaving continuously4 ,mathematics1 ,latin1 and ,english head the list in the percentages of total failures1 and together provide nearly #fj per cent of the failures2 but ,english has a large subject-enrollment to balance its count in failures4 ,mathematics1 ,latin1 and ,german fail the highest percentages on the number of pupils taking the subjects4 ,in several subjects the percentages of failure based on the total failures are higher for the graduates than for the non-graduates4 ,for the pupils dropping out without failure the median age is at #af1 with the mode at #ae4 ,for the failing drop-outs both the median and the mode are at the age of #ag4 ,nearly #ej per cent of the non-failing drop-outs occur under age #af1 but not #bj per cent of the failing non-graduates are gone by that age4 ,the percentage of drop-outs is higher for older pupils4 ,,references3 #e4 ,kelley1 ,t4,l4 ,a ,study of ,high ,school and ,university ,grades1 with ,reference to ,their ,intercorrelation and the ,causes of ,elimination1 ,journal of ,educational ,psychology1 #f3cfe4 #f4 ,johnson1 ,g4,r4 ,qualitative ,elimination in ,high ,school1 ,school ,review1 #ah3fhj4 #g4 ,bliss1 ,d4,c4 ,high ,school ,failures1 ,educational ,administration and ,supervision1 ,vol4 #c4 #h4 ,strayer1 ,g4,d41 ,coffman1 ,l4,d41 ,prosser1 ,c4,a4 ,report of a ,survey of the ,school ,system of ,st4 ,paul1 ,minnesota4 #i4 ,meredith1 ,a4,b4 ,survey of the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,schools1 #aiag1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 p4 #ea4 #aj4 ,annual ,report of the ,board of ,education1 ,paterson1 ,new ,jersey1 #aiae4 #aa4 ,bobbitt1 ,j4,f4 ,report of the ,school ,survey of ,denver1 #aiaf4 #ab4 ,strayer1 ,g4,d4 ,a ,survey of the ,public ,schools of ,butte1 #aiad4 #ac4 ,rounds1 ,c4,r41 ,kingsbury1 ,h4,b4 ,do ,too ,many ,students ,fail8 ,school ,review1 #ba3ehe4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,what ,,basis ,,is ,,discoverable ,,for ,,prognosticating ,,the ,,occurrence ,,of ,,or ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures8 #a4 ,,attendance1 ,,mental ,,or ,,physical ,,defects1 ,,and ,,size ,,of ,,classes ,,are ,,possible ,,factors ,any definite factors available for the school that have a prognostic value in reference to school failures will help to perform a function quite comparable to the science of preventive medicine in its field1 and in contrast with the older art of doctoring the malady after it has been permitted to develop4 ,such prognostication of failure1 however1 need not imply a complete knowledge of the causes of the failures4 ,it may simply signify that in certain situations the causes are less active or are partly overcome by other factors4 ,perhaps one of the simplest factors with a prognostic value on failure may be found in the facts of attendance4 ,persistent or repeated absence from school may reach a point where it tends to affect the number of failures4 ,it happened1 unfortunately1 that the reports for attendance were incomplete or lacking in a considerable portion of the records employed in this study4 ,consequently the influence of attendance is given no especial consideration in these pages1 except as explained in ,chapter ,i1 that the pupil must have been present enough of any semester to secure his subject grades1 else no failure is counted and no time is charged to his period in school4 ,in this connection1 ,dr4 ,c4,h4 ,keyes#ad found in a study of elementary school pupils that of #a1fdi pupils losing four weeks or more in a single year #dei belonged to the accelerate pupils1 #fdg to those arrested1 and #edc to pupils normal in their school work4 ,he accredits such large loss of time as almost invariably the result of illness and of contagious disease4 ,he also says1 ,prolonged absence from school is appreciable in producing arrest especially when it amounts to more than #be days in one school year4 ,but the diseases of childhood1 with the resultant absence1 are less prevalent in the high school years than earlier4 ,furthermore1 the losses due to change of residence will not be met with here1 for1 as explained in ,chapter ,i1 no transferred pupils are included subsequent to the time of the transference either to or from the school4 ,the influence of physical or mental defects also deserves recognition here as a possible factor relative to school failures1 although this study has no data to offer of any statistical value in that regard4 ,a few pupils in high school may actually reach the limits prescribed by their 'intelligence quotient'#ae or general mental ability1 or perhaps1 as ,bronner#af so interestingly points out1 be handicapped by some special mental disability4 ,if such be true1 they will doubtless be found in the number of school drop-outs later referred to as failing in #ej per cent or more of their work2 but we have no measurement of intelligence recorded for them to serve our purposes of prognostication4 ,in the matter of physical defects alone1 the report of ,dr4 ,l4,p4 ,ayres#ag on a study of #c1cjd pupils1 ten to fourteen years old1 in ,new ,york ,city1 states that ,in every case except in that of vision the children rated as 'dull' are found to be suffering from physical defects to a greater degree than 'normal' or 'bright' children4 ,the defects of vision1 which is the exception noted1 may be even partly the result of the studious habits of the pupils4 ,bronner#af remarks on the relationships between mental and physical conditions1 and also on how the findings on tests were altogether different after the child had been built up physically4 ,but ,gulick and ,ayres#ah conclude that it is evident from the facts at hand that if vision were omitted the percentage of defects would dwindle and become comparatively small among the upper grades4 ,this would probably be still more true for the high school2 but this whole field has not yet been completely and thoroughly investigated4 ,it would be very desirable to have ascertained the size of the classes in which the failures were most frequent1 as well as the relative success of the pupils repeating subjects in larger or in smaller classes4 ,but1 as such facts were unobtainable1 it is permitted here simply to recognize the possible influence of this factor4 ,it seems deserving in itself of careful and special study4 ,from the standpoint of the pupil1 the kind of subject1 the kind of teacher1 and the sort of discipline employed will tend to influence the size of class to be called normal1 and to make it a sort of variable4 ,thirty pupils is regarded by the ,north ,central ,association as the maximum size of class in high school4#ai ,surely the size of class will react on the pupil by affecting the teacher's spirit and energy4 ,reference is made by ,hall-,quest#bj to an experiment1 whose author is not named1 in which #hbi pupils stated that their most helpful teachers were pleasant1 cheerful1 optimistic1 enthusiastic1 and young4 ,if such be true then the very large size of classes will tend to reduce the teacher's helpfulness4 #b4 ,,the ,,employment ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,entering ,,age ,,for ,,prognosis ,a promising but less emphasized basis of prognosticating the school success or failure of the pupils is found in the employment of the school entering ages for this purpose4 ,the distribution of all the pupils 7except #cj undistributed ones1 for whom the records were incomplete71 according to entering age1 is here presented1 independently for the boys and for the girls4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,by ,,their ,,entrance ,,ages ,,to ,,high ,,school ,,ages ,undis- ,total #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj tributed #bfdf ,b4 #af #baa #hbj #ijj #dig #adh #bc #aj #g #ad #cdie ,g4 #h #bei #aabd #abag #fad #aid #ea #aj #h #af ,the entering ages of these #f1ada pupils are distributed from #ab to #bj1 with #cj of them for whom the age records were not given4 ,the median age for all the entrants is #ae4c4 ,but in order to compare this with the median entering age 7#ad4i7 of the #a1jcc pupils reported by ,king#ba for the ,iowa ,city high school1 or with the median entering age 7#ad4e7 of #ajjj high school pupils in ,new ,york ,city1 as reported by ,van ,denburg1#bb it is necessary to reduce these medians to the same basis of age classification4 ,since age #ae for this study starts at #ada_/b1 then #ae4c would be only #ad4h 7#ae4c-4e7 as by their classification4 ,the percentages of the total number of pupils for each age are given below4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,pupils ,,for ,,each ,,entering ,,age ,,ages #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj ,undistributed ,total #j4d #g4f #ca4f #cd4d #ah4a #e4e #a4b #a4j ,boys #j4f #h4j #ca4j #cg4h #ah4h #e4f #j4h #a4a ,girls #j4b #g4d #cb4d #cd4h #ag4e #e4e #a4d #a4j ,we see that #hd per cent of the pupils enter at age #ad1 #ae1 and #af1 or1 what is perhaps more important1 that nearly #dj per cent enter under #ae years of age4 ,the similarity of percentages for boys and for girls is pronounced4 ,the slight advantage of the boys for ages #ab and #ac may be due to home influence in restricting the early entrance of the girls1 thus causing a corresponding superiority for the girls at age #ad4 ,the mode of this percentage distribution is at #ae for both boys and girls4 ,what portion of each entering-age-group has no failures8 ,this question and the answer presented below direct our attention to the superiority of the pupils of the earlier entering ages4 ,that these groups of earlier ages of entrance are comprised of pupils selected for their capabilities is shown by the successive decrease in the percentages of the non-failing as the ages of their entrance increases1 up to age #ah4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,pupils ,,who ,,do ,,not ,,fail1 ,,for ,,each ,,entering-,,age-,,group ,,ages ,totals #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ajfa ,b4 #aa #ajb #cbj #cji #ahf #ef #i #d #d #aege ,g4 #c #acc #ebb #ede #bef #gc #bi #g #f of ----------------- ,entrants #eh4j #ej4j #dc4d #dj4j #ci4h #cg4g #ee4j ,here is definite evidence that the pupils of the earlier entering ages are less likely to fail in any of their school subjects than are the older ones4 ,those entering at ages #ab or #ac escape school failures altogether for #ej per cent or more of their numbers4 ,those entering at age #ad are somewhat less successful but still seem superior to those of later entrance ages4 ,it is encouraging1 then1 that these three ages of entrance include nearly #dj per cent of the #f1ada pupils4 ,there is1 of course1 nothing in this situation to justify any deduction of the sort that pupils entering at the age of #ag would have been more successful had they been sent to high school earlier1 except that had they been able to enter high school earlier they would have represented a different selection of ability by that fact alone4 ,there is also a sort of selection operative for the pupils entering at ages #ah1 #ai1 or #bj1 which tends to account at least partly for the rise in the percentage of the non-failing for these years4 ,it is safe to believe that for the most part only the more able1 ambitious1 and purposeful individuals are likely to display the energy required or to discern the need of their entering high school when they have reached the age of #ah or later4 ,the appeal of school athletics will in this case seem very inadequate to explain their entrance so late1 since the girls predominate so strongly for these years4 ,then it may be contended further that the added maturity and experience of those later entrants may partly compensate for a lack of native ability1 if such be the case1 and thereby result in a relatively high percentage of non-failing pupils for this group4 ,it is readily conceded that the avoidance of failure in school work serves as only one criterion for gauging the pupils' accomplishment4 ,it is accordingly important to inquire how the different age-groups of school entrants compare with reference to the persistence and ability which is represented by school graduation4 ,a truly striking array of percentages follows in reference to the question of how many of the entering pupils in each age-group do graduate4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,pupils ,,graduating ,,for ,,each ,,entering-,,age ,,group ,,ages ,totals #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #gif ,b4 #ad #aae #bij #bec #ii #bj #b #a #b #aadj ,g4 #e #aea #dfe #cfc #aba #bf #e #a #j of ,entrants #gi4a #ef4f #ch4h #bi4i #bj4j #ac4d #i4a #aj4j #ac4c ,these percentages bear convincing testimony in support of the previous evidence that the pupils of the earlier entering years are highly selected in ability4 ,of all the high school entrants they are the 'most fit1' the least likely to fail1 and the most certain to graduate4 ,the percentage of pupils graduating who entered at the age of #ab is approximately four times that of pupils who entered at the age of #af4 ,thirteen is more than four times as fruitful of graduates as age #ag2 fourteen bears a similar relationship to age #ah2 and the percentage for fifteen is three times that for age #ai1 as is apparent from the above figures4 ,the fact that the decline of these percentages ceases at age #ai is probably due to the greater maturity of such later entrants4 ,when we make inquiry as to what portion of the graduates in each of the above groups 'goes through' in four years or less1 we get the series of percentages indicated below4 ,,percentage ,,of ,,the ,,graduates ,,who ,,finish ,,in ,,four ,,years ,,or ,,less1 ,,for ,,each ,,of ,,the ,,entering-,,age ,,groups ,ages #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah of ,each ,group #hd4c #he4g #ge4h #gi4e #hd4c #hj4d #ajj ,it appears that the ones in the older age-groups who do graduate are not so handicapped in reference to the time requirement for graduation as we might have expected them to be from the facts of the preceding pages4 ,perhaps that fact is partly accounted for by the not unusual tendency to restrain the more rapid progress of the younger pupils or to promote the older ones partly by age1 so that by our school procedure the younger and the brighter pupils may at times actually be more retarded1 according to mental age1 than are the older and slower ones4 ,since the same teachers1 the same schools1 and the same administrative policy were involved for the different entrance-age groups1 the prognostic value of the factor of age at entrance will seem to be unimpaired1 whether it operates independently as a gauge of rank in mental ability1 or conjointly with and indicative of the varying influence on these pupils of other concomitant factors1 such as the difference of economic demands1 the difference of social interests1 the difference in permanence of conflicting habits of the individual1 or the difference in effectiveness of the school's appeal as adapted for the several ages4 ,one may contend1 and with some success1 that the high school regime is better adjusted to the younger pupils1 with the consequent result that they are more successful in its requirements4 ,the distractions of more numerous social interests may actually accompany the later years of school age4 ,in reference to the social distractions of girls1 ,margaret ,slattery says1#bc ,this mania for 'going' seizes many of our girls just when they need rest and natural pleasures1 the great out-of-doors1 and early hours of retiring4 ,but surely such distractions are not peculiar to the girls alone4 ,the economic needs that arise at the age of sixteen and later are often considered to constitute a pressing factor regarding the continuance in school4 ,but ,van,denburg#bb was convinced by the investigation1 in ,new ,york ,city1 of #dbj rentals for the families of pupils that on the whole the economic status of these pupils seems to be only a slight factor in their continuance in school4 ,a similar conclusion was reached by ,wooley1#bd in ,cincinnati1 after investigating #fjj families1 in which it was estimated that #gc per cent of the families did not need the earnings of the children who left school to go to work4 ,the corresponding report by a commission#be in ,massachusetts shows #gf per cent4 ,the same facts for ,new ,york ,city#bf indicate that #hj per cent of such families are independent of the child's wages4 ,but ,holley concludes1#bg from a study of certain towns in ,illinois1 that there is a high correlation between the economic1 educational1 and social advantages of a home and the number of years of school which its children receive4 ,it will hardly be denied that even aside from the relation of the family means to the school persistence1 the economic needs may have a direct influence on the failing of the children in their school work1 either because home conditions may be decidedly unfavorable for required home study1 or because of the larger portion of time that must be given to outside employment1 with its consequent reduction of the normal vitality of the individual or of his readiness to study4 ,but1 in spite of the possible interrelationship of these factors1 it still appears that the school entrance age of pupils will serve as a valuable sort of educational compass to foretell in part the probable direction of their later accomplishment4 #c4 ,,the ,,amount ,,of ,,failure ,,at ,,each ,,age ,,and ,,its ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,possibility ,,of ,,failing ,,for ,,that ,,age ,we have considered at some length the prognostic value of the age at entrance4 ,here we shall briefly consider the prognostic value of age in reference to the time when failures occur and the amount of failure for such age4 ,if we were to total all the failures for a given age1 as shown in ,table ,i1 what part will that form of the total subjects taken by these pupils at the time the failures occur8 ,in other words1 what are the percentages formed by the total failures on the possibility of failing1 for the same pupils and the same semesters1 considered by age groups8 ,the summary line of ,table ,i gives the total failures according to the ages at which they occurred4 ,the number of pupils sharing in each group of these failures is also known by a separate tabulation4 ,then the full number of subjects per pupil is taken as #da_/b1 since approximately #ej per cent of the pupils take five or more subjects each semester and the other #ej per cent take four or less 7see p4 #fa74 ,with the number of pupils given1 and with a schedule of #da_/b subjects per pupil1 we are able to compute the percentages which the failures form of the total subjects for these failing pupils at the time4 ,these percentages are given below4 ,,the ,,percentages ,,formed ,,by ,,failures ,,at ,,each ,,age ,,on ,,the ,,possibilities ,,of ,,failing ,,at ,,that ,,age ,,and ,,time1 ,,for ,,the ,,same ,,pupils ,ages #ac #ad #ae #af #ag #ah #ai #bj #ba #cf4f #ch4j #cg4i #dj4i #dj4h #da4b #da4c #db4j #db4g ,footnote3 ,these percentages are computed from the data secured in ,table ,i1 as noted above4 ,there is an almost unbroken rise in these percentages from #cf4f for age #ac to #db4g for age #ba4 ,not only do a greater number of the older pupils