A DIGEST
OF THE

NEW YORK SCHOOL
INQUIRY

Submitted to the

New York Board of Education
July 17, 1913, by the

BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH
261 Broadway, New York City
Price 25 Cents

CONTENTS
PAGE

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9

10
11
12
13
14

Foreword...
„ .... ..
1
Twenty Rediscoveries for New York's Public Schools
3
Purpose of the New York School Inquiry „.
4
Report Titles and Investigators' Names
_
5
What the Inquiry Cost
.
6
Introduction and Conclusions by Director Hanus
.
7
What the School Inquiry Praised ^
.. 8
Conditions Said to Need Correction...
13
Armstrong
43
Averill
18
Bachman
24
Ballou
.....
....35
Burks
.30
Courtis.
_.....;.....»„.:
:....:... .......33
Davis ...
..
...
......38
Elliott..:.. .......
............13
Goddard
....................
...32
McMurry
19
Schneider
'.......
....41
Thompson „..
...40
Winslow-Baskerville
..45
Recommendations
46
Clearly Requiring Additional Money
46
Intended to Save Money.
49
Per se, Neither Adding nor Saving Money..
.50
Requiring legislation
60
Further Investigations Said to be Necessary
61
Subjects Not Covered by the School Inquiry
63
How the Inquiry Was Started
.............64
How the Inquiry Was Received....
65
Only Published Reply by Insiders to Outsiders
68
Index.........

\4 4' v ^vi

FOREWORD
The New York school inquiry has come and gone. But
inquiring into New York's school facts has just begun. While
the school inquiry antedated the reorganization of the board
of education itself and the resulting change of attitude toward
teacher and public, it would be unfair to school commissioners
who brought about this change of attitude to deny them large
credit for independent and vigorous action in heading our
schools "back to the child."
W e therefore give joint credit to the school board itself
and to the school inquiry for the Twenty Rediscoveries here
noted, which characterize the new outlook with which New
York City begins its school year 1913-1914.
Whatever errors in the school inquiry reports may later
be shown by committees of New York's board of education,
supervisors and teachers, or by students of education, the
findings themselves will be helpful for years to come. Because the reports will not otherwise be generally available
in condensed form we have, from a special fund provided by
Mrs. E. H, Harriman, prepared this brief digest, after submitting to each investigator our proposed digest of his material, for correction if needed. W e hope it will be found usefttl not only by school officers in New York and elsewhere,
but by citizens wishing to help schools via first knowing about
school needs and school work.
BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH

TRUSTEES
R. FULTON CUTTING
FRANK L, POLK
J O S E P H W. HARRIMAN
GEORGE B. H O P K I N S
BRADLEY MARTIN, JR.
VICTOR MORAWETZ
J O H N B. P I N E
E D W I N R. A. SELIGMAN
ALBERT SHAW
FRANK TUCKER

DIRECTORS
W I L L I A M H. ALLEN
H E N R Y BRUERE
FREDERICK A. CLEVELAND

NOTE
Messrs. Bachman, Burks, Goddard, Armstrong, McMurry,
Schneider and Davis wrote their approval of the digests of
their reports with some suggested corrections which are here
embodied
On September 26, after prolonged absence from the university,
Mr. Elliott telegraphed:
Physically impossible on account extraordinary pressure
university work for me to devote time and detailed attention
requisite for your digest until after Oct. 10. Regret this
unfortunate emergency
Mr. Ballou wrote:
I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your letter of August
24, 1913, addressed to me in Cincinnati, and containing your
memoranda on my Report to the Committee on School
Inquiry. Inasmuch as I have already devoted much more
time to the New York Inquiry than I had expected to give
it, I do not feel that I should give it further attention. In
view of the fact that I cannot examine carefully your memoranda, I do not wish to be considered as in any way responsible for what you may or may not say about my
report
Several days after Mr. Courtis had written his thanks for "the
chance to see in advance the Bureau's digest of my report,"
he wrote:
After thinking the matter over, I have decided that in
view of the peculiar conditions attending the Inquiry, and
the fact that so far only an "Interim" report has been published, I am not at liberty to cooperate in the preparation
of your digest, as you suggest in your letter of the 26th.
I am, therefore, returning the same without comments
Similarly, a few days after Mr. Thompson had signified his
intention of going over the digest on his return from his
vacation and had recorded his appreciation of "your courtesy in allowing me to see in advance what you propose
to publish concerning my report," he wrote:
I find that Professor Hanus has made a digest of the New
York Report which he considers comprehensive and adequate. I do not find that Professor Hanus or his other
associates intend to assist in any independent digest such
as the one you propose. I, therefore, respectfully decline
to make any comment upon your digest of my report
The complete illustrated report of the board of estimate on
both educational and business aspects of the school inquiry
will be published in three volumes, 1500 pages (a limited
number only) by the Committee on School Inquiry, 51
Chambers Street, New York City
2

TWENTY REDISCOVERIES FOR NEW YORK'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY THE SCHOOL INQUIRY
AND THE SCHOOL BOARD
1—That children cannot be schooled if they do not come to school
2—That the purpose of attendance officers is to keep children attending school
3—That children of sound mind should not be called feeble-minded
or put among the feeble-minded and that defectives should be
segregated and taught according to their incapacity
4—That children of different aptitudes and different nationalities
should be taught different subjects in different ways
5—That the transition should be more natural from kindergarten to
grades, and from elementary to high school
6—That boys and girls should continue to learn after beginning to
earn
7—That preparation for commerce and trades should be more practical and more general
8—That when children are taught the three Rs they must be taught
to use the three Rs with automatic correctness
9—That buildings should be placed where children live, not near
other schools where overcrowding is
10—That school buildings should be fireproof and sanitary, and
class room air clean, always moving and not over-heated
11—That coal should be bought for its heat, not for its weight, and
buildings, equipment and supplies handled efficiently
12—That teachers should be helped not policed by their supervisors
13—That teachers who out-number supervisors thirty to one should
"become regular purveyors of good to the entire school system," as President Churchill has urged
14—That $3,500 and $10,000 supervisors should give their time to
supervision that helps children, instead of to clerical work
15—That school records should be live "purveyors of truth" and not
dead, misleading, harassing statistics
16—That the public should be given budget estimates based on facts
not on guesses or unsupportable premises
17—That school commissioners should give time^ to big problems—
testing their experts' efficiency and discovering children's needs
—not to petty details
18—That the board of estimate can help school work by askingquestions in the interest of taxpayers
19—That the public should be given school news in small doses of
facts it can understand
20—That defending is worse than making—and infinitely worse than
correcting—mistakes
3

PURPOSE OF THE N E W YORK SCHOOL INQUIRY
Resolution of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, Introduced
by William A. Prendergast, Comptroller, October 26, 1910
Whereas, the budget of the department of education represents approximately one-third of the total appropriations of the city of
New York for current administration purposes, and
Whereas, the appropriation recommended by the Budget Committee
of the board of estimate and apportionment for the year 1910 for
the purposes of the department of education represents an allowance of $1,600,000 in excess of the product of the three mill tax
appropriation required by law, and
Whereas, in formulating the allowance for the purpose of the department of education this board has been unable to secure sufficient
and satisfactory information in explanation of requests for appropriations made by such department to enable it to reach proper
conclusions with respect to the necessity and propriety of such
requests, and
Whereas, it is the sense of this board that efficient and progressive
administration of the schools of the city of New York is indispensable to the welfare and progress of the city, and that generous
appropriations for the purposes of the department of education are
desirable in so far as assurance and evidence can be given that
such appropriations will be expended for purposes and in a manner
to promote the efficiency and welfare of the schools, and to increase
the value and effectiveness of the instruction given therein, and
Whereas, the growth and development of educational activities and
improvement in educational methods annually presents to this
board, in connection with the preparation of the tax and the corporate stock budgets, many questions bearing upon the efficacy of
educational policies and methods now pursued, and upon the efficiency and economy of the administration of the affairs of the
department of education,
Be it resolved, that the chairman of this board appoint a committee
of three of its members to conduct an inquiry into the organization,
equipment and methods, both financial and educational, of the department of education, including such plans and proposals as may
have been formulated or may be under consideration by the board
of education for extending and developing its educational activities,
and that for this purpose the committee be authorized to associate
with it such experts within and without the government of the city
of New York as may assist it in the conduct of this inquiry and in
the formulation of recommendations to this board, and that it be
further authorized to employ such assistants as it may find necessary for the purposes of this inquiry, and
Be it further resolved, that for the purposes hereinabove mentioned,
the board do include an appropriation of $50,000 in the budget for
the year 1911
4

REPORT TITLES A N D INVESTIGATORS' NAMES
General
Conclusions of report as a whole, Paul H. Hanus, head of the
department of education, Harvard University
General supervision and board of examiners, Edward C. Elliott,
director of the school of education, University of Wisconsin
Handling and nature of correspondence by city and associate
superintendents, W. A. Averill, New York Bureau of Municipal Research
Organization and methods of the board of education, Frank
J. Goodnow and Frederick C. Howe; 385 pages for findings,
42 recommendations and supporting data; Economic utilization of the public school plant for recreational and educational purposes, Frederick C. Howe; 50 pages; reports
to be published in sections in October, not yet released,
Sept. 15, 1913; detailed analysis of conditions peculiar to
New York, while extremely significant, are not of as general application as are available reports here digested
Note: E. C. Moore, professor of education, Yale University,
was engaged and paid for a report on this subject which was
rejected "for want of supporting facts"

Elementary Schools
Quality of classroom instruction; course of study; and supervision by principals, Frank M. McMurry, professor of elementary education, Teachers' College, Columbia University
Promotion, non-promotion and part time; overage and method
of determining overage; intermediate schools; estimating
teachers needed, Frank P. Bachman, associate superintendent of schools, Cleveland
Arithmetic tests, S. A. Courtis, head of department of science
and mathematics, Home and Day School, Detroit
Compulsory attendance service, Jesse D. Burks, director,
Bureau of Municipal Research, Philadelphia
Ungraded classes, H. H. Goddard, New Jersey Training
School for Feeble Minded Children, Vineland
High Schools
Problems in organization and administration, Frank W. Ballou,
assistant professor of education, University of Cincinnati
Course of study, Calvin O. Davis, assistant professor of education, University of Michigan
Commercial education, Frank V. Thompson, associate superintendent of schools, Boston
Vocational (industrial) schools, Herman Schneider, dean of
the College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati
Buildings
Conditions and efficiency; delay in construction, Charles G.
Armstrong, consulting engineer, New York City
Atmospheric conditions in schools, Charles Baskerville and
C. E. A. Winslow of the College of the City of New York

WHAT

THE

INQUIRY

COST

Total, business and educational branches, exclusive
of cost of printing final report
$95,067.00
Salaries Per Day
Armstrong
Averill (loaned by B. M. R.)
Bachman
Ballou
Burks
Davis
Courtis (expenses only)
Elliott (and expenses)
Goddard
Goodnow
Hanus
Howe
McMurry
Moore
Schneider
Scudder
per hour
Stuart
Thompson
West

$25.00
18.40
15.00
15.00
15.00
16.50
16.50
25.00
30.00
25.00
27.50
20.00
30.00
5.00
15.00
16.50
30.00

Business and administrative branch—March 30,
1911—May 30, 1913
Salaries
$37,438.13
Personal expenses
195.75
Apparatus, office and other expenses
2,046.43
Total

,

$39,608.31

Educational branch—(1) July 1, 1911—Feb. 1, 1913,
under direction of Prof. Hanus
Salaries
$40,879.78
Personal expenses
1,190.40
Office and other expenses
6,507.88
Total (not including printing, proofreading, author's corrections $2,200)
$48,578.06
(2) July 1, 1912—May 30, 1913, supplementary
investigation
Salaries
$4,684.80
Personal expenses
96.65
Office and other expenses
2,099.19
Total

$6,880.63

Number of days work on educational aspects was 4,118 days;
on business and administrative branches was 2,448 days
6

INTRODUCTION A N D CONCLUSIONS
"REPORT AS A W H O L E "

OF

THE

Written, December, 1912 by Prof. Hanus without "opportunity for thoroughgoing conferences" with associates; 59
pages
Summarizes statistics of school plant, teaching force and enrollment for the year ending July 31, 1911
Describes principles on which plan for inquiry adopted on
July 10, 1912, was based
Explains why defects rather than merits are reported: "The
purpose of the inquiry was constructive throughout. W e
have not failed to appreciate the merits of the school system and they are many, but since our chief purpose was
constructive criticism, we have devoted ourselves more particularly to such defects as we have been able to point out,
and to suggestions and recommendations for removing or
minimizing them , ,
"The method of the inquiry has been statistical, inspectorial (personal inspection by members of the staff), comparative (comparisons of New York City's schools and
school system with those of other cities), and experimental
so far as reliable experimental or scientific methods are
available in education and could be employed; and we have
made much use of conferences with officials and members
of the teaching and supervisory staff"
Formulates (1) "aims and principles underlying the contemporary provision for and tendencies in American education";
and (2) a system of schools as a "standard of educational
opportunity" for New York City
Enumerates 18 chief defects as conclusions of the report as a
whole
Notes that work on the budget for 1912 (1) "lay wholly outside our own plan, (2) consumed more than two months of
time, (3) because of our limited staff and the great mass of
data required, but not available, ought never to have been
undertaken and was necessarily unsatisfactory to u s ; and
(4) will not be further considered in this account of our
work"
Summarizes findings, conclusions and recommendations of
each specialist

W H A T T H E SCHOOL INQUIRY PRAISED
As to City Superintendent
He has achieved distinguished success in protecting the
school system and the teaching staff from the selfish influences that are always found in the public service of a
great city—and this is conspicuous service . . . No
other educational leader of this generation has had a task
of such magnitude and complexity. It is very improbable that any other man could have succeeded as he has
in unifying the school system and harmonizing the educational forces of the city . . . He has made the New
York public school system one of nation wide significance
(Elliott)
He was justified in 1911 in his endeavor to increase the rate
of promotion (Bachman)
As to Board of Examiners (Elliott)
It has proved to be a most effective instrumentality for the
accomplishment of the principal ends for which it was
created; that is, to place the appointment of teachers upon
a merit basis, and thereby isolate the schools from the
self interest of individuals, classes and parties
Any agency that has protected the teaching force as has
the board of examiners from the influence of forces and
motives wholly unrelated to efficiency is entitled to commendation
Refused 4,400 licenses in 1911
Has exercised its functions in a singularly effective and
progressive manner
Including the city superintendent in the board is to be commended
Its handling of 41,000 candidates during three years has
required a degree of skill, ingenuity and foresight not required of any other controlling body in the school system
Questions used in recent examinations are fair tests of professional preparation
Oral examination system has been made an important and
valuable factor in the selection of candidates for eligible
lists
As to Elementary Principals
Number provided is entirely adequate for effective supervision (Elliott)
There are principals here and there who have admirable
plans for teachers' meetings (McMurry)
The salary schedules are such as to attract from other cities
men and women of competence to supervise schools (Elliott)
8

PRAISE—Continued

9

As to Special Branches
Number of directors and assistant directors (except in the
kindergarten) is sufficient to meet the demand for effective direction and supervision (Elliott)
As to Classroom Instruction
Teachers as a rule are conscientious and energetic (McMurry)
As to Kindergarten (McMurry)
Instruction meets test of the four inquiry standards in a
satisfactory manner
Curriculum is in substantial harmony with the inquiry
standards; does not limit teachers' freedom; unusual interest displayed in individual child; subject matter abundantly favors exercise of initiative and expression of individuality; provision for motivation and for consideration
of relative values for children
As to Reading and Literature
Selection of subject matter is good as far as it goes and
many of the suggestions on method are valuable; breadth
in provision for subordination of form to thought; excellent suggestions favoring oral reading by teachers (McMurry)
As to Grammar and Composition
Emphasis on much oral composition and on organization of
ideas is worthy of commendation (McMurry)
As to Spelling
Reasonable in amount; content and suggested method free
from excessive formality ; attention to organization shown ;
desirable distinction between "teaching" words and testing ability to spell them (McMurry)
As to Shop Work, Drawing, Cooking
Technical sequence is well developed; cooking is concerned
with more intimate relationship of home-making (McMurry)
As to Nature Study
Many teachers providing materials and conducting creditable lessons deserve the highest commendation (McMurry)
As to Non-promotion and Overage
Lower rate for overage pupils proves wisdom of special " E "
classes (Bachman)
Low rate for pupils unable to use English language demonstrates wisdom of special " C " classes (Bachman)

10

PRAISE—Continued

As to Basing Estimate of Teachers Needed upon Register
Present policy of keeping a record of each child until officially discharged by principal is, in our opinion, right
(Bachman)
As to Ungraded Classes (Goddard)
Teachers are, as a rule, faithful, conscientious, interested in
their problem
Most hopeful sign is that nearly all of them are painfully
aware of their own lack of training
In a few schools very satisfactory work is being done in
spite of all the handicaps
On the whole the rooms are good
Great work is being done and a work which cannot and
must not be stopped because of its value to the children
who are in the regular grades
As to High School Organization and Administration (Ballou)
Standard of 25 hours work a week for each teacher seems
to us satisfactory
Having teachers in charge of most of these administrative
functions, such as sororities, fraternities, school publications, athletics, is approved because teachers are gaining
valuable insight into the administration of the school and
thereby increasing their teaching efficiency
As to High School Course of Study (Davis)
Compared with ten other cities New York gives equal or
greater attention to foreign languages, drawing, oral expression and physical training
Branches offered in New York City and not provided in
many of the other cities are: Italian, English history as a
separate subject, and advanced or supplementary courses
in Greek and Latin
In aggregate amount of foreign language offered, New York
exceeds every other city
The general plan of dividing the high school system into
general and special curricula is commended
In other academic branches scope of work offered is more
nearly in keeping with the liberal spirit of the age; in
mathematics and foreign languages the scope is ample
and calls for no expansion
Newly issued syllabi on courses in history are planned to
correct several defects found in the old syllabi
As to Commercial Education (Thompson)
Geographical distribution of schools with respect to residential needs is deserving of commendation
Inspection of work of commercial teachers [number not
given] showed a general good level of achievement

