12 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 310 



taken. To further assure accuracy the child was asked to relax his position 

 between readings. The measurements were made with the child barefooted. 



At the e.\aminations in June and September 1932 and in June 1933 a series 

 of anthropometric measurements were also made, following the technic described 

 by Franzen (7). These included chest depth and breadth, shoulder and hip 

 breadth, calf and forearm girths, and subcutaneous tissue over the biceps and 

 triceps. Only the hip breadth is used in this report. 



Achievement Tests 



Mental or achievement tests were given in October and in May in all except 

 the first year in school A. During the year 1930-31, the Otis Group Intelligence 

 Scale was used, and the total scores rather than the I. Q.'s compared. The 

 next fall the plan was changed, and achievement instead of intelligence tests 

 were given. Again the total scores rather than the educational or intelligence 

 quotients were compared. The New Stanford Achievement Tests were given 

 to all above the first grade. These are prepared in a series of forms each pre- 

 sumably of equal difficulty. Forms V, W, X, and Y were used in the four suc- 

 ceeding examinations given. That the children might be compared at various 

 mental levels, one intelligence test was also given in the middle of the year. 

 The Haggerty Intelligence Examination was used for the second and third grades, 

 and the National Test for older children. The first grades were given the Pintner- 

 Cunningham Primary Mental Test in the spring and fall. The total scores 

 were used for comparing school progress and a mean of the fall and spring I. Q.'s 

 as indicative of their mental levels. The Otis tests given during 1930-31 were 

 administered by the principal in schools B and C and by the room teachers in 

 school D. All subsequent examinations were administered by one of the writers 

 (B. W.). 



Absences and Illness 



It is conceivable that a child might be absent from school less because of illness 

 if his nutritional condition were improved. Records were, therefore, kept of 

 the number of days each child was absent during the experimental period together 

 with the reasons, particularly colds and other illnesses. In an attempt to get 

 a more accurate estimate of the prevalence of colds, the number of children in 

 school with colds was noted each day from January first to June first during the 

 last two years. There was no time for a routine examination, but on a chart 

 provided for the purpose the room teacher recorded all cases in which the child 

 had an obvious head cold. As most of the teachers had 40 to 50 youngsters under 

 their supervision, the records can be only superficial, but they are probably 

 indicative of the situation which existed, and it is justifiable to assume that errors 

 are compensatory. 



Fatigue 



That a mid-morning feeding may be helpful in relieving or decreasing school 

 fatigue has been suggested. It seems now rather unfortunate that no attempt 

 was made to study this point or to get any measurement of the degree of fatigue 

 or of nervousness in the children; particularly so, since the teachers were unani- 

 mous in their opinion that the children were more alert, and that discipline prob- 

 lems were less troublesome especially in the hour just before noon, when the 

 feeding had been given earlier in the morning. 



Before going on to the problems met in evaluating the data, this discussion 