fail1 as was previously indicated1 but they also have a greater percentage of failure for the subjects which they are taking4 ,it seems appropriate here to offer a caution that1 in reading the above percentages1 one must not conclude that all of age #ad fail in #ch per cent of their work1 but rather that those who do fail at age #ad fail in #ch per cent of their work for that semester4 ,the evidence does not seem to indicate that the maturity of later years operates to secure any general reduction of these percentages4 ,the prognostic value of such facts seems to consist in leading us to expect a greater percentage of failures 7on the total subjects7 from the older pupils who fail than from the younger ones who fail4 ,if it were possible to translate the above percentages to a basis of the possibility of failure for all pupils1 instead of the possibility for failing pupils only1 the disparity for the different ages would become more pronounced1 as the earlier ages have more non-failing pupils4 ,but this we are not able to do1 as our data are not adequate for that purpose4 #d4 ,,the ,,initial ,,record ,,in ,,high ,,school ,,for ,,prognosis ,,of ,,failure ,for this purpose the pupil record for the first year1 in reference to failures1 is deemed more adequate and dependable than the record for the first semester only4 ,accordingly1 the pupils have been classified on their first year's record into those who had #j1 #a1 #b1 #c1 and up to #g or more failures4 ,then these groups were further distributed into those who failed #j1 #a1 #b1 #c1 and up to #g or more times after the first year4 ,from such a double distribution we may get some indication of what assurance the first year's record offers on the expectation of later failures4 ,table ,,vii presents these facts4 ,table ,,vii is read in this manner3 ,of all the pupils who have failures the first year 7#hje boys1 and #a1abi girls7 #cig boys and #fgb girls have failures later1 #aje boys and #acj girls have #a failure later1 #gg boys and #ih girls have #b failures later1 while #fh boys and #fc girls have seven or more failures later4 ,the column of totals to the right gives the pupils for each number of failures for the first year4 ,the line of totals at the bottom gives the pupils for each number of failures subsequent to the first year4 ,the table includes #c1ejh pupils1 since those who did not remain in school more than three semesters are not included 7#a1abj boys1 #a1eac girls74 ,obviously1 those who do not stay more than one year would have no subsequent school record1 and those remaining only a brief time beyond one year would not have a record of comparable length4 ,it seems quite significant1 too1 for the purposes of our prognosis1 that of the #b1fcc pupils dropping out in three semesters or less only about #dc per cent have ever failed 7boys--#df per cent1 girls--#da per cent74 ,in contrast to this1 nearly #gj per cent 7#fi4f7 of those continuing in school more than three semesters fail one or more times4 ,those who drop out without failure1 in the three semesters or less1 constitute nearly #fj per cent of the total non-failing pupils 7#b1efh71 but the failing pupils who drop out in that same period constitute less than #cb per cent of the total who fail 7#c1egc74 ,this situation received some emphasis in ,chapter ,,ii and will be further treated in ,chapter ,,iv1 under the comparison of the failing and non-failing groups4 ,,table ,,vii ,,subsequent ,,record ,,of ,,failures ,,for ,,pupils ,,failing #a1 #b1 #c1 ,,etc41 ,,times ,,the ,,first ,,year ,,failures ,,of #a,,st ,,failures ,,subsequent ,,to ,,first ,,year ,,year #j #a #b #c #d #e #f #g ,,totals #j ,b4 #cig #aje #gg #ej #dg #cg #bd #fh #hje ,g4 #fgb #acj #ih #fj #ec #bg #bf #fc #aabi #ajfi #bce #age #aaj #ajj #fd #ej #aca #aicd #a ,b4 #df #dc #cd #cc #ce #ba #ae #df #bgc ,g4 #fe #dc #ec #cc #cc #ai #ag #fg #ccj #aaa #hf #hg #ff #fh #dj #cb #aac #fjc #b ,b4 #bb #bd #bc #bc #cj #ba #ac #eg #bac ,g4 #db #cb #bg #ba #bb #ac #ae #hc #bee #fd #ef #ej #dd #eb #cd #bh #adj #dfh #c ,b4 #g #e #af #aj #aj #ac #aj #cj #aja ,g4 #h #i #g #aj #ag #f #g #da #aje #ae #ad #bc #bj #bg #ai #ag #ga #bjf #d ,b4 #f #h #e #g #g #aa #g #bc #gd ,g4 #h #g #e #f #aj #h #d #bg #ge #ad #ae #aj #ac #ag #ai #aa #ej #adi #e ,b4 #c #a #j #b #a #e #c #aa #bf ,g4 #e #i #e #f #e #d #b #ad #ej #h #aj #e #h #f #i #e #be #gf #f ,b4 #j #a #d #b #a #a #a #aj #bj ,g4 #b #a #b #b #f #b #j #f #ba #b #b #f #d #g #c #a #af #da #g ,b4 #c #b #a #j #a #j #b #e #ad ,g4 #a #b #a #a #e #b #j #e #ag #d #d #b #a #f #b #b #aj #ca ,tot4 ,b4 #dhd #ahi #afj #abg #acb #aji #ge #bej #aebf ,g4 #hjc #bcc #aih #aci #aea #ha #ga #cjf #aihb #abhg #dbb #ceh #bff #bhc #aij #adf #eef #cejh ,referring directly now to ,table ,,vii1 we find that #dd4g per cent of those not failing the first year do fail later4 ,of all those who fail the first year1 #ac4h per cent escape any later failures4 ,of all the pupils included in this table #ae4h per cent have #g or more failures1 while of those failing in the first year #bg per cent later have #g or more failures4 ,for the number included in this table #cj4d per cent have no failures assigned to them4 ,,percentage ,,of ,,first ,,year ,,failing ,,groups1 ,,who ,,later ,,have ,,no ,,failures ,no4 of ,f's4 in ,first ,year #a #b #c #d #e #f #g ,per ,cent of ,groups ,having ,no ,failures ,later #ah4d #ac4g #g4b #i4d #aj4e #e4j #ab4i ,about the same percentage of the boys and of the girls 7near #fj per cent7 is represented in ,table ,,vii4 ,the girls have an advantage over the boys of about #h per cent for those belonging to the group with no failures1 and of about #a per cent for the group with seven or more failures4 ,no unconditional conclusion seems justified by this table4 ,in the first year's record of failures there are good grounds for the promise of later performance4 ,we may safely say that those who do not fail the first year are much less likely to fail later1 and that if they do fail later1 they have less accumulation of failures4 ,yet some of this group have many failures after the first year1 and others who have several failures the first year have none subsequently4 ,generally1 however1 the later accumulations are in almost direct ratio to the earlier record1 and the later non-failures are in inverse ratio to the debits of the first year4 #e4 ,,the ,,prognosis ,,of ,,failures ,,by ,,the ,,subject ,,selection ,from the distribution of failures by school subjects as presented in ,chapter ,,ii1 this will seem to be the easiest and almost the surest of all the factors thus far considered to employ for a prognosis of failure4 ,for of all pupils taking ,latin we may confidently expect an average of a little less than one pupil in every five to fail each semester4 ,for the entire number taking mathematics1 the expectation of failure is an average of about one in six for each semester4 ,german comes next1 and for each semester it claims for failure on the average nearly one pupil in every seven taking it4 ,similarly ,french claims for failure one in every nine2 history1 one in every ten2 ,english and business subjects1 less than one in every twelve4 ,it will be noted that the average on a semester basis is employed in this part of the computation4 ,consequently1 it is not the same as saying that such a percentage of pupils fail at some time1 in the subject4 ,the pupil who fails four times in first year mathematics is intentionally regarded here as representing four failures4 ,likewise1 the pupil who completes four years of ,latin without failure represents eight successes for the subject in calculating these percentages4 ,every recorded failure for each pupil is thus accounted for4 ,it was also noted in ,chapter ,,ii that the percentages of the total failures run higher in mathematics1 ,latin1 history1 and science1 for the graduates than for the non-graduates4 ,this fact is not due to the greater number of failures of graduates in the earlier semesters1 when most of the non-graduate failures occur1 but to the increase of failures for the graduates in the later years1 as is disclosed in ,tables ,,ii and ,,iv4 ,accordingly1 we may say that those two subjects which are most productive of school failures are increasingly fruitful of such results in the upper years4 ,this does not seem to be the usual or accepted conviction4 ,certain of the school principals have expressed the assurance that it would be found otherwise4 ,such deception is easily explainable1 for the number of failures show a marked reduction1 and the rise of percentages is consequently easily overlooked4 ,it is quite possible1 too1 that in some individual schools there is not such a rise of the percentages of failure for the graduates in any of the school subjects4 ,in a single one of the eight schools reported here neither ,latin nor mathematics showed a higher percentage of failure for the graduate pupils over the non-graduates4 ,in the other seven schools the graduates had the higher percentage in one or both of these subjects4 #f4 ,,the ,,time ,,period ,,and ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,the statement that the number of failures will be greater for the failing pupils who remain in school the longer time may seem rather commonplace4 ,but it will not seem trite to state that the percentage of the total failures on the total subject enrollments increases by school semesters up to the seventh2 that the percentage of possible failures for all graduating pupils increases likewise2 or that the failures per pupil in each single semester tend to increase as the time period extends to the later semesters4 ,yet radical as these statements may sound1 they are actually substantiated by the facts to be presented4 ,,percentage ,,of ,,the ,,total ,,failures ,,on ,,the ,,total ,,subject ,,enrollment1 ,,by ,,semesters ,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj ,per ,cent #aa4e #ac4i #ad4e #ae4a #ad4e #ae4c #ab4a #i4i #aj4i #f4b ,the #hjh pupils who received no marks1 and many of whom dropped out early in the first semester1 are not included in the subject enrollment for the above percentages4 ,otherwise the enrollments taken are for the beginning of each semester and inclusive of all the pupils4 ,these percentages rise from #aa4e in the first semester to #ae4c in the sixth semester4 ,then the percentages drop off1 doubtless due to the increasing effect by this time of the non-failing graduates on the total enrollment4 ,the graduates alone are next considered in this respect4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,the ,,total ,,failures ,,for ,,the ,,graduates ,,on ,,the ,,total ,,subject ,,enrollment ,,for ,,graduates1 ,,by ,,semesters ,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj ,per ,cent #e4i #f4f #g4h #i4a #i4b #aj4e #i4a #g4c #h4h #e4b ,these percentages are based on the total possibility of failure1 and reach their highest point in the sixth semester1 where the percentage of failure is nearly twice that for the first semester4 ,these same facts may be effectively presented also by the percentages of such failures for the graduates on the total subject enrollment for only the failing graduates in each semester4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,the ,,total ,,failures ,,for ,,the ,,graduates ,,on ,,the ,,total ,,subject ,,enrollment ,,for ,,failing ,,graduates1 ,,by ,,semesters ,semester #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj ,per ,cent #ca4d #ca4b #ca4h #cb4g #cb4c #cf4f #cg4e #cg4d #ch4j #cf4j ,the percentages here are limited to the total possibilities of failure for those graduates who do fail in each semester4 ,they reach the highest point in the ninth semester1 with a gradual increase from the first4 ,the high point is reached later in this series than in the one immediately preceding1 because while the percentage of pupils failing decreases in the final semesters 7p4 #ad71 there is an increase in the number of failures per failing pupil 7,table ,,iv74 ,this increase of percentages by semesters for the graduates on the total possibility of failure1 as just noted1 is due to an actual increase in the number of failures for the later semesters4 ,by the distribution of failures in ,table ,,ii more than #ef per cent of the failures are found after the completion of the second year1 in spite of the fact that about #aj per cent of the pupils who graduate do so in three or three and a half years4 ,the failures of the graduates are simply the more numerous after the first two years in school4 ,that this situation is no accident due to the superior weight of any single school in the composite group1 is readily disclosed by turning to the units which form the composite4 ,for these schools the percentages of the graduates' failures that are found after the second year range from #dj per cent to #ff per cent4 ,in only three of the schools are such percentages under #ej per cent1 while in three others they are above #fj per cent4 ,further confirmation of how the increase of failures accompanies the pupils who stay longer in school is offered in the facts of ,table ,,iv4 ,here are indicated the number of pupils who before graduating fail #a1 #b1 #c1 etc41 times1 in semesters #a1 #b1 #c1 etc41 up to #aj4 ,of all the occurrences of only one failure per pupil in a semester1 #ej per cent are distributed after the fourth semester4 ,in this same period 7after the fourth semester7 are found #ec4b per cent of those with two failures in a semester2 #fg4f per cent of those with three failures in a semester2 #ga4f per cent of those having four2 #gh4f per cent of those having five2 and all of those having six failures in a single semester4 ,one could almost say that the longer they stay the more they fail4 ,the statements presented herein regarding the relative increase of failures for at least the first three years in school are likely to arouse some surprise among that portion of the people in the profession1 with whom the converse of this situation has been quite generally accepted as true4 ,such an impression has indeed not seemed unwarranted according to some reports1 but the responsibility for it must be due in part to the manner of presenting the data1 so that at times it actually serves to misstate or to conceal certain important features of the situation4 ,since the dropping out is heaviest in the early semesters1 and since the school undertakes the expense of providing for all who enter1 it does not seem to be a correct presentation of the facts to compute the percentage of failure on only the pupils who finish the whole semester4 ,such a practice tends to assign an undue percentage of failures to the earlier semesters1 one that is considerably too high in comparison with that of the later semesters where the dropping out becomes relatively light4 ,it is not sufficient to report merely what part of our final product is imperfect1 instead of reporting1 as do most institutions outside of the educational field1 what part of all that is taken in becomes waste product4 ,this situation is sufficiently grievous to demand further comment4 ,in his study of the ,new ,jersey high schools1 ,bliss states #bh that one of the striking facts found is the steady decrease of failure from the freshman to the senior year4 ,if we bear in mind that ,bliss used only the promotion sheets for his data1 and took no account of the drop-outs preceding promotion1 and if we then estimate that an average of #aj per cent may drop out before the end of the first semester 7the percentage is #ac4b for our eight schools71 then the percentages of failure recorded for the first year will be reduced by one-eleventh of their own respective amounts for each school reported by ,bliss1 as we translate the percentages to the total enrollment basis4 ,as a consequence of such a procedure1 ,bliss' percentages1 as reported for the second year1 will be as high as or higher than those for the first year in six of the ten schools concerned1 and nearly equal in two more of the schools4 ,it is also evident that his percentages of failure as reported for the junior and senior years are not very different from each other in six of the ten schools1 although there is no inclusion of the drop-outs in the percentages stated4 ,the only pronounced or actual decrease in the percentages of failures as ,bliss reports them1 occurs between the sophomore and junior years1 and it is doubtless a significant fact that this decided drop appears at the time and place where the opportunity for elective subjects is first offered in many schools4 ,yet apparently it has not seemed worth while to most persons who report the facts of failure to compute separately from the other subjects the percentages for the #c- and #d-year required subjects4 ,a rather small decline is shown in the percentages of failure for the successive semesters1 as quoted below for #b1dha high school pupils of ,paterson#bi 7the average of two semesters71 although these percentages are based upon the number of pupils examined at the completion of the semester4 ,it may further be noted that these percentages do not follow the same pupils by semesters1 but state the facts for successive classes of pupils4 ,the same criticisms may be offered for the percentages as quoted from ,wood#cj for #dce pupils4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,pupils ,,failing1 ,,by ,,semesters ,,semesters #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h ,paterson #ag4h #ah4d #af4g #ae4j #ae4f #aa4f #i4d #g4d ,wood #bd4e #ad4e #bi4e #cj4j #ca4j #g4i #af4b 44 ,o,brien 7p4 #da7 #aa4e #ac4i #ad4e #ae4a #ad4e #ae4c #ab4a #i4i ,the above series of percentages tend to agree at least in showing little or no decline in the percentages of failure for the first five or six semesters in school4 ,another tendency to conceal important features in relation to the facts of school failures may be found in the grouping together of non-continuous and continuous subjects1 the latter of which are generally required4 ,f4,w4 ,johnson found in the ,university of ,chicago ,high ,school#ca that the percentage of failures by successive years indicated little or no decrease for mathematics and for ,english 7which were #c- and #d-year subjects respectively74 ,the figures were based on the records for a period of two years4 ,in regard to ,st4 ,paul1 it was possible to compute similar information from the data which were available4#cb ,the percentages of failure are presented separately in each case for ,latin1 ,german1 and ,french1 not more than two years of which are required in the schools referred to above4 ,a contrast is thus presented that is both interesting and suggestive4 ,,percentages ,,of ,,pupils ,,failing1 ,,by ,,years4 7,johnson1 ,f4,w47 ,,years #a #b #c #d ,english #ah4a #i4e #ah4d #ad4d ,math #ab4i #ab4i #ac4f #e4f ,latin #ad4a #i4j #b4i 44 ,german #ab4d #g4d 44 44 ,french #ad4c #i4f #c4a 44 ,,percentages ,,of ,,pupils ,,failing1 ,,by ,,semesters4 7,st4 ,paul7 ,,semesters #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h ,english and ,math #ag4h #ah4j #af4c #af4i #h4a #ad4j 44 44 ,latin1 ,german1 ,french #ag4f #ag4e #ae4a #g4f #c4j 44 44 44 ,apparently the full story has by no means been told when we simply say that there is a general decline in the percentages of