has a larger percentage of individuals possessing the lower grades of mental ability. But 

 there are individuals in this class who obtain the highest intelligence rating made by 

 high school seniors. * * * 



It is still more significant that so many of this most superior group of high-school 

 seniors will not attend college, while those with the most inferior grades of intelligence 

 are planning to attend, in ever increasing numbers. Twenty-five percent of the brightest 

 seniors found in the entire State said they were not planning to attend college at all, 

 while 65 to 70 percent of the dullest seniors had definitely decided to go to college, 

 most of them having already selected the college they expected to attend. 



In Minnesota, it was shown that the probability of college attendance 

 for a high school graduate of high college ability who is the son or daughter 

 of a father employed in a professional or managerial group is several times 

 greater than that for the son or daughter of a farmer or unskilled laborer. 

 This study also showed that for every high school graduate who ranked in 

 the upper 10 percent of his high school class and enrolled in college, 

 another high school graduate who also ranked in the upper 10 percent did 

 not enter college. 



A Pennsylvania study showed that, in that State, dividing a sampling of 

 the youth of approximately equal high ability into two socio-economic groups, 

 93 percent of children of the upper socio-economic group were graduated 

 from high school and 57 percent attended college. But in the lower socio- 

 economic group, only 72 percent of the children were graduated from high 

 school and only 13 percent attended college. 



As emphasized, this report is concerned with discovering and developing 

 scientific talent, but in its proper setting and relationship to other needs for 

 talent for the Nation's welfare. In the report we shall suggest, as befits our 

 mandate, the appropriation of Federal funds to be applied only to the pur- 

 pose of discovering and developing scientific talent; but, as we have pointed 

 out, we recognize that there is need for the discovery and development of 

 talent in all lines and we point out that most of the plans and procedures 

 recommended herein for science are equally applicable to the discovery and 

 development of talent in other fields. 



What shall be done with Federal funds for the discovery and develop- 

 ment of talent, scientific and other, in American youth is for the wisdom of 

 Congress to determine. As taxpayers and as men concerned with the states- 

 manship of science, we have been deeply concerned with the question how 

 plans for the use of Federal funds for scientific development may be set up 

 so that Federal funds do not drive out of the picture funds from local gov- 

 ernments, foundations, and private persons. We think that our proposals 

 will minimize that effect, but, with proper candor, we do not think that our 

 proposals will be completely effective to avoid what we do not want to 

 happen. We think, however, that the Nation's need for more and better 

 science is such that the risk must be accepted. 



In this report, consonant with our mandate to make effective plans for 

 the discovery and development of scientific talent in American youth, we 

 recommend plans to assist able young men and women to carry their studies 

 from the end of high school through the doctorate. Beyond that we do not 

 go in our recommendations, not only because we do not think the word 

 "youth" ought to be stretched to include men and women of post-doctoral 



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