The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1921-06-09
SHERMAN COUNTY 1ST
IN EDUCATION IN STATE

University of Oregon, Eugene, May
6.-In a study recently published by
the state superintendent of public in,
struction, the county school systems Of
Oregon are ranked in efficiency BY
Professor F. L. Stetson. of the schoo
Of education and Professor John c
Almack, assistant director of the ex.
tension division of the University Of
Oregon.
Ten points only were considered, fol
period covering 1920. By thii
method Sherman county is placed frs
in the list with Multnomah county sec.
ond. The order of the thirty-six coun.
ties of the state is as follows;
Sherman, Multnomah, Morrow, Clat,
sop Hood River, Deschutes, Umatilla
Wasco, Jackson, Lake, Columbia, Til
lamook, Yamhill, Baker, Benton, Har.
ney, Union, Crook, Wallowa, Malheur
Coos, Marion. Clackamas. klamath, JET
ferson, Lane, Linn, Douglas, Josephine
Polk, Gillian, Grant, Lincoln. Washing
ton, Wheeler and Curry.
The points of efficiency considered
by the authors are:
l. Per cent of school population at
tending school
2. Average days attended by eact
child of school age,
g. Average number of days school:
were kept open.
a. Per cent that high school attend
ance was of total attendance,
s. Per cent that boys were of girls in
high school
6. Average annual expenditure pei
child attending.
Z Average annual expenditure per
child of school age
s. Average annual expenditure per
teacher employed.
8. Expenditure per pupil for pur-
poses other than teachers salaries.
TO- Expenditure per teacher for sal
aries.
The standings of the various counties
are expressed in single terms which
are called Indexes of Efficiency" A
considerable divergence is found be-
tween the best county and the lowest
in the scale. For example, the six year
average of Sherman is 1921 while that
of Curry is 42.02 The study shows that
while educational progress for the six
years has not been great 1t has been
continuous, In the first five factors
there is noted a falling off in efficiency
due to the war and the influenza cpl
demic. In the second five items which
are called the financial factors it Is
found that for the last year increases
have been quite abrupt. Only one f.
during the war. This was for expendi-
lures for purposes other than teach
er's salaries, and indicates that build
ing activities were greatly reduced.
The study indicates some lines Of at
tack that make for school progress
Quoting from the section of the study
giving the writer's conclusions the fol
lowing paragraphs appear;
Continuous effort is the very es-
sence of results. Policies and programs
should be planned to extend over a
considerable period of time, An eX-
animation of yearly indexes in the ter
factors here considered would show
more or less fluctuation and often sharp
changes, Observed through the course
of several years, these lines Of progress
take on a character that shows the
genuine tendencies in education.
THE evidence goes to show that the
Oregon school system has made uniform
progress since 1914, the period covered
in this study. There has been some
variation among the special factors
and also variations from year to year
From the ranks assigned by the Rus
sell Sage Report and the data here
with presented, the state ranks higher
in the educational factors than in the
financial. There is q wide margin in
stanced in the fact that the state stands
second among all states in the union
in the first five points, and twenty
eighth in respect to the last Ave, with
final rank of twentieth. The state
index simply represents the total OF the
county components. The point OF at
tack is, therefore clearly manifest. TIC
improve the standing OF the state we
must improve the county schools"