failure by years or semesters4 ,first1 the failures of the drop-outs should be included1 so far as it is at all feasible2 second1 the percentage should be based on the total enrollment in the subject1 not on the final product1 if we wish to disclose the real situation2 third1 the continuous or required subjects should be distinguished in order to give a full statement of the facts4 ,on page #da are presented the percentages of failure for the #a1abe failing graduates alone1 as found in this study1 the greater portion of whose work1 as it actually happened1 consisted of #c- and #d-year subjects continuous from the time of entrance1 and for whom the percentages of failure increase to the ninth semester4 #g4 ,,similarity ,,of ,,facts ,,for ,,boys ,,and ,,girls ,nowhere is there any definite indication that any of these factors of prognosis operates more distinctly or more pronouncedly on either boys or girls4 ,some variations do occur1 but differences between the sexes in personal attitudes1 social interests1 or conventional standards may account for slight differences such as have been already noted4 ,to simplify the statement of facts1 no comparison of facts for boys and girls has1 in general1 been attempted where there was only similarity to be shown4 ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,,iii ,the influence of non-attendance as a factor in school failure is partly provided for here1 but no statistical data were secured4 ,the percentage of physical and mental defects are doubtless comparatively small for high school pupils except in the case of vision4 ,the facts regarding size of classes were unobtainable4 ,the pupils are distributed by their ages of entrance from #ab to #bj1 with the mode of the distribution at #ae4 ,the younger entering pupils are distinctly more successful in escaping failure4 ,they are also strikingly more successful in their ability to graduate4 ,the older pupils who fail have a higher percentage of failure on the subjects taken4 ,the first year's record has real prognostic value for pupils persisting more than three semesters4 ,but #eg per cent of those leaving earlier have no failures4 ,this includes nearly #fj per cent of all the non-failing pupils1 but less than #cb per cent of the failing ones have gone that early4 ,prediction of failure by subjects is relatively easy and sure1 and the later years seem more productive of this result4 ,the percentage of failure on the total possibility of failure increases with the time period up to the seventh semester4 ,the same facts are true for the graduates when considered alone4 ,fifty-six per cent of the failures for the graduates occur after the second year4 ,the longer stay in school actually begets an increase of failures4 ,the boys and girls are similarly affected by these factors of prognosis4 ,,references3 #ad4 ,keyes1 ,c4,h4 ,progress ,through the ,grades1 pp4 #bc1 #fb4 #ae4 ,terman1 ,l4,m4 ,the ,measurement of ,intelligence1 p4 #fh4 #af4 ,bronner1 ,a4,e4 ,psychology of ,special ,abilities and ,disabilities4 #ag4 ,ayres1 ,l4,p4 ,the ,effect of ,physical ,defects on ,school ,progress1 ,psychological ,clinic1 #c3ga4 #ah4 ,gulick1 ,l4,h41 ,ayres1 ,l4,p4 ,medical ,inspection in the ,schools1 p4 #aid4 #ai4 ,standards of ,the ,north ,central ,association of ,colleges and ,secondary ,schools4 #bj4 ,hall-,quest1 ,a4,l41 in ,johnson's ,modern ,high ,school1 p4 #bgj4 #ba4 ,king1 ,i4 ,the ,high ,school ,age1 p4 #aie4 #bb4 ,van,denburg1 ,j4,k4 ,the ,elimination of ,pupils from ,public ,secondary ,schools1 p4 #aac4 #bc4 ,slattery1 ,m4 ,the ,girl in ,her ,teens1 p4 #bj4 #bd4 ,wooley1 ,h4,t4 ,facts ,about the ,working ,children of ,cincinnati1 ,elementary ,school ,teacher1 #ad3ace4 #be4 ,report of ,commission on ,industrial and ,technical ,education 7,mass471 #aijf1 p4 #ib4 #bf4 ,barrows1 ,alice ,p4 ,report of ,vocational ,guidance ,survey 7,new ,york ,city71 ,public ,education ,association1 ,new ,york ,city1 ,bull4 ,no4 #i1 #aiab4 #bg4 ,holley1 ,c4,e4 ,the ,relationship ,between ,persistence in ,school and ,home ,conditions1 ,fifteenth ,yearbook1 ,pt4 ,,ii1 p4 #ih4 #bh4 ,bliss1 ,d4,c4 ,high ,school ,failures1 ,educational ,administration and ,supervision1 ,vol4 ,,iii4 #bi4 ,annual ,report of ,board of ,education1 ,paterson1 #aiae4 #cj4 ,wood1 ,j4,w4 ,a ,study of ,failures1 ,school and ,society1 ,i1 #fgi4 #ca4 ,johnson1 ,f4,w4 ,a ,study of ,high ,school ,grades1 ,school ,review1 #ai-ac4 #cb4 ,strayer1 ,g4,d41 ,coffman1 ,l4,d41 ,prosser1 ,c4,a4 ,report of a ,survey of the ,school ,system of ,st4 ,paul1 #aiag4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,how ,,much ,,is ,,the ,,graduation ,,or ,,the ,,persistence ,,in ,,school ,,conditioned ,,by ,,the ,,occurrence ,,or ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures8 #a4 ,,comparison ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,and ,,the ,,non-,,failing ,,groups ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,graduation ,,and ,,persistence ,it has been noted in section #a of ,chapter ,,ii that #eh4a per cent of all the graduates have school failures4 ,here we mean to carry the analysis and comparison in reference to graduation and failure somewhat further4 ,to this end the following distribution is significant4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,in ,,reference ,,to ,,failure ,,and ,,graduation ,the ,non-failing ,the ,failing ,pupils--,graduating ,pupils--,graduating ,totals #befh #haa 7#ca4e7 #cegc #aabe 7#ca4e7 ,boys #ajja #cjg 7#cj4f7 #afde #dhi 7#bi4g7 ,girls #aefg #ejd 7#cb4a7 #aibh #fci 7#cc4j7 ,we have presented here the numbers that graduate without failures1 together with the total group to which they belong1 and the same for the graduates who have failed4 ,by a mere process of subtraction we may determine the number of non-graduates1 as well as the number of these that fail1 and then compute the percentage of the non-graduates who fail4 ,thus we get #eh4b per cent 7boys--#fb4e1 girls--#ed4i7 as the percentage of the non-graduates failing4 ,it is apparent at once that this is almost identical with the percentage of failure for the ones who graduate 7,chapter ,,ii71 but for the non-graduates the boys and girls are a little further apart4 ,it may be remarked in this connection that no effort was made to include any of the #hjh non-credited pupils among the ones who fail4 ,the inclusion of #fj per cent of this number as potentially failing pupils1 as was done in ,chapter ,,ii1 will raise the above percentage of failing non-graduates by #aa4e per cent4 ,the above distribution of pupils enables us to determine what percentage of the failing and of the non-failing groups graduate4 ,these percentages are identical--#ca4e per cent in each case4 ,the boys and girls are further apart in the former group 7boys--#bi4g1 girls--#cc7 than in the latter group 7boys--#cj4f1 girls--#cb4a74 ,it follows1 then1 that the percentage who graduate of all the original entrants is #ca4e per cent4 ,this fact varies by schools from #bj4h per cent to #de4d per cent4 ,and such percentage is in each case exclusive of the pupils who join the class by transfers from other schools or classes4 ,our particular interest is not in how many pupils the school graduates in any year1 but rather in how many of the entering pupils in any one year stay to graduate4 ,the greater persistence of the failing non-graduates1 or the greater failing for the more persistent non-graduates1 has already been given some attention in both ,chapters ,,ii and ,,iii4 ,in the following distribution the non-graduates alone are considered4 ,the number persisting in school to each succeeding semester is first stated1 and then the percentage of that number which is composed of the non-failing pupils is given4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,non-,,graduates ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,numbers ,,persisting ,,to ,,each ,,successive ,,semester ,,by ,,end ,,of ,,semesters #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj ,total 7#dbje7 #bghg #aieg #aegb #iii #gfa #cij #bcd #fj #bc #d ,per ,cent of ,non-failing 7#da4h7 #bd4e #bj4j #af4d #ac4i #ab4g #g4b #c4h #a4f #j 44 ,only #bj per cent of the non-graduates who remain to the end of the first year 7second semester7 do not fail4 ,although the failing non-graduates outnumber the non-failing ones when all the pupils who finally drop out are considered1 their percentage of the majority increases rapidly for each successive semester continued in school4 ,that the non-failing non-graduates are in general not the ones who persist long in school is shown by these percentages4 #b4 ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,,and ,,the ,,years ,,to ,,graduate ,the following table shows how the number of failures are related to the time period required for graduation4 ,the distribution in ,table ,,viii shows a range from #a to #be failures per pupil1 and a time period for graduation ranging from #c to #f years4 ,it is evident from this distribution that the increase of time period for graduating is not commensurate with the number of failures for the individual4 ,by far the largest number graduate in four years in spite of their numerous failures4 ,nearly #gj per cent of the failing graduates require four years or less for graduation4 ,the number who finish in three years is greater than the number who require either five and one-half or six years4 ,the median number of failures per pupil is #d4 ,the pupils with fewer than #d failures who take more than four years to graduate are not representative of any particular school in this composite1 nor are those having #aj or more failures who take less than #e years to graduate4 ,,table ,,viii ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,graduating1 ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,total ,,failures ,,each ,,and ,,the ,,time ,,taken ,,to ,,graduate ,,no4 ,,of ,,years ,,to ,,graduate ,,failures #c #ca_/b #d #da_/b #e #ea_/b #f ,,totals #j ,boys #bj #bc #bdd #ab #h 44 44 #cjg ,girls #ed #bf #chj #cj #ad 44 44 #ejd #a ,boys #b #aj #ei #g #b 44 44 #hj ,girls #e #h #hc #ac #e 44 44 #aad #b ,boys #b #b #fd #g #g #j 44 #hb ,girls #b #c #hh #aa #h #a 44 #aac #c ,boys #j #f #bg #e #d 44 44 #db ,girls #a #a #ec #f #c 44 44 #fd #d ,boys #a #a #dd #j #h #a 44 #ee ,girls #d #f #eg #h #d #a 44 #hj #e ,boys #j #a #da #b #c 44 44 #dg ,girls #a #b #bf #g #e 44 44 #da #f ,boys 44 #j #bi #f #c 44 #j #ch ,girls 44 #a #bi #c #h 44 #a #db #g ,boys 44 #b #ab #g #g 44 44 #bh ,girls 44 #a #ac #d #e 44 44 #bc #h ,boys 44 #j #ag #g #h 44 #a #cc ,girls 44 #a #af #i #g 44 #j #cc #i ,boys 44 #j #f #e #e #j #j #af ,girls 44 #a #g #h #h #a #a #bf #aj ,boys 44 #a #f #d #f #j 44 #ag ,girls 44 #a #ad #e #b #a 44 #bc #aa-ae ,boys 44 #j #i #ah #aa #j #a #ci ,girls 44 #a #aa #be #ad #a #d #ef #af-bj ,boys 44 44 #b #b #d #a #a #aj ,girls 44 44 #b #e #b #b #j #aa #ba-be ,boys 44 44 #a #j #j #a #j #b ,girls 44 44 #j #a #d #c #a #i ,total ,boys #be #df #efa #hb #gf #c #c #gif ,girls #fg #eb #ghj #ace #hi #aj #g #aadj ,in reading ,table ,,viii1 we find that #bj boys and #ed girls who have no failures graduate in three years2 #b boys and #e girls fail once and graduate in #c years2 #aj boys and #h girls have one failure and graduate in #ca_/b years1 and so on4 ,the median period is #d years for those with no failures and it remains at #d for all who have fewer than #i failures2 but the median time period is not above #e years for the highest number of failures4 #c4 ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,,and ,,the ,,semester ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,for ,,the ,,non-,,graduates ,the pages preceding this point have given evidence that the failing pupils are not mainly the ones who drop out early4 ,but we may still ask whether the number of failures per individual tends to determine how early he will be eliminated8 ,this question calls for the facts of the next table4 ,in this table the semesters of dropping out are indicated at the top4 ,the failures range as high as #be per pupil1 and it is evident that not all pupils have left school until the eleventh semester4 ,the distribution includes the #aaef boys and the #abib girls who failed and did not graduate2 also the #fid boys and the #ajfc girls who dropped out without failing4 ,the wide distribution of these non-graduates both relative to the number of failures and to the time of dropping out1 is forcibly brought to our attention by the table which follows4 ,,table ,,ix ,,distribution ,,of ,,the ,,non-,,graduates1 ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,total ,,failures ,,each ,,and ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,no4 ,,of ,,semester ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,failures #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj #aa ,,total #j ,b4 #dcj #acd #dj #da #ae #bd #g #c #j 44 44 #fid ,g4 #fdc #afc #hi #gh #bg #de #ab #e #a 44 44 #ajfc #ageg #a ,b4 #ce #ec #be #cc #ad #i #a #a 44 44 44 #aga ,g4 #df #fe #be #cd #ab #ab #d #c 44 44 44 #bja #cgb #b ,b4 #eb #eh #ah #cj #h #ag #e #f 44 44 44 #aid ,g4 #di #gi #ca #cf #ab #ag #c #c 44 44 44 #bcj #dbd #c ,b4 #dc #da #bb #bh #i #aj #e #a #j 44 44 #aei ,g4 #ed #eb #ai #cd #ah #ag #j #f #a 44 44 #bja #cfj #d ,b4 #bg #ca #ac #cb #g #aa #i #b 44 44 44 #acb ,g4 #cd #dc #bc #bi #aa #af #e #h 44 44 44 #afi #cja #e ,b4 #c #ac #ad #cj #aa #af #aa #d 44 44 44 #ajb ,g4 #b #ad #ah #bd #e #ac #c #e 44 44 44 #hd #ahf #f ,b4 44 #bg #h #bd #aa #af #aa #f #j #j 44 #ajc ,g4 44 #ag #ad #be #aj #aa #c #i #b #a 44 #ib #aie #g ,b4 44 #h #g #g #f #af #e #c #j #a 44 #ec ,g4 44 #i #c #ae #h #g #e #e #j #j 44 #eb #aje #h ,b4 44 #h #c #ad #f #aa #f #e #a #j 44 #ed ,g4 44 #aj #e #ae #g #aj #f #f #a #a 44 #fa #aae #i ,b4 44 #a #a #g #e #h #b #g #c #a 44 #ce ,g4 44 #j #b #g #h #i #b #d #a #j 44 #cc #fh #aj ,b4 44 #b #b #aj #b #g #f #aj #j 44 44 #ci ,g4 44 #b #a #f #e #i #d #d #j 44 44 #ca #gj #aa-ae ,b4 44 44 #a #h #g #bg #ad #bb #e #b #j #hf ,g4 44 44 #a #e #ab #bb #bj #bc #i #f #b #ajj #ahf #af-bj ,b4 44 44 44 #a #j #h #c #f #c #c #j #bd ,g4 44 44 44 #j #b #c #c #ab #f #b #b #cj #ed #ba-be ,b4 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #b #a #a 44 #d ,g4 44 44 44 44 44 44 #a #c #c #a 44 #h #ab ,,total ,b4 #eij #cgf #aed #bfc #aja #ahj #he #gh #ac #h #j #ahej ,g4 #hbh #ded #bca #cjh #acg #aia #ga #if #bd #aa #d #bcee #dbje ,table ,,ix reads in a manner similar to ,table ,,viii3 #dcj boys and #fdc girls1 having failures1 drop out in the first semester2 #ce boys and #df girls drop out in the first semester with a single failure2 #c boys and #b girls drop out in the first semester with five failures each4 ,for a small portion of these drop-outs the number of failures is undoubtedly the prime or immediate factor in securing their elimination4 ,it seems probable that such is the situation for most of those pupils who drop out after #ej per cent or more of their school work has resulted in failures4 ,yet a few of these pupils manage to continue for an extended time in school1 as the following distribution shows4 ,,drop-,,outs ,,failing ,,in #ej ,,per ,,cent ,,or ,,more ,,of ,,their ,,total ,,work1 ,,and ,,their ,,distribution ,,by ,,semesters ,,of ,,dropping ,,out ,,semesters #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj #bba ,b4 #ha #fi #ag #bd #g #ae #d #b #a #a #bfd ,g4 #ih #fh #bj #ce #ad #aj #e #h #e #a of ,total #cf4i #bh4b #g4f #ab4b #d4c #e4b #a4i #b4j #a4b 4#d ,this grouping includes #dhe pupils1 or #aa4e per cent of the total number of #d1bje drop-outs4 ,but whatever the part may be that is played by failing it is evident that it does not operate to cause their early loss to the school in nearly all of these instances4 ,it may be noted here that it is difficult to find any justification for allowing or forcing these pupils to endure two1 three1 or four years of a kind of training for which they have shown themselves obviously unfitted4 ,to be sure1 they have satisfied a part of these failures by repetitions or otherwise1 but only to go on adding more failures4 ,a device of 'superannuation' is employed in certain schools by which a pupil who has failed in half of his work for two semesters1 and is sixteen years of age1 is supposed to be dropped automatically from the school4 ,this device seems designed to evade a difficulty in the absence of any real solution for it1 and harmonizes with the school aims that are prescribed in terms of subject matter rather than in terms of the pupils' needs4 ,from the standpoint of the individual pupil his peculiar qualities are not likely to be fashioned to the highest degree of usefulness by this procedure4 ,it simply serves notice that the pupil must make the adjustment needed1 as the school cannot or will not4 ,notwithstanding the testimony furnished by the accumulation of failures shown in ,table ,,ix1 there are grounds for believing that for the major portion of all the non-graduates the number of failures is not a prime nor perhaps a highly important cause of their dropping out of school4 ,this conviction seems to be substantiated by the statement of percentages below4 ,,the ,,percentage ,,of ,,non-,,graduates ,,who ,,drop ,,out ,,with #j #a or #j #b or fewer #c or fewer #d or fewer #e or fewer ,failures ,failures ,failures ,failures ,failures ,failures #da4h #ej4f #fj4g #fi4b #gf4d #hj4h ,the fact that nearly #ha per cent of the non-graduates have only #e failures or less1 taken in comparison with the fact that approximately one fourth of the failing graduates have #h or more failures1 argues that the number of failures alone can hardly be considered one of the larger factors in causing the dropping out4 ,in a report concerning the working children of ,cincinnati1 ,h4,t4 ,wooley remarks#cc that two-thirds of our children leaving the public schools are the failures4 ,this seems to suppose failing a large cause of the dropping out4 ,but this investigation of failure indicates that the percentage of failure for those leaving is no higher than for the ones who do not leave4 ,a similar illustration is credited to ,o4,w4 ,caldwell#cd1 who makes reference to the large percentage of the failing pupils who leave high school1 without taking any recognition of the equally large percentage of the failing pupils who continue in the high school4 ,there is in no sense any intention here to condone the large number of failures simply because it is pointed out that they do not operate chiefly to cause elimination from school4 ,the above facts may lead to some such conviction as that expressed by ,wooley1#cc after giving especial attention to those who had left school1 that the real force that is sending a majority of these children out into the industrial field is their own desire to go to work1 and behind this desire is frequently the dissatisfaction with school4 ,a somewhat similar conviction seems to be shared by ,king1#ce in saying that the pupil who yields unwillingly to the narrow round of school tasks 444 will grasp at almost any pretext to quit school4 ,w4,f4 ,book tabulated the reasons why pupils leave high school1#cf as given by #a1jea pupils4 ,he found that discouragement1 loss of interest1 and disappointment affect more pupils than all the other causes combined4 ,likewise ,bronner notes#cg that the 