PRAISE—Continued

11

Requirements for commercial teachers are well suited to
secure efficient and trained teachers, except for teachers
of commercial English, commercial modern languages,
economics and business organization
Two commercial high schools show praiseworthy effort to
make all school subjects reflect the vocational purpose
of the schools
No shortage of commercial equipment is reported
Practice work connected with clerical subjects is noticeably
intelligent and effective
Employment bureaus and follow-up systems are reported in
pratically all schools
Several schools report cooperation with typewriter companies in placing graduates
Course has been proposed to offer advanced work, unrestricted to clerical arts, to one class of commercial
workers
As to Trade Training (Schneider)
Manhattan Trade School offers an opportunity to 300 girls
to be skilled work-women "in a shorter time than through
trade training alone"
As a prevocational school for girls this school can be most
highly recommended
The chief virtue of the school (Boys' Trade) lies in the
attraction it offers a restless and school-sick boy to continue in a less academic but vigorous school course
As to Night Schools (Schneider)
Doing three commendable kinds of work; teaching English
to foreigners, teaching industrial science to those in energizing occupations; and giving instruction in dressmaking, millinery and household science
Classes composed of adults in energizing trades are thorough and to the point, and students are alert
As to Parental School (Schneider)
It is without question the best prevocational school the
writer has seen
Every boy who stays long enough is brought into contact
with most of the trades necessary to the maintenance of
a community
As to Attendance Work
Annually since 1908 defects of organization and procedure
have been the object of severe criticism in the reports of
the associate superintendent in charge (Burks)
As to Part Time
The Ettinger plan promoted from one to seven more children per hundred than full time classes; and is to be preferred to other part time plans (Bachman)

12

PRAISE—Continued

As to Intermediate Schools (Bachman)
Superiority of intermediate and 1A-6B schools over schools
with eight grades is shown because: .43 of 1% fewer
pupils leave 6B classes; 1% fewer pupils leave 7th and
8th year; 2% more pupils promoted; 13 times more terms
of work covered
Economy of three intermediate schools demonstrated as
compared to 13 all-grade schools with about the same
number of children, because they require 5.33% fewer
regular class rooms ; 27.32% fewer manual training shops;
17.10% fewer cooking rooms; 18.17% fewer gymnasiums;
$400,000 less in original investment for shops and cooking
rooms for 20,000 7A-8B pupils; 5.31% fewer regular class
teachers; 8.01% fewer manual training teachers; 8.01%
fewer cooking teachers; $35,000 less in salaries required
to provide for 20,000 7A-8B pupils; 19.11% less expense
for shop equipment
Intermediate school offers superior educational possibilities
because it can offer (a) different courses of study to meet
the needs of those planning "academic" courses, those entering vocational schools and those who must work as
soon as legally permitted; (b) adaptation of instruction
to different needs of two sexes; (c) classification of pupils
by capacity; (d) promotion by subjects; (e) adaptation
of school organization to fit pupils of 12-14 years for
athletics, club work, social activities, self-government
As to Construction and Care of Buildings (Armstrong)
Beautifully built and well adapted to their respective uses
Temperature control system now employed is good
Schools are in the main well cleaned
Very little fault can be found with engineers and janitors
when one considers the plants they are asked to operate
The architect has designed a very ingenious system of enclosed stairways
As to Delays in Construction of Buildings (Armstrong)
Formal proceeding in acquiring sites is not actually adhered
t o : material decrease in delay results from cooperation
of board of education committees, etc
Delay has decreased since board of estimate insisted on
statement from board of education showing order of
priority and proving use of population data and of other
local surveys in selection of school sites
As to Ventilation (Baskerville-Winslow)
Air in all 32 typical schools visited [out of 527 buildings],
some with natural and some with artificial ventilation, is
in good condition, free from excess dust and bacteria,
reasonably low in carbon dioxide, cool and well regulated

DEFECTS

13

as to temperature, though somewhat dry; average of
600,000 dust particles per cu. ft. of air
No proof of presence of specific organic substances in
respired air after extensive investigations by Dr. Lucas
Number of bacteria is normal for good indoor air, averaging less than 100 per cu. ft.
Of 1,800 determinations of school room temperature only
14% were over 71°
CONDITIONS SAID TO N E E D CORRECTION
Method of Examining and Rating Now Permits Selection of
Unfit Teachers and Principals
Fact base: (1) documentary material, (2) special data
in response to requests, (3) individual and group
conferences, (4) visitation of 21 [out of 497] elementary schools, (5) critical examination of methods of work of boards and individuals constituting
supervisory staff, detailed examination of many
hundred reports of supervisory officers on efficiency
of temporary license holders; many personal inspections of method used by district superintendents and principals in passing on qualifications of
teachers; replies to four questions by four members of board who are nominated from eligible list
by city superintendent to supervise conduct of
examinations, direct all written and oral tests, personally interview all applicants, prepare papers,
vote all matters of licensing, etc: Elliott report:
144 pages
The fact that there are in schools at the present time so many
teachers possessing an inadequate and imperfect command
of English points not only to a weakness in the examination
system, but also to a laxity in the supervision by the principals and district superintendents who permit renewal of
licenses
The methods and results of the teaching staff in the schools
of the city to-day undoubtedly are open to criticism
Responsibility of board of examiners for character and fitness
is transferred after appointment to district superintendent,
directors and principals
Present board is too small to accomplish diverse duties
Well recognized tendency of such examining bodies is to
become isolated from the situation under their control
If any criticism were to be made, it would be against the
leniency of the board in passing persons of doubtful personal
and linguistic qualifications
Having answer papers of written examinations read and rated
by "considerable number of principals and teachers" as
assistants, introduces numerous elements of unreliability

14

DEFECTS—Continued

Dangers should be emphasized arising from the system of
cramming and coaching for examinations that has grown
up in the city
"Forced" professional preparation is all the more aggravated
when attempted by those belonging to active supervisory
or teaching staff
Classroom tests of those qualifying for principal's license are
not a valid test of either teaching or supervisory capacity,
because tests conducted under abnormal teaching conditions
and standards of judgment applied are, in most instances,
wholly unreliable measures of candidates' real efficiency
Rating of principals on 13 points by "majority" of district
superintendents is a merely formal procedure. In "certain"
cases, ratings of one year merely copied from report of
preceding year
Work of principals not subjected to that cautious objective
examination that should constitute the foundation of the
ratings, if the ratings are worth making at all
Standards for "fit and meritorious service" are too uncertain
and variable to guarantee the selection, retention and reward
of those principals most fit and meritorious
Median age of 84 elementary principals appointed 1908-1912
is 36 for men and 44 for women; i.e., 11 men and 27 women
appointed when 40 or over; 4 women at 4 5 ; 4 at 46; 2 at 49;
2 at 52; 1 man at 45, 46, 47
During three years 1909-1911, only 1% approximately of initial
probationary licenses were refused permanency
Reports for renewal of temporary licenses are purely formal
in great majority of cases on the part of both principal and
district superintendent
Radically diverse standards are employed by supervisory officers in determining renewal of teachers' licenses
General criticism of method of supervisory officers in reporting on work of teachers, will hold as applying to the approval of service as "fit and meritorious"
T h e relatively few disapprovals of service mean "in all probability" the employment of a very lenient standard by approving officers; of 1,984 teachers rated by district superintendents, only 11 were rated as non-meritorious in discipline;
of 2,235 teachers rated by principals, only 11 rated as nonmeritorious in instruction, etc
Tendency is for district superintendent as matter of form to
discount ratings given teachers by principals
Careful application in high schools of superior merit provision
(as found by investigation and inspection by associate city
superintendent, district superintendent and principal, and
affirmed by majority of board of examiners) will result in
more intelligent procedure in approving license renewals

DEFECTS—Continued

15

Plan and Fact Base Lacking for Investigation and Appraisal
by General Supervisors or Board
Fact base: See page 13: Elliott report
There is nowhere within the system a clear and conscious discrimination between those activities of control that are
administrative in character, and those that are supervisory
or inspectorial
T h e organization of the school system has been from the top
down rather than from the bottom up, a procedure as obstructive to progress and real growth in education as it is in
other institutions
Schools of the city are (1) under the continued necessity of
reacting to a maximum amount of external administrative
control; (2) influenced by a minimum amount of competent
expert and constructive supervision; and (3) not receiving
the benefits of regular inspection and of unbiased estimates
of the value of their method and products
Altogether too little genuine and progressive leadership influences the work of the teachers or the accomplishment of
pupils
" W e have been brought into contact with many such persons
(i.e., judicially tempered individuals within the system itself) who as teachers or principals or superintendents were
willing to bring forward unbiased and substantial testimony
bearing directly upon the objects of the investigation. However, except in the case of a few negligible and minor matters, they were expressly unwilling to permit themselves
to appear as witnesses of record. The explanation for this
disinclination invariably given was that the expression of
critical judgments militated seriously against their professional standing and advancement"
Those responsible for school organization appear "intentionally
or unintentionally" to have discouraged competent criticism
and permitted incompetent criticism to undermine intelligent
public confidence
Chief evil of the existing scheme of control is to be found in
the disinclination to untilize experience of great body of
teachers and supervisors
System suffers from lack of definite, detailed knowledge of its
own working and its own cost
Officials charged with responsibility for administrative or
supervisory duty appraise their own performances
" N o outside agency could carry forward the work of inspection, of formulating impartial judgments of results, and of
proposing new procedures without much friction and loss
of energy"

16

DEFECTS—Continued

Board of Superintendents "Bureaucratic" and "Static**
Fact base: See page 13: Elliott report
Board of 8 associate superintendents and the city superintendent (chairman) with charter right of initiative in all educational matters, including nomination of teachers, recommendation of supplies and text books, suggestion of courses of
study, direction of school organization and instruction, has
failed to meet in any complete manner the obligation laid
upon it
For the ready execution of administrative duties, it is an unwieldy and complicated organization
Does not appear to have any well defined qualification for
nomination of district superintendents
Fully three-fourths of the matters before board (relating to
leave of absence, assignment, transfer, nomination of
teachers) could be cared for independently by the city superintendent acting in an administrative capacity
Minutes bristle with trivial items
One-quarter of the matters pertain to educational detail and
supervisory policy that should be determined upon by those
in actual contact with work of teachers and pupils
Usual order of procedure (checks and balances) would not be
tolerated by a well-organized industrial or commercial establishment
System of geographic supervision (by district instead of by
classes of work) now quite obviously yields a service of
doubtful worth
Supervision of schools by division superintendents is ineffective, unwise and uneconomical, judged by their annual reports to the city superintendent
As supervisory officers, they are too far removed from actual
conditions confronting teachers to render kinds of service
most needed
For proper inspection and appraisal of work of schools a
training and capacity radically different from those of administrative officers are required
For digest of the reply by the board of superintendents, see page 68
District Superintendents "Notably Inert"
Fact base: See page 13: Elliott report
Of 26 superintendents whose duties are (1) to keep district
records and reports; (2) confer with teachers and principals;
(3) inspect schools and work; (4) rate principals and
teachers; (5) suspend teachers; (6) enforce compulsory attendance; (7) assign special teachers; (8) approve requisitions; (9) report on local school board meetings; (10) investigate complaints,—all but two or three are products of New

DEFECTS—Continued

17

York education, training, experience; this inbreeding is not
a negligible factor of weakness
Qualifications for nomination of district superintendents are
not defined
As deputy supervisors of the city superintendent their position is anomalous
Monthly reports are made out in a most formal manner
Very few are able to make any very clear distinction between
administrative routine and supervision
Several say frankly that their major energies are consumed
by clerical labor and office routine
Directors and Teachers of Some Special Branches
Unnecessary
Fact base: See page 13: Elliott report
Number of special branch teachers increased from 305 in 1902,
to 479 in 1910 (an increase of 57% while the average attendance increased 37% during the same period)
Special branches have not yet succeeded in attaining a recognized and guaranteed place in the program of studies In
public schools
Conspicuous problem of special branches is found in the
dearth of qualified and competent teachers
823 kindergarten teachers are supervised by one director and
two assistants
Elementary Principals Mere Clerks, Not Supervising, Independent Initiators
Fact base: See page 13: Elliott report
Principal is not recognizedly responsible for school organization and supervision in his school building; i.e., has no real
supervisory independence or initiative, while practically all
the constructive features of his work are under immediate
control of assistant and district superintendents
Waste through system of appointing so-called additional
teachers for clerical service; also waste from number and
character of various monthly, annual and special statistical
reports that must be submitted by principals
Approximately three-fourths of 84 elementary school principals appointed 1908-1912 received all education, training and
experience in schools of New York
Less than 10% of those appointed had profitable experience in
schools outside
Marked tendency toward inbreeding deprives system of the
infusion of new blood, both in teachers and supervisors,
required for its progressive development

18

DEFECTS—Continued

Superintendents' Time Wasted On Clerical Routine
Fact base: Communications filed in the offices of the
city superintendent and associate superintendents;
personal interviews: Averill report: 50 pages
Clerical routine work consumes altogether too much time of
the city superintendent, associate superintendents and other
directing officers, to the necessary neglect of supervisory
educational work
The lack of a central information office entails a waste of
clerical assistance and leads to the acquisition and giving
out of information of questionable reliability, and to the
making of defective records
Since there are no printed blank forms for many kinds of communications a great amount of time is sacrificed in dictating
and typewriting recurrent matters, thus both increasing the
cost of such work and diverting attention from educational
supervision. Nearly 52% of all letters examined might have
been attended to by subordinates
The permission of the city superintendent is required in altogether too many minor matters, before action by supervisory
officers
Of the first 316 letters found in the files examined, which were
sent out by the city superintendent from 1908 to 1911, only
29 represented matters in which the city superintendent
initiated the correspondence; the rest were answers
There is lack of care, system and uniformity in filing letters,
recent letters being found in files for obsolete material,
letters belonging in one room being in another, etc
Actual authority is not delegated to those whose judgment
would warrant it; i.e., principals may not grant teachers
permission to visit other schools, etc
Even where authority is delegated to individuals, it is not used
A division of labor is lacking in the offices of associate superintendents, for each office appears to be writing letters on
any subject whatever as inquiries come to it
Only 82 out of 500 recommendations during three and onehalf years are from 8 assistant city superintendents
Only 23 out of 500 recommendations are from 23 district superintendents
Only 30 out of 500 recommendations are from nearly 600 principals of schools
Less than one suggestion for the betterment of the school system was found in the records per seven supervisors in three
and one-half years; i.e., the records show that only 102
recommendations were made by 749 principals, supervisors,
directors and board members
Of the recommendations which touched such vital questions
as part time, discipline, attendance and retardation, only one
per cent, emanated from 749 supervisors

DEFECTS—Continued

19

Negotiations, particularly those of the board of superintendents, consume an unnecessarily long time, partly because
of the number of hands through which negotiations are
passed before being completed
Attempts to cooperate on the part of the public and private
agencies are seldom encouraged and frequently ignored or
discouraged
Of 500 recommendations, of which without previous knowledge of action, 75 were examined in detail because they
seemed to be the most important, 14 were acted on favorably, 26 showed no record of any attention paid to them, 7
were merely acknowledged, 15 were marked "for no consideration," 5 were replied to in an indefinite way, 8 were acted
upon unfavorably
Local school boards have apparently been tolerated, ignored
or regarded as a relic of a system now fallen into disuse
Thousands of dollars have been lost each year because the
problem of teachers' absences had not been faced squarely in
spite of protracted correspondence showing that facts were
no longer in dispute. [Between the making and submission
of this report the board of education decided to deduct, on
account of absence, 1/300 of a year's salary instead of
1/360]
Pleas for reversal of adverse decisions are entertained with a
freedom which undermines the proper control of the teaching force
Elementary Teachers "Static and Depressed"
Fact base: Visits by 12 different persons to 60 [out
of 496] elementary schools; study of 300 recitations
"for all or most" of 300 periods [out of 100,000
possible]; consultation with not less than 100 lout
of 15,157] teachers and [out of 840] supervisors
and principals; application to 19 typical recitations,
four standards of "motivation," "evaluation," "organization" and "initiative"; "conclusions are immediate result of facts gained at first hand and
verified by extensive study of curricula and syllabus, and of supervision by principals": McMurry
report: 142 pages
Instruction is, in spite of many exceptions, on a low plane,
poor in quality, and discouraging for the future
Not one of the standards proposed for judging instruction is
satisfactorily met
Inculcating of purposes in pupils is scarcely thought of in
actual classroom work
No evidence that stress is laid on organization of children's
ideas
No time is given to children's weighing of values

20

DEFECTS—Continued

Almost no planning for pupils' growth in self-reliance or self
expression through instruction; teacher puts the questions,
makes the corrections and immediately directs every turn
that is made
In quite a number of kindergartens, dictation exercises and
readymade play are so prominent that they directly oppose
self-expression and self-reliance
Kindergartens (without these defects) and elementary schools
fail to harmonize; primary instruction tends to nullify important lines of influence begun in kindergarten; dualism
within a single system is most wasteful
Majority of teachers and principals seem reconciled to educational theory that (1) there is scarcely a limit to the necessity for uniformity; (2) principal subject matter is what is
automatically usable; (3) accuracy in detail is the leading
element in scholarship; (4) knowledge is given for use in
the distant future, not now
According to conviction held by teachers [number not given],
teachers' attitude is not satisfactory because they are: (1)
hampered by lack of authority to punish children; (2) not
free to change curriculum, choose text books, determine
methods; (3) not developing initiative or self-expression;
(4) without inspired leadership; (5) not discussing aims
and principles
Any independent efforts of teachers to reorganize subject matter, stress relative values or provide for motive in an original manner, would run the risk of disapproval by their
superiors
Investigators were unable to discover either any general striving toward the higher aims of instruction or even signs of
such general striving
Discipline Deficient
Fact base: See page 19: "Numerous conversations
with teachers and principals and correspondence
also": McMurry report
By-law prohibiting corporal punishment often ignored
Common practice for principal to "smooth over the case" or
to ignore it outright, leaving to classroom teacher the
responsibility of getting on with each pupil as best she can
Substitutes "more cruel than corporal punishment" are commonly applied
Large number of children are extremely disobedient and disorderly
Accommodations in truant, disciplinary and parental schools
are not sufficient, and often not what many of these semiincorrigible children need
Red tape of commitment causes delay and takes much time of
principal with possible uncertain outcome

