6 



Indiana University Studies 



In the following pages these cities are indicated by number 

 but the order is not alphabetical. 



At the University the tabulated results were re-examined and 

 corrected. The amount of this corrective work was considerable 

 and could not be trusted to careless hands. Where so many 

 thousands of computations are involved the chances for error 

 are very great. Even graduate students require the most careful 

 supervision both as to method and in accuracy of work. What- 

 ever dependability is to be placed in the accuracy of school 

 medians and variabilities is largely due to Miss Mary Kerr, 

 principal of the Department school in Bloomington, who gave 

 her summer vacation chiefly to the examination of the returns from 

 the cities. Assistance was also rendered by Miss Cecile White, 

 fellow in philosophy, and by Mr. Earl Moore, technical assistant 

 in the department of philosophy. 



The results of the study are presented in the distribution tables. 

 Tables VI-IX. 



The median scores are collected in Table I, which gives the 

 scores in attempts, rights, and dependability for grades 5 to 8 

 in all of the 22 cities, the medians for Indiana and similar scores 

 for 9 cities and towns in Iowa (1915), and 16 cities and towns in 

 Kansas (1915). Reading across this table for grade 5, the medians 

 for city 1 are: addition — attempts, 7.7 problems; rights, 4.2 

 problems; dependability 55 per cent. Then follow in order to the 

 right the scores in subtraction, multiplication, and division. 

 The ranking of the several cities is shown in Table II. 



The most striking fact about these scores is the wide variation- 

 which they show from city to city. City 22 attempts 8.5 problems 

 with 66 per cent of the work correct, while city 2 attempts but 

 4.4 problems and scores but 35 per cent on this meager effort. 

 Fourteen schools fail to equal the fifth grade score of city 22 in 

 their sixth grades, 9 fail in their seventh grades, and 5 fail in 

 their eighth grades. In these upper grades city 22 likewise excels 

 the median of the entire group, altho it is excelled by city 4 in 

 the sixth grade, by cities 4 and 20 in the seventh grade, and by 

 city 4 in the eighth grade. Compared to the Courtis standard, 

 city 22 is in all grades below the level of efficient work. Much 

 more are also the cities which are inferior to city 22. 



The difference in median scores is so great as to suggest not 

 the distribution of schools more or less closely about a common 

 center but the existence of actually different types of schools. 