'irrational' sameness of school procedure for all pupils often leads to serious loss of interest in school work1 discouragement1 truancy1 and disciplinary problems4 ,still it may be that the worst consequences of multiplied failures are not to those dropping out4 ,w4,d4 ,lewis observes#ch that the failing pupil speedily comes to accept himself as a failure1 and that the disaster to many who stay in the schools is greater than to those who are shoved out4 ,to the same point ,hanus tells#ci us that during the school period aversion and evasion are more frequently cultivated than power and skill1 through the forced pursuit of uninteresting subjects4 ,a pupil who acquires the habit of failing and the attitude of accepting it as a necessary evil may soon give up trying to win and become satisfied to accept himself as less gifted1 or even to accept life in general as necessarily a matter of repeated failures4 ,in a similar connection1 ,james ,e4 ,russell says1#dj the boy who becomes accustomed to second place soon fails to think at his best4 ,such psychological results in regard to habits and attitude accruing from repeated failures are both certain and insidious4 ,and an education which purports to be for all and to offer the highest training to each must abandon the inculcation of attitudes of mind so detrimental to the individual and to the very society which educates him4 #d4 ,,the ,,percentages ,,that ,,the ,,non-,,graduate ,,groups ,,form ,,of ,,the ,,pupils ,,who ,,have ,,each ,,successively ,,higher ,,number ,,of ,,failures ,by merely adding the columns of totals for ,tables ,,viii and ,,ix1 we are able to obtain the full number of pupils who have each number of failures from #a to #be4 ,we may readily secure the percentages for the non-graduates in each of these groups by referring again to the numbers in the totals column of ,table ,,ix4 ,the following series of percentages are thus obtained4 ,,the ,,percentage ,,formed ,,by ,,non-,,graduates ,,with #j1 #a1 #b1 #c1 ,,etc41 ,,failures ,,on ,,the ,,total ,,number ,,who ,,have #j1 #a1 #b1 #c1 ,,etc41 ,,failures ,no4 of ,failures #j #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h ,per ,cent #fh4d #fe4g #fh4e #gg4b #fi4j #fh4j #gj4f #fg4c #fc4e ,no4 of ,failures #i #aj #aa #ab #ac #ad #ae #af #ag ,per ,cent #fa4h #fc4f #fi4j #fa4b #ff4j #fe4c #gj4j #fa4e #fi4d ,that these percentages would be higher for the non-graduates than for the graduates 7that is1 above #ej per cent7 would certainly be expected by a glance at their higher numbers in every group of their distribution4 ,but it would hardly be expected by most of us that the percentages would show no general tendency to rise as the failures per pupil increase in number1 yet such is the truth as found here4 ,the reverse of these facts was found by ,aaron ,i4 ,dotey1 with a smaller group of high school pupils#da 7#a1cig71 studied in one of the ,new ,york ,city high schools4 ,still he also asserts that failure in studies is not a cause of elimination to the extent that it is generally supposed to be4 ,we may gain some advantage for judging the general tendency of the extended and varied series of percentages above1 by computing them in groups of larger size1 thus yielding a briefer series1 as follows3 7,a ,,condensed ,,form ,,of ,,the ,,preceding ,,statement7 ,no4 of ,failures #j #a to #d #e to #h #i to #ab #ac to #af #ag to #be ,per ,cent #fh4d #fg4f #fg4c #fc4i #fe4g #fi4d ,not only do the percentages of non-graduates not increase relatively as the numbers of failure go higher1 but there is a slight general decline in these percentages until we reach '#ag or more' failures per pupil4 ,then for '#ag to #be' failures per pupil there is an increase of only #a per cent over that for failures4 ,the number of failures does not seem directly to condition the pupil's ability to graduate or to continue to in school4 #e4 ,,time ,,extension ,,for ,,the ,,failing ,,graduates ,we shall now inquire further what extension of time for graduating characterizes the failing graduates in comparison with the non-failing ones4 ,the distribution according to the period for graduation for the #a1icf pupils who graduate was shown by the summary lines of ,table ,,viii4 ,in the same table the non-failing graduates are included 7but distinct74 ,no pupil graduates in less than three years and none takes longer than six years2 #i4h per cent of the number finish in less than #d years2 #ai4g per cent take more than #d years4 ,the small number that finish earlier than four years may be due in part to the single annual graduation in several of the schools4 ,some of the schools admitting two classes each year graduated only one1 and the records made it plain that some pupils had a half year more credit than was needed for graduating4 ,considering1 however1 that about #db per cent of the graduates had no failures1 they should have been able to speed up more on the time period of getting through4 ,they were doubtless not unable to do that4 ,but some principals hold the conviction that four years will result in a rounding out of the pupil more than commensurate with the extended time4 ,more than #ce per cent of those who did finish in less than four years are graduates who had failed from #a to #aa times4 ,in the conventional period of four years #gg per cent of the non-failing and #fd per cent of the failing graduates complete their work and graduate 7see p4 #ei1 for the means employed74 ,the percentages of non-failing graduates for each time period are given below4 ,,the ,,percentages ,,of ,,non-,,failing ,,graduates ,,for ,,each ,,period ,time ,period in ,years #c #a_/b #d #a_/b #e #a_/b #f ,per ,cent of ,non-,failing #hj4d #ej4j #df4e #ai4c #ac4c 44 44 ,this continuous decline of percentages representing the non-failing graduates shows that they have an evident advantage in regard to the time period for graduating4 ,their percentages are high for the shorter time periods and low for the longer periods4 ,but by reference to ,table ,,viii we quickly find that the slight extension of the time period for the failing graduates is not at all commensurate with the number of failures which they have4 ,the failures are provided for in various ways1 as ,chapter ,v will explain4 ,no striking differences are observed for the boys and girls in any division of this chapter4 ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,,iv ,the percentages of graduates and of non-graduates that fail are almost identical4 ,the percentages of the failing pupils who graduate and of the non-failing pupils who graduate are identical 7#ca4e per cent72 hence1 graduation is not perceptibly conditioned by the occurrence of failure4 ,the non-failing non-graduates do not persist long in school1 as compared with the failing non-graduates4 ,the short persistence partly accounts for their avoidance of failure4 ,as the number of failures per pupil increase for the failing graduates1 the time extension is not commensurate with the number of failures4 ,for #aa4e per cent of the non-graduates who fail in #ej per cent or more of their work1 failure is probably a chief cause of dropping out4 ,failure is probably not a prime cause of dropping out for most of the non-graduates1 as #hj per cent have only #e failures or fewer4 ,the worst consequences of failure are perhaps in acquiring the habit of failing1 and in coming to accept one's self as a failure4 ,the number of drop-outs does not tend to increase as the number of failures per pupil increases4 ,the time period for graduating ranges from three to six years1 with approximately #gi per cent of all graduates finishing in four years or less4 ,the failing graduates take1 on the average1 a little longer time than the non-failing1 but not an increase that is proportionate to the number of failures4 ,the boys and girls present no striking differences in the facts of ,chapter ,,iv4 ,,references3 #cc4 ,wooley1 ,h4,t4 ,facts ,about the ,working ,children of ,cincinnati1 ,elementary ,school ,teacher1 ,vol4 ,,xiv1 #ace4 #cd4 ,caldwell1 ,o4,w4 ,laboratory ,method and ,high ,school ,efficiency1 ,popular ,science ,monthly1 #hb-bdc4 #ce4 ,king1 ,irving4 ,the ,high ,school ,age4 #cf4 ,book1 ,w4,f4 ,why ,pupils ,fail1 ,pedagogical ,seminary1 #aa3bjd4 #cg4 ,bronner1 ,a4,e4 ,the ,psychology of ,special ,abilities and ,disabilities1 p4 #f4 #ch4 ,lewis1 ,w4,d4 ,democracy's ,high ,school1 pp4 #bh1 #cg4 #ci4 ,hanus1 ,p4,h4 ,school ,aims and ,values4 #dj4 ,russell1 ,j4,e4 ,co-education in ,high ,school4 ,is ,it a ,failure8 ,reprint from ,good ,housekeeping4 #da4 ,dotey1 ,a4,i4 ,an ,investigation of ,scholarship ,records of ,high ,school ,pupils4 ,high ,school ,teachers ,association of ,new ,york ,city4 ,bulletins #aiaa-ad1 p4 #bbj4 ,,chapter ,v ,,are ,,the ,,school ,,agencies ,,employed ,,in ,,remedying ,,failures ,,adequate ,,for ,,the ,,purpose8 ,the caption of this chapter suggests the inquiry as to what are the agencies employed by the school for this purpose1 and how extensively does each function8 ,the different means employed and the number attempting in the various ways to satisfy for the failures charged are classified and stated below1 but the success of each method is considered later in its turn4 ,one might think also of time extension1 night school1 summer school1 correspondence courses1 and tutoring as possible factors deserving to be included here in the list of remedies for failures made4 ,the matter of time extension has already been partly treated in ,chapter ,,iv1 while the facts for the other agencies mentioned are rather uncertain and difficult to trace on the records4 ,however1 they all tend to eventuate finally in one of the methods noted below4 ,,the ,,disposition ,,made ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,failures ,repeat ,school ,exam4 ,contin4 ,both ,total ,no4 the ,final or ,regents' ,discon4 or ,no ,repeat ,failures ,subject ,spec4 ,exam's4 ,substitution ,repet4 and or ,exam4 ,exam4 #hcdh ,b4 #cfie #hba #accc #bdga #bei #bca #ifab ,g4 #ejja #ajbe #ageb #aibi #bdi #cdd ,per ,cent of ,total #dh4d #aj4c #ag4b #bd4e #b4h #c4b ,it is obvious from these percentages that school practice puts an inclusive faith in the repetition of the subject1 as #dh4d per cent of all the failures are referred to this one remedy for the purpose of being rectified1 although one school made practically no use of this means 7see section #e of this chapter74 ,we shall proceed to find how effectively it operates and how much this faith is warranted by the results4 ,the cases above designated as both repeating and taking examination 7#c4b per cent7 have been counted twice1 and their percentage must be subtracted from the sum of the percentages in order to give #ajj per cent4 #a4 ,,repetition ,,as ,a ,,remedy ,,for ,,failures ,we already know how many of the failing pupils repeat the subject of failure1 but the success attending such repetition is entitled to further attention4 ,accordingly1 the grades received in the #h1fif repetitions are presented here4 ,,grades ,,secured ,,in ,,the ,,subjects ,,repeated ,,grades ,total ,repetitions ,a ,b ,c ,d ,,inc4 #cfie ,boys #fc #edg #ahfc #ajjc #bai #ejja ,girls #hc #gbd #beaj #accg #cdg ----------------- ,per ,cent of ,total #a4g #ad4g #ej4c #cc4c ,less than #b per cent of the repeaters secure ,a's1 while only about #a in #f ever secures either an ,a or a ,b4 ,the first three are passing grades1 with values as explained in ,chapter ,i1 and ,d represents failure4 ,of the repeated subjects #cc4c per cent result in either a ,d or an unfinished status4 ,it is a fair assumption that the unfinished grade usually bore pretty certain prospects of being a failing grade if completed1 and it is so treated here4 ,there is a difference of less than #a per cent in the failures assigned to boys and girls for the repeated subjects4 ,the hope was entertained in the original plan of this study to secure several other sorts of information about the repeaters1 but these later proved to be unobtainable4 ,the influence of repeating with the same teacher as contrasted with a change of teachers in the same subject1 the comparative facts for the repetition with men or with women teachers1 the varying results for the different sizes of classes1 and the apparent effect of supervised study of some sort before or after failing1 were all sought for in the records available2 but the schools were not able to provide any definite and complete information of the sorts here specified4 a4 ,size of ,schedule and ,results of ,repeating ,it would seem plausible that the failing pupils who were permitted and who possessed the energy would want to take one or more extra subjects to balance the previous loss of credit due to failure4 ,then it becomes important at once for the administrative head to know whether the proportion of failures bears a definite relationship to the size of the pupil's schedule of subjects4 ,a normal schedule for most purposes and for most of the schools includes1 on the average1 four subjects or twenty weekly hours4 ,in this study the schedule which each individual school claimed as normal schedule1 has been accepted as such1 all larger schedules being considered extra size and all smaller ones reduced4 ,for instance1 in one of the schools five subjects are considered a normal schedule even though they totaled #bd points1 which is not usual4 ,but in the other schools a normal schedule includes the range from #ah to #bb points irrespective of those carried in the subjects outside of the classification included in this study2 while above #bb points is an extra schedule and below #ah a reduced schedule in the same sense as above4 ,for the most part this meant that five or more of such subjects form an extra schedule1 and that three form a reduced schedule4 ,in this manner all the repeated subjects are classed as part of a reduced1 a normal1 or an extra sized schedule as follows4 ,,size ,,of ,,schedules ,,for ,,pupils ,,taking ,,repeated ,,subjects ,total ,reduced ,normal ,extra #cfie ,boys #acb #agfb #ahja #ejja ,girls #afd #bfhd #baec ,per ,cent of ,total #c4d #ea4a #de4e ,this distribution indicates that relatively few of the pupils take a reduced schedule in repeating4 ,for the succeeding comparison with the grades of extra schedule pupils1 those having a normal or reduced schedule are grouped together4 ,,grades ,,for ,,subjects ,,repeated ,,by ,,failing ,,pupils ,,who ,,carried ,a ,,reduced ,,or ,,normal ,,schedule ,total ,repetitions ,a ,b ,c ,d 44 #ahid ,boys #cd #bei #hid #eda #aff #bhdh ,girls #dd #cfa #acai #hdj #bhd ---------------- ,per ,cent of ,total #a4f #ac4a #df4g #ch4f ,in this distribution are the grades for #dgdb instances of repetition4 ,of these1 #ch4f per cent fail to pass after repeating4 ,it is not possible to say definitely how many of these pupils actually determine their schedule by a free choice1 and how many are restricted by school authorities or by home influence4 ,but certain it is that a policy of opposition exists in some schools and with some teachers to allowing repeaters to carry more than a prescribed schedule2 and in most schools at least some form of discrimination or regulation is exercised in this matter4 ,it will appear from the next distribution that a rule of uniformity in regard to size of schedule1 without regard to the individual pupils1 is here1 as elsewhere1 lacking in wisdom and is in disregard of the facts4 ,,grades ,,for ,,the ,,subjects ,,repeated1 ,,with ,,an ,,extra ,,schedule ,total ,repetitions ,a ,b ,c ,d 44 #ahja ,boys #bi #bhh #ifi #dfb #ec #baec ,girls #ci #cfc #aaia #dig #fc ---------------- ,per ,cent of ,total #a4g #af4f #ed4e #bg4b ,out of the #c1ied repeated subjects in this distribution1 #gb4h per cent secure passing grades1 #bg4b per cent result in failures4 ,this means that the repeaters with an extra schedule have #aa4d per cent fewer failing grades than the repeaters who carry only a normal or a reduced schedule4 ,they also excel in the percentage of ,a's and ,b's secured for repeated subjects4 ,in only one of the eight schools was the reverse of these general facts found to be true4 ,in one other school the difference was more than #b to #a in favor of the extra schedule repeaters as judged by the percentages of failure for each group4 ,it seems that at least three factors operate to secure superior results for repeaters with heavier schedule4 ,first1 they are undoubtedly a more highly selected group in reference to ability and energy4 ,second1 they have the advantage of the spur and the motivation which comes from the consciousness of a heavier responsibility1 and from which emanates greater earnestness of effort4 ,third1 it is probable that some teachers are more helpful and considerate in the aiding and grading of pupils who appear to be working hard4 ,it is1 at any rate1 a plain fact that those who are willing and who are permitted to take extra work are the more successful4 ,excessive emphasis must not be placed on the latter requirement alone1 as willingness frequently seems to be the only essential condition imposed4 b4 ,later ,grades in the ,same ,kind of ,subjects1 ,following ,repetition and ,without ,it ,next in importance to the degree of success attending the repetition of failing subjects is the effect which such repetition has upon the results in later subjects of the same kind4 ,by tabulating separately the later grades in like subjects for those who had repeated and for those who had not repeated after failure1 we have the basis for the following comparison of results4 ,it should be stated at this point that by the same kind of subject is not meant a promiscuous grouping together of all language or of all history courses4 ,but for languages a later course in the same language is implied1 with the single exception that ,latin and ,french are treated as though ,french were a mere continuation of the ,latin preceding it4 ,certain other decisions are as arbitrary4 ,greek1 ,roman1 and ancient history are considered as in the same class2 so are modern1 ,english1 and ,american history4 ,the general and the biological sciences are grouped together1 but the physical sciences are distinguished as a separate group4 ,the various commercial subjects are considered to be of the same kind only when they are the same subject4 ,all mathematics subjects are regarded as the same kind of subjects except commercial arithmetic which is classed as a commercial subject4 ,all the later marks given in what was regarded as the same kind of subject1 are included in the two distributions of grades which follow4 ,,later ,,grades ,,in ,,the ,,same ,,kind ,,of ,,subject1 ,,after ,,failure ,,and ,,repetition ,,of ,,the ,,subject ,total ,a ,b ,c ,d #bghh ,boys #bh #cjh #adda #ajaa #cdhi ,girls #cc #cjg #agdh #adja ,per ,cent of ,total 4#i #i4h #ej4h #ch4d ,this distribution shows a marked tendency for failures in any subject to be accompanied by further failures 7#ch4d per cent71 not only in the subjects for which it is a prerequisite but in subjects closely akin to it4 ,if this tendency to succeeding failures is really dependent upon thoroughness in the preceding subject1 then the repetition of the subject should offer an opportunity for greater thoroughness and should prove to be a distinct advantage in this regard4 ,when