DEFECTS—Continued

21

Elementary Curriculum Out of Date
Judgment base: Four standards applied to printed
statements in curriculum and syllabi on all subjects except history, civics, penmanship and foreign language: (1) relation of subject matter to
children's purposes; (2) tendency to call forth initiative in children and teachers; (3) kind and
degree of organization of subject matter; (4) attention to relative values: McMurry report
Barring a few exceptions the curriculum and syllabi could
both easily have applied twenty years ago
"One naturally suspects that such a course and truancy are
closely related"
Syllabi merely inform ; fail to inspire good teachers; directly
limit them to low ideals
Most striking fact about curriculum and syllabi is want of
educational leadership they display
Syllabi do not allow freedom of teachers to grow or offer
positive aids to growth
Little attention to correlation of subjects
Almost no reference to importance of teaching children to
study alone
Kindergarten
Overemphasis in some quarters of more formal values,
technique, precision, exact imitation
Reading and Literature
Offering too narrow; neglects current literature; no freedom for development of special taste; as a whole, striking
overemphasis of minor parts of good reading, i.e., of form
in distinction from thought; arbitrary offering to teachers
of suggestions on methods
Composition and Grammar
Ignore need of motive for expression of thought; grammar
is crowding out other more necessary work; syllabus
omits emphasis on fitness and force; importance of correlation between literature and composition is not recognized : imitation is made so prominent that individuality
of children is endangered; suggestions for development
of originality are wanting; directions to teachers seriously
limit freedom; adaptation to individual conditions of
schools is prevented
Spelling
Little reference to reviewing and testing words in actual
sentence; suggestions about how to present new words
are too limited; value of proper enunciation is slighted

22

DEFECTS—Continued

Music
No effort to define or suggest good materials; lack of definite requirements for application or scholarship tends to
reduce singing to mere entertainment exercise; music as
planned is purely technical; peculiar disregard of individuality
Nature Study and Elementary Science
No provision for relation to human life; completely out of
line with elementary education; uniform syllabus for all
schools is equally undesirable and unsatisfactory; topics
are isolated; ability of teachers to give instruction varies
even more than ability to teach music; material provided
is inadequate; syllabus needs supplementing; course ignores interest on part of young people; enumerates topics
rather than offers an original outline; little opportunity
for correlation with other subjects; self-expression of
teacher is circumscribed
Arithmetic
Organization is relentlessly logical; rigid sequence of subject matter; contains many things of doubtful value
which if omitted would reduce course from eight to six
years; bears no relation to practical affairs; little provision for pupils' motivation; excessive amount of drill;
destitute of suggestions for supplementary work; extremely difficult for teachers or pupils to exercise initiative
Drawing, Construction Work, Cooking, Sewing
No direct relationship between drawings and projects actually constructed in a shop or elsewhere; technical efficiency is chief end point; organization is almost solely on
a mechanical basis and correlation (except for cooking)
is omitted; motivation is not considered a problem at all
Geography
No consideration of children's interest; fixed sequence and
uniformity of approach for all children; insistence on one
fixed order seriously interferes with exercise of initiative
by teachers and pupils; no plan for close correlation between geography, history, good citizenship and nature
study; course shows no influence from educational
thought during last 25 years; not enough time allotted to
course
Physical Training
In many schools, no facilities for running, folk-dancing and
athletics; teachers are not trained to do this kind of work
and have little interest in it; curriculum composed chiefly
of gymnastics, planned from adult viewpoint exclusively;
marked emphasis on posture and coordination; lacks
emphasis on more vital and real elements in physical edu-

DEFECTS—Continued

23

cation; children held down to dull monotony of teacher's
count; teacher has as little opportunity for originality,
choice and initiative as the child
Hygiene
Entirely neglected in "many of the schools"; undue emphasis placed on more formal and less valuable p a r t s ; principally list of topics that supposedly a child ought to know;
little provision for exercise of individuality of teachers
and pupils
Elementary Principals Ineffective as Supervisors
Judgment base: See page 19: 32 replies from a questionnaire sent to 83 principals: four standards; (1)
proportion of time spent in supervision; (2) character of supervision; (3) manner of rating teachers;
(4) method of supervision, applied to certain principals [number not told]: McMurry report
Amount of time spent by a principal with any one teacher at
any one time is extremely small; average six minutes
No remarks are as a rule made to teacher after watching
recitation
Office interviews with teachers are notably short, three or
four minutes; given without preparation by principal
One hundred teachers [number questioned not stated] expressed opinions that practically no help is given to teachers
by principals
Teachers' conferences give small place to instruction, discussion is rare, effect is to depress rather than stimulate
teachers
Common for teachers to declare that fear of punishment by
low mark prevents freedom of expression
Two-thirds of time and energy of principals devoted to administrative duties
Little distinction is made in practice by principals between
administrative and supervising duties
Principals exhausted by constantly pressing details of administration
Large schools intensify pressure of administrative work
Appointment of assistant principals does not remedy this evil
as they do mostly clerical work; great waste of money at
this point
Elementary Principals Lack Authority
Fact base: See page 19: McMurry report
Have no authority in choice of studies, with the exception of
one slight option in the eighth grade; practically no authority as to content; and only slight degree of freedom in allotting time to separate branches and subjects

24

DEFECTS—Continued

Are forestalled by the syllabi which set narrow limits for
teachers and omit reference to aims and principles
Are directly subject to the district superintendent who rates
them
Teachers are inclined to look to district superintendent (who
rates them also) as their head rather than to principal
Principals have no control over special supervisors
Some assert outright they are merely agents of the district
superintendent
Frequency of rating teachers makes examinations unnecessarily prominent
Rating list of following 17 points is inadequate, important for
what it does not include, and fails to suggest any of the
purposes of teaching: ability to comprehend instructions;
ability to cooperate with other teachers: skill in blackboard
work; skill in questioning; skill in presentation; use of objective illustrations; power to interest; thoroughness of
drill; self-control and manners; use of English language;
use of voice; attendance; punctuality; personal tidiness;
accuracy in keeping records and making records; control of
class; energy and success in self-improvement
Uniformity of method is at great premium in New York and
affects principals' theory of supervision which becomes the
mere prescribing of certain series of "steps," eight or more,
"an established procedure" for teaching each topic
Neither voluntary nor required reports of principals to board
of superintendents in last five years show concern about
either the theory or practice of supervision of instruction
Relation of principals to their superior officers does not allow
them to make recommendations to those officers to which
the latter are under obligations to reply
Age-Grade Reports "Inaccurate and Unreliable"
Fact base: City superintendent's annual reports,
1905-1911: Bachman report on overage: 52 pages
After-June-promotion grades have been given since 1905; before-June-promotion grades were given in 1904; in subsequent comparisons of 1904 with later years, no mention of
the change in base
By comparing after-promotion grade totals in 1905 with before-promotion grade totals of 1904, a decrease of 7% in
overage children (39% to 32%) was shown; an increase of
2% (from 39% to 41%) would have been shown had 1905
before-promotion figures been compared with 1904 beforepromotion figures
A 4% understatement of overage is due to putting into eight
"years" the facts for 16 "grades" instead of reporting the
16 half-year grades separately

DEFECTS—Continued

25

A 12% understatement is due to comparing June ages with
after-promotion (i.e., next year's) grades rather than with
before-promotion (i.e., June) grades
An 18% understatement is due to using up-to-15 instead of
up-to-14j^ as the normal age for completing the eight grade
30,995 pupils who left January-June, 1911, are not included in
age-grade reports
28,838 children in special classes for overage and "working
certificate," and "non-English speaking" pupils are excluded
from age-grade comparative reports, as are all pupils in
ungraded classes for the feebleminded, the blind, deaf, crippled
66.57% of New York's elementary pupils would have been
shown to be overage by a correct age-grade report, instead
of 23.22%, as reported by the city superintendent. [The
investigator's "correct" table would not include "underaged" or "normal aged" children who had failed one or more
times within, for example, the "up-to-7j^" year limit for
being in the first grade, June 30. B. M. R.]
Age grade conditions not for the full official year but for part
of the pupils for the second term only, are shown by present
reports
Definite information useful to principals and teachers in classifying and instructing children is not supplied
Reports on Non-Promotion "Incomplete" and "Misleading"
Fact base: Figures in annual reports of the city

superintendent; returns from questionnaire sent to
all elementary principals and teachers concerning
569,612 children on register at the end of FebruaryJune term 1911, not including the children who left
before end of term: (63% of principals' answers
contained errors): Bachman report on non-promotion: 115 pages

Blanks prepared by city superintendent could not be tabulated in more than one w a y ; directions to principals were
inadequate
Most frequent rate of promotion (made last day of term,
not during term) is from 89 to 90%, with exception of 1A
(76%) and 8B (97%)
Unnecessary Clogging in 1A
10,314 pupils in 1A were left back in June to re-enter this
grade in September, to overcrowd classes and to congest
the schools
Causes were inability to use English language, part time,
immaturity, oversized classes (minor factors) and absence
Of pupils absent 10 days and less 89% were promoted; only
40% of those absent 41 days and more were promoted

26

DEFECTS—Continued

Non-Promotion Largely Due to Absence
One registered pupil in 19 was absent 41 days and above
Absences in two lowest grades are particularly large because
pupils are young, amount of sickness is greater, schoolgoing habit not yet acquired, parents do not feel necessity
of regular attendance
Lowest absence rate in 8B grade, 4.83% absent 21 days and
more compared with 13.90% in 5A and 39.73% in 1A
Rate of promotion varies inversely with absence; of those
absent 10 days and less, 6% were not promoted, while of
those absent 41 days and above, 47% were not promoted
Non-Promotion Not Increased by Large Classes
Of 568,612 pupils June 30, 1911, 13% were in classes having
more than 50
Oversize classes were confined June, 1911, to 6B and lower
grades
1A has largest number of large classes
Number of oversized classes (over 50) could be reduced
10% by (1) standardizing classrooms; (2) forming mixed
classes in grades 1A-6B; (3) care of principals in organizing classes; (4) putting groups of pupils from 2 grades
in one class
Data not at hand to show to what extent classes having
over 50 offer less favorable opportunities for work than
do smaller classes
Teachers and school officials stated that classes over 50
should be eliminated and all classes be reduced to at least
not more than 45 pupils; yet rate of promotion in all
grades, excepting 1A, was the same in classes of 50 and
under
Non-Promotion Increased by Overage
Fact base: Above figures and age-grade standards
used by city superintendent; ages for June 30, 1911
215,333 or 37.87% children we,re above normal age, according to reports to school inquiry committee [rate given by
city superintendent was 23.3%]
Of these 56% are less than one year behind their grade, 29%
one and two years behind; 10% two and three years
behind
Pupils between one and two years overage drop out in increasing numbers after 6B grade
Pupils between two and three years overage leave after 5A
Rate of non-promotion for overage pupils was higher from
4 to 10% than for pupils of normal age except in 1A
grade; overage children tend to fall farther and farther
behind

DEFECTS—Continued

27

Inability to Use English Language Reduces Promotions
Special fact base: Principals' estimate of reasons for
non-promotion
Rate of promotion for pupils using English was 19% higher
than for those unable to use it
School work of 8,739 pupils in total register of regular
classes was interfered with by inability to use English;
55% of these in 1A and IB grades
Presence of these pupils had no material effect on rate of
promotion of their grades as a whole
Part Time Slight Factor in Non-Promotion
68,610 children on part time June 30, 1911; [90,000, Sept.,
1912] of whom 24% were in 1A, 22% in IB, 13% in 2A,
12% in 2B, 27% above second grade; 11% above third
grade: in four different kinds of part time classes—a.m.,
p.m.; alternating morning and afternoon; and Ettinger
part time classes
Children in part time classes are in school 3^4 to 4 hours;
though Ettinger part time classes have a five-hour school
day and a considerable number of children receive not
only a whole day's schooling but a considerable amount
of personal attention
From one to seven more pupils out of each hundred pupils
were promoted in Ettinger part time classes than in whole
time classes in the same grade; yet of 68,610 pupils on
part time only 8% were in Ettinger, 64% in alternating,
13% in morning and 13% in afternoon classes
Educational superiority of Ettinger classes over whole time
classes not yet proved
In 4A, 4B and 6B grades promotion rate in whole time
classes is lower by .6 of 1% than in part time classes; in
other nine grades promotion rate higher by less than 2%
than in whole time classes
782 less children promoted among 68,610 part time pupils
(all grades) than would have been promoted if rate in
whole time classes were applied
On the basis of rate of promotion, alternating part time
classes afford less favorable opportunities for advancement
than whole time classes; in grades 1A-3B from one to
three fewer pupils per hundred were promoted
Opportunities for advancement in a.m. and p.m. classes combined are less favorable than in whole time classes; from
one to five less pupils are promoted per hundred
No practical difference between rate of promotion in alternating and in a.m. and p.m. part, time classes combined
Part time has slight direct effect on promotions; probably
has no effect on increasing congestion; though there may
be important indirect effects including indifference to
school work, bad conduct and truancy

28

DEFECTS—Continued

Putting on part time the 60,166 whole time pupils in 1A and
IB grades would free enough rooms to eliminate the major
portion of part time in classes from grades above IB
Pupils Leaving Elementary School Not Studied
No reports have ever been made for whole city on number
leaving elementary schools and reasons therefor
15,857 boys and 15,148 girls ( 5 % of total enrollment)
dropped out during February-June term, 1911
Losses from 14 to 15 years were 20% of total losses; from
15-16, 14% ; from 16 to 17 years, 7%
55% of pupils leaving regular classes were under 14 years
51% of these were subject to compulsory education law
Fact that no account is taken of thousands of pupils leaving
school leads to a defect in certain of the reports of the
city superintendent
Report on ages made by city superintendent includes only
pupils on register at end of term and omits 30,995 children
leaving regular classes during term
Impossible to solve problem of elimination when reports
of pupils leaving and reasons therefor are not tabulated
"Forced Promotions"
Fact that rate of promotion was uniformly about 90% gives
weight to statement made repeatedly by teachers and principals [number not given] that they were "unofficially
expected" to promote approximately 90%
Increase in rate of promotion in the February-June, 1911,
was 4% over rate for same term, 1910, an unusually large
increase for New York City. When due allowance is
made for whatever increase in efficiency there may have
been, it must be admitted by all who are acquainted with
school conditions and school work that this extraordinary
increase was due in most part to the "pressure" exercised
by the city superintendent of schools "to secure more
generous promotions"
No decrease in requirements was made to permit larger
number of legitimate promotions
Teachers "felt forced" to promote even children not fit for
promotion, though variations in rate of promotion (1)
with absence, overage, etc., (2) in different schools, (3)
in same grade of different schools, (4) in different grades
of same school, indicate that promotions were made on
judgment, not on a mere mechanical basis
Rate of promotion ought ultimately to be about 100%
Conditions Favorable to Maximum Promotions not Encouraged
Variations in promotion rate in different grades, schools and
districts give little support to the thought that the maximum rate has been attained

DEFECTS—Continued

29

No one actually knows whether the best age of entrance to
elementary school is five, six, seven or older; therefore
best to follow custom of making six lower age limit
General agreement that children cannot be kept with profit
under the regime of the elementary school much beyond
the beginning of pubescence, i.e., 14 years
Little regard paid to desirable limits of elementary school
period (six to 14) as based on custom of entering at six,
and on average age of reaching maturity, 14
64% of children from 13 to 14 years old (1905-1908) continued in school one additional year, 27% two additional
years; 7% three or more additional years
Actual length of attendance in elementary schools averages
only seven years for children reaching fourteenth birthday
Of those graduating in last six years, 23% were under 14,
36% from 14 to 15, 27% from 15 to 16, 10% from 16 to 17
Actual total length of present elementary course exceeds
by from one to four years the actual time that 76% of
pupils are in attendance by their fourteenth birthday
Of all pupils entering, but 88% reach sixth grade, 6 1 % the
seventh grade, 47% the eighth grade, only 4 1 % are ever
able to complete the course
No consideration is given to varying abilities of children due
to home conditions, foreign parentage, financial status
No one knows with exactness how long the present course
of study is
Arbitrary high school entrance requirements and arbitrary
assumptions of what elementary school graduates ought
to know determine rate of promotion, though rate can
only be determined in view of rapidity with which normal
children in regular attendance must advance in order to
finish an entire elementary course of study
Wrong Method Used in Estimating Teachers Needed in
Elementary Schools
Fact base: Estimates, discussions, budgets, official
records, register, attendance: Bachman report on
estimating teachers needed: 73 pages
Facts have not been presented by the board of education in
the past to demonstrate clearly the needs of the schools
Jn 1911 teachers were requested for 6,000 more pupils than
there were reasons to expect; i.e., 28,000, the estimated increase in register, was the average increase of December
over the preceding May for the years 1902-1909, whereas
the average increase of December over preceding December
for these same years was 21,707
Estimates for 1912 and 1913 were respectively 3,500 and 7,000
higher than the highest estimate that would probably have
been made had principals, when estimating, taken into ac-

