Evening journal., 1909-06-21

Comparisons may be odious, but they
are interesting. The spirit OF emula-
ton impels us TO compare our achieve
ments with those OF others. This Is
as true of cities as OF individuals.
Tho one phase OF civic activity,
which in America consumes much Of
the public revenues, and which by its
very nature has generally banled all
attempts at comparison, is the public
school system.
Because the school deals in indivi-
duals rather than in inaminate mater
ials IL has been claimed that it is i'm
possible TO compare the system of one
city with that of another in achieve
ment. There are many respects in
which this claim is a valid one. No
measurement can be devised which
viii tell whether character is more
efficiently developed by one system
than by another but many material
tests can be made.
During the past two years the Rus
sell Sage Foundation of New York city
has conducted an extensive investiga-
ton into school conditions in different
American cities. The results of this
inquiry will furnish educators all over
the country withfacts concerning their
schools which they cannot afford to
ignore. The announcements which
are now being made and which will
soon be put in their entirety at the
disposal of school authorities tell for
a large numbr of American cities such
facts as the number and cost of re-
peaters, the number OF backward or
retarded children, the rate at which
the pupils progress through the grades,
the proportion of beginners who con-
tinue until they graduate from the
elementary course, and many other
similar significant measures of school
efficiency. These figures will give
American school men for the first time
standards by which they can judge
their schools, compare them with those
Of other cities, and discover how near
" they have attained the highest pos
sibe degree of efficiency. Some OF
these computations are Of especial in
terest TO Wilmington.
Backward Children.
A child who is older than he ought
to be for the grade he is in constitutes
a serious problem for himself, his
teacher and the community. These
children make the work of the school
teacher much more difficult, iii seats
in already overcrowded school rooms
and finally becoming discouraged al
their slow progress through the grades
drop out after having received oniy
the bare rudiments Of an education
Some of these backward or over-agl
children are found in every school sys
tenn, but they are mole numerous il
some cities than they are in others
Their presence furnishes one goot
measure OF efficiency. Among 81 citiel
studied, Medford, Mass, makes tn
best record with only rs per cent. D
her children in the retarded class
while the poorest showing is foun,
among the colored children .
Memphis where over IS per cent. ar
retarded. In this series Wilmington
occupies the twentieth place with 2
per cent. of her pupils retarded. II
all Of the cities studied a little NOR
than one-third of the children ar
above normal age for their grades
These figures probably represent witt
fair accuracy average conditions II
city school systems in this country.
Children Who Leave School.
In no school system in America q
all Of the children who enter the frs
grade complete the course. Attention
has been called to the fact that man
OF the pupils in all school systems ar
backward. These backward pupils of
ten do not stay TO graduate. The
become discouraged and leave schcc
before reaching the eighth grade Thi
process is termed elimination.
It is Of the utmost Importance 81
judging the efficiency Of the school O
a city If Of every hundred childrc
who enter the schools but fifty com
plete a common school education
means that the schools are not doin
what It is assumed that they do.
Among sixty-three cities studio
Wilmington (white) occupies the 13t
place in respect TO the proportion o
pupils carried to the final grade. Her
10 per cent. of the children get a com
mon school education: of each hun
dred who begin 20 continue to tn
eighth grade and 30 drop out.
Where Exodus Begins.
Cities vary not only in the proper
tlon of children who complete tn
elementary course. they also differ j
respect to the point at which chldre
begin to drop out in 'arge numbers
Many colored chilS.en in Memphis an
New Orleans leave i'm the fourth gradi
In Baltimore, Camden, Newark an
some other cities. the fifth grade is til
dropping out point. Many citie
among them Chicago, New York, Phi
adelphia and st. Louis first begin
lose their children in large number
IN the sixth grade. Then we hav
class of cities where the school
have stronger magnetic powers ove
their children and keep them to tn
seventh grade. In this group az
Boston, Minneapolis. Grand Rapid
and some twenty other cities. For
Massachusetts, cities, Quincy, Fitcl
burg, Waltham and Haverhill, los