we compare the percentage of failures above with that in the following distribution1 we fail to find evidence of such an advantage in repetition4 ,the continuity of failures by subjects and the ineffectiveness of repetition are pointed out by ,t4,h4 ,briggs#db as found in an unpublished study by ,j4,h4 ,riley1 showing that after repeating and passing the subjects of failure1 #cc per cent of those who continued the subject failed again the next semester4 ,,later ,,grades ,,in ,,the ,,same ,,kind ,,of ,,subjects1 ,,following ,,failure ,,but ,,with ,,no ,,repetition ,total ,a ,b ,c ,d #abfi ,boys #e #ajb #fci #ebc #aaia ,girls #h #adg #ffi #cfg ,per ,cent of ,total 4#e #aj4a #ec4a #cf4b ,here the same pronounced tendency is disclosed for the occurrence of other subsequent failures in the subjects closely similar4 ,but for this distribution of grades1 secured without any preceding repetitions1 the unsuccessful result is #b4b per cent lower than that found for those who had repeated4 ,this group is not so large in numbers as the one above1 and undoubtedly there is some distinct element of pupil selection involved1 for it is not easy to believe that the repetition should work a positive injury to the later grades4 ,nevertheless1 our faith in the worth of unconditional repetitions should properly be disturbed by such disclosures4 c4 ,the ,grades in ,repeated ,subjects and in the ,new ,work1 for the ,same ,semester and the ,same ,pupils ,if it is granted that the teachers of the repeaters are equally good as compared with the others1 then the previous familiarity with the work that is being repeated might be expected to serve as an advantage in its favor when compared with the new and advanced work in other subjects4 ,but the grades for the new and advanced work as presented below1 and the grades for the repeated subjects as presented earlier in this chapter 7section #a71 deny the validity of such an assumption and give us a different version of the facts4 ,,the ,,grades ,,secured ,,in ,,new ,,work1 ,,at ,,same ,,time ,,and ,,by ,,same ,,pupils ,,as ,,the ,,grades ,,secured ,,in ,,the ,,repeated ,,subjects ,total ,a ,b ,c ,d #aa1jbi ,boys #bef #bbbe #eedc #cjje #aa1ida ,girls #aih #bjfd #ffjd #cjge ,per ,cent of ,total #a4i #ah4f #ec4a #bf4d ,the facts not only show a lower percentage 7by #f4i per cent7 of unsuccessful grades in the new work1 but they also show a higher percentage of ,a's1 of ,b's1 and of ,c's than for the repeated subjects4 ,there is definite suggestion here that often the particular subject of failure may be more responsible and more at fault than the particular pupil4 ,certainly uniformity and an arbitrary routine of tasks ignore the individual differences of interests and abilities4 ,but by their greater and their repeated failures in the same deficient subjects 7see p4 #ff7 these pupils seem to have reasserted stoutly the facts ignored4 ,they have been asked to repeat and repeat again subjects which they have already indicated their unfitness to handle successfully4 ,this pursuance of an unsuccessful method is not good procedure in the business world4 ,the doctor does not employ such methods4 d4 ,the ,number and ,results of ,identical ,repetitions ,it has become apparent before this that some pupils fail several times and in identical subjects because of their unsuccessful repetitions after each failure4 ,final success might at times justify multiplied repetitions1 but in such instances it becomes increasingly important that the repetition should eventually end in success after the subject has been repeated two1 three or four times4 ,if such is not the result1 then the method is at best a misdirection of energy2 or still worse it is an irreparable error1 expensive to the individual and the school alike1 which only serves to accentuate the inequalities and perversions of opportunity imposed by an arbitrary requirement of the same subjects1 the same methods1 and the same scheme of education for all pupils alike1 regardless of their capacities and interests4 ,in using the term identical it is intended to designate just one unit of the course1 as ,english ,i1 or ,latin ,,ii4 ,the following table will disclose the facts as to the success resulting from each number of such successive and identical repetitions per pupil4 ,,table ,x ,,the ,,numbers ,,and ,,results ,,of ,,repeated ,,repetitions1 ,,for ,,identical ,,subjects ,,no4 ,,of ,grades ,no ,per ,cent ,,repet4 ,a ,b ,c ,d ,grade ,totals ,failing #a ,boys #fb #ecb #agbg #hhj #baf #caag ,girls #hj #gjb #bcbi #aahj #cdb #dfcc #cb4e #b ,boys #a #ae #ajf #gg #c #bjb ,girls #c #ag #aed #hi #b #bfe #cf4f #c ,boys 44 #j #bf #cc #j #ei ,girls 44 #e #ai #cf #c #fc #ei4j #d ,boys 44 44 #d #aa 44 #ae ,girls 44 44 #h #be 44 #cc #ge4j #e ,boys 44 44 44 #b 44 #b ,girls 44 44 44 #e 44 #e #ajj4j #f ,boys 44 44 44 #j 44 #j ,girls 44 44 44 #b 44 #b #ajj4j ,tot4 ,boys #fc #edg #ahfc #ajjc #bai #cfie ,girls #hc #gbd #beaj #accg #cdg #ejja ,although a smaller number of pupils make each higher number of repetitions1 a higher percentage of each successive group meets with final failure in the subject repeated1 and the facts are indicative of what should be expected however large the numbers making such multiplied repetitions4 ,it seems almost incredible that pupils should anywhere be required or permitted to make the fourth1 fifth1 or sixth repetition of subjects so manifestly certain of leading to further disappointment4 ,it must be understood1 too1 that five and six repetitions means six and seven times over the same school work4 ,the existence of such a situation testifies to a sort of deep-seated faith in the dependence of the pupil's educational salvation on the successful repetition of some particular school subject4 ,it shows no recognition that the duty of the school is to give each pupil the type of training best suited to his individual endowments and limitations1 and at the same time in keeping with the needs of society4 ,such indiscriminate repetition becomes a matter of thoughtless duplicating and operates1 first1 to increase the economic1 educational1 and human waste1 where the school is especially the agency charged with conserving the greatest of our national resources4 ,second1 it operates to fix more permanently the habit and attitude of failing for such pupils1 and bequeaths to society the fruit of such maladjustments1 which cannot fail to function frequently and seriously in the production of industrial dissatisfactions and misfits later in life4 ,such probabilities are merely in keeping with the psychological fact that habits once established are not likely to be easily lost4 ,indiscriminate repetition is an expensive way of failing to do the thing which it assumes to do4 ,surely one finds in the preceding pages rather slight grounds to warrant the almost unqualified faith in repetition such as the school practice exhibits 7,table ,x71 or in the importance of the particular subjects so repeated4 ,there may be evidence in this faith and practice of what ,snedden#dc calls the undue importance attached to the historic instruments of secondary education 444 now taught mainly because of the ease with which they can be presented 444 and which may have had little distinguishable bearing on the future achievement of those young people so gifted by nature as to render it probable that they should later become leaders4 ,but such instruments will not lack direct bearing on the productions of failures for pupils whose interests and needs are but remotely served by such subjects4 ,a recent ruling in the department of secondary education1#dd in ,new ,york ,city1 denies high school pupils permission to repeat the same grade and type of work for the third consecutive time after failing a second time4 ,and further it is prescribed that students who have failed twice in any given grade of a foreign language should be dropped from all classes in that language4 ,our findings in this study will seem to verify the wisdom of these rulings4 ,another ruling that students who have failed successfully four prepared subjects should not be permitted to elect more than four in the succeeding term1 or if they have passed four subjects and failed in one1 should be permitted to take five only provisionally1 seems to judge the individual's capacities pretty much in terms of failure4 ,we have found that for approximately #d1jjj repetitions with an extra schedule1 however or by whomever they may have been determined1 the percentage getting ,a's and ,b's was higher and the percentage of failing was substantially lower than for approximately #d1gjj repetitions with only three or four subjects for each schedule4 ,it does not appear that the number of subjects is uniformly the factor of prime importance1 or that such a ruling will meet the essential difficulty regarding failure4 ,the failure in any subject will more often tend to indicate a specific difficulty rather than any general lack of 'ability plus application' relative to the number of subjects4 ,the maladjustment is not so often in the size of the load as in the kind or composition of the load for the particular individual concerned4 ,the burden is sometimes mastered by repeated trials4 ,but often the particular adjustment needed is clearly indicated by the antecedent failures4 #b4 ,,discontinuance ,,of ,,subject ,,or ,,course1 ,,and ,,the ,,substitution ,,of ,,others ,earlier in this chapter appears the number and percentage of failures whose disposition was effected by discontinuance or by substitution4 ,twenty-four and five-tenths per cent of the failures were accounted for in this way4 ,this grouping happens to be a rather complex one4 ,many of such pupils simply discontinue the course and then drop out of school4 ,some discontinue the subject but because they have extra credits take no substitute for it2 others substitute in a general way to secure the needed credits but not specifically for the subject dropped4 ,only a few shift their credits to another curriculum4 ,in some instances the subject is itself an extra one1 and needs no substitute4 ,for the graduating pupils only about #e per cent of the failures are disposed of by discontinuing and by substitution of subjects4 ,this fact may be due to the greater economy in examinations1 or to the relatively inflexible school requirements for completing the prescribed work by repetition whether for graduation or for college entrance4 ,in only one school was there a tendency to discontinue the subject failed in4 ,so far as failures represent a definite maladjustment between the pupil and the school subject1 the substitution of other work would seem to be the most rational solution of the difficulty4 ,a consideration of the success following a substitution of vocational or shop subjects1 to replace the academic subjects of failure1 offers an especially promising theme for study4 ,no opportunity was offered in the scope of this study to include that sort of inquiry1 but its possibilities are recognized and acknowledged herein as worthy of earnest attention4 ,in only two of the eight schools was any shop-work offered1 and only one of these could probably claim vocational rank4 ,apart from the difficulty in reference to comparability of standards1 there were not more than a negligible number of cases of such substitution1 due partly to the relative recency in the offering of any vocational work4 ,in this reference a report comes from ,w4,d4 ,lewis of an actual experiment#de in which fifty boys of the school loafer type 444 selected because of their prolific record in failure--as they had proved absolute failures in the traditional course--were placed in charge of a good red-blooded man in a thoroughly equipped wood work shop4 ,the shop failed to reach just one4 ,at the same time the academic work improved4 ,one cannot be sure of how much to credit the type of work and how much the red-blooded man for such results4 ,but we may feel sure of further contributions of this sort in due time4 #c4 ,,employment ,,of ,,school ,,examinations ,the school examinations employed to dispose of the failures are of two types4 ,the 'final' semester examination1 employed by certain schools and required of pupils who have failed1 operates to remove the previous failure for that semester of the subject4 ,the success of this plan is not high1 because of the insufficient time available to make any adequate reparation for the failures already charged4 ,of the #a1feg examinations of this kind to satisfy for failures1 #cj4g per cent result in success4 ,the boys are more successful than the girls by #d4e per cent4 ,this particular procedure is not employed by more than two of the eight schools4 ,the other form of school examination employed for disposing of failures is the special examination1 usually following some definite preparation1 and given at the discretion of the teacher or department head4 ,its employment seems also to be limited pretty much to two of the schools1 because for most of the subjects the ,regents' examinations tend to displace it in the schools of the ,new ,york ,state and ,city systems4 ,as only the successes were sure of being recorded in these tests we do not know the percentage of success attributable to this plan of removing failures4 ,it probably deserves to be credited with a fairly high degree of success1 for relatively few pupils 7less than #bjj7 utilize it1 and then frequently after some extra preparation or study--such as summer school courses or tutoring4 ,these two forms of school examinations jointly yield #cg4e per cent of successes on the number attempted1 so far as such are recorded4 #d4 ,,the ,,service ,,rendered ,,by ,,the ,,regents' ,,examinations ,,in ,,new ,,york ,,state ,whatever may be the merits or demerits of the ,regents' examination system in general for academic school subjects1 these tests certainly perform a saving function for the failing pupils1 by promptly rectifying so many of their school failures and thus rescuing them from the burden of expensive repetition4 ,a pupil's success in the ,regents' examination has the immediate effect of satisfying the school failure charged to him4 ,at the same time1 it is possible1 as is sometimes asserted1 that the anticipation of these tests inclines some teachers to a more gratuitous distribution of failing marks as a spur to their pupils to brace up and perform well in reference to the ,regents' questions4 ,however1 there is no trace of that policy found so far as the schools included in this study are concerned4 ,for the three ,new ,jersey schools considered jointly have a higher percentage of failing pupils1 and a slightly higher average in the number of failures for each failing pupil than have the three ,new ,york ,state schools4 ,but it is more probable that the attitude referred to operates to exclude the failing pupils from being freely permitted to enter the ,regents' tests in the failing subjects1 and thus to restrain them from what threatens to lower the school percentage of successful papers1 except that in ,new ,york ,city such discrimination is prohibited4#df ,on the percentages of success for these examination results teachers and even schools are wont to be popularly judged4 ,annual school reports may feature the passing percentage for the school in ,regents' examinations1 with a spirit of pride or rivalry1 but with no word of what that percentage costs as real cost must be reckoned4 ,it is interesting to note in this connection that the percentage of unsuccessful repetitions for the three ,new ,jersey schools is #ac4g per cent lower than for the three ,new ,york schools4 ,in addition to this1 for the latter schools #bb per cent more of the subject failures are repeated than for the former ones mentioned4 ,it is important also to bear in mind that the success percentage for the ,regents' tests is computed on the number admitted to the examinations--not on the number instructed in the subject4 ,the regulations are flexible and admit of considerable latitude in matters of classification and interpretation4 ,accordingly1 if it happens anywhere in the state that those who are the less promising candidates1 in the teacher's judgment1 are debarred from attempting ,regents' examinations by failing marks1 by demotion and exclusion from their class1 or by other means1 the school's percentage of pupils passing may be kept high as a result1 but the injustice worked upon the pupil in such manner is vicious and reprehensible4 ,yet the whole intolerableness of the practice will center in the rule for exclusion of pupils from these examinations because of school failure4 ,no one can predict with any safe degree of certainty that the outcome of any individual's efforts will be a failure in the ,regents' tests1 even though he has failed in a school subject4 ,if failure should happen to result1 it is chiefly the school pride that suffers2 if the pupil is denied a free trial1 he may suffer an injustice to aid the pretension of the school4 ,our school sanctions are not characterized by such acumen or infallibility as to warrant our refusing to give a pupil the benefit of the doubt4 ,he is entitled to his chance to win success in these examinations if he is able1 and it appears that only results in the ,regents' tests can be truly trusted to tell us that he is or is not able to pass them4 ,the facts depicted here may lead to the belief that the recorded success in ,regents' examinations may sometimes be artificially high1 due to the subtle influences at work to make it so4 ,in ,new ,york ,city absence is the sole condition for debarring any pupil1 since he must have pursued a subject the prescribed time4 ,such a ruling is highly commendable1 and it should not in fairness to the pupil be otherwise anywhere in the state4 ,the following distribution discloses that #gb4h per cent of the #c1jhe failing pupils who were recorded as taking the ,regents' examinations were successful1 and that #gh per cent of those succeeding passed in the same semester in which the school failure occurred4 ,,success ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,pupils ,,in ,,the ,,regents' ,,examinations ,pass the ,pass a ,fail ,first1 ,same ,semester ,later ,semester then ,pass ,only ,fail #accc ,boys #hji #adc #ch #cdc #ageb ,girls #idf #aic #aag #dif ---------------------------------------- -- ,per ,cent of ,total #gb4h #bg4b ,the divisions of the above distribution are distinct1 with no overlapping or double counting4 ,of the pupils who pass these examinations in a later semester than that in which the failure occurs1 a major part belong to the two schools which restrict their pupils mainly to a repetition of the subject after failing before they attempt the ,regents' tests4 ,otherwise many of them would pass the ,regents' examinations at once1 as in the other schools1 and would not need to repeat the subject4 ,it was pointed out in the initial part of this chapter that #c4b per cent of the instances of failure were followed by both repetition and examination4 ,in one of the two schools referred to #ij4h per cent of the pupils failing and later taking ,regents' examinations repeat the subject first4 ,that most of such repetition is almost entirely needless is suggested by the fact that only #b4a