30

DEFECTS—Continued

count the losses of pupils in advancing from grade to grade
and the actual increases in such grades in previous years
The district unit used for 1913 has four defects: (a) no uniformity in method of making estimates, which cannot be
verified, (b) tabulation of total register supplies no basis
for estimating distribution by grades and by kinds of classes,
(c) no data to determine where more or fewer classes are
needed, (d) no data on number of months for which new
teachers will be necessary
Temporary absence of children on account of weather and
holidays reduces number of pupils in average daily attendance, but in no wise lessens the actual needs for teachers
Average daily attendance should not be made basis of budgetary estimates because (1) represents minimum, not total,
service of school, (2) varies directly with weather, illness
and holy days, (3) no exact relation between it and expenditures for instruction, (4) more variable than register
Present monthly register shows only number of pupils at the
end of month, includes transferred pupils and others who
have not been in school one full day, but excludes discharges even when they have been in school during the
month
Estimating increase by individual schools is inaccurate because: (1) little uniformity in rise and fall of register of
each, (2) changes in neighborhood make forecasting impossible, (3) impossible to forecast distribution among grades
and classes, (4) cost of operating in past year not reliable
index
Preventable Truancy Not Prevented
Fact base: Published reports of city superintendent,
associate in charge, and permanent census board,
etc: manuscript reports of district superintendents,
office records, "numerous conferences": Burks report: 75 pages
Annual reports of district superintendents have never beea
published separately or utilized for comparative study of
methods as a basis for administrative standardization
Reports for 1910-1911 compared as to 23 items prove extraordinary variation in practice which is completely hidden by
the gross figures of the published report
Variations in practice relate to 20 different matters including
number of truancy cases reinvestigated, number of times
children found truant were returned to school, number
placed on probation, number of cases per attendance offices
Weekly and monthly reports of attendance officers are ambiguous and incoherent
No alphabetical lists for cumulative data under each case;
therefore is impossible for attendance officers to deal with
children in light of past experience

DEFECTS—Continued

31

Daily time and service records of officers are too general to be
of value in supervision
No general, clearly defined standards of procedure for conducting preliminary investigations
Forms used by principals in referring cases limit information
to most obvious and superficial facts about each child
Unnecessary repetition of records kept by principals and attendance officers
Length of interval between reference of case and attendance
officers' report varies from 48 hours to over 16 days
Data included in statistical reports of attendance officers, if
properly analyzed, classified and interpreted, would serve
as an invaluable commentary on city's program of education,
health conservation, charitable relief and police protection
Value of annual report as a source of information is seriously
limited (1) by the omission of important data, (2) by unanalyzed totals, (3) by defective arrangement, (4) by clerical
inaccuracies, (5) by arbitrary adjustments to "force balances" that were assumed to be called for in certain groups
of items, and (6) by variation in definition of terms employed
No one individual in the organization is charged with complete authority and responsibility for general administrative
control
Limits of authority and responsibility of each member of the
organization are not clearly defined and described
No adequate provision for field supervision and inspection of
work of attendance officers
No special provision made for specialization of attendance
officers in coercive discipline, prosecution of court cases,
social service, etc
No systematic provision for most effective working relations
with department of health, state labor department, public
and private agencies actually or potentially cooperating
with the compulsory attendance service
Attendance service directed at present to performance of police
functions, rather than to the discovery and treatment of
deeper causes of truancy
Of 90,000 children absent for at least one month, FebruaryJune, 1913 (30,000 absent over two full school months), only
6,579 children were reported by officers as having been
truants for five days or more during entire year
Very large number of children by sporadic absence for trivial
causes lessen their own chance for satisfactory progress in
school
Failure to secure money for 20 additional officers in 1912 due
to lack of competent evidence that additional officers were
needed and the failure to reorganize department as proposed
by the associate superintendent in his 1908 report

32

DEFECTS—Continued

Ungraded Classes for Feeble-Minded Inadequate in Number
Equipment and Teaching
Fact base: Examination of 46 [out of 2,500] children
in three [out of 31] ungraded [feeble-minded]
classes; of 81 [out of 25,000] children in "E"
[overage] classes; of 22 [out of 2,461] children in
"D" [working paper classes]; of 115 [out of
666,538] children in regular grades in five schools;
of five cases in one high school: visits by the investigator in person to 125 classes [out of 131 with
2,500 children] in 95 schools; suggestions from
teachers and principals "wherever possible"; application of results of "most extensive study ever
made" with Binet test in a Southern Jersey town
which showed that 2% of 2,000 public school children are feeble-minded: Goddard report: 23 pages
There were in 1911, 15,000 feeble-minded children in New
York's public schools
Some normal children are in classes set aside for feeble-minded
Five high school children selected by teacher were found to
be feeble-minded, because according to the teacher "they
were not allowed to stay more than two years in any one
grade so they are promoted whether they are fit or not"
Of 46 children examined in ungraded classes, 29 were distinctly feeble-minded, 14 probably so
Of 81 children examined in special " E " (overage) classes,
more than one-third were distinctly feeble-minded; probably
2,500 defective children in these classes alone
Of 22 children examined in special " D " classes (preparing for
working certificates) 40% were found feeble-minded; probably 1,000 feeble-minded children in this group alone
Of 115 selected children in regular grades of five representative
schools 33 were distinctly feeble minded and 30 more were
border line cases
Probably high percentage of 1,464 children in " C (non-English speaking classes) and of 490 children in classes for
cripples are feeble-minded
Many feeble-minded children who are crippled, blind or deaf
are shut out of public school
Large numbers of feeble-minded children probably in schools
not "public"
Nearly all teachers feel that ungraded classes should not be in
regular schools and that these children should be in institutions, but admit that very few parents would allow it
Method of choosing children for ungraded classes inadequate
because (1) grade teachers are not able to recognize the
moron, (2) pride of principals and teachers sometimes prevents, (3) physical defects complicate diagnosis
AJ1 grades of mental incapacity in same ungraded class; no
opportunity of grouping according to capability

DEFECTS—Continued

33

Bookwork all forenoon felt by teachers to be largely wasted
on children in ungraded classes
Very general effort on part of teachers to get some of these
children back in the grades
Teachers of the grades who had taken these children back
sometimes reported that they ought not to have been sent
back
No records kept of progress and history of children; no basis
for conclusions about methods of teaching
Very few classes have any adequate supply of material to
work on; some of them, indeed, have not any equipment
Rooms are not equipped for this kind of teaching
Teachers of ungraded classes have not had adequate training;
certified teachers found in these classes who are in no way
fitted for the work
Practically impossible to obtain an adequate supply of trained
teachers
Little or no supervision of these classes; the one inspector has
131 classes scattered all over Greater New York
Principals of schools in which there are classes have no official
responsibility for them
Of 497 elementary schools, 402 have no ungraded classes
Efficiency Low in Arithmetic
Fact base: Eight Courtis tests [five with 20 examples
each, one with 16, one 19, one 8] applied to onetenth the number of pupils in grades 4 A—8 B, and
to one general and one commercial high school, in
all, 33,350 children in 90 classes in 52 schools (27,171
records); tests in speed for (1) addition, (2) subtraction, (3) multiplication, (4) division, (5) copying figures, (6) reasoning in simple one-step problems, (7) fundamentals (abstract examples in the
four operations), and (8) reasoning in two-step
operations, cited by Prof. Hanus as "illustration of
the scientific method of investigating and appraising educational results": Courtis report: 158 pages
In view of effort, time and money expended, conditions could
hardly be worse; great inefficiency and inaccuracy in speed
and reasoning
Study more than justifies the severest criticism of the efficiency of training in arithmetic afforded by the public
schools that has yet been made by the "man on the street"
Class averages of one school were abnormally high and its
results rejected altogether. (Testimony of one child as to
illegitimate preparation)
Of 1,000 boys, 13 only could do accurately examples like those
in Test 7 (fundamentals) at speed of 1.5 examples or better
a minute; 336 could do accurately one example a minute;
773 could do accurately one example in \y2 minutes; 850
could do accurately one example in two minutes

34

DEFECTS—Continued

On basis of one example per minute nine boys of 1,000 in 4th
grade can qualify in speed, none can qualify in accuracy
Training in grades 5 to 6 enables 86% of class to qualify in
speed and but 34% in accuracy
Low efficiency due to neglect of difference in powers and capabilities of individual children
80% of children in each grade could be replaced by an equal
number of children from the grade above without changing
in the slightest the ability of the grade in the first test
Of 5,670 sixth grade children tested for ability in the multiplication tables, 18% had score lower than average of the
4th grade, 38% lower than the average for the 5th grade,
48% exceeded the average for the 6th grade, 38% exceeded
average for the 7th grade
Differences among individuals within a grade greatly exceed
differences between grade averages
Difference betwen the grade averages of any two 6B classes
chosen at random will be on the average much smaller than
the difference between the scores of two individuals, also
chosen at random from either class
Knowledge of the tables is not in itself any guarantee of
ability to work examples
In spite of strenuous and conscientious efforts of the New
York teachers, that so slight an advantage (gain in speed)
has resulted bears eloquent testimony to uselessness of attempting to work changes in children without a knowledge
of the factors involved
Careful study over years of repeated measurements of same
individuals fails to disclose any basis of classification on
which to place scheme of uniform instruction on different
topics, like addition, subtraction, etc
Test of 50 employees of John Wanamaker's store (average
length of employment two years, average age, 19) shows
that standard required by employer could be met by only
5 1 % of 8B boys and 56% of 8B girls
Comparison of results in one general and one commercial high
school, shows that commercial work produces marked differences only in addition and subtraction tests
Boys in commercial high school show no greater development
in speed of work than they would have done had they taken
the general course, while the girls show less
One-half of the boys and one-third of the girls are more accurate than they would have been had they not taken commercial work
Differences in the effect of work in these two schools are
slight

DEFECTS—Continued

35

That unsatisfactory achievements in fundamentals are not
changed during the period of preparation for commercial life
is not favorable to the success of the work of the commercial
courses
Tendency of pupils in part time classes is to fall below average
of their grades
Girls' classes exceed all others slightly in speed, markedly in
accuracy
Gross differences in mental ability are likely to arise from
differences in parentage, social station and physical growth
Gross inefficiency of present conditions is caused by lack of
exact knowledge of conditions acted upon and of effects
produced
In tests for speed and accuracy question of foreign parentage
does not seem to affect work
Average child in New York City will be able to do abstract
work rapidly, but inaccurately; simple reasoning work
slowly
New York averages compared with standard scores show children slightly better in speed but correspondingly worse in
accuracy, and very poor in reasoning
General use of practice test increases speed but decreases accuracy ; too much drill is harmful
Standard Size for High School Sections Not Met
Fact base: 656 German classes in 20 high schools;
standard of 30 pupils per section set by associate
superintendent in charge: Ballou report: 142 pages

Great variation in the size of sections among (20) different
high schools and among different classes (average 32
classes) in each high school
All high schools have sections with 25 or less pupils; all but
two have sections with 18 pupils or less
There are sections with five, six and seven pupils
There are sections with 50, 55, 60, 65 pupils
29% of 656 sections in German have under 25 or over 40 pupils
When standard of associate superintendent in charge (30 to
40 pupils) is applied to German sections only 5 1 % come
within standard
Practice of organizing first term pupils into sections of 40 or
more pupils must be emphatically condemned
Redistribution of pupils would have avoided 93% of first term
sections with less than 30 pupils; 94% of first term sections
with over 40; 75% of sections above the first term with
less than 30; and 95% of these sections with over 35
Detailed study of organization in three selected high schools
shows that in most cases most small sections are result of
bad distribution by principal; most large sections are unnecessary and indefensible

36

DEFECTS—Continued

Large sections cannot be defended on ground that proper
number of teachers is lacking; duty of principal and board
of superintendents to secure the teachers needed
No well organized experiments have ever been undertaken
to determine the number of high school pupils which should
constitute a recitation section
Department Chairmen Ineffective as Supervisors
Fact base: Assignments of 116 chairmen of departments in 20 high schools; standard of periods set
by associate superintendent in charge: Ballou report
In 12 large high schools (with over 1,000 pupils) 75% of
chairmen are teaching more periods than maximum standard (12 to 15 periods) fixed by associate superintendent in
charge
In eight small high schools (with 248-983 pupils) 86% of
chairmen are teaching more periods than the maximum
standard (15 to 18 periods)
Two periods a week of study hall supervision is averaged by
all chairmen
In large high schools, average four periods a week (instead
of 11 as intended) left for supervision of department and
administrative duties assigned by the principal (only 40%
of intended time)
In smaller high schools, one period only left for supervision,
etc. (19% of intended time)
Too little supervision of classroom instruction because of
prominence of administrative duties
Clerical work which might be done by highly paid employees
takes time away from supervision
High School Teachers Work More Than Standard Hours
Fact base: Study of 671 teachers in English, German,
mathematics, biology and history in all high
schools; standard set by associate superintendent
in charge: Ballou report
Number of periods of teaching varies from 6 to 34 in English,
18 to 28 in German, 4 to 28 in mathematics, 15 to 28 in
biology, 7 to 25 in history
82% of teachers are teaching 20 to 25 periods; 15% less than
20; 2% more than 25 periods
32% of 226 teachers in English are teaching more than established standard periods (20 to 21)
14% of 445 teachers in other subjects are not teaching in accordance with established standard (20 to 25 periods)
75% of 671 teachers are doing an average of more than 25
periods of teaching and study hall supervision

DEFECTS—Continued

37

Over 50% of these teachers are also carrying other administrative and clerical responsibilities, including recess and
corridor assignments, sororities, school publications, athletics, supplies, lunch room, bulletin boards
Administrative duties of teachers include charge of an official
class room and its supplies, records, etc., requiring an average of five hours a week [based on study of six high
schools]
Number of clerks is not sufficient [no examination of work
' made]
"It is absurd to require teachers to perform clerical work
which could be performed better by clerks at from onethird to one-half the salary"
"Further, it is equally absurd to expect teachers to do a full
day's work in teaching and then perform administrative
functions after school hours or as 'odd jobs' "
Over 15% of 671 teachers are teaching less than minimum
standard (20 periods) because of work other than teaching
High School Organization Defective
Fact base: See page 35: Number of classrooms, teachers, pupils in 20 high schools and their annexes;
course of study: Ballou report
Study of principals' daily program had never been made by
superintendent
Time allotments for studies in every course of study are haphazard
Attempt made in every school building to care for more students than building was designed for
Method of increasing or decreasing number of teachers does
not provide teachers where they are needed, because data
for such reorganization are inadequate
Control of factors affecting organization of high schools lies
with department of education rather than with principal
Board of superintendents in determining curricula has not
considered (1) relation of curricula in one school to size of
sections, (2) relation of electives to cost of instruction, (3)
relation of daily program to time allotments for subjects
In 10 high schools with more than 1,500 pupils each, organization cannot be effective because (1) it is impossible for a
principal to discharge his duty to pupils, parents, teachers;
(2) schools are too large as administrative units; (3) all
pupils cannot assemble at one time
High school annexes are undesirable temporary expedients
and increase congestion in main building
In the 21 annexes, including usually work of two terms, teaching "likely to be inferior"; teachers change often and do a
relatively larger amount of teaching than teachers in main

38

DEFECTS—Continued

building; equipment usually not as good; supervision not
as effective; classes larger; conditions generally militate
against successful work
Small rooms, never intended for classroom purposes, are being used in high schools which means expensive instruction
Large rooms and consequently large sections due to congested conditions often mean ineffective instruction
False economy to force the use of inadequate classrooms by
not providing classrooms of the proper size
In many schools not enough teachers to maintain standard
size of section and standard week's work for a teacher
W r o n g Method Used in Estimating Teachers Needed in
High School
Fact base: Board of education blank used in 1911;
figures given by principals, 1911; annual report of
city superintendent: Ballou report
Method used to appoint teachers is inadequate as based on
average number of pupils per teacher in school as a whole
and on average number of pupils per teacher by departments in a school
Blank unsatisfactory, lacks continuity and coherence. No
data covering size of section, amount of work in each subject or amount of work teachers are doing
Data given covers only three year period, insufficient to avoid
using temporary or exceptional conditions as a base
"Average number of pupils per teacher" is an unnecessary
and misleading basis because such averages (1) mean nothing in system of general and special schools with from 200
to 4,000 pupils; (2) vary from term to t e r m ; (3) are based
on gross register which includes many pupils (sometimes
400) who never attended school, and many assistants, library and clerical, who do no teaching
Dates in various tables do not correspond
High

School

Course of

Study "Unwisely
Inflexible"

and

Unjustly

Fact base: New York course of study issued in 1908;
actual programs; courses of study from other cities:
Davis report: 76 pages
Excessive uniformity of course of study constitutes most serious defect and gravest weakness of administration of program of studies
Courses and schools do not satisfactorily meet needs of either
those who have decided on future careers or those who have
not

DEFECTS—Continued

39

General course particularly weak in industrial work; no
courses whatever for boys, and only single elective course
in cooking for girls
Compared to courses of study of ten representative cities,
Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit,
Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Newark and St. Louis, New
York's general course varies as follows:
1—Scope is decidedly narrow, especially in newer and more
practical subjects and differentiated courses in older,
conventional subjects
2—Some of the subjects provided in other cities and not
offered in New York are: debating, dramatics, commerce and industrial history, economic geography,
astronomy, geology, minerology, analytical geometry, calculus, natural history, history of music,
musical composition and harmony, history of art and
architecture, psychology, ethics, home sanitation and
nursing, household management, laundry, dietetics,
metal working, pottery making and military drill
3—Offering in New York is pursued with less intensiveness than is the offering elsewhere in respect to
English, history, civics, economics, mathematics,
natural science, commercial subjects, industrial subjects and music
4—Course in New York is more rigidly administered than
in other ten cities, measured by the 70% prescribed work of total amount required for graduation ; i.e., general course administered with less regard to special interests and aptitudes of students
than in any city save St. Louis
5—No other city prescribes entire course for first year
students
Three years' prescription of a foreign language and two years'
prescription in mathematics for every pupil seeking to
graduate from the general course in New York City are
indefensible
As actually administered, the general course is decidedly more
narrow than printed announcements indicate
Opportunities for pupils to elect work that is adapted to their
special needs are restricted to an amount considerably less
than small maximum which printed course of study sets
forth
Compared to provision for special or technical courses in the
same ten cities, New York's special courses are seen to be
far from abreast of the times, and inadequate to meet demand of complex business and social interest
High school principals assert that long distances between
high schools impose a prohibitive expense of time and
money on many pupils

