V. EXPERIMENTS WITH COURTIS PRACTICE PADS 



By Flora Wilber, Principal of Fort Wayne Training School. 



Nature of the Study. — This paper reports an investigation 

 of the value of such individual daily practice as is afforded by 

 the Courtis Standard Practice Pads, where the drill to be given 

 is determined by the individual needs of the members of the 

 class. In order to test the results of the practice, Series B of the 

 Courtis Tests was given in September, 1914, to the fifth and sixth 

 grades in the training department of the Fort Wayne City Normal 

 School. On the basis of these tests the beginning section of each 

 grade was divided into two equal groups. As no two pupils 

 equal in each test in both ''attempts" and ''rights" could be found, 

 the standing of each pupil was determined by finding the average 

 of his attempts and rights in the four fundamental operations. 

 Of two pupils having such equal scores, one was put into each 

 group. Thus the individual scores were as nearly equal as possible, 

 and the combined scores of the groups were not more than one 

 example apart. 



TABLE I.— AVERAGE OF ATTEMPTS AND RIGHTS FOR FOUR 

 FUNDAMENTAL OPERATIONS FOR 28 PUPILS 



Grade 5 



Grade 6 



Group I 



Group II 



Group I 



Group II 



3.5 



3.5 



6.5 



6.875 



2.75 



2.75 



6.0 



5.75 



2.625 



2.625 



5.5 



5.75 



1.875 



1.875 



5.375 



5.375 



2.5 



2.25 



4.25 



4.25 



2.25 



1 .625 



4. 125 



4. 



3.625 



4.5 



2.5 



3. 125 



Totals 19.125 



19.125 



34.25 



35. 125 



The fifth grade group gave 4f minutes of the daily period 

 devoted to arithmetic to this practice and the sixth grade group 

 gave 4 minutes. The other group in each grade used the full 

 period for regular work. Except for the time given to the practice, 

 both groups were taught together. 



