Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 82.djvu/248

244 this school) though the pupils failed to secure credit in 22 per cent, of their subjects. There were, therefore, 245 of the 338 pupils who had a percentage of failure from nearly half to all of their subjects, and 93 pupils who failed in 22 per cent, of their work. The 94 pupils who remained in school failed to receive credit in slightly less than 5 per cent, of their subjects.

It seems possible that this case is more striking than would usually appear from such investigations since the problems associated with this particular school may be peculiarly difficult.

In a careful study made by Mr. G. E. Johnson, of St. Louis, and covering records from twelve high schools with a total number of 18,926 pupils, he finds that approximately 90 per cent, of those pupils who were failing in their work left school, while but ten per cent. of those who were making 90 per cent, or better in their work left school. This percentage of those who failed and left school remains almost constant throughout the four years, with the exception that in the Chicago and Kansas City schools rather a larger percentage of the failures drop out in the earlier years than in the later years, while in the smaller schools the percentage of dropping out of those who fail remains about the same throughout the whole high school course.

Doubtless the compulsory attendance law and the sixteen-year labor law often are factors in continuing for a time the attendance of pupils who do poorly, and that with the close of the sixteenth year economic and social necessity takes many pupils out of school. But we must note the fact that the percentage of failures who leave school remains almost the same for all the years of the high school. Possibly the termination of the period when pupils must attend school may operate to relieve those who are failing, from the necessity of further attendance in an institution in which they do not "make good."

School methods (of dealing day by day with the series of topics that make up a given study) are often contributing causes to the failures which lead pupils to leave school.

The present situation is interesting. In the elementary schools from which these pupils have come to the high school, the school day runs from 8:30 or 9:00 o'clock to 3:30 or 4:00 o'clock and the greater part of all study is done during school hours, under direct or indirect supervision of the teacher. The teacher is present to correct any misunderstandings in assignments, to give a directing question or suggestion, or to quicken the endeavor, when such is needed. The work of one year is fairly well connected with that of the preceding years and partially new and partially old ground is covered each year. In the high school, particularly, in the first year, the subjects of study are largely or wholly new, often so new as to constitute fields quite unknown to the pupils. Even when some of the subjects are not new, we