RKCOKDS. 249 



therefore, in a four years' cduisc in an Academy or High .School, 

 some time which may be, and which actually is, occupied by 

 other studies than those required for admission to College. Many 

 Schools actually tlo include Science or Modern Languages in their 

 Classical Courses, although these studies are not now recjuired 

 for admission to most of the Colleges. Many .Schools include 

 more extended studies in English Literature than are required for 

 admission to College, or other advanced studies entirely outside 

 of the College requirements. A large number of Schools occupy 

 a considerable part of the iirst year with studies in the common 

 English branches, which should be completed in the Grammar 

 Schools. And a considerable number of the Schools devote the 

 greater part or the whole of the last term to reviews of the 

 studies of previous years — a time-wasting plan, whose justifica- 

 tion, if it ever had any, has been largely removed, since many of 

 the Colleges now accept certificates from first-class Prejiaratory 

 Schools in lieu of examination, and since nearly all the Colleges 

 allow preliminary examinations on the earlier portions of the 

 Preparatory Course. 



Among the Preparatory Schools from which sufficiently definite 

 information has been received, there are seventy-four which 

 appear to have substantially the normal four years' Preparatory 

 Course. In selecting this number of schools for further consider- 

 ation, we have rejected all those in which the time devoted to the 

 Course preparatory for College (as indicated by the period of com- 

 mencing Latin) is either more or less than four years; and have 

 rejected also those few schools whose Pi'eparatory Course is largely 

 elective, in adaptation to the peculiar requirements of Harvard 

 University. Of the remaining seventy-four schools from which 

 we have information, forty-seven include in their courses more or 

 less of Science, thirty-two include one or both of the Modern 

 Languages, fifty include miscellaneous advanced studies not re- 

 quired for admission to College, fifty-five occupy a considerable 

 time with common English branches, and fifty occupy a con- 

 siderable portion of the last year with reviews of the previous 

 years. It is a very noteworthy fact that, of the whole number, 

 there is not one which does not fill out its course in one or more 

 of the five ways specified. These facts, we claim, conclusivel}'^ 

 pro\e that the studies no\\ recpiired for admission to College do 