per cent more of their pupils pass1 of the ones attempting1 than of the total number reported above1 and that too in spite of the loss of pupils' time and public money by such repetition4 ,it may be1 and doubtless is1 true that an occasional omission occurs in recording the results after such tests have been taken1 but1 since it is the avowed policy of each school to have complete records for their own constant reference 7excepting that the practice of the smallest of the five units was not to record the ,regents' failures1 and for this school they had to be estimated71 the failing results would not be expected to be omitted more often than the successes1 so that only the totals would be perceptibly affected by such errors4 ,one may rightly be permitted to speculate a bit here as to the most probable reaction of the pupil in regard to his respect for the school standards and for the judgment and opinion of his teacher1 when he so readily and repeatedly passes the official state tests almost immediately after his school has classed his work as of failing quality4 ,perhaps it becomes easier for him to feel that failure is not a serious matter but an almost necessary incident that accompanies the expectations of the usual school course1 just as gout is sometimes regarded as a mere contingency of ease and plenty4 ,if such be true1 and the evidence establishes a strong probability that it is1 then it is not a helpful attitude to develop in the pupil nor one of benefit to the school and to society4 #e4 ,,continuation ,,of ,,subject ,,without ,,repetition ,a limited number of records were available in one school for the pupils who failed in the first semester of a subject1 and who were permitted to continue the subject conditionally a second semester without first repeating it4 ,not all pupils were given this privilege1 and the conditions of selection were not very definite beyond a sort of general confidence and promise relative to the pupil4 ,the after-school conference was the only specific means provided for aiding such pupils4 ,but #eb per cent of such subjects were passed in this manner1 and the subsequent passing compensated for the previous failure as to school credit4 ,,grades ,,for ,,failing ,,pupils ,,who ,,continue ,,the ,,subject ,,without ,,repetition ,a ,b ,c ,d #bei ,boys 44 #g #acc #aai #bdi ,girls 44 #c #aai #abe ------------------ ,per ,cent of ,total 44 #eb #dh ,a difference of judgments may prevail as to the significance of these facts4 ,although the passing grades secured are not high1 #eb per cent have thus been relieved from the subject repetition1 which on the average results in #cc4c per cent of failures1 as has been noted in section #a of this chapter4 ,a much more ingenious device for enabling at least some pupils to escape the repetition and yet to continue the subject was discovered in one school1 in which it had been employed4 ,briefly stated1 the scheme involved a nominal passing grade of #gj per cent1 but a passing average of #ge per cent2 and so long as the average was attained1 the grade in one or two of the subjects might be permitted to drop as low as #fj per cent4 ,then in the event of a lower average than #ge per cent1 it might be raised by a new test in the favorite or easiest subject1 rather than in the low subject4 ,by this scheme the grades could be so juggled as to escape repetition or other direct form of reparation in spite of repeated failures1 unless perchance the grades fell below #fj per cent4 ,by a change of administration in the school this whole scheme has been superseded4 ,but it had been utilized to the extent that the records for this school showed practically no repetitions for the failing pupils4 ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,v ,among the school agencies for disposing of the failures1 repetition of the subject is the most extensively employed4 ,thirty-three and three-tenths per cent of the repeated grades are repeated failures4 ,few of the repeaters take reduced schedules4 ,the repeaters with an extra schedule are more successful in each of the passing grades1 and have #aa4d per cent less failures than repeaters with a normal or reduced schedule4 ,in the later subjects of the same kind1 after failure and repetition1 the unsuccessful grades are #b4b per cent higher than for a similar situation without any repetition4 ,the grades in new work for repeaters are markedly superior to those in the repeated subjects1 for the same semester4 ,as the number of identical repetitions are increased 7as high as six71 the percentage of final failure rapidly rises4 ,the emphasis placed on repetition is excessive1 and the faith displayed in it by school practice is unwarranted by the facts4 ,relatively few of the failing pupils who continue in school discontinue the subject or substitute another after failure4 ,school examinations are employed for #aj4c per cent of the failures1 with #cg4e per cent of success on the attempts4 ,the ,regents' examinations are employed for #ag4b per cent of the failures1 of which #gb4h per cent succeed in passing1 and in most cases immediately after the school failure4 ,of those who continue the subject of failure without any repetition #eb per cent get passing grades4 ,no form of school compensation can be considered as adequate which does not adapt the treatment to the kind and cause of the malady1 as manifested by the failure symptoms4 ,,references3 #db4 ,briggs1 ,t4,h4 ,report on ,secondary ,education1 ,u4,s4 ,comm4 of ,educ4 ,report1 #aiad4 #dc4 ,snedden1 ,d4 ,in ,johnson's ,modern ,high ,school4 ,,ii1 #bd1 #bf4 #dd4 ,official ,bulletin on ,promotion and ,students' ,programs1 #aiag1 from ,assoc4 ,supt4 in ,charge of ,secondary ,schools1 for ,n4,y4 ,city4 #de4 ,lewis1 ,w4,d4 ,democracy's ,high ,school1 p4 #de4 #df4 ,ruling of ,board of ,supt's41 ,new ,york ,city1 ,june1 #aiag4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,do ,,the ,,failures ,,represent ,a ,,lack ,,of ,,capability ,,or ,,of ,,fitness ,,for ,,high ,,school ,,work ,,on ,,the ,,part ,,of ,,those ,,pupils8 ,in view of the fact that some of the pupils do not fail in any part of their school work1 there is a certain popular presumption that failure must be significant of pupil inferiority when it occurs4 ,that connotation will necessarily be correct if we are to judge the individual entirely by that part of his work in which he fails1 and to assume that the failing mark is a fair indication of both achievement and ability4 ,although the pupil is only one of the contributing factors in the failure1 nevertheless it happens that cherished opportunity1 prizes1 praise1 honors1 employment1 and even social recognition are frequently proffered or withheld according to his marks in school4 ,still further1 the pupil who accumulates failures may soon cease to be aggressively alive and active2 he is in danger of acquiring a conforming attitude of tolerance toward the experience of being unsuccessful4 ,therefore it is particularly momentous to the pupil1 should the school record ascribed to him prove frequently to be incongruous with his potential powers4 ,it has already been pointed out in these pages that the failures frequently tend to designate specific difficulties rather than what is actually the negative of 'ability plus application4' ,this does not at all deny that in some instances there appears to be the ability minus the application1 and that in other cases the pupils are simple unfitted for the work required of them4 #a4 ,,some ,,are ,,evidently ,,misfits ,there is a strong presumption that many of the #dhe pupils who failed in #ej per cent of their school work and dropped out 7reported in ,chapter ,,iv7 represent misfits for at least the kind of school subjects offered or required4 ,one cannot say that even hopeless failing in any particular subject is a safe criterion of general inability1 or that failure in abstract sort of mental work would be a sure prophecy of failure in more concrete hand work4 ,it is altogether probable that some of the individuals in the above number were not endowed to profit by an academic high school course1 and that others were the restless ones at a restless age1 who just would not fit in1 whatever their abilities4 ,but even of these pupils a considerable number display sufficient resourcefulness to satisfy many of their failures and to persist in school two1 three1 or four years4 ,there are perhaps at least a few others who1 without failing1 drop out early1 prompted by the conviction of their own unfitness to succeed in the high school4 ,yet collectively this group is by no means a large one4 ,this conclusion is in harmony with the judgment of former ,superintendent ,maxwell1 of ,new ,york ,city1#dg who stated that the number of children leaving school because they have not the native ability to cope with high school studies1 is1 in my judgment1 small4 ,likewise ,van ,denburg#dh reached the conclusion that at least #ge per cent of the pupils who enter 7high school7 have the brains1 the native ability to graduate1 if they chose to apply themselves4 ,with many who fail not even is the application lacking1 as the facts of section #b will seem to prove4 #b4 ,,most ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,pupils ,,lack ,,neither ,,ability ,,or ,,earnestness ,when we take into account that by the processes of selection and elimination only thirty to forty per cent of the pupils who enter the elementary school ever reach high school1#di it is readily admitted that the high school population is a selected group1 of approximately #a in #c4 ,then of this number we again select less than #a in #c to graduate4 ,this gives a #a in #i selection1 let us say1 of the elementary school entrants4 ,for relatively few general purposes in life may we expect to find so high a degree of selection4 ,yet in this #a in #i group 7who graduate7 the percentage of the failing pupils is as high as that of the non-failing ones1 and the percentage of graduates does not drop even as the number of failures rise4 ,so far as ability is required to meet the conditions of graduation they are manifestly provided with it4 ,following this comparison still further1 the failing pupils who do not graduate have an average number of failures that is only 4#f higher than for the failing graduates 7#d4i-d4c72 but barring those non-graduates considered in section #a of this chapter1 the average is practically the same as for the failing graduates4 ,moreover1 the failing non-graduates continue in school1 even in the face of failure1 much longer than do the non-failing non-graduates4 ,that gives evidence of the same quality to which the manager of a ,new ,york business firm paid tribute when he said that he preferred to employ a high school graduate for the simple reason that the graduate had learned1 by staying to graduate1 how to 'stick to' a task4 ,the success of the failing pupils in passing the ,regents' examinations does not give endorsement to the suggestion that they are in any true sense weaklings4 ,that they succeed here almost concurrently with the failure in the school testifies that 'they can if they will1' or conversely1 as regards the school subject1 that 'they can but they won't4' ,of course it is possible that differences in the type of examinations or in the standards of judgment as employed by the school and the ,regents may be a factor in the difference of results secured4 ,the great difficulty then seems to resolve itself into a technical problem of more successfully enlisting the energy and ability which they so irrefutably do possess in order to secure better school results1 but perhaps in work that is better adapted to them4 ,again1 the success with which these pupils carry a schedule of five or six subjects1 besides other work not recognized in the treatment of this study1 and retrieve themselves in the unattractive subjects of failure pleads for a recognition of their ability and enterprise4 ,their difficulty is without doubt frequently more physiological than psychological1 except as they are the victims of a false psychology1 that either disregards or misapplies the principles which ,thorndike terms the law of readiness#ej to respond and the law of effect1 and consequently depend largely on the one law of exercise of the function to secure the desired results4 ,some additional evidence that the failing pupils can and do succeed in most of their subjects is provided by their earlier and later records1 as disclosed by the total grades received for the semester first preceding and the one next following that in which the failure occurs4 ,there were of course no preceding grades for the failures that occur in the first semester1 and none succeeding those that occur in the last semester spent in school4 ,it is quite apparent from the following distribution of grades that these pupils are far from helpless in regard to the ability required to do school work in general4 ,,grades ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,pupils ,,in ,,the ,,semester ,,next ,,preceding ,,the ,,failures ,total ,a ,b ,c ,d #ac1heg ,boys #cae #bhhc #fffh #ciia #ag1bfd ,girls #bde #bhfh #ieji #dfdb ,per ,cent of ,total #a4h #ah4e #eb4j #bg4g ,,grades ,,of ,,the ,,failing ,,pupils ,,in ,,the ,,semester ,,next ,,succeeding ,,the ,,failures ,total ,a ,b ,c ,d #ad1gbd ,boys #cai #bggb #gdjf #dbbg #af1idb ,girls #bha #bghh #iaad #dgei ,per ,cent of ,total #a4i #ag4g #eb4a #bh4c ,more than #bj per cent of the grades in the former and nearly #bj per cent of the grades in the latter distribution are ,a's or ,b's1 #eb per cent more in each case are given a lower passing grade1 while approximately #bh per cent in each distribution have failing grades4 ,though some tendency toward a continuity of failures is apparent1 there is also evident a pronounced tendency in the main for pupils to succeed4 ,that these same pupils could do better is not open to doubt4 ,teachers in two of the larger schools asserted that with many pupils a kind of complacency existed to feel satisfied with a ,c1 and to consider greater effort for the sake of higher passing marks as a waste of time4 ,such pupils openly advocate a greater number of subjects with at least a minimum passing mark in each1 in preference to fewer subjects and the higher grades1 which they claim count no more in essential credit than a lower passing grade4 ,that attitude may account for some of the low marks as well as for some of the failures shown above1 even though the pupils may possess an abundance of mental ability4 ,still another element1 apart from the real ability of the pupils1 which is contributory to school failures is found in punitive marking or in the giving of a failing grade for disciplinary effect4 ,it is probably a relatively small element1 but it is difficult to establish any certain estimate of its amount4 ,numerous teachers are ready to assert its reality in practice4 ,two cases came directly to the author's personal attention by mere chance--one1 by the frank statement of a teacher who had used this weapon2 another1 by the ready advice of an older to a younger teacher1 in the midst of recording marks1 to fail a boy because he was too fresh4 ,the advice was followed4 ,such a practice1 however prevalent1 is intolerable and indefensible4 ,if the school failure is to be administered as a retaliation or convenience by the teacher1 how is the moral or educational welfare of the pupil to be served thereby8 ,it is certain to be more efficacious for vengeance than for purposes of reforming the individual if employed in this way4 ,the ,regents' rules take recognition of this inclination toward a perversion of the function of examination by forbidding any exclusion from ,regents' examinations as a means of discipline4 ,many teachers cultivate a finesse for discerning weaknesses and faults1 without perceiving the immeasurable advantage of being able to see the pupils' excellences4 ,in one school there was employed a plan by which a percentage discount was charged for absence1 and in some instances it reduced a passing mark to a failing mark4 ,this comes close to the assignment of marks of failure for penalizing purposes1 which is unjustified and vicious4 ,it is certain that some of the pupils are failures only in the narrow academic sense4 ,information in reference to a few such cases was volunteered by principals1 without any effort being made to trace such pupils in general4 ,one of the pupils in this study who had graduated after failing #bc times1 was able to enter a reputable college1 and had reached the junior year at the time of this study4 ,two others with a record of more than #bj failures each had made a decided success in business--one as an automobile salesman and manager1 the other in a telegraph office4 ,it is not unrecognized that the school has many notable failures to indicate how even the fittest sometimes do not survive the school routine4 ,among such cases were ,darwin1 ,beecher1 ,seward1 ,pasteur1 ,linnaeus1 ,webster1 ,edison1 and ,george ,eliot1 who were classed by their schools as stupid or incompetent4#ea ,in reference to the pupil's responsibility for the failures1 ,thorndike remarks#eb that something in the mental or social and economic status of the pupil who enters high school1 or in the particular kind of education given in the ,united ,states1 is at fault4 ,the fact that the elimination is so great in the first year of the high school gives evidence that a large share of the fault lies with the kind of education given in the ,united ,states4 ,some of the facts for those are not eliminated so early are still more definitely indicative that something is wrong with the kind of education given1 as the facts of the following section seem to point out4 #c4 ,,the ,,school ,,emphasis ,,and ,,the ,,school ,,failures ,,are ,,both ,,culminative ,,in ,,particular ,,school ,,subjects ,as soon as we find any subject forced upon all pupils alike as a school requirement we may be quite sure that it will not meet the demands of the individual aptitudes and capacities of some portion of those pupils4 ,as a result an accumulation of failures will tend to mark out such a uniformly required subject1 whether it be mathematics1 science or ,latin4 ,it was pointed out in section #d of ,chapter ,,ii that ,latin and mathematics1 although admittedly in charge of teachers ranking with the best1 have both a high percentage of the total failures and the highest percentage of failures reckoned on the number taking the subject4 ,in both regards there is a heaping up of failures for those two subjects1 but furthermore there is an arbitrary emphasis culminating in these two subjects beyond any others excepting that ,english is a very generally required subject4 ,in reference to these two required subjects the pupils who graduate are not more successful than those who do not4 ,when the emphasis is on the teaching of the subject rather than on the teaching of the pupil there is no incongruity in making the subject a requirement for all1 but both are incongruous with what psychology has more lately recognized and pointed out as to the wide range of individual differences4 ,a similar situation is evidenced by the percentage of failure in science as reported for the ,st4 ,louis