Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-24
Corning Finds
Schools Good,
Short Of Goal

District School Supt. Hobart
NJ. Corning winda UP his last
report to the school board. re-.
leased today. with q philosoph-
ical dissertation following the
theme that District schools are
in good shape.
First Of all, he feels I'VE have
q fire school system" He adds,
however. I'VE have not attained
the goal which was set at the
beginning of my administration
:. that the schools Of the Ma
TONS Capital should be q model
for the Nation"
But basically "the schools are
good"
The retiring superintendent
is of the opinion that the sys-
tenn operates on q sound philos-
ophy Of education hammered
out by study. experimentation
and development. He adds the
curriculum is responsive to the
changing needs and conditions
Of a rapidly changing society
He feels the system is operated
by capable people = tn GU g h
some individuals are not so
efficient and should be- removed
promptly by the Board of Edu-
cation.
System Defended
DR.. Corning once again de-
MES charges dropped through
out the country that the sys-
TEN has lowered its standards.
Many children" he states,
achieve on achievement tests
up to and far beyond what they
would be expected to do at
their grade level. The reason
for the comparatively low aver
age scores is that too many
children are achieving below
the standard level of their
grade"
One can only examine this
condition in District schools,
DR.. Corning says. in this light:
"The combination Of the
compulsory school attendance
law and the quirks Of sociology
produce a public school student
body composed of individuals
possessing a wide range of in
terests and abilities within each
age group and each grade level.
In Washington, this disparity
mas been further complicated
by the great influx Of students
previously instructed under diff
ferent school systems. with diff
ferent sets of standards and
of teaching.
Wide Range Cited
THE economic and social
backgrounds of the students
up the present inte-
grated student body vary all the
way from the highly privileged
to the destitute. Some students
are the product of family back
grounds rich in the elements
of security. unity. cooperative
ness. culture. and material we'll
being. Others come from
broken homes, environments
where there is no parental lead
ership and counsel. inadequate
provisions and prac-
ticaIly no climate for learning.
Population shifts have had,
and are continuing to have, a
profound effect upon the make
up of Washington's urban pop
ulation as is the case in other
major cities. There is a con-
tinuing movement to the SUI
burbs by middle-class and
upper middle-claSs families.
AT the same time for years
there has been a growing influx
of new residents, many of whom
are underprivileged, transients
or racially restricted. Thus. the
former pupil population normal
curves of achievement and in
telltgence are rapidly becoming
skewed towards the lower end
of the scale. There is a greater
and greater proportion of large
city pupil population suffering
from achievement retardation
and low normal intelligence"
Rugged Task"
Describing his job as rugged
and filled with extreme diff
cultieS and discouragements, .
DR.. Corning ends his report
with these words;
e. 1 express my sincere
appreciation to all of my as
sociates in the schools for their
loyal support and constructive
assistance This support