CREDIT FOR HOME PRACTICE IN AGRICULTURE. 3 



be apportioned to the recitation work and the home work separately. 

 The application of a rank then becomes a simple matter, supposing 

 that each home project has been approved at the outset as satis- 

 fying the time demands. The teacher wOl then rank each project, 

 with such advice from experts as may be needed, in view of the 

 evidence available and the reports rendered. This rank is averaged 

 with other school ranks in accordance with* the local system of per- 

 centages or other forms. 



To make this concrete, suppose arithmetic recitations with extra 

 study or preparation periods occur five days in a week and are 

 granted five credits or points in the general average of the term or 

 year. Then agriculture with prepared recitations five times each 

 week would receive five credits. If instead of five recitations it is 

 decided to have three each week and require home practice equiva- 

 lent to the other two, then home practice would count two-fifths in 

 making up the rank in agriculture. If, however, the practical work 

 is to be rated as though it were a separate academic subject, the 

 authorities would decide as to whether it should be the equivalent 

 of a five-hour course or less. 



Whenever this relative weight is fixed, each project should receive 

 its rank in the same way recitation work is ranked and the average 

 wiU be determined as is customary. This makes real school 

 credit. To illustrate this: In the case where the project is to count 

 as two-fifths of the agriculture, suppose the recitation course is ranked 

 at 85 and the project 90 on the scale of 100. 



Rank. Hours. 



85X3=255 Recitation total. 

 90X2=180 Project total. 



5)435 

 Total rank for agriculture= 87 on basis of 5 credits. 



This rank of 87 per cent for agriculture would be averaged as a 

 five-hour credit with other school branches in obtaining the general 

 average rank. In a case where the two periods of practical work 

 are in addition to the five periods of recitation, the total wiU be 

 seven and the method of averaging wiU be as in the first case. 



It may be the teacher's duty to approve the project and to decide 

 as to how much weight it may have or as to how large a project it 

 must be to equal the requirement for practical work. The school 

 authorities having decided on the ratio as before referred to, it is 

 necessary also to have a ruling as to how many hours of j^ractical 

 work shall equal one prepared recitation. This is usually set for not 

 less than two hours of practical or laboratory work to one recitation 

 period. 



Under such circumstances two days of agricultural practice per 

 week would call for not less than 4 hours of home work which, in a 



