River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-01-02
Our High School And It's
Graduates

Are the public high schools of
the United States failures? The
Ladies' Home Journal says yes.
1t is not difficult for anyone to
prove the answer right. All that is
necessary is to properly define
failures. 1t is true that only a
part Of the young people of the
country enter the high school. 1t
is true that only part of those
who enter graduate. 1t is true that
only a part of those who graduate
from the high school go on to high
er schools. 1t is true that some
who go on to higher schools do not
finish them. 1t is true that grad
yates of high schools are not of
equal equipment when they grad
uate. 1t is true that some grad
yates are of very meager ability
and equipment. 1t is true that
some graduates of high schools
make failure of life. 1t is true that
some high school graduates are in
Jail. 1t may be true that more
ought TO be- 1t is true that no high
school student reaches the acme of
perfection in the eyes of his school.
1t may be true that the schools are
not doing all for the pupil that they
ought, and not doing somthing for
as many pupils as they ought. But
all these and more, even if granted,
do not spell failure for the schools.
After all, the question resolves it
self into the following; what do the
communities expect of their schools,
and what are the schools doing for
their communities. In an effort to
help answer the question, the
Journal of Education, Boston, has
been publishing statistics tending
to show what the schools are doing
for the communities by showing
what the graduates of the schools
are doing in the community. Fol
lowing the suggestion contained in
the work of the Journal, we have
taken the pains to go over the
records Of the local high school for
the past fifteen years in order to
find answers to the following
questions; How many different
pupils have been enrolled in the
the high school during that Is
years? How many of those pupils
are still in school? How many of
those who entered the school have
graduated from this or other high
schools during that time? How
many of them have gone on to high
er schools? How many have grad.
uated from those schools? What is
the status in the community of
those who graduated? What is the
status of those who did not gradu-
ate? 1t should be borne in mind
that it is usually asserted that only
a small per cent of those who enter
high school ever graduate; that a
much smaller per cent of those who
graduate go on to higher schools,
and that the number of those who
finish the higher school is practical
~ negligible. 1t should also be
remembered that if the schools are
failures, then the graduates and
ex-studentS should be the followers,
the weaklings of the community.
1t must be remembered, too, that,
in considering the graduates of the
schools for the last fifteen years,
the great majority of them are
young people just entering life, and
judgment of their success or other
wise must be tempered accordingly
The records of the local high
school for the last fifteen years
show that 729 pupils were enrolled
in that school during that time.
Two of them died before gradu-
alton, leaving a net of 727. OF
these, Isl are still in school, either
in the local school or some other.
Subtraeting Isl from 727 leaves SO
pupils who have entered the school
and left it, by graduation or other.
wise. OF this number, 2O4 have
graduated from this school and &c
from some other of equal grade
That is, practically Al pei
cent of the pupils have graduated
Of these, $50, or very nearly Sc pei
cent have gone on to higher