572 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



derstand, as students are reported as 

 studying on the average 1.8 studies in 

 1891 and 3.6 studies in 1901. In 

 answer to a request for an explanation 

 of these figures, the U. S. Commissioner 

 of Education has kindly replied as fol- 

 lows: 



I have your letter of recent date refer- 

 ring to the remarkable increase in the 

 numbers of students in certain studies in 

 the liigh schools since 1890. When this 

 office began to classify the statistics of 

 secondary schools more than fifteen years 

 ago it was found that many schools had 

 been reporting a large percentage of ele- 

 mentary pupils as in the high schools 

 when in fact they pursued no secondary 

 studies. It required several years to de- 

 vise a form of inquiry which would enable 

 this office to eliminate the elementary 

 pupils. 



It is probable that in 1890 a pupil was 

 reported as a secondary student if he had 

 one or more secondary studies. Now he 

 must have at least two secondary studies 

 to be so classed. (See marked form here- 

 with.) Every year we are able to get a 

 belter classification and by insisting on 

 answers to question 14 (the studies pur- 

 sued) we are able to eliminate the ele- 

 mentary pupils. The classification was 

 not so close in 1890. 



We now state in our summaries hoio 

 many schools reported students in certain 

 studies (see page 1652, report for 1902 

 sent under another cover). This was not 

 done in 1890. 



The three and a half subjects studied 

 (the average mentioned in your letter) is 

 not excessive. In many schools the mini- 

 mum required is four subjects' each year. 



If the fact that students were re- 

 ported in 1891 as studying on the aver- 

 age less than two subjects was because 

 certain elementary pupils taking only 

 one study were included and if high 

 school students on the average pursue 

 four studies, it would follow that ^about 

 70 per cent, of all students reported 

 in the high schools were elementary 

 students. This was of course not the 

 case, and with the data at hand we can 

 only conclude that in 1891 the studies 

 pursued by many students were not re- 



ported, and that we do not know what 

 percentage of students studied Latin 

 at that time. It may have been 60 per 

 cent. The percentage of students 

 studying Latin has probably decreased, 

 because relatively more students are 

 now prepared for the college scientific 

 course than for the classical course, 

 while at the same time the percentage 

 of graduates entering college has de- 

 creased. The percentage reported as 

 studying Latin has decreased since 

 1898 when the figures may be assumed 

 to have become more accurate. 



The decrease in the number of stu- 

 dents studying physics and chemistry 

 is not, however, so easily explained 

 away. It may be that in 1891 ele- 

 mentary students taking physics or 

 chemistry were reported, whereas but 

 few elementary students would take 

 Latin. The percentage of girls has 

 increased, and this would favor liter- 

 ary as compared with scientific studies. 

 The figures for zoology and botany are 

 not given, and in the increase of the 

 number of studies open to secondary 

 students, there would naturally be a de- 

 crease in the number studying each 

 subject. Still there is reason to be- 

 lieve that physics and chemistry as 

 taught in the high school and college 

 are not attractive to students. Indeed, 

 we have grounds for fear that the high 

 school course as a whole is not as use- 

 ful as it should be, especially for boys. 

 The figures given in the table show that 

 42.49 per cent, of secondary students 

 are boys, whereas the boys graduating 

 from the high school are only 34 per 

 cent, of the total number. Only about 

 20 per cent, of students — boys and 

 girls — entering the high school stay to 

 graduate, and in Boston only 10 per 

 cent, of the boys who enter the high 

 school remain as long as the fourth 

 year. 



