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Indiana University Studies 



almost half it is not over 5 per cent. Such differences may be due 

 to causes quite adventitious and are not necessarily connected 

 with the time of beginning. 



Further doubt is thrown upon the value of second-year begin- 

 ning by the results from the Bloomington schools (see page 505 ff.) 

 where the arithmetic work is begun in the third year. The Bloom- 

 ington returns are not only superior to the Indiana standard but 

 are equal to and in most cases superior to the average of second- 

 year beginners. From this one sees that however important the 

 time of beginning really is, it is not the determining thing. A 

 school can achieve superior results by beginning in the third year. 



It is quite probable that the results of this inquiry which show 

 second-year beginners to be strongest will not finally stand. It 

 is a tentative statement and we can doubtless in time show similar 

 studies in which third-grade beginners are superior. It must be 

 admitted, of course, that the burden of proof is upon him who 

 denies the plain figures of Table XLII. Excellence in arithmetic, 

 however, is dependent upon causes other than the time of begin- 

 ning. A proper grasp of these more important causes makes the 

 time of beginning merely adventitious. One of these more funda- 

 mental causes I shall discuss later (pages 505-507). 