high school in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,a year of physics had been made compulsory for all1 and taught in the second year4#ec ,its percentage of failures accordingly mounts to the highest place4 ,mr4 ,meredith1 who conducted that portion of the survey1 rightly regards the policy as a mistake1 and recommends that the needs of individual pupils be considered4 ,it is indeed striking how failures of the pupils are grouped under particular subjects of difficulty1 and how the pupils fail again and again in the same general subject4 ,no educational expert would seem to be needed to diagnose a goodly number of these chronic cases of failing and to detect a productive source of the whole trouble if only the following distribution were presented to him4 ,,distribution ,,of ,,pupils ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,number ,,of ,,times ,,they ,,have ,,failed ,,in ,,the ,,same ,,subject ,no4 of ,times #a #b #c #d #e #f #g #h #i #aj #aa #ab #ad ,boys #bheb #adaf #dbe #aif #gc #be #b #d #a #a #a #j #a ,girls #bhab #agbb #eja #bej #ih #ca #g #h #c #a #j #c #j ,by 'same subjects' the same general divisions are designated1 as ,english1 ,latin1 mathematics4 ,we may be led to note first that a major portion of the above distribution of pupils belongs to those who fail but once in the same subject2 but then we note that by far the greater number of failures comprised by that distribution belong to those who fail two or more times in the same subject4 ,to state that fact more specifically1 #fh4e per cent of the total #ag1ifj failures involved in this study are made by two or more failures in the same subject1 while #ca4e per cent of the failures belong to a more promiscuous and varied collection of failures1 of not more than one in any subject4 ,it will be noted here that some subjects do not have a greater continuity than one year or even one semester on the school program4 ,such subjects provide the least possibility of successive failures in the same field4 ,a further analysis shows that the failures incurred by three or more instances occurring in the same subject form #cc4f per cent of the entire number2 and that #ah per cent of the total is comprised of four or more instances of failure in the same subject4 ,there is small probability that such a multiplication of failures by subjects will characterize the subjects which are least productive of failures in general1 and such is not the case in fact4 ,latin and mathematics are again the chief contributors1 and this would seem to be a fact also for those schools quoted from outside of this study1 for purposes of comparison in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,the above distribution speaks with graphic eloquence of how the school tends to focus emphasis on the subject prescribed and then to demand that the pupil be fitted or become fitted to the courses offered4 ,such heaping up of failures will more likely mark those subjects which seem to the pupil to be furthest from meeting his needs and appealing to his interests4 ,in two of the schools studied1 an ,x1 ,y1 and ,z division was formed in certain difficult subjects for the failing pupils1 by which they take three semesters to complete two semesters of work4 ,this plan1 as judged by results1 is obviously insufficient for such pupils and tends to prove further that the kind of work is more at fault in the matter of failing than is the amount4 ,frequently a pupil who fails in the ,a semester 7first7 will also fail in the ,x division of that subject as he repeats it1 while at the same time his work is perhaps not inferior in the other subjects4 ,the data for these special divisions were not kept distinct in transcribing the records1 so that it is not possible to offer the tabulated facts here4 ,there are numerous recognized illustrations of how some pupils find some particular subject as history1 mathematics1 or language distinctively difficult for them4 #d4 ,,an ,,indictment ,,against ,,the ,,subject-,,matter ,,and ,,the ,,teaching ,,ends1 ,,as ,,factors ,,in ,,producing ,,failures ,the evidence already disclosed to the effect that the high school entrants are highly selected1 that few of the failing pupils lack sufficient ability for the work1 that they have manifested their ability and energy in diverse ways1 and that particular subjects are unduly emphasized and by the uniformity of their requirement cause much maladjustment1 largely contributing to the harvest of failures1 seems to warrant an indictment against both the subject-matter and the teaching ends for factoring so prominently in the production of failures4 ,there is clearly an administrative and curriculum problem involved here in the sense that not a few of the failures seem to represent the cost at which the machinery operates4 ,this is in no sense intended as a challenge to any subject to defend its place in the high school curriculum1 but it is meant to challenge the policy of the indiscriminate requirement of any subject for all pupils1 allowing only that ,english of some kind will usually be a required subject for the great majority of the pupils4 ,it is simply demanded that ,latin and mathematics shall stand on their own merits1 and that the same shall apply to history and science or other subjects of the curriculum4 ,so far as they are taught each should be taught as earnestly and as efficiently as possible2 but it should not be asked that any teacher take the responsibility for the unwilling and unfitted members of a class who are forced into the subject by an arbitrary ruling which regards neither the motive1 the interest or the fitness of the individual4 ,this indictment extends likewise to the teaching method or purpose which focalizes the teachers' attention and energy chiefly on the subject4 ,certain basic assumptions1 now pretty much discredited1 have led to the avowed teaching of the subject for its own sake1 and often without much regard to any definite social utility served by it4 ,this charge seems to find an instance in the handling of the subject of ,english so that #af4e per cent of all the failures are contributed by it1 without giving even the graduate a mastery of direct1 forceful speech1 as is so generally testified4 ,strangely enough1 except in the light of such teaching ends1 the pupils who stay through the upper years and to graduate have more failures in certain subjects than the non-graduates who more generally escape the advanced classes of these subjects4 ,the traditional standards of the high school simply do not meet the dominant needs of the pupils either in the subject-content or in the methods employed4 ,some of these traditional methods and studies are the means of working disappointment and probably of inculcating a genuine disgust rather than of furnishing a valuable kind of discipline4 ,the school must provide more than a single treatment for all cases4 ,in each subject there must be many kinds of treatment for the different cases in order to secure the largest growth of the individuals included4 ,this does not in any sense necessitate the displacement of thoroughness by superficiality or trifling1 but on the contrary greater thoroughness may be expected to result1 as helpful adaptations of method and of matter give a meaningful and purposeful motive for that earnest application which thoroughness itself demands4 ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,,vi ,the pupil is but one of several factors involved in the failure1 yet the consequences are most momentous for him4 ,the pupils who lack native ability sufficient for the work are not a large number4 ,the high school graduates represent about a #a in #i selection of the elementary school entrants1 but in this group is included as high a percentage of the failing pupils as of the non-failing ones4 ,the success of the failing pupils in the ,regents' examinations1 and also in their repeating with extra schedules1 bears witness to their possession of ability and industry4 ,in the semester first preceding and that immediately subsequent to the failure1 #gb per cent of all the grades are passing1 #bj per cent are ,a's or ,b's4 ,many of them can if they will4 ,the early elimination of pupils1 the number that fail1 and the notable cases of non-success in school are evidence of something wrong with the kind of education4 ,the characteristic culmination of failures for ,latin and mathematics can hardly be considered a part of the pupils' responsibility4 ,of all the failures #fh4e per cent are incurred by instances of two or more failures in the same subject4 ,much maladjustment of the subject assignments is almost inevitable by a prescribed uniformity of the same content and the same treatment for all4 ,the traditional methods and emphasis probably account for more disappointment and disgust than for valuable discipline4 ,,references3 #dg4 ,maxwell1 ,w4,h4 ,a ,quarter ,century of ,public ,school ,development1 p4 #hh4 #dh4 ,van ,denburg1 ,j4,k4 ,the ,elimination of ,pupils from ,public ,secondary ,schools1 p4 #ahc4 #di4 ,annual ,report of the ,u4,s4 ,commissioner of ,education1 #aiag4 #ej4 ,thorndike1 ,e4,l4 ,educational ,psychology1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 ,chap4 ,i4 #ea4 ,swift1 ,e4,j4 ,mind in the ,making1 ,chap4 ,i4 #eb4 ,thorndike1 ,e4,l4 ,elimination of ,pupils from ,school1 ,u4,s4 ,bull4 #d1 #aijg4 #ec4 ,meredith1 ,a4,b4 ,survey of the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,schools1 #aiag1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 pp4 #ea1 #dj4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,what ,,treatment ,,is ,,suggested ,,by ,,the ,,diagnosis ,,of ,,the ,,facts ,,of ,,failure8 ,it is not the purpose of this chapter to formulate conclusions that are arbitrary1 fixed1 or all-complete4 ,there are definite reasons why that should not be attempted4 ,the author merely undertakes to apply certain well recognized and widely accepted principles of education and of psychology1 as among the more important elements recommending themselves to him in any endeavor to derive an adequate solution for the situation disclosed in the preceding chapters4 ,the significance of those preceding chapters in reference to the failures of the high school pupils is not at all conditioned by this final chapter4 ,since as a problem of research the findings have now been presented1 it is possible that others may find the basis therein for additional or different conclusions from the ones suggested here4 ,for such persons ,chapter ,,vii need not be considered an inseparable or essentially integral part of this report on the field of the research4 ,indeed the purpose of this study will not have been served most fully until it has been made the subject of discussion and of criticism2 and the treatment that is recommended here will not necessarily preclude other suggestions in the general effort to devise a solution or solutions that are the most satisfactory4 ,it appears from the analysis made in ,chapter ,,vi of the pupils' capability and fitness relative to the school failures that it is impossible to make any definite apportionment of responsibility to the pupils1 until we have first frankly faced and made an effective disposition of the malfunctioning and misdirection as found in the school itself4 ,it does not follow from this that any radical application of surgery need be recommended1 but instead1 a practical and extended course of treatment should be prescribed1 which will have due regard for the nature and location of the ills to be remedied4 ,anything less than this will seem to be a mere external salve and leave untouched the chronic source of the systematic maladjustment4 ,it is not assumed that a school system any more than any other institution or machine can be operated without some loss4 ,but the failure of the school to make a natural born linguist pass in a subject of technical mathematics is perhaps unfortunate only in the thing attempted and in the uselessness of the effort4 ,we must take into account at the very beginning the fundamental truth stated by ,thorndike1#ed that achievement is a measure of ability only if the conditions are equal4 ,corollary to that is the fact that the same uniform conditions and requirements are often very unequal as applied to different individuals4 ,the equalization of educational opportunity does not at all mean the same duplicated method or content for all4 ,that interpretation will controvert the very spirit and purpose of the principle stated4 ,any inflexible scheme which attempts to fashion all children into types1 according to preconceived notions1 and whose perpetuity is rooted in a psychology based on the uniformity of the human mind1 simply must give way to the newer conception which harmonizes with the psychic laws of the individual1 or else continue to waste much time and energy in trying to force pupils to accomplish those things for which they have neither the capacity nor the inclination4 ,it is accordingly obligatory on the school to give intelligent and responsive recognition to the wide differentiation of social demands1 and to the extent and the continuity of the individual differences of pupils4 #a4 ,,organization ,,and ,,adaptation ,,in ,,recognition ,,of ,,the ,,individual ,,differences ,,in ,,abilities ,,and ,,interests ,if the school failures are to be substantially reduced1 the teaching of the school subjects with the chief emphasis on the pupil must surely replace the practice of teaching the subjects primarily for their own sake4 ,this 'subject first' treatment must give place to the 'pupil first' idea4 ,no subject then will overshadow the pupil's welfare1 and the pupil will not be subjected to the subject4 ,education in terms of subject-matter is well designed to produce a large crop of failures4 ,neither the addition or subtraction of subjects is urged primarily1 but the adaptation and utilization of the school agencies so as to make the pupils as efficient and as productive as possible1 by recognizing first of all their essential lack of uniformity in reference to capacities and interests1--not only as between different individuals1 but in the same individual at different ages1 at different stages of maturity1 and in different kinds of subjects4 ,this conception precludes the school employment of subjects and methods for all alike which are obviously better adapted to the younger than to the older4 ,neither does it overlook the fact that the attitude of more mature pupils toward authority and discipline is essentialy different from that of the younger boys and girls2 that a subject congenial to some pupils will be intolerable and nearly if not quite impossible for others2 or that an appeal designed mainly to reach the girls will not reach boys equally well4 ,in brief1 the treatment proposed here is neither radical nor novel1 but it is simply the institution of applied psychology as pertaining to school procedure4 ,what the more modern experimental psychology has established must be utilized in the school1 at the expense of the more obsolete and traditional4 ,psychology now generally recognizes the existence of what the general school procedure implies does not exist1 namely1 the wide range of individual differences4 ,the situation clearly demands that our public schools shall not1 by clinging to precedent and convention1 fall notably behind industry and government in appropriating the fruits of modern scientific research4 ,as the doctor varies the diet to the needs of each patient and each affliction1 so must the school serve the intellectual and social needs of the pupils by such an organization and attitude that the selection of subjects for each pupil may take an actual and specific regard of the individual to be served4 ,the change all important is not necessarily in the school subject or curriculum1 but rather a change in the attitude as to how a subject shall be presented--to whom and by whom4 ,the latter will also determine the character of the pupil's response and the subject's educational value to him4 ,by securing a genuine response from the pupils a subject or course of study is thereby translated into pupil achievement and human results4 ,the authority of the school is impotent to get these results by merely commanding them or by requiring all to pursue the same subject4 ,an experience1 in order to have truly educational value1 must come within the range of the pupils comprehension and interest4 ,quoting ,newman1#ee ,to get the most out of an experience there must be more or less understanding of its better possibilities4 ,the social and ethical implications must somewhere and at some time be lifted very definitely into conscious understanding and volition4 ,the pupil's responsiveness is then much more important both for securing results and for reducing failures than is any subject content or method that is not effective in securing a tolerable and satisfying sort of mental activity4 #b4 ,,faculty ,,student ,,advisers ,,from ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,entrance ,not only the failure of pupils in their school subjects but the failure also of #ac per cent of them to remain in school even to the end of the first semester1 or of #bc4a per cent to remain beyond the first semester 7,tables ,v and ,,vi7--of whom a relatively small number had failed 7about #a_/d7--make a strong appeal for the appointment of sympathetic and helpful teachers as student advisers from the very time of their entrance4 ,one teacher is able to provide personal advice and educational guidance for from #bj to #cj pupils4 ,the right type of teachers1 their early appointment1 and the keeping of some sort of confidential and unofficial record1 all seem highly important4 ,superintendent ,maxwell mentioned among the reasons why pupils leave school#ef that they become bewildered1 sometimes scared1 by the strange school atmosphere and the aloofness of the high school teachers4 ,there is a strangeness that is found in the transition to high school surroundings and to high school work which certainly should not be augmented by any further handicap for the pupil4 ,there are no fixed limitations to what helpfulness the advisers may render in the way of 'a big brother' or 'big sister' capacity4 ,it is all incidental and supplementary in form1 but of inestimable value to the pupils and the school4 ,a further service that is far more unusual than difficult may be performed by the pupils who are not new1 in the way of removing strangeness for those who are entering what seems to them a sort of new esoteric cult in the high school4 ,the girls of the ,washington ,irving ,high ,school#ee of ,new ,york ,city recently put into practice a plan to give a personal welcome to each entering girl1 and a personal escort for the first hour1 including the registration and a tour of the building1 in addition to some friendly inquiries1 suggestions1 and introductions4 ,the pupil is then more at home in meeting the teachers later4 ,here is the sort of courtesy introduced into the school that commercial and business houses have learned to practice to avoid the loss of either present or prospective customers4 ,some day the school must learn more fully that the faith cure is much