Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-08
EDUCATIONAL.
School Statistics the Basis of Oficial
Action-What Should be Collected
and How:-A Common Mistake.
Accuracy in Pupils Explanation in Arith-
metica1 Work Suggestions from
Leading Educators of the Day.
Value of School Statistics.


At the recent meeting of the Depart
ment of Superintendence of the Ma
tional Educational Association in New
York city, Hon. Harvey N. La Fol-
lette. state superintendent of Indiana.
read a paper on the topic: School
Statistics as the Basis of Official Action.
What Should be Collected, and How?"
All Legislative o. official action hav-
ing for its purpose the Improvement of
the public schools should be based upon
experience and the observation aud
study of actual conditions. To secure
the highest and best good as basis of
legislative or official action. the statis-
tics of education should be taken in
connection with other social statistics,
as those of illiteracy, crime, morals,
wealth. As basis of legislative ac-
ton statistics form the only reliable
premise in determining the character
of general school systems, the limita-
ton of local powers, the establishment
of library systems, the regulation of
school attendance, the apportionment
of state school funds, and all similar
lines of development. Such statistics
are the only intelligent guide for the
direction of policies in institute work,
the organization of reading circles,
etc.
In most states, the public school
revenues of the state are apportioned
upon basis of enumeration Of chill
dren of school age. The purpose is
manifestly to make an equitable dis
tribution of the revenue among all the
communities of the state. Local school
authorities can extend the length of
school terms by means Of local tuition
taxes. To a very considerable de-
gree this has proven means OF in
justice. The enumeration IN cities and
larwe towns is abnOrmaliy large. The
result is that cities get more than their
pro rata share of state revenues, and
the country districts spondingly
less. and that the average school term
is nearly twice as long in the cities as
in the country, etc. In a city of In
diana the enumeration was questioned,
and ordered retaken. A careful re-
enumeration of the school population in
this city of perhaps 80, 900 inhabitants
resulted in a shortage of nearly 5000
of children enumerated.
In one city Of Indiana the population
was about fifty greater than that of a
rival city, but the school population of
the former city was nearly 6.OOO great
er than that of the latter. Where COM
pulsory attendance is executed, it
! would seem self-evident that the state
school revenues should be apportioned
upon a basis of average attendance as
the truest measure of the actual school
needs of the communities of the state.
Where such attendance is not required
it should be, and the same basis should
be adopted.
The methods of keeping school rec
ords that have long obtained in the
public schools, based upon a percent
age system, leads to annual sum-
marieS that are very erroneous and
| misleading. Thus, in school of nine
months, if the average per cent of at
tendance for each month has been, let
us say, so per cent. in a vast number
of cases the school officials report the
average attendance for the year as 80
per cent of the total of number of pu-
pills enrolled, while in fact there are,
in almost every month, some pupils
enrolled who are not IN attendance
during any other month OF the year. 1t
is self-evident that upon conclusions
thus obtained no law maker or school
official can safely rely. 1t is only by
| means Of such system OF collecting,
recording, and reporting school sta
| tistics as will insure the DISTINGUISHED
and intelligent cooperation OF every
one participating, that we can hope to
obtain statistics that will form reli-
able basis for such action. To attain
| to this we must have all elementary
records kept in prescribed forms and
periodically inspected or reported.
These records, being kept by the teach
crs, would, in all probability, not be
warped for any local purpose. The re-
| ports of school officials should be
| published in detail, both for the
practical value of such permanent rec
| ords to the various communities and
also as a safeguard against any mis-
| take or perversion of the record made
in the schools. All school reports as
| to school management should be in the
| hands of officials who are as purely
school officials. Where uniform and
reliable reports are secured OF other
facts that bear direct relation TO the
statistics of the public schools, they
| should be so published as to admit of
! ready comparison, both for the practi-
cal value Of such comparison and as a
verifcation Of both lines of statistics.