536 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



ing them, under conditions to which he is accustomed, and not under 

 the harassing stress of a college entrance test. The work of the college 

 examining board is thus greatly reduced, and the responsibility for 

 the student's possible failure is borne by those who have taught him and 

 have deliberately vouched for him. The school is included in a special 

 published list only after careful inspection by the college authorities 

 or by a state official. If its pupils fail to maintain themselves credit- 

 ably after admission to college the school is dropped from the accredited 

 list, with danger to the principal, who may be displaced on the ground 

 of incompetence if he is the head of a public school. Such displace- 

 ment has been produced more than once in the northwest. If these 

 conditions are fulfilled there is little ground for complaint, except that 

 the applicant for admission does not take a general review of all his 

 work before entering college, and hence he has forgotten much of what 

 was once studied. On this account the formal entrance examination 

 is estimated to require about a year more of work than entrance by 

 certificate. 



But in some parts of our country, notably the southern and south- 

 western states, inspection of accredited schools is almost unknown. For 

 one college probably an accredited school is merely a school that can 

 furnish students, and admission by certificate serves the convenient 

 purpose of removing responsibility from the college authorities without 

 fixing it anywhere. The president knows his own interests, and avoids 

 expressing adverse criticism if a student admitted is found badly pre- 

 pared, because the principal may be offended and may advise his pupils 

 to go to another college. The principal of M. Academy finds young 

 A, who is a good athlete, determined to quit school and get into some 

 college team. He knows that a certain college is urgently in need of 

 athletes and not exacting about entrance requirements. He gives to A 

 a certificate which is accepted on sight, and no questions are asked. 

 The football season is better than usual, but A fails in the first examina- 

 tion season and drops out. Nobody is held blameworthy, and M. 

 Academy is encouraged to send more athletes whenever these can be 

 secured. It is not deemed important that four years of solid prepara- 

 tion should be insisted upon, but this would be very acceptable if an 

 entering athlete comes with such an unusual qualification. Even if he 

 has no perceptible preparation he may be admitted as a special student, 

 whose name helps to swell the registry list. One such is known to have 

 entered at the beginning of the baseball season, going off with the team 

 on the day after registration. On his return, when asked what were 

 his subjects of study, the sober reply was, "Latin, economics and 

 academics." Neither the professor of Latin nor of ecenomics ever 

 formed his acquaintance, and the professor of academics could not be 

 found. But all entrance requirements had been fulfilled for admission 

 to spherics, if this name be applied to ball play. The obvious moral is 