cheaper than surgery and less painful as well4 #c4 ,,greater ,,flexibility ,,and ,,differentiation ,,required ,the recognition of individual differences urged in section #a necessitates a differentiation and a flexibility of the high school curriculum that is limited only by the social and individual needs to be served1 the size of the school1 and the availability of means4 ,the rigid inflexibility of the inherited course of study has contributed perhaps more than its full share to the waste product of the educational machinery4 ,the importance of this change from compulsion and rigidity toward greater flexibility has already received attention and commendation4 ,one authority#eg states that one main cause of 7,h4,s47 elimination is incapacity for and lack of interest in the sort of intellectual work demanded by the present courses of study1 and further that specialization of instruction for different pupils within one class is needed as well as specialization of the curriculum for different classes4 ,there must be less of the assumption that the pupils are made for the schools1 whose regime they must fit or else fail repeatedly where they do not fit4 ,theoretically considerable progress has already been made in the differentiation of curricula1 but in practice the opportunity that is offered to the pupils to profit thereby is curtailed1 because of the rigid organization of courses and the uniform requirements that are dictated by administrative convenience or by the college entrance needs of the minority4 ,the only permissible limitations to the variables of the curriculum should be such as aim to secure a reasonable continuity and sequence of subjects in one or more of the fields selected4 ,one of the chief barriers to a more general flexibility has been the notion of inequality between the classical and all other types of education4 ,this assumption has had its foundations heavily shaken of late4 ,the quality of response which it elicits has come to receive precedence over the name by which a subject happens to be classified4 ,france has come out boldly and recognized at least officially the exact parity between the scientific education and the classical education4#eh ,indeed one may doubt whether this parity will ever again be seriously questioned1 because of the elevation of scientific training and accomplishment in the great world wars as well as in its adaptation for the direct and purposeful dealing with the problems of modern life4 ,especially for the early classes in the high school does the situation demand a relatively flexible curriculum1 else the only choice will be to drop out to escape drudgery or failure4 ,inglis maintains that the selective function of the high school may operate by a process of differentiation rather than by a wholesale elimination4#ei ,the pupil surely cannot know in advance what he is best fitted for1 but the school must help him find that out1 if it is to render a very valuable service1 and one at all comparable to the success of the industrial expert in utilizing his material and in minimizing waste4 ,the junior high school especially aims to perform this function that is so slighted in the senior high school4 ,yet neither the organization nor the purpose of the two are so far apart as to excuse the helplessness of the latter in this important duty4 ,there is apparently no constitutional impediment to a still further extension of the principle of flexibility and to the minimizing of loss by what has been a costly trial and error method of fitting the pupils and the subjects to each other4 ,short unit courses are not unfamiliar in certain educational fields1 and they lend themselves very readily to definite and specific needs4 ,their usefulness may be regarded as a warrant of a wider adoption of them4 ,although they are as yet employed mainly for an intensive form of training or instruction to meet specific needs of a particular group in a limited time1#fj the principle of their use is no longer novel4 ,a unit course of an extensive nature is also conceivable1 for instance1 a semester of any subject entitled to two credits might allow a division into two approximately equal portions4 ,if then both teacher and pupil feel1 when one unit is completed1 that the pupil is in the wrong subject or that his work is hopeless in that subject1 he might be permitted to withdraw and be charged with a failure of only one point1 that is1 just one-half the failure of a semester's work in the subject--or one-fourth that for a whole year with no semester divisions4 ,even if this scheme would not work equally well in all subjects1 it implies no extensive reorganization to employ it in the ones adapted4 ,it is not incredible that1 as the people more generally understand that physics1 chemistry1 and biology have become vital to national self-preservation and social well-being1 their emphasis as subjects required or as subjects sought by most of the pupils may lead to a high percentage of failures1 such as is found for ,latin and mathematics usually1 or for science as reported in ,st4 ,louis1 where it was required of all and yielded the highest percentage of failures4 ,now the teaching of most sciences by the unit plan will comprise no greater difficulty than is involved in overcoming text-book methods and the conservatism of convention4 ,the project device1 as employed in vocational education1 will also lend itself in many instances to the unit division of work4 ,the first consequence of this plan will be a reduction of failures for the pupil in those subjects whose continued pursuit would mean increased failure4 ,the second consequence may be to relieve teachers of hopeless cases of misfit in any subject1 for if the pupils no longer have intolerable subjects imposed on them the teachers will come to demand only tolerable work in the subjects of their choice4 ,the third consequence will probably be to encourage pupils to find themselves by trying out subjects at less risk of such cumulative failures as are disclosed in section #c of the preceding chapter4 #d4 ,,provision ,,for ,,the ,,direction ,,of ,,the ,,pupils' ,,study ,the forms of treatment suggested in the first three sections of this chapter for the diminution of failures will find their natural culmination of effectiveness in a plan for helping the pupils to help themselves4 ,this has been notably lacking in most school practice4 ,every improvement of the school adaptation still assumes that the pupils are to apply themselves to honest1 thorough study4 ,but the high school must bear in mind that good studying implies good teaching4 ,it cannot be trusted to intuition or to individual discovery4 ,real1 earnest studying is hard work4 ,the teachers have usually presupposed habits of study on the part of the pupils1 but one of the important lessons for the school to teach the pupil is how to use his mind and his books effectively and efficiently4 ,even the simplest kinds of apprenticeship instruct the novice in the use of each device and in the handling of each tool to a degree which the school most often disregards when requiring the pupil to use even highly abstract and complex instrumentalities4 ,the practice of the school almost glorifies drudgery as a genuine virtue4 ,e4,r4 ,breslich refers to this fact1#fa saying1 so it happens that the preparation for the classwork1 not the classwork itself burdens the lives of the pupils4 ,the indefensibleness of the indiscriminate lesson giving consists in the fact that it is not the load but the harness that is too heavy4 ,the harness is more exhausting and burdensome than the load appointed4 ,the destination sought and the course to be followed in the lesson preparation are very many times not clearly indicated1 lest the discipline1 negative and repressive though it be1 should be extracted from the struggle4 ,the fact is that discouragement and failure are too often the best of testimony that teachers are not much concerned about how the pupil employs his time or books in studying a lesson4 ,the point is illustrated admirably by the report in the ,ladies ,home ,journal1 for ,january1 #aiac1 of a request from a hardworking widow that the teacher of one of her children in school try teaching the child instead of just hearing the lessons which the mother had taught4 ,directing the pupils' study is sometimes regarded as a more or less formalized scheme of organization and procedure1 which requires extra time1 extra teachers1 and a lesser degree of independence on the part of the pupils4 ,but here too the important things are differentiation and specific direction as adapted to the needs of the subject1 the topic or the pupils4 ,it must be insisted that supervised study is not the same thing in all schools1 in all subjects1 or for all pupils4 ,in other words1 its very purpose is defeated if it is overformalized4 ,an experiment is reported by ,j4,h4 ,minnick with two classes in plane geometry1#fb of practically the same size1 ability1 and time allowance for study1 which indicated that the supervised pupils were the less dependent as judged by their success in tests consisting of new problems4 ,the pupils also liked the method1 in spite of their early opposition1 and no one failed1 while two of the unsupervised class failed4 ,william ,wiener also speaks of the wonderful self-control which springs from the supervised study program4#fc ,as to the need of extra teachers for the purpose there is not much real agreement1 since the plans of adaptation are so different in themselves4 ,increased labor for the same teachers will rightly imply greater renumeration4 ,colvin makes mention of the additional expense imposed by the larger force of teachers required4#fd ,but ,j4,s4 ,brown finds that the failures are so largely reduced that with fewer repeaters there is a consequent saving in the teaching force4#fe ,with a faculty of #ff teachers1 he reports #ch classes in which there was no failure1 and a marked reduction of failures in general by the use of supervised study4 ,it is interesting and significant to note here that by allowing #ajj daily pupil recitations to the teacher the repeated subjects reported in this study would require #hg teachers for one semester or #aa teachers for the full four years4 ,this fact represents more than #ej1jjj in salaries alone4 ,buildings1 equipment1 heat1 and other expenses will more than double the amount4 ,but such expense is incomparable with what the pupils pay in time1 in struggles1 and in disappointment in order to succeed later in only #ff4g per cent of the subjects repeated4 ,as none of the eight schools provided anything more definite than a general after school hour for offering help1 and which often has a punitive suggestion to it1 the possibility of saving many of these pupils from failure and repetition by the wise and helpful direction of their study is simply unmeasured4 ,a conclusion that is particularly encouraging is reported by ,w4,c4 ,reavis to the effect that the poorer pupils--the ones who most need the direction--are the ones that supervised study helps the most4#ff ,there is nothing novel in saying that good teaching and good studying are but different aspects of the same process1 but it would be an innovation to find this conception generally realized in the school practice4 #e4 ,a ,,greater ,,recognition ,,and ,,exposition ,,of ,,the ,,facts ,,as ,,revealed ,,by ,,accurate ,,and ,,complete ,,school ,,records ,it is unfortunate that the detailed and complete records which tell the whole story about the failures in the school and for the individual are found in relatively few schools1 even when on all sides business enterprises find a complete system of detailed records1 filed and indexed1 altogether indispensable for their intelligent operation and administration4 ,the school still proceeds in its sphere too much by chance and faith1 forgetting mistakes and recalling successes4 ,this is possible because there is no question of self-support or of solvency to face1 and because neither the teachers nor the institution are in danger of direct financial loss by their waste1 duplication1 or failures4 ,in the absence of records it is always possible to calmly assume that the facts are not so bad as for other schools which do report their recorded facts4 ,the prevailing unfamiliarity with statistical methods may also favor a skepticism as to their proper application to education1 since it is not an exact science4 ,but the fact remains established that it is always possible to measure qualitative differences if stated in terms of their quantitative amounts4 ,admirable and complete as are the records for the many schools of the minority group possessing them1 their more general value and information are still quite securely hidden away in the files which contain them4 ,peculiarly interesting was the surprise expressed by the principals at the extensive and significant information which their own school records provided1 when they received individual reports on the data collected and tabulated for this study4 ,yet they received only the portions of the tabulations which seemed most likely to interest them4 ,the principals do not have the time or the assistance to study in a collective way the facts which are provided by their own records1 but they are entitled to much credit for so courteously cooperating with any competent person for utilizing their records for approved purposes and in turn sharing their results with the school4 ,to proceed wisely in the administration of the school we must have a chance to know and discuss the facts4 ,it is not possible to know the facts without adequate records4 ,the absence of evidence gives prominence to opinion and precedent4 ,accordingly1 it is entirely incredible that the number1 the repetition1 and the accumulation of failures would remain unchanged after a fair exposition and discussion of the evidence presented in a collective and comprehensive form4 ,it may be necessary to admit that a few teachers will hold opinions so strong that they will discredit all testimony not in support of such opinions4 ,but the high school teachers in general seem fairly and earnestly disposed1 even about revising their notions concerning the truth in any situation4 ,in regard to the relative number and time of the failures1 the actual and relative success in repeated work1 the advantage of repetition for later work1 the relation of success to the size of the schedule1 the influence of the number of failures on graduation1 and numbers of other vital facts1 it could be said of the teachers in general that they simply knew not what they were doing4 ,they even thought they were doing what they were not4 ,the school records must be disclosed and utilized more fully if their value and importance are to be realized4 ,it will be a large source of satisfaction if this report helps to direct attention to the official school records1 from which a frequent 'trial balance' will help to rectify and clarify the school practice4 ,both are needed4 ,,summary ,,of ,,chapter ,,vii ,the contributing factors found in the school must first be remedied1 before responsibility for the failures can be fairly apportioned to the pupils4 ,the provision of uniform conditions for all is based on the false doctrine of the uniformity of the human mind4 ,such conditions may prove very unequal for some individuals1 and achievement is not then a real measure of ability4 ,by applying a functioning psychology to school practice1 more adaptation and specialization are required to meet the individual differences of pupils4 ,no change of subjects is in general necessitated1 but a change of the attitude which subjects pupils to the subjects seems essential4 ,the genuineness of the pupil's response depends on the pupil and the subject4 ,a policy of coercion will usually beget only dislike or failure4 ,properly selected student advisers1 appointed early1 may transform the school for the pupil1 save the pupil for the school1 and his work from failures4 ,a relatively high degree of flexibility and specialization of the curriculum will help the pupil find what he is best fitted for1 and thereby minimize waste4 ,this will include a virtual parity between the classical and scientific subjects4 ,the reduction of some subjects to smaller units will tend to facilitate flexibility and a reduction of failures4 ,the provision of directed study will help the pupils to help themselves4 ,good teaching demands it4 ,the harness is often heavier than the load4 ,failures are inevitable4 ,the plan of study direction must be varied according to the varying needs of pupils1 subjects1 and schools4 ,the poorer pupils are aided most4 ,they are made even more reliant on themselves4 ,the reduction of failures tends to balance any added expense4 ,records adequate and complete should be a part of the business and educational equipment of every school4 ,the exposition and use of these facts as recorded will then give direction to school progress1 and dethrone the authority of assumption and opinion4 ,,references3 #ed4 ,thorndike1 ,e4,l4 ,individuality1 pp4 #ch1 #ea4 #ee4 ,neuman1 ,h4 ,moral ,values in ,secondary ,education1 ,united ,states ,bureau of ,education ,bulletin1 ,no4 #ea1 #aiag1 pp4 #ah1 #ag4 #ef4 ,maxwell1 ,w4,h4 ,a ,quarter ,century of ,public ,school ,development1 p4 #hi4 #eg4 ,thorndike1 ,e4,l4 ,the ,elimination of ,pupils from ,school1 ,u4,s4 ,bureau of ,education ,bulletin1 ,no4 #d1 #aijg1 p4 #aj4 #eh4 ,farrington1 ,f4,e4 ,french ,secondary ,schools1 p4 #abd4 #ei4 ,inglis1 ,a4 ,principles of ,secondary ,education1 p4 #ffi4 #fj4 ,committee of ,n4,e4,a4 ,vocational ,secondary ,education1 ,u4,s4 ,bureau of ,education ,bulletin ,no4 #ba1 #aiaf1 p4 #eh4 #fa4 ,breslich1 ,e4,r4 ,supervised ,study as ,supplementary ,instruction1 ,thirteenth ,yearbook1 p4 #dc4 #fb4 ,minnick1 ,j4,h4 ,the ,supervised ,study of ,mathematics1 ,school ,review1 #ba-fgj4 #fc4 ,wiener1 ,w4 ,home ,study ,reform1 ,school ,review1 #bj-ebf4 #fd4 ,colvin1 ,s4,s4 ,an ,introduction to ,high ,school ,teaching1 p4 #cff4 #fe4 ,brown1 ,j4,s4 ,school and ,home ,education1 ,february1 #aiae1 p4 #bjg4 #ff4 ,reavis1 ,w4,c4 ,supervised ,study1 in ,parker's ,methods of ,teaching in the ,high ,school1 p4 #cih4 ,,vita ,,francis ,,paul ,,obrien was born at ,overton1 ,pa41 ,november #ab1 #ahhe4 ,he received his early education in the village school of ,overton1 ,pa41 and graduated from the high school at ,wilkesbarre1 ,pa41 in #aijd4 ,he was a student at ,lafayette ,college1 ,easton1 ,pa41 receiving the ,bachelor of ,arts degree in #aijh4 ,he was a graduate student at ,teachers ,college1 ,columbia ,university1 from #aiae to #aiah1 receiving the degree of ,master of ,arts in ,education in #aiaf4 ,during #aijh-ji he was high school teacher of science and history at ,south ,river1 ,n4,j42 #aiji-aj1 principal of the high school1 and #aiaj-ae superintendent of schools at ,south ,river1 ,n4,j4 ,he received honors and held offices in college as follows3 ,competitive prize scholarship at ,lafayette ,college1 and junior oratorical prize at the same college1 #aijg2 officer in college debating club1 #aijg-aijh2 vice-president of ,y4,m4,c4,a41 ,teachers ,college1 #aijg2 member of ,columbia chapter1 ,phi ,delta ,kappa1 #aiag4