40

DEFECTS—Continued

Commercial Courses Ineffective
Fact base: Analysis of commercial courses, teaching
assignments, etc, in 13 high schools, elective courses
in 11 general high schools and two exclusive special
high schools; visits, conferences with principals:
Thompson report: 44 pages
Open question whether or not general school is not giving at
present more appropriate training for the major business
needs
Loss of membership from commercial courses is from 5 to
10% higher than for high schools as a whole
Reasons given by principals are "attractive openings before
course is finished"; "many elect commercial courses who
do not expect to remain long/' etc
Number graduating in 1911 shows two girls for every boy
Usual testimony of principals of general high schools is that
commercial pupils constitute less desirable element of the
school; because commercial education does not offer opportunities in energizing occupations; social prejudice against
applied education
No carefully organized effort to give vocational guidance in
elementary schools so that pupils may select course most
suited
Of 96 teachers in the Commercial High School, 78 came from
lists designed to furnish teachers for academic high schools;
18 are so-called commercial teachers
No provision to secure teachers of commercial English, commercial modern languages, economics or business organization
Not surprising to find in special schools a considerable number of teachers who have no other sympathies and use no
other methods except those of an academic high school
Teaching assignments of commercial teachers show proportionately larger number of teaching periods than the average
for other courses
Standardizing by regents' examinations tends to produce a
certain degree of uniformity in subject matter and achievement and to perpetuate standards which are "artificial, not
real"
Natural inclination of teachers is to disregard real test in business wTorld and emphasize regents' tests
Commercial students get but little related academic work
Practice of having commercial museum has hardly begun
In the main, in all schools, facility in business (clerical) technique is the major aim
Evidence of business world is against assumption that clerical
training is the main objective of commercial education since
of 50 largest commercial houses in New York answering
questions about desirable preparation for employees, 9 to 1

DEFECTS—Continued

41

chose "fundamental principles of business" over clerical
arts
Of 66,617 boys and 65,191 girls from 14 to 16 years tabulated
by the permanent census board there were as stenographers 586 boys and 3,244 girls; as bookkeepers 824 boys
and 1,364 girls; i. e., preponderance of girls in clerical
positions
Studies of business organizations made by the New York and
Boston Chambers of Commerce show that (1) only 13 to
15% of employees are engaged in clerical work; and that
(2) transfer from clerical department to other departments
is unusual
In Commercial High School, course of study includes subjects not justified for any reason as requirements; such as
music, drawing, geometry
No evidence that stenography should be a requirement for
boys in commercial high school
Course of study is too choppy; too many subjects and too
few periods are assigned to each subject
New York City's commercial courses are academic rather than
vocational; i. e., general subjects are in most cases not related to the vocation; specific vocational subjects cover
only a part of the vocation and the lesser part at that
Misconception of aim of commercial education is not confined
to New York but is country-wide
In evening schools, commercial work is almost wholly clerical
and without most of the liberal features found in the day
school course
Trade Training Inadequate
Fact base: Visits to Manhattan Trade, Boys' Trade
and Parental Schools; reports of superintendent;
curriculum: Schneider report: 56 pages
Considering small per cent reached by these schools, problem
of industrial education is in fact not being met at all
Majority of children who are of an age to acquire industrial
training are not in school
Average daily attendance shows:
Boys' Vocational School
266
Girls' Vocational School
360
All elementarv schools
586,673
All high schools
30,252
All night elementary schools
27,725
All night high schools
9,343
Problem is probably more vital, more complex and more pressing in New York than in any other city
Number in Boys' School, 266, "almost negligible in the sum
total of boys who go to work before 16"; 35,478 working
certificates granted during first 10 months of 1911

42

DEFECTS—Continued

Present system of night and trade schools is too restricted and
does not meet the needs of future and present workers
Too much stress is placed upon manual skill in one particular
trade or one particular branch of a trade
Day high schools with full manual training courses do not
pretend to be industrial schools
Ability of trade schools for energizing occupations to turn
out skilled worker has been seriously questioned
New York lacks system of trade education accompanying
gainful employment as demonstrated (1) at Fitchburg by
four years coordinated half time work where average student can acquire an energizing trade and do nearly as much
school work as that required by high school, in drafting
rooms, chemical shops and laboratories, machine and pattern
shops, building trades, boiler shops, outdoor work of railroads, track, signal bridges; (2) by various cooperative plans
(Fitchburg, Mass., Solvay, N. Y., Lewis Institute, Chicago)
where course is found commercially profitable to manufacturer and student and economical to school; (3) by experience of four years here also, showing that no confusion
or inconvenience caused to shop organization; (4) by continuation schools in Cincinnati which have proved that worker
in energizing trades who goes to school one half day a week
(on pay) is a better producer per week than if he does not
g o ; (3) by cooperative courses for department store employees from 8 to 10 o'clock and in the evenings at the stores
to teach psychology of salesmanship and give fairly expert
knowledge of things they are selling
Night Schools Not Fit for Enervated Worker
Fact base: Report of district superintendent in
charge, and visits to classes [number not told]:
Schneider report
"The classes visited, which exist because of the compulsory
law, inspired no feeling but pity for the children; some of
the pupils were asleep, and all but a few of them looked
fagged out"
In 1910, 338 pupils attended night high school every evening
(120 evenings); 15,640 attended less than 60 evenings; 2,234
pupils attended elementary night school every evening (90) ;
33,393 attended less than 60 evenings but more than one
week and 11,937 attended one week or less
Standardization of courses without an analysis of daily work
of students had had much to do with the losses and small
attendance
It is not obvious that charging a fee for night school delinquents would have any good effect
In trade subjects taught in evening trade schools, tendency
is to provide for energized workers only, neglecting the very
important problem of the enervated workers

DEFECTS—Continued

43

Method of Running Buildings Extravagant and Inefficient
Fact base: Study of heating, ventilation, power, fire
protection, clerical work, designing, lighting, plumbing, cleaning, use of buildings, care of apparatus,
supervision, operation in 49 elementary and two
high schools: Armstrong report: 68 pages

Boiler plants are not concentrated even in the same building
Some schools have as high as six separate plants in use
Extremely wasteful condition in almost all of the schools in
oldest form of coal burning appliances, "natural draft,"
which causes loss of more than two-thirds of heat liberated
Proportionate amount of grate surface is too large, consuming
only 3 lbs. of coal per sq. ft. instead of an accepted standard
of 17 to 22 pounds per sq. ft. per hour
Present drinking arrangements are unsuitable and unsanitary
Oil used costs twice as much as oil used by other departments
No uniformity as to temperature for hot water
Hot water tank in one building exploded
In many schools windows so loosely fitted that much heat is
lost and drafts prevail
Heating systems in general are poorly designed
Separate return lines to basement from each radiator are
wasteful and expensive
Present systems of ventilation are in most instances so faulty
and antiquated as to be a direct menace to pupils and
teachers
In only one building visited by us are modern methods in use
Systems used are forcing dirty air into classrooms, and lack
proper humidfying apparatus
Present methods of cleaning are antiquated and unhygienic
Impossible by present sweeping methods to remove dirt and
dust from floors, walls, ceilings and their crevices
Public school buildings are conspicuous by lack of fire protection
None conform to fire regulations
Enclosed stairways are merely exits, not fire preventions
Fireproof buildings are made entirely unsafe by quantities
of inflammable material inside
Extravagance of $95,000 a year for electricity because contracted and paid for by another department
Schools very much over-inspected
Confusion of authority and lack of coordination between different divisions of department of inspection
Standard for buildings does not meet requirements for fireproofing or ventilation
Method of issuing "book of rules" for janitors is not efficient
as each plant differs
Seating capacity of schools is by no means utilized to its
fullest extent

44

DEFECTS—Continued

Seating capacity is fully adequate to provide proper and adequate accommodations for all children of school age without crowding or erection of single additional building at this
time, if properly used
Unnecessary Loss of Time and Money in Building
Fact base: Study of construction of 20 public schools
from selection of site to completion; records and
correspondence of board of education, board of
estimate, architectural department, finance department, etc: Armstrong report: 131 pages
Schools have required in some cases eight to ten years for
completion after needs became apparent, during which time
the pupils would have outgrown their school days
Selection of sites not founded on scientific basis; location
of site is determined by local request and speculation rather
than by scientific census calculation assisted by local surveys
Review of plans by city departments entailed an average of
four and a half months, time wholly chargeable to necessity
of outside approval
Unnecessary loss of time on departmental approval of work
not pertaining to that department, and in useless formalities
between departments due to requirements of each department
Time is lost in design, in approval of contract and in construction because the general construction, heating, ventilating, plumbing, drainage, electrical and furniture plans and
specifications are submitted to various city departments
separately through long intervals of time instead of simultaneously
Much time and financial loss is occasioned by too frequent
use of new designs for school buildings
^
Delays and loss of efficiency because of unscientific mechanical designs
Best grade of work not secured and financial loss results from
apparent necessity of selecting the lowest bidder, practically
regardless of experience or integrity
Extra building construction, expense and delays are caused by
lack of economy in use of present buildings
Public school buildings require from 50 to 400% more time
for construction than buildings presenting equal natural
difficulties but privately owned and constructed
Procedure for site selection and acquisition is complicated
through reference of request by local school board, district
superintendent, principals, citizens, to board of education's
committees on sites and buildings, city and associate superintendents, permanent census board, committee on finance;
to board of estimate's budget committee and the board itself; to board of aldermen, their committee on finance, and
finally back to the board of education

DEFECTS—Continued

45

Fact that there are approximately 90,000 pupils on part time
is due in a large measure to erroneous method of locating
sites
Board of education has been careless in conserving city funds
and exhibited lamentable lack of foresight in engineering
matters
Average cost of school buildings per cubic foot is 23 cents in
New York, 14 cents in Chicago, 14 cents in Cleveland. This
shows comparatively high expenditure for schools under
present system of design
Waste places suitable for instruction are unused
Serious Degree of Overheating in Some Schools
Fact base: Careful physical, chemical and bacteriological air study of 10 typical schools from Dec.
2, 1912, to March 15, 1913; subsequent examination
of 22 other schools (out of 500 schools); 4 different night schools visited: Baskerville-Winslow report: 200 pages
Overheating and unsatisfactory ventilation due fundamentally
to absence of skilled and careful operation
Atmospheric conditions in night schools found unsatisfactory
as to overheating and air stagnation
Conditions aggravated in some instances by burning of gas
light
Relative humidity is low: ranges between 25 and 50% of
saturation and rises above 50% in only 10% of records
Certain schools show distinctly bad results indicating insufficient air supply
Certain schools show extravagant variations of temperature
with gross overheating
In one-sixth of rooms studied distinctly bad conditions found
in temperature due to careless operation by janitors or interference with janitors by teachers

RECOMMENDATIONS CLEARLY REQUIRING ADDITIONAL MONEY
As to Continuous Investigation (Elliott)
Establish a bureau of investigation and appraisal as an integral part of the system to serve as the central agency
for gathering and interpreting statistical data, and for
making such investigations as are necessary
As to Superintendents (Elliott)
Establish a supervisory council including city superintendent, all district superintendents, selected directors, principals of elementary, high and training schools, representatives of teachers in different grades and schools; to
possess general powers of initiation and direction of all
matters relating to aims, means and method of instruction
As to Special Branches (Elliott)
Appoint additional assistant directors of kindergartens
As to Discipline (McMurry)
Organize in certain schools, special classes for persistently
troublesome children in which corporal punishment under
careful restrictions will be allowed
Increase the number of parental and disciplinary schools
As to Supervision by Principals (McMurry)
Assign clerical and routine duties to minor officials so that
principal has little responsibility in regard to them
As to Non-Promotion (Bachman)
Distribute poster in several languages emphasizing importance of beginning school on time
Provide " C " classes for all pupils, at least in 1A grade, unable to use English language
As to Ungraded Classes for Feeble-Minded (Goddard)
Enlarge radically work of ungraded classes
Greatly increase expenditures
Equip classes promptly and adequately
Appoint separate superintendent of schools for feeble-minded, four additional associate inspectors; five examiners,
psychologists and physicians, to discover and classify defective children
Segregate ungraded classes in special schools as fast as
possible, free from rules and regulations of regular schools
Establish as rapidly as possible the right kind of training
schools for teachers of defectives
Substantially increase bonus now paid to teachers of defectives
Appoint a number of special assistants to follow up history
of defective, feeble-minded and crippled children after
they leave special and ungraded classes
46

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

47

Test all repeaters and overage pupils in special classes by
Binet-Simon scale in hands of experts
As to High School Organization and Administration (Ballou)
Employ enough teachers to keep sections reasonably within
standard of 28 to 35 pupils
Relieve chairmen as far as possible from all purely clerical
work
Furnish each principal with a sufficient number of competent clerks to perform the clerical work
Erect no high school to accommodate more than 1500 students, the satisfactory size, educationally and economically
Establish types of specialized high schools throughout the
city as a basis for studying their effectiveness
Build high schools to take the place of annexes in various
parts of the city
Limit seating capacity of classrooms to maximum standard
size of section
As to High School Course of Study (Davis)
Introduce manual training for boys into first and second
years of general curriculum of every school, one year
prescribed for graduation
Make two years' offering in all general high schools of domestic science and applied art for girls, one year required
for graduation
Add other general courses: introductory social science
(municipal activities, civic and vocational guidance);
fine arts, additional courses in commercial work, English,
science and music: specialized and general "appreciation"
courses in science, mathematics, history and English
wrhenever interests of pupils make them desirable
Make special courses more available by incorporating (1)
additional special or technical courses parallel to the general course in the general high schools; (2) elementary
courses in semi-technical work as electives in the general
course
Issue a New York City high school diploma as well as the
regents' high school diploma
Give serious consideration to possible plan of defraying expenses of transportation of those pupils who are beyond
walking distance or cannot afford car fare
As to Commercial Education (Thompson)
Begin at once cooperative plans between commercial schools
and business houses
Appoint temporary special commission of commercial
teachers and business experts to examine business conditions in relation to commercial education

48

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Appoint a supervisor of commercial work for all grades
Segregate sexes for purposes of effective commercial education and differentiate training according to aptitudes of
each
Appoint special teachers, "coordinators/' as field agents for
commercial schools
As to Trade Training (Schneider)
Broaden curricula of present vocational schools to embrace
a larger number of types of occupation
Establish (for children who must or want to work or are
tired of school) more prevocational schools like Parental
School, with most energizing and diversified types of
work possible
Inaugurate to a limited extent cooperative system of education accompanying gainful employment whose elements
shall be
1—Combination of manual work in commercial shops
with school work, usually equal parts of each,
alternating
2—Agreement between group of manufacturers and
school system
3—School course devised by school authorities
A—Apprentice courses in shops approved by school authorities
5—Apprentices paid for their work
6—Coordinators to link work of shop with school instruction
7—Duration of course determined by time required for
thorough apprenticeship plus necessary coordinated schooling
8—Trial of two months to be sure candidate likes the
trade
Establish (for children forced to go to work when law
permits) day continuation schools for all trades, with
underlying science for highly energizing trades, and
lively, interesting courses for more enervating trades,
"brilliant and healthful pleasure courses"
Study carefully occupations into which children go in order
to "wisely devise" continuation courses
Enlarge the Parental School so that children sent there may
remain longer than seven months
Make comprehensive survey showing (1) number of boys
and girls in different occupations; (2) whether work is
energizing, enervating, juvenile only, seasonal (3) vocational statistics on wages, home conditions, reasons for
leaving school, etc
As to Handling of Correspondence (Averill)
Establish a central bureau of information at the hall of the
board of education

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

49

As to Construction and Care of Buildings (Armstrong)
Centralize wherever possible the separate steam plants in
one building or in adjacent buildings
Install automatic elevators in all schools having more than
three stories
Install suitable number of pedal operating drinking fountains at earliest possible moment
Install mixing valves to regulate hot water temperature with
115° as maximum
Tighten windows where necessary
Install good, economical and modern system of vacuum
heating
Extend temperature control system to all schools heated by
steam
Employ modern sanitary vacuum cleaning process
Provide all schools immediately with automatic sprinklers,
standpipes, fire pumps and automatic alarms
Replace all wooden stairways with steel
Install sanitary and fireproof furniture
Employ competent instructors to teach janitors how to get
best service out of their plants
RECOMMENDATIONS I N T E N D E D TO SAVE MONEY
As to Special Branches (Elliott)
Eliminate special teachers in certain subjects (music, drawing, physical training) by requiring competency on part
of regular teachers
As to Elementary Course of Study (McMurry)
Omit the teaching of (1) considerable part of arithmetic
course, (2) technical grammar and English history as
separate subjects
As to Non-Promotion (Bachman)
Consider seriously whether, if segregated into classes of
standard size with adapted course of study, many overage
children cannot be provided for without incurring increase of 50% for special " E " classes
As to Intermediate Schools (Bachman)
Establish intermediate schools wherever conditions are
favorable if present findings are substantiated by further
investigation
As to Ungraded Classes for the Feeble-Minded (Goddard)
Use institutions for feeble-minded as model schools for
teachers taking training in this line of work
As to High School Organization and Administration (Ballou)
Study program making by principals to reduce number of
unnecessary oversized and undersized classes

so

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Erect specialized type with single curriculum as more effective and economical for New York City
Provide study halls to accommodate 125 or 150 pupils and
thus economize on time of supervising
As to Trade Training (Schneider)
Abolish elementary night schools now in operation under
compulsory education law
As to Handling of Correspondence (Averill)
Institute a system of blank forms to eliminate or diminish
much of the work now done by stenographers and typewriter copyists
Remove the so-called "city superintendent's file" to a central room, thereby dispensing with the many individual
files that now duplicate clerical wrork and entail the misplacement of documents
As to Construction and Care of Buildings (Armstrong)
Install controlled draft system and proper grate bars to
prevent loss of heat, and burn smaller coal
Reduce proportionate amount of grate surface
Install recording instruments and weighing apparatus
Have engineers keep accurate records of weight of coal and
ashes, steam and electric production and consumption,
duplicates sent periodically to school board
Purchase oil under proper specification, thus saving 50%
Change large per cent, of coal to buckwheat No. 3 and save
$295,000 annually by installing apparatus costing from
$2500 to $3000 per school building
Take advantage of wholesale rates to reduce light and power
bill $95,470.41 a year
Install simple form of isolated plant if sufficiently low price
cannot be obtained from Edison Co.
Reduce inspection force 60% with pro rata increase of
efficiency
Janitor-engineer should be competent to report all repairs
he cannot himself remedy
Save annually $630,922.41 by
Changes in heating plants
$350,000.00
Reorganized inspection
142,527.00
Wholesale electricity
95,470.41
Use of modern lamps
42,925.00
RECOMMENDATIONS PER SE NEITHER
NOR SAVING MONEY

