Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-14
Supplemental Report on the District
Public Schools.
RESULT OF HIGH SCHOOL EXAMINATION
Low Percentage Made in All tn
Studies Covered.
MOB E RILL EEDED

| lie schools of this city. This report was
prepared by Mr.. Charles Moore, clerk of
the Senate committee on the District of
Columbia. Mr.. Moore recites that under
instructions from the subcommittee of the
committee on the District of Columbia, and
as supplementary to its investigation of
| the public schools of the District, series
of examinations of pupils was held.
ut had been claimed at the hearings"
| the report says that the system of teach
| ing now in use i'll the public schools was the
! one best adapted to train the minds of chill
| dren and youth to teach them to think and
| to express themselves clearly. 1t was held
| by the members of the board of school
trustees, and by those who defended the
schools, that spelling was best learned Incl
dentally and not by the use of the spelling
book; that arithmetic was to be acquired
best by method that eliminates the drudg-
cry, and that the oral teaching of grammar
is superior to the use of the textbook
"On the other hand complaint was made
by many parents and employers that how
ever excellent the above mentioned theories
may be, the result is that the children and
youth in the Washington public schools are
not able to use correctly the English Ian
guage and are unable to do simple exam
pies in arithmetic-n short they are not
fitted to become Office boys, clerks, etc. 1t
was to make practical test of both theory
and results that the examinations were
held.
"Inasmuch as it was desirable to test the
work done in the first eight grades-that is,
the work leading to the High Scholar
rangements We're made to examine the pu-
pills in the first year of the high school.
Such an examination should show the lower
schools at their best, since it Is to be sup
posed that as a rule the better scholars
keep on with their work beyond the eighth
grade. Moreover, certain studies have been
completed before pupils enter the High
School. and the foundations of knowledge
OF English. American history, spelling, and
arithmetic should have been laid
Some Results.
In concluding the report Mr.. Moore, in
recounting the results of the examinations.
says:
THE following is statement of facts
noticeable to the examiners in the grading
of the books as to history, syntactical err
rors, misspelled words, errors in punctua-
ton. errors in use Of words, and penman-
ship:
Il. Incorrect use of hyphen
"(D Misdivision of words at end of line;
as, Mississippi; Pilgrim; between.
"(b) tendency to use of hypheu in COM
pound words which should be written as
solid word. Manufactured compound words
'tc) Use of hyphen between root of word
and prefix or sutfix; as, return; failed.
'.2. Msspelling of simple ordinary words
of one and two syllables.
''3. A tendency to use the comma g too
frequently. Failure in a number of in
stances to use the period g. at the end of a
sentence and after an authorization.
II. Incorrect use Of the parentheSis Pu-
pills use the parenthesis to enclose matter
which they desire Cancelled; this is wrong,
and leads the pupil to have a false con-
ception of the use of the parenthesis.
-. Penmanship very poor, large per-
centage writing backhand. This is particu-
larly noticeable in the Central High School
books. A large percentage wrote a mixture
of four. or more styles of penmanship VIZ
backhand verified Spenceran,~ etc. This
was observable III number of cases in a
single line of penmanship.
&c In marking the history it was appar-
cnt that a very large percentage of the pu-
pills lacked the ability to express themselves
intelligently in simple. choice. concise and
correct English. style and matter being par
ticulariy poor. Their answers betrayed
crude ideas and conceptions of historical
facts concerning their country, and Were
expressed in very crude language. The
questions in history were simple and not
misleading technical. Pupils displayed
lack of knowledge on essential elementary
facts in relation to the history and govern
rnent of our country. A very large percent
age of pupils failed to comprehend question
five in regard to the three branches of our
government.
a. There is apparent a lack of training
in elementary principles; pupils work shows
weakness in elementary educational founda-
ton. due. no doubt, to lack of drill in ele-
iieiltdiy pFiUclp.eS VI anu III ere
mentary and essential facts concerning the
history of our country: msdivsion of
words, incorrect use Of hyphen and mis-
spelling of simple. ordinary words, due. no
doubt, to lack of sufficient drill in spelling
The fact that pupils from three to five
or more styles of penmanship in single
answer in history indicates that pupils have
been taught different styles of penmanShip
as they advanced to the various school
grades. The penmanship, in many instances,
showed a peculiar mixture of all styles.
By combining the markings in arithmetic
and history this result is obtained:
Per cent.
First. business High School. g.. 81
Second, Central High School. E6 40