ADDING

As to Examiners (Elliott)
Arrange service on board so as to permit each member to
devote every fourth year to supervisory or other special
duty in the school system

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

51

Take steps to secure the reading and rating of written examinations by persons not immediately connected with
school system
As to Method of Rating (Elliott)
Require reports on teachers applying for renewal of license
to furnish detailed, positive evidence in support of renewal, including reports by principals showing number
and duration of visits to classes, variety of work inspected
Base approval of first year service entirely on principal's
report; base second renewal on careful examination by
district superintendent; final renewal on inspection by independent visitor; eliminate recommendation of division
superintendent
As to Superintendents (Elliott)
Secure wider responsibility and participation of members
of teaching and supervisory staff in making and overseeing educational policies
As to District Superintendents (Elliott)
Transfer many of their supervisory responsibilities to principals of schools
Provide for their larger participation in the making of educational policies
As to Special Branches (Elliott)
Make elementary school principals responsible for supervision of kindergartens to same degree as for other classes
As to Principals (Elliott)
Place a premium on supervisory capacity by providing
freedom of action to every principal in accordance with
his competency, in order to increase number of (a) those
competent to act as supervisors and to make a conscious
effort to subordinate routine; in contrast to (b) those content to confine their activities to mechanics of school
operation
As to Elementary Teachers (McMurry)
Fix authority of class room teacher more definitely
Print well defined plan guaranteeing freedom to teachers
Discover reasons and remedy for present dissatisfaction
among teachers
As to Discipline (McMurry)
Simplify mode of commitment to parental and disciplinary
schools
As to Elementary Course of Study (McMurry)
Rearrange whole curriculum to establish fuller correlation
among studies

52

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Include in syllabi statements of working aims and principles of instruction, and establish impossibility of one fixed
and best method of teaching details
Vary curriculum for particular children to whom it is to be
taught
Plan through principal and teachers a curriculum for each
type of environment, to be adopted or modified by principals and teachers in neighboring schools
As to Spelling (McMurry)
See that teachers make grade lists of words in "active
vocabulary" of pupils, class lists and personal lists
As to Arithmetic (McMurry)
Emphasize fundamentals during first six years, then their
application in connection with other subjects
As to Music (McMurry)
List appropriate classic selections for grades and school
as whole; subordinate technical knowledge to school singing; pay much more attention to individual attainment
instead of concert work; outline more definite requirements for each grade as to application and scholarship;
take more care in choice of selections; establish good
standards of taste
As to Nature Study (McMurry)
Reorganize course completely; select subject matter with
reference primarily to pupils' interest; group studies to
bring out human interest in larger problems; suggest
regular nature study for grade 6; make required work
very small, leaving most to selection of teachers
As to Reading (McMurry)
Place greater emphasis on silent reading in literature
As to Supervision by Principals (McMurry)
Classify principals' duties so that definite understanding
is reached that principal shall identify himself primarily
with duties requiring the technical ability of the educational specialist
Make principals responsible for developing a theory of
supervision which shall be revealed to teachers by the
effective manner in which they are aided through its
means, and to superior school officers by reports on this
subject
Make principals the real, not merely the nominal heads of
their schools
Judge teachers' ability to instruct in terms, not of what the
teacher does but of what the child does
Reduce frequency with which teachers are rated

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

53

Let principals and teachers take initiative in making curriculum in all subjects for their school
So discuss methods in syllabi that in no way will principals'
hands be tied
Establish definite avenue of approach to superior officers so
that recommendations that express the consensus of opinion of principals when forwarded to these officers shall
command careful consideration and full reply within reasonable time
As to Age-grade Reports (Bachman)
Change age-grade reports to insure (a) facts by each of 16
grades; (b) one report at the beginning of the school year
and another at the end; (c) consideration of total register
including graduates and those dropping out and children
in special " E " and " C " classes; (d) use of up-to-14j^ as
"normal" for finishing 8 B ; (e) ages and grades of same
day (i. e., ages on date of closing of official school term,
grade in which children have been during same term)
Take ages on first day of school term to show age-grade
condition in each class as based on normal age limit for
entering each of 16 grades; (i. e., 6 to 6J/2 years for 1A,
6y2 to 7 for IB, etc)
Make parents go on record in getting date of birth, year,
month, day
Compute child's age at beginning or end of official school
term in terms of years, months and days (30 days to a
month)
Report separately, with ages, children in classes for blind,
deaf, cripples, mental defectives, anaemic, etc
As to Non-Promotion (Bachman)
Enforce compulsory educational law in 1A grade, to avoid
trouble with parents and "cure many an incipient case
of truancy"
Amend by-laws so as (1) to prohibit entrance to 1A grade
after last day of fourth week of school term to children
who will not be seven until after the end of the term;
and (2) to exclude children who miss 40 days during the
first half of term
Have census board send to each principal at beginning of
each term the home addresses of children who (1) will be
seven before end of that term; (2) will not be seven until
after its close; (3) are seven and should enter school
Require new attendance report for 1A grade to show cause
of each absence, and separate reports for children not
amenable to compulsory education law
Investigate each child now in " E " classes to determine to
what overage is due

54

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Provide classes in which special attention is given to all
pupils two or more years behind their grade
Make course of study so flexible that additional time may
be devoted in regular classes to aiding children to acquire
working knowledge of English
Insist that principals establish wherever necessary and
possible the Ettinger part time plan as superior in rate of
promotion and hours of instruction to other part time
plans
Collect by terms, from current and cumulative records, data
relative to promotions, non-promotions and part time
(suggested blank given)
Investigate relative merits of whole and part time classes
Make actual total length of each elementary school course
correspond with period between 6 and 14 years of age
and with length of time pupils may reasonably be expected to be in attendance during this period
Discontinue practice of holding pupils in elementary schools
long after they are 14
Collect and tabulate, term by term, reports from several
schools on pupils leaving and reasons therefor
Consider 100% the desirable uniform rate of promotion in
each grade in each school
For extra-bright children who are able to do more than
maximum requirements, make course more difficult by
raising requirements
Adapt requirements to varying abilities and educational
needs of different groups (1) so that all normal children in
regular attendance will be able by 14 to complete the
elementary school course, and (2) so there will be as
many different courses of study as there are groups of
children having different abilities and educational needs
Revise actual total length of each of these different courses
and the requirements of each in view of above data to be
collected by terms
As to Intermediate Schools (Bachman)
Take special care to maintain sympathetic relations between intermediate schools, contributing schools, and high
or vocational schools, thus developing systematic vocational guidance
Use complete records of work and cost of such schools to
improve them and judge their efficiency
As to Estimating Teachers Needed in Elementary Schools
(Bachman)
Make entire system (not individual school or district) the
unit in estimating the total register for which provisions
are requested, because more exact, simpler to make and
includes all data needed

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

55

Exclude from register used all pupils transferred to other
schools and include only pupils who have been in school
at least one entire day during a given month
Base estimated register on the actual average annual increase for a series of years ranging from one to five
Estimate for each month of the school year the total register
of the system as a whole, since the total register of each
elementary school changes from month to month
Distribute the total estimated register among the different
grades on the basis of the average annual increase or decrease in the register of each grade for a series of years
Make each individual school the unit in determining the
number of pupils for whom one teacher should be provided, studying by months and grades the number and
size of classes in each school
Expand and define regulations of board of education concerning (a) standard size of class in each grade; (b)
combination of small classes; (c) division of large classes
As to Compulsory Attendance (Burks)
Reorganize the compulsory attendance staff according to
kinds of work; i.e., (a) preliminary investigation and report; (b) preventive treatment; (c) disciplinary treatment (d) corrective (institutional) treatment
Division of Enumeration and Investigation
Should maintain complete census of all children of school
age; make preliminary investigation of all referred cases;
list children as moved or not found; and account for all
cases before they are finally dropped from record of cases
under consideration
Division of Prevention and Probation
Should make further investigations to ascertain facts regarding physical, mental and social conditions affecting
each case; diagnose and outline treatment; obtain cooperation of teachers, physicians, parents, charitable societies, etc; confer with parents and teachers in cases of
irregular attendance; act as probation officers for children
placed on probation by district superintendent, courts and
truant schools
Division of Discipline and Prosecution
Should prepare cases against children or parents, cooperate
with police department in enforcing newsboy law, etc
Division of Correction
Should include institutions for temporary detention or permanent care of children, a day detention school in each
district and parental schools for habitual truants

56

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Reorganize reporting forms and classification of data in
detail [suggested blanks given] to include (a) daily time
and service report for officers; (b) monthly summary of
time and service reports; (c) report on investigation of
pupils' absence; (d) cumulative record of each case investigated; (e) daily summary record for each school; (f)
monthly summary by districts (or by individual attendance officers)
As to Tests in Arithmetic (Courtis)
Undertake systematic experimental work in measuring factors making for efficiency
Study relation between race, nationality and social conditions of children and their scores and growth in standard
tests
Study social life of all types of children to determine material available for problem work
Study relations between physical and mental growth, as
measured by standard tests
Study individual children going to work to determine needs
of different classes of children
Determine by experiment best method of developing speed
and accuracy, and whether oral drill or written drill is
more important
Adjust drill on basis of measured needs of each individual
child
Use comparative graphs as practical classroom device for
keeping track of children's needs
As to Ungraded Classes for the Feeble-Minded (Goddard)
Place as many children as possible in an institution or
colony for permanent segregation
Make appropriate manual training (such as can be seen at
the Institution for Feeble-Minded, Waverly, Mass.) the
principal work in all these classes
Ascertain actual number of feeble-minded children who are
crippled, blind or deaf and have been shut out of school
As to High School Organization and Administration (Ballou)
Adopt 30 pupils provisionally as the standard size of a recitation section
Allow chairman as well as teachers one free period each day
Have chairmen of departments spend at least two periods
per month in the class room of each teacher
Decrease number of teaching periods when chairman are
assigned administrative duties
Have principals and superintendents differentiate definitely
between what is clerical and what is administrative work
Allow principal of 1,000 pupils 15 periods of time from his
teaching staff for necessary administrative functions;

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

57

principal of 2,000 pupils 30 periods; of 4,000 pupils 50
periods
Subject courses of study to continual revision by committees
of high school principals and teachers and board of superintendents
Use regular knowledge possessed by principals and teachers
in all general administrative matters affecting internal
organization
Expect and require principals and teachers to contribute
results of their experience
Base every act of controlling administrative agency on
knowledge which comes from direct contact with schools
To determine need of additional teachers use blank which
calls for essential facts concerning (1) size of sections
and (2) amount of teaching
As to High School Course of Study (Davis)
Encourage principals and teachers to make thorough
analyses of needs and desires of the communities in which
their schools are located and of dominant interests and
real needs of the pupils that enter their schools
Give greater intensiveness and continuity to instruction
Reduce uniform prescriptions for graduation not to exceed
55% of requirements for graduation
Encourage individual election of studies to minimum
amount of 45% of required work
Prescribe for all students only courses in English, social
sciences, natural science including physiology and hygiene, physical training, manual training for boys and
domestic science and art for girls, ethics, music and
drawing
Print subcourses centering in some major subject and circulate them among pupils as suggested guides
Require each pupil to take, before graduation, at least three
years of work in some department other than English
Omit foreign languages and mathematics in absolute prescription for graduation, but permit alternative choice of
these two, or on advice by the principal, prescribe neither
Adapt special high schools to various needs of pupils (1) by
differentiating subject matter of included academic subjects so as to give them a decidedly technical bent, (2)
by permitting individual specialization in third and fourth
years, (3) by encouraging organization of special courses
to meet needs of pupils whose stay in school must be short
As to Estimating Teachers Needed in the High Schools
(Ballou)
Adopt new blank [facsimile given] which gives information
on (1) net register, number of pupils and teachers for
each subject by terms fpr period of five years; (2) analysis

58

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

of organization of school for the year, size and number oi
recitation sections, total teaching and study hall periods
per week for each teacher, number of clerical and laboratory assistants; (3) estimate of the number of additional
teachers and assistants needed
Revise the blank from time to time in accordance with suggestions made by principals
Invite representative high school principals to be present at
all conferences of school authorities and board of estimate
concerning high school estimates
As to Commercial Education (Thompson)
Appoint council of chairmen of commercial departments to
stud}r, weigh and recommend improvements in courses
and methods
Establish course of study with subjects of merchandise and
salesmanship as a vocational group in connection with
Washington Irving High School
Segregate commercial pupils in general high schools into a
commercial department
Abandon regents' tests for commercial subjects
Make separate eligible lists for all teachers giving instruction in commercial schools and courses
Establish one year and two year courses with specific objectives for those who cannot stay longer
Include in commercial school course assembly talks by
business men
As to Trade Training (Schneider)
Inaugurate a system of advisory boards of representatives
of emplo}rers and employees to help bring school and
shop into cooperation
Open every school gymnasium every night under the direction of physical directors
As to Handling of Correspondence (Averill)
Secure, a supply of printed forms giving information in
answer to questions which experience has shown to be recurrent, and blank forms which can be filled out in answer
to various requests
Detail a clerk to attend to queries involving the compilation of special data
Establish a system for the complete recording of business
which is transacted verbally, thereby making records
complete and fixing responsibility for what is now relegated to memory
Detail an office organizer to reorganize and coordinate the
correspondence work not only of the superintendents'
offices but also of the other offices wherever necessary,
grading work so that supervisory officers drawing salaries

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

59

of from $3,000 to $10,000 shall not be engaged in clerical
work which can be done by clerks drawing $900 to $2,000
annually
Enable higher supervisory officers to give to educational
supervisory work time now given needlessly to clerical
work and unnecessary questions
As to Delays in Construction of Buildings (Armstrong)
Select sites for new schools upon data obtained from accurate census calculations and local surveys
Utilize permanent census board records to determine
present and prospective school population and future
transportation facilities
Estimate seating requirements at least two years in advance
Have designed by board of education all plans of any one
school in one unit, such as general construction, heating,
ventilating and electrical plans
Complete partial standards of school buildings by board of
education and evolve an absolute standard set of school
building designs for elementary schools. The savings
would amount to at least 10% of total cost of construction
Have standards of sufficient variety to conform to architectural requirements of locality
Have complete set of rules issued by each city department
whose approval of plans is required, outlining requirements
Retain for the designing force of the board of education an
engineer of as well established ability as its architect, to
have full charge of mechanical design of school buildings,
and maintenance
Make walls, floors and ceilings and all furniture in school
buildings of washable material devoid of angles or unsanitary projections
Run the schools "all the year round" with four terms per
year, use auditoriums constantly, etc
As to Construction and Care of Buildings (Armstrong)
Investigate coal storage at Parental School to avoid spontaneous combustion
Evolve perfect school design to reduce architectural and
mechanical force now required
Separate architectural and engineering departments, and
put supervision of janitors and purchase of engineering
supplies under department of engineering
Give kindly, intelligent and personal instructions to janitors
instead of a book of rules
As to Janitorial Compensation (Armstrong)
Consolidate work now carried on by committee on buildings
and staff of committee on care of buildings

60

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

Decide definitely whether board wishes to continue or discontinue indirect employment of firemen and cleaners
Organize fixed staff of janitors and assistants for each school
building
Fix definite compensation for period of six months, not to
be increased unless additional rooms or buildings are
added
Have salaries and grades of janitorial positions fixed by
board of estimate, and let board of education assume
sole charge of promotion and transfer to grades thus
established
As to Ventilation (Baskerville-Winslow)
Operate fans in schools during night sessions
Make occasional study by visiting engineers in each school
of temperature and volume of air at room inlets
Install thermograph in each school building; inspect records
carefully as efficient control of ventilating systems and
janitorial service
RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRING STATE LEGISLATION
As to Examiners (Elliott)
Reorganize board to have nine members including city superintendent, ex officio
As to Superintendents (Elliott)
Abolish board of superintendents and position of associate
city superintendent
As to Non-Promotion (Bachman)
Amend compulsory education law to apply to children who
will be seven before end of given school term instead of
to children who are seven at beginning of a given term
As to Ungraded Classes for the Feeble-Minded (Goddard)
Amend child labor law so that defective children may go
to work as soon as it is clear that it will be more profitable for them to work than to go to school
As to Trade Training (Schneider)
Enact a compulsory continuation school law requiring four
hours a week in day time at employer's expense, if employers oppose continuation schools
As to Delays in Construction of Buildings (Armstrong)
Establish by changes in charter if necessary, a technical
efficiency bureau, whose duties shall be to pass upon the
mechanical and architectural adequacy of all building
plans of all departments
Establish by law a board of censorship for contractors, to
make public a list of contractors whose intelligence, experience, integrity and financial ability render them
eligible for city work

FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS SAID TO BE NECESSARY BY T E N SCHOOL INQUIRY INVESTIGATORS
To Determine
Powers and duties in detail of city superintendent, board of
superintendents and associate cHy superintendents, to
secure more efficient distrib 1 ' .a of administrative and
supervisory powers (Elliott)
How elementary schools can continue the main lines of
work begun in the kindergarten, while giving mastery
over symbols (McMurry)
Main objects elementary instruction should aim to accomplish, in terms that are significant to teachers and laymen
alike and that breathe a broad spirit (McMurry)
Advantages of intermediate schools based on data collected
for a number of terms (Bachman)
Localities where conditions seem favorable to establishment
of intermediate schools (Bachman)
Actual age-grade conditions in elementary schools (Bachman)
Causes of overage (Bachman)
Actual total length of present elementary course of study
(Bachman)
Actual length of time children are in attendance between 6
and 14 years (Bachman)
Which groups of children have different abilities and educational needs (Bachman)
Best age of entrance to elementary schools (Bachman)
At what age children need a regime different from that of
elementary school (Bachman)
Number of normal children entering and completing the
present course of study (Bachman)
Relative educational achievements of pupils in whole time
and part time classes (Bachman)
Relative educational worth of classes of each of several sizes
(Bachman)
Extent to which pupils now in " E " classes are classified and
instructed according as their overage is due to late entrance or to retardation (Bachman)
To what extent 5 1 % of those who left school during January-June term, 1911, had legal reasons and to what extent
their leaving was due to inefficiency of the department of
compulsory education (Bachman)
Value of methods and results of all institutions to which
children are now committed for custodial care (Burks)
Adequate supervision of children paroled and placed on
probation (Burks)
Method of placing in school non-attendants found on the
streets (Burks)
*1

62

FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS

Value of hearings of cases by district superintendents
(Burks)
Method of prosecution of parents and truant children
(Burks)
Whether child labor, mercantile and newsboy laws are properly enforced (Burks)
Relation between the physical and mental growth, race, nationality and social condition of children and their scores
and growths in standard arithmetic tests (Courtis)
Material available for problem work by study of social life
of all types of children (Courtis)
Best method of developing speed and accuracy in arithmetic
(Courtis)
Relative progress of high school pupils in large and small
sections in same term and same subject (Ballou)
Intellectual and physical effect upon teachers of handling
large and small sections in high schools (Ballou)
Whether high school teachers doing less than 20 periods
of teaching a week are not doing too little teaching and
too much other work (Ballou)
Whether those having more than 25 periods are not teaching too much (Ballou)
Relations, of (1) number of curricula in one high school to
size of sections and number of teachers; (2) number of
electives to cost of instruction; (3) daily program to time
allotments for subjects (Ballou)
Proper number of high school periods per week and which
subjects should be taught (Davis)
Accessibility of present high school opportunities and high
school needs not now provided for, in order that the different types of courses or schools may be located where
required and within walking distance of the homes of
pupils (Hanus)
Trend of population and its growth in density, block by
block, shown clearly on a map (Armstrong)
Available sittings occupied and unoccupied, district by district (Armstrong)
Present results of commercial education ; business conditions
in relation to commercial education (Thompson)
Possibilities for cooperative relations between commercial
courses and commercial houses (Thompson)
Number of girls and boys employed in different occupations;
whether the work is energizing or enervating; whether
it is juvenile work only, or whether it offers good permanent employment; whether or not it is seasonal; together
with the usual vocational statistics on wages, home conditions, reasons for leaving school, etc (Schneider)

THIRTY-FIVE SUBJECTS, NOT COVERED BY T H E
SCHOOL INQUIRY, SUGGESTED FOR INVESTIGATION BY TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS A N D
PARENTS THROUGH T H E SCHOOL
EDITOR OF T H E "GLOBE"
Training schools for teachers
Over-worked teachers
Extra curriculum activities of teachers
Effect of attendance at college on teaching ability
Promotion examinations
Coaching for examinations
Visiting teachers and teachers' visiting
Teachers' organizations
Pension and retirement policy
English used by principals and teachers
Night schools
Vacation schools
Recreation centers
All-year school
Popular lectures
Open-air classes
Use of museums and parks for teaching
Social life, fraternities, etc
Relation of public to parochial and private schools
Physiological age
School nurse and medical inspection
Sanitation of buildings
Athletics—expense, value
Cheap meals, school lunches
Vocational guidance and needs
Adequateness of educational supplies
Educational value and effect of part time (except in relation
to promotion)
Congestion
Moral training
Local school boards
Litigation—extent, success, necessity, avoidability
School records—adequacy, complexity
Text books—needless purchase, adequacy
School publicity
Decorations and atmosphere
61

HOW T H E INQUIRY STARTED
For years prior to 1910 differences within the board of education, between the board of education and its superintendents, between the board and the board of estimate and the
public, prompted numerous suggestions that the schools
be investigated, especially school finances
In May, 1909, the Bureau of Municipal Research in its What
New York's Next Mayor Should Do, included two suggestions about schools: (1) make a thorough investigation of
the public school system, its curriculum, its administration,
its plans for the future, its relation to private and parochial
schools, its provisions for children's health, and its principal
needs; (2) work out and inaugurate a comprehensive plan
for industrial training with provision for studying and
for publishing the result of all plans tried
In October, 1910, during the discussion of school budget estimates, the school editor of the Globe published over and
over again a demand for a thorough school investigation
as the only means of settling differences which had arisen
year after year about the correctness of school estimates
and the soundness of school proposals for spending money
At the request of the board of estimate, Henry Bruere, director
of the Bureau, drafted a resolution authorizing a school
inquiry which Comptroller Prendergast introduced (see
page 4) ; $50,000 was included for expenses which the aldermen cut out and the mayor failed to put back by his veto
power; funds were made available by transfers; President
Mitchel of the board of aldermen, Comptroller Prendergast,
and President Miller of the borough of Bronx, were appointed a committee by Mayor Gaynor; the inquiry proposal
was universally welcomed: assurance of cooperation was
given by board of education; scores of constructive suggestions were made by teachers and principals through the
school columns of the Globe, and many others by editorial
writers
Resolutions calling for the school inquiry and for two other
departmental inquiries were distributed throughout the
country by the Bureau as Efficient Citizenship No. 401
Upon request of the inquiry committee the Bureau outlined a
tentative plan which it submitted to several leading educators for criticism and suggestion; wrote to scores of school
men inviting suggestions; arranged luncheon and dinner
meetings for considering plans and investigators
Scholia Club, Columbia University, invited President Mitchel
and Director Allen of the Bureau to explain the purpose and
method of the inquiry; among those present were Professors
McMurry, Munro, Strayer, Suzzallo of Teachers' College,
and B. G. Lewis, Luther T. Gulick, Leonard P. Ayres, Supt.
A. B. Poland, Jesse D. Burks, etc
64

How

THE INQUIRY STARTED

65

Study of business aspects of schools began to include accounting methods, handling of complaints and correspondence,
supplies, sites, buildings, etc; W . A. Averill of the Bureau
staff, loaned without cost for the study of office methods,
handling of correspondence, etc; Director Bruere helped
to supervise non-educational aspects
After conferences with President Pritchett, Dean Russell and
several other educators, a list of proposed investigators was
submitted by President Mitchel to Commissioner Snedden
of Massachusetts for ranking; Professor Paul H. Hanus
was chosen as director of educational aspects, no one else
having been offered the post, and was given power to select
collaborators; outline was agreed upon of facts the inquiry
would have ready for making the 1912 school budget;
suggestions were written by him for modifying the blank
then before principals calling for facts on attendance, overage, non-promotion, etc; from facts furnished by Professor
Hanus press notices were prepared by the Bureau as to his
educational experience, similar notices being sent during
the summer as new investigators were announced; at Prof.
Hanus* request Bureau released Dr. Bachman whom it had
engaged
HOW T H E INQUIRY WAS RECEIVED
Both morning and evening papers gave as much attention to
successive individual reports as they could have given to the
whole report if issued at one time. The school editors of
the Globe and the Evening Sun quoted, commented and
analyzed for weeks. In the latter Miss Louise E. Tucker,
a school principal, challenged the investigators' findings
under headings like: Bachman Suggestions in Report are
Impracticable, Elliott's Suggestion to Abolish Board of
Superintendents too Orastic, Hanus Experts' 'Inbreeding*
Theory Unsupported by Fact, Omissions by School Inquiry,
Muck Raking by Educators is Profitable, Hanus-Elliott
Report Shown to be Wrong in Every Particular
In his series of articles on Investigating the Schools, Tristram
W. Metcalfe, school editor of the Globe, emphasized the
principal findings of each investigator, connecting these results with the experience of the schools during recent years
and particularly with the efforts, successful and unsuccessful, of the School Progressives and outsiders to secure information or action in line with inquiry findings
Teachers and principals were first brought together for study
of the inquiry reports by Mr. Metcalfe of the Globe; January 24, 1913, a special council of teachers and principals
organized to represent 24 different school organizations;
February 5th, the city superintendent called meetings of

66

How

THE INQUIRY WAS RECEIVED

principals in each borough at the hour previously arranged
for the above mentioned council to meet, to select members
to cooperate with him in studying the reports; at the next
meeting of the board of education, a resolution called upon
these committees to report to the board as well as to the
city superintendent; subcommittees began a study which
continued for months but without published results, up to
September
The city superintendent, February 1, 1913, requested principals
to meet as above, through a circular in part as follows, published in newspapers:
"I ask the press and the public to suspend judgment on
the report of Prof. Elliott and Prof. McMurry, and
upon the reports yet to be submitted by other members of Prof. Hanus' committee who have been investigating the public schools
"I ask that the allegations, arguments and conclusions
in these reports be not accepted as final until they have
been subjected to a rigid scrutiny by those who know
our schools best—teachers, principals and superintendents"
The associate superintendents were the first to challenge
publicly the inquiry findings; submitted April 23d to the
board of education a 30 page Review and Reply of the
Hanus-Elliott Report; its chief points digested on page 68
Meantime, unofficially, principals and teachers studied the reports and their own schools. In no other profession in
New York probably, would such sweeping and scathing—
and often vulnerable—criticisms have been given a halfschool year's start and reiteration without challenge; it is
a happy sign, however, that indiscriminate and irrelevant
" T a i n t so" argument seemed clearly out of place; thanks
chiefly to the board of education's own publicly expressed
attitude, teachers and principals fairly grabbed at the helpful
suggestions; detailed analysis will begin in October
The district superintendents conducted some careful and general studies; tabulated facts which time sheets, working
papers and reports should have shown as to time spent in
classes and schools by investigators, schools and classes
not visited, etc; report forthcoming
The board of education twice appointed committees to review
the reports, once in 1912 and again February 10, 1913, the
latter to cooperate with teachers and principals; the former
could do little because of the delay in issuing the reports:
several of the reports were anticipated by special reports
by board committees; the semi-annual report of President
Churchill to the board of education made several references
to the school inquiry indicating a disposition to utilize all
findings and recommendations where found useable, but

How

THE INQUIRY WAS RECEIVED

67

noting the fact that before the inquiry reports came out
regarding teaching, syllabus, etc, the board of education
itself had called for revision of the curriculum; due in part
to the inquiry, the board's attitude toward suggestion and
criticism from whatever source is entirely changed; the
division of reference and research started September, 1913,
upon President Churchill's initiative is the board's best answer to the inquiry and a promise of continuing openmindedness, self-analysis and cooperation
Citizen organizations did less than occasion required; the
Public Education Association opposed the 1913 legislation
re schools as contrary to inquiry recommendations, joined
in a public dinner to Professor Hanus, supported through
two bulletins the rejected Moore report; and in August, 1913,
began the publication of digests and appraisals; 200 citizen agencies paid no official attention to the inquiry reports
The Bureau of Municipal Research was given a fund in October, 1912, with which 22 school inquiry follow-up bulletins
were issued to 2,000 school superintendents, editors and
others interested in education and to New York principals
and commissioners; beginning December, 1912, numerous
reports were published of a study made by its Training
School for Public Service of P. S. 188 Boys, Manhattan, at
the request of Principal Edward Mandel; January 15, 1913,
a card announced that the reports were to be published
"next week" and told which papers would give full accounts ;
in July, 1913, a fund of $5,000 was given for follow-up during the summer and fall; this fund is being used for this
digest, other bulletins, the study of 1914 budget estimates,
etc, to tide over until the Public Education Association organizes for the analysis, appraisal and follow-up which it
hopes to guarantee

THE ONLY REPLY BY INSIDERS TO OUTSIDERS, PUBLISHED YET,—RE ELLIOTT REPORT ON BOARD
OF SUPERINTENDENTS
Report inconsistent and misleading; conclusions unjust and unfair,
not sustained by anything more than general statements and anonymous criticism
Reviewed record of city superintendent since 1902, but of board only
since 1906 and ignored entirely minutes of board for six previous
years
Many problems of school administration were overlooked by the
investigator because discussion was not in minutes, though conference with members would have brought them to light
Whatever "conferences" held did not include members of board of
superintendents, and investigator was present at only one meeting
of board
Investigator ignored fact that from 1898-1902, borough superintendents
established many features now boasted by schools, such as training
school for teachers, three high schools, course of study, manual
training, kindergarten, cooking, vacation schools, playgrounds, etc
No basis of fact for statement that board is "bureaucratic"; transference of duties to city superintendent as recommended, would bring
about bureaucracy: such duties are impossible for him personally
to perform and should not be delegated to a clerical force
Recommendation that authority of city superintendent should be
increased is inconsistent with criticism of "machinery," "military
methods," etc
Detailed reports of associate superintendents show that as division
superintendents they give close attention to instruction and to
all matters merely referred to in general reports
District superintendents have participated in making course of study,
recommending text books, organization of classes, selection, promotion and approval of teachers, and have been called into conferences with board of superintendents at nearly all the meetings
Information about cooperation with district superintendents, principals and teachers could have been easily obtained by Prof. Elliott
and Prof. Hanus
Principals have been left free to try various systems of teaching, part
time, grading; to adapt curriculum to needs of special children;
to develop social side; to place teachers, select text books from
ample list, etc
Investigator did not tell which recommendations had not received
attention, or verify by minutes or questions the statements of
teachers
Best features of proposed "supervisory council" have been in operation for 11 years
Extravagant misstatement that "investigation that is needed is not
carried on at all"; bureau of appraisal and investigation could not
act without friction; better to have branch investigators associated
with board of superintendents
No discrimination now against outsiders; about one-sixth of elementary teachers, and over one-half of all high school teachers
have been credited with outside experience
Age of principals due to refusal to merge eligible lists or reduce
required classroom experience
No system of examination can determine qualifications for an officer
of the grade of district superintendent or director
Not fair to criticize the board of superintendents for clerical work
which it did not require
68

GOODNOW-HOWE

REPORT

69

ADDENDA
A digest of the Goodnow-Howe report, released October 15,
1913, is added to our digest published on July 17, 1913
Throughout this pamphlet we have used or referred to concrete illustrations whenever these were furnished in the
original reports
At the present time we have not called attention to the omission of concrete illustration but have omitted all criticism
whatsoever of the reports, their findings, supporting data
and recommendations, acting solely as reporters to the public on the statements of the school inquiry investigators
W e are strong believers in putting out the most complete
array of supporting statements possible, whenever a finding, criticism or commendation is alleged
At a later date we purpose to present the relative disadvantage of reporting to the public statements that do not illustrate exactly what conditions are, precisely what the investigator has in mind, and that do not show whether the
denominator of a condition reported is one unit, a few units
or the entire system
W H A T T H E GOODNOW-HOWE REPORT COVERS
History of the development of the city school charter from
the Act of 1851 to its present form
Interpretation of the present charter defining relations between the board of education and the City of New York,
the board of estimate and apportionment and the department of finance
Controversies, compromises and present procedures between
the school board and these bodies
Analysis of school board estimates and resulting apportionments by the city authorities
How the school board is organized; its powers, duties and
policies; special account of internal committee organization
How the board conducts its meetings
How the various bureaus and offices of the department of
education are organized
Detailed account of the actual procedure of each bureau such
as of audit, supplies, care of buildings and school administration
Critical comment with recommendations on findings relating
to organization and procedure of the entire school board
and of offices and bureaus of the educational department
Judgment base: Interpretation of city charter
Fact base: (1) City charter; (2) school board minutes; (3) committee minutes; (4) calendar of board
meetings; observation of board meetings; (5) critical examination of methods and work of boards,
committees and officers; (6) all other school inquiry reports; (7) report of W. H. West, C.PA.,
on accounting procedure, etc. [No account taken
of changes in 1913 B. M. R.]

W H A T T H E GOODNOW-HOWE REPORT PRAISED
As to Board of Education
Observes special school fund segregation made by board of
estimate
Attendance of members at meetings is fairly regular; 325
absences of 1553 possible attendance or 2 1 % at 34 meetings in 1911
As to Bureau of Audit
Accounting practices of bureau of audit insofar as they extend, are commendable
Procedure is simple and effective
Divisional organization and use of modern statistical machinery are worthy of special comment
Auditor evinces a high order of ability
As to Bureau of Supplies
Supplies bureau observes a well-regulated and orderly procedure
General purchasing policy is commendable
The superintendent has been conscientious and indefatigable in his work
As to Bureau of Buildings
Procedure gives evidence of a high degree of efficiency
Internal organization is that of a well planned administrative unit
By much thought and care, the superintendent has attained
various desirable results
All employees are instructed and governed by carefully formulated rules, regulations and organization charts
Reports to keep the superintendent currently advised as
to progress of work are called for
Building plans and details have been standardized to a
considerable extent
Thoroughness in preparation of plans for construction contracts is to be commended
As to Board Meeting Minutes
Index of minutes of board meetings is prepared in elaborate and excellent form

EXTENT AND CONTROL OF EXPENDITURES
Expense of conducting the schools has been increasing out
of all proportion to the number of those receiving instruction, after taking into account new activities and
teachers' salary increases. A 40% increase in attendance
with 128% increase in school property and 68% increase
in current expenses
The present control of the board of estimate cannot be
charged with causing the interests of the schools to suffer
70

CONDITIONS SAID TO N E E D CORRECTION
Attitude of Board of Education Toward Board of Estimate
and Apportionment Hampers City Government
Exact relation of board of estimate and board of education
has not been understood; no agreement has been reached;
insistence of or upon opposed views has prevented cooperation.
Charter provisions regulating expenditure of funds are ambiguous and in some cases not consistent; sections 262,
1064 and 56, secure to the educational administration an
independence of municipal control not accorded ordinary
departments; other provisions in section 1064 place the department of education in the position of an ordinary city
department
Court of appeals considers that the state policy has treated
the board of education as a corporation separate from the
city
Past legal decisions do not furnish proof that the board of
education is relieved from the ordinary financial control
which the board of estimate exercises over other city departments
Board of education alone among city departments has refused
to conform to uniform accounting procedure
Board has failed to observe many of the important regulations, refused to furnish schedules and documents and information exacted from other departments:
1 copies of open market orders
2 schedules of open market orders issued
3 copies of invoices
4 monthly reports of contracts, orders, invoices and
vouchers
5 schedules of vouchers
6 monthly statements on
general ledger
appropriation accounts
corporate stock bonds etc
contracts
The comptroller has not made his requests sufficiently comprehensive, definite or categorical to subserve the purposes
either of estimates or of the general city accounting system; he has made little or no attempt to secure a correlation of school board accounts with school board budget
estimates
Board of education is disregarding the law, unnecessarilyhampering the operations of city government
School board accounts have not been kept so as currently
to develop the information desired by comptroller; the
board has not had this information or a way to get it
71

72

DEFECTS—Continued

Divided responsibility for selection of sites and details of
buildings between board of education and board of estimate is objectionable
Confusion and conflict due to charter inconsistencies have
been increased because neither the board of estimate nor
the comptroller has disciplinary means of enforcing obligations recognized by law [sec 226 charter]
Teachers' Salary Accruals Have Been Annually Misstated
by at Least $250,000
[Method explained to investigating committee by the audit o r ; report notes that accrual records have since been installed]
Record of withdrawals during a given year does not include
those between May 31 and December 31 of the previous
year, though provided for in the estimate for the next year
Record of new teachers does not segregate appointees for
replacement from those for extension
does not include new teachers in replacement of withdrawals during the last seven months of the preceding year, if
appointed in that year
No consideration is given to the amount of time involved in
the unearned salary item of a withdrawal
School board's estimate of 1912 accruals was $150,000; actual
1912 accruals were closely approximated to be over $400,000
Organization of Board of Education Has Made It a Failure
The size, internal organization of 14 separate standing committees and legal limitations of the board are responsible
for most of the undesirable conditions covered in this report
Political machinery provided by law is primarily responsible
for the failures in the administration of the largest annual
budget item; the care of $135,000,000 worth of property;
the education of 700,000 children
It has failed to rise to its obligations as a legislative and policy making body
It has failed utterly in the only field where it was expected
to function
Bylaws and practices adopted have imposed upon the board
duties intended by the charter to be performed by the executive committee and in addition an enormous mass of
routine never intended by the charter to be performed
either by the board or its executive committee
The exercise of the administrative functions by the board as
a whole is as repugnant to all principles of economy and
expedition as it is inconsistent with the intent of the charter
It has abdicated to departmental experts the important functions of molding the school policy

DEFECTS—Continued

73

It has failed to delegate power to do petty routine work to
paid office heads, though enabled to do so by law
It has added enormously detailed functions of a purely routine character
85% of all action taken in 1911 should not require action of
board but merely of administrative officers [example a ] ;
9% should be delegated to executive committee [ b ] ; only
6% should have been properly exercised by the board [c]
a—-approving bills, awarding contracts, loaning furnit u r e ; appointing, promoting, retiring and transferring teachers; excusing absences; granting permission to use school buildings etc
b—approving plans, leasing premises, selecting sites, disciplining etc
c—amending bylaws, establishing trade schools, adopting estimates, requesting corporate stock issues etc
W o r k and methods are 75% routine, petty, rubber-stamp and
detailed rather than policy making and legislative
Members are not familiar with the whole school problem,
nor have they the means to that end
Board fails to awaken a proper sense of responsibility among
members
It is difficult if not impossible to locate responsibility, so
widely is authority distributed among board, committees
and bureau heads
Men sincerely desirous of public service are deterred from
accepting membership because of lack of opportunity for
efficient work
Board is not directly responsive to public or to city officials
responsible to the public for the schools
It is limited in power to shape its internal organization
Investigation of individuals can be made only by formal resolution of board of education; this gives those to be investigated advance notice
Board has not at its ready command necessary professional
and expert service for investigation
Control of board of education over board of superintendents
is weak and unsatisfactory
Board's power to determine kinds of teachers' licenses is limited
Board Meetings Are Merely Mechanical and Perfunctory
Treatment of matters in calendar is too brief to give board
members adequate idea of what they are to vote on
Reading of reports by secretary is not adequate to proper
understanding of subject matter
Printed reports are seldom prepared for members and when
prepared, there is unnecessary delay

74

DEFECTS—Continued

Board not infrequently adopts resolutions of prime importance without having before it in writing the language of
the resolution or other document pertinent to it
Printed minutes are never in secretary's hands before more
than 3 weeks after a meeting; members never have minutes of preceding meeting; no printer's composing is done
till after meeting
Board's action purely a perfunctory ratification of committee
reports
343 of 348 resolutions presented at six consecutive meetings
adopted unanimously without discussion; another count
shows 192 of 194 at five consecutive meetings
Board votes on 10 to 30 resolutions as one
On other occasions the board discussed only 16 out of 203
measures acted on, and was divided only on 4
Proceedings a mechanical dialog between the secretary and
president, while disinterested members engage in conversation or retire to committee rooms
A number of strong individuals mold the board at a maximum of effort and a minimum of efficiency
Meetings seldom begin on time
School Board Committee Organization is Cumbrous and
Inefficient
Executive committee has failed utterly to assume the functions expected of it by the legislature and has become a
mere interim committee for the summer months .
Conflict between committees has resulted in creating miniature boards of education within the official board
There is great waste of energy, ability and money for clerks,
printing etc; direct and ready action is encumbered
Able men can make their influence felt only by circumlocution
Deference to committee recommendations traditional and
prevents inquiry or challenge
Committee reports in many cases fail to present the wording
of bills treated
A non-official organization of teachers gives a bill more careful consideration than the board
Reports on disciplining teachers give verdict without discussing evidence
Reports on rejection of teachers' nominations do not state
reasons
Committees, assuming approval of board, complete important
matters before submitting them to board for approval

DEFECTS—Continued

75

Committee on Finance Lacks Data for Estimates
Efficiency of activities for which requests were made is not
shown; the only available source of data is the city superintendent's report, the tardy publication of which limits
the board to 1910-1911 statements as a basis for 1913 appropriations
Requests for corporate stock are made without information
Only 4 of 20 requests for special revenue bonds in 1910-1911
explain the purpose for which bonds were wanted
Transfers from funds are requested without presentation of
supporting data
Estimates for enlarging a single department are not collated
but are scattered under 2, 3 or 4 heads
Estimates do not distinguish enlargement from innovation
Estimates are passed in a perfunctory manner without investigation of superintendents' estimates
Changing Decisions of Committee on Sites Suggests Insufficient Reasons for Requests
In 3 years no request for a site has contained such data as the
rate of increase of population
Reports rescinding sites frequently not supported with data
Recommended in May 1910 the recission of 22 site selections
of wThich nine had been made within 6 months by the very
same committee
Took no part in preparation of 1912-13 estimate, merely drawing up a list of buildings called for by the building committee and not yet provided with sites
Decided not to exercise discretion in making this budget but
neglected to refer 44 communications re buildings to other
authority
Added a site merely on a member's motion without reference
to board of superintendents for need and with no letters before the committee re need for site
Sites acquired but not used have involved a loss through taxes
of $660,000 or more
Estimates of Committee on Buildings not Supported by
Census Board Claims
11 building requests constituting 25% of all elementary school
buildings asked for in 1912-13 by building committee were
declared undesirable by permanent census board. Of these
5 were not necessary; 2 of doubtful necessity; 2 larger
than necessary; and 2 not properly located
Census board not invited by committee on buildings to cooperate until after latter's estimate had been printed

76

DEFECTS—Continued

Order of priority of buildings requested and sent to board of
estimate not regarded as final and materially changed
Committee is without administrative power or assistance and
must accept the services of the bureau of supervisors of
janitors over whose work it has no control
W o r k performed in awarding contracts is purely perfunctory
Authorization of repairs is a palpable absurdity and a waste
of time and money in that the committee knows nothing
of conditions and must accept the word of the superintendent
Bureau of Buildings Has Only Partial Control Over Matters
for Which It Is Responsible
Superintendent of buildings is charged with the repair of
heating and ventilating apparatus, with no control over its
operation, or over choice and purchase of fuel and other
operative supplies
Estimates for draftsmen and inspectors are based on no applied percentage to construction cost
The adjustment of the bureau force to fluctuating building
demands is accomplished with difficulty
Present leasing procedure involving outside review and approval by sinking fund commissioners is unnecessarily timeconsuming
Method of purchasing furniture by entering into contract for
each school and by grouping different kinds of articles together in one contract item prevents the department from
taking full advantage of
(a) direct purchase from special dealers
(b) purchasing in largest possible quantity
Field survey notes for repair estimates are inadequate for any
intelligent outside review as to the necessity for repairs
enumerated
Accounts of Bureau of School Supplies Inadequate, Tardy
and at Variance with Other Reports
Accounts are kept on single entry system, which is inadequate
in that it permits of errors which cannot readily be located;
no attempt is made to effect any control over stock purchased through any stock accounts
Accounts maintained neither with reference to nor in harmony
with general board of education accounts
Financial reports are not accurate
Errors are admitted in practically all accounts
Bureau has no accounting officer responsible for all accounts
Bureau has not supplied comptroller with salient facts

DEFECTS—Continued

77

1912 accounts not compiled until May 1913; this is earlier
than customary
No supporting data for estimates show stock on hand in
schools or depositories at the close of the school or fiscal
year
Published transactions of the supplies bureau show actual
transactions only in p a r t ; general supplies expenditures
amounting to $180,094 were not enumerated [year not
s t a t e d ] ; expenditures for fuel aggregating over $500,000
annually are not shown
Transactions under general supplies fund as reported by the
superintendent of supplies are at variance with facts presented to the mayor in school board reports to the extent
of $31,422 in 1906 to 1910 inclusive
The inspection system in operation at depositories is weak in
that supplies packed to be delivered are inspected by those
responsible for specific supplies packed
The issuing of purchase orders by boroughs now required
under statutory provision entails unnecessary clerical work
in that five orders are currently issued where one would
suffice
Committee on Supplies Works Unnecessarily Outside Its
Proper Sphere
Has interfered in an unwarranted manner with the auditor
in the exercise of his rights
[See under auditor]
Performs many functions which the superintendent of supplies
ought to be competent to perform, such as approving officers' bills, granting routine requests for pictures, maps, and
board minutes
Committee on Care of Buildings Needlessly Engaged in
Detail Work
Supervises the operative force, but another committee [on
supplies] chooses and purchases fuel, and still another
[committee on buildings] is charged with installation and
repair of operative plant
Busies itself with petty details such as trivial complaints
against janitors on which their supervisor should act; minutes shows requests as to which door a principal should
keep open, slight changes in office space, pupil keeping a
motorcycle in building, use of buildings for meetings
Committees Interfere with Work of Bureau Chiefs
Character of business in bureau of audit requires very little
committee supervision

78

DEFECTS—Continued

Committees lack impartial investigators having for investigations only bureau supervisors, often under investigation
Committees interfere with bureau chiefs in salary and disciplinary matters affecting employees by reason of the fact
that these matters must come up for committee consideration
Committee on bylaws does not hold public hearings
Formality, Delay and Duplicated Work Characterize the
Office of Overpaid School Board Secretary
Indexing of minutes of school board and committees is greatly
in arrears
The secretary has paid little attention to improving such conditions
Formality, as against expediency, is the characteristic procedure of the office
The secretary has accentuated these adverse conditions by
assuming secretarial duty to all committees
Neither the secretary, his assistant nor chief clerk seems to
exercise much supervision over the work of committee
clerks
The clerk of committee on care of buildings performs administrative work without reference to the executive officer of
that committee
Unnecessary formality, duplication of work, delay and expense is entailed in the procedure of this office
A central library of reports and publications both local and
country-wide is lacking
With respect to his prescribed duties and work assumed, the
salary of the secretary is excessive
Methods Employed by Bureau of Audit and Accounting Detract from Accuracy and Value of Reports
Auditor maintains no control over supplies bureau accounts
reflecting transactions of approximately $2,000,000 annually
Auditor should have asserted his authority more positively
to remedy this serious condition
Failure of auditor to effect an independent audit of supplies
bureau accounts has produced undesirable conditions
Information as to salary accruals has not been properly developed; both data and method of estimating salary accruals are inaccurate and fundamentally misleading
Department has refused to observe comptroller's requests for
monthly trial balances and other statements
From any point of view, statistics as to expenditures for supplies and fuel are of little value

DEFECTS—Continued

79

Trial balances of ledgers and subsidiary records are not taken
off monthly, but as work requirements make possible or as
occasion demands
Balances of funds on hand at end of year are shown without
any information as to encumbrances against same
Ineffectual Board of Superintendents Hampers Educational
Endeavor
Is an ineffective administrative body which has outlived its
usefulness
It unnecessarily complicates administrative procedure
Because of its form as a board it consumes time on tasks
which could be done more easily and quickly by the city
superintendent
Board seriously limits the shaping of educational endeavor by
the board of education
Board has based recommendations for sites on uncertainties;
in the 1912-13 estimate, 8 high schools were requested; one
month later only the 8th on the list was wanted
City Superintendent Has Not Used Available Information
Office force is inadequate
Has not made proper use of information currently developed
and available
His recommendations for corporate stock requests have not
been reliable
A large amount of time is consumed in furnishing clerical
information relating to vacancies, licenses and qualifications
Much of his time is unnecessarily consumed in administrative
work with board members and committees
Submitted 1913 corporate stock estimate to building committee without supporting data; when asked for data he furnished figures so inadequate that buildings committee was
obliged to make a separate survey of the situation
Inserted two important building items the necessity for which
had escaped the original list
City Superintendent's Office Methods Faulty
Data on teachers' personal record cards and book records
duplicated
Book records little used and not kept up to date
Efficient administration calls for statistics far more reaching
in their scope than those now collected and collated
Handling unimportant inquiries involves reference from one
office to another
Local School Boards Are Ignored
There is little opportunity for local boards or parents'
associations to participate in framing policies or in control of curriculm

RECOMMENDATIONS CLEARLY REQUIRING ADDITIONAL MONEY
As to Business Administration
Establish the office of business manager to control the work
now done by the auditor, superintendents of buildings
and supplies and the supervisor of janitors
As to City Superintendent's Office
Extend statistical work to show currently conditions and
results in activities throughout the system;
Employ an experienced statistician to collate and interpret
educational statistics; install modern statistical machinery and methods as are employed in the bureau of audit;
employ two additional clerks
Furnish additional technical assistance to enable the superintendent to effect thorough and scientific study before
submitting building recommendations
Transfer work of furnishing information on vacancies, licenses, qualifications, etc, to the central information division urged in connection with the secretary's office
As to Audit Bureau
Add a small inspection force including one inspector trained
to investigate construction and repair claims, and one or
two other competent men to supplement the inspection
effected outside the auditor's jurisdiction; as field auditors these men could check up teachers' attendance
If present organization at education headquarters is not
adequate to secure data for comptroller, provide for adequate organization in the budget
As to Supplies Bureau
Secure a central supply depository with adequate accommodations; from evidence submitted in superintendent's
memorandum and from conditions observed the need for
a depository is imperative; this involves capital investment intended to effect economy in current expenses
Provide executive assistance to superintendent of supplies
As to Care of Buildings
Increase executive force and double inspectorial force of
office of supervisor of janitors; two additional clerks required for office routine under proposed innovations
As to Bureau of Investigation and Appraisal
Establish a central reference and information bureau as a
unit in the school board secretary's office
Should pass upon the results of administration and supervision
Should conduct experimental and informative investigations
for the intelligent development of the school system
Borrow and apply to New York such experience of other
cities as would be advantageous
Report findings first to the city superintendent for review
and thereafter to the school board
80

RECOMMENDATIONS NEITHER DIRECTLY ADDING NOR SAVING MONEY, B U T I N T E N D E D
TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY
As to Estimates
Place the making of recommendations for new buildings
and sites on a scientific basis, utilizing the work of the
permanent census bureau to the utmost
A s to Auditing Bureau
Set up controlling accounts over stock accounts of supplies
bureau
Devise a scientific method of ascertaining salary accruals
Extend general fund accounting information to correlate
actual with estimated expenditures for a given period
Establish controlling accounts and furnish schedules and
other data in agreement with comptroller's requests
A s to Supplies Bureau
Revise the present inadequate accounting methods along
the line of a complete double entry accounting system to
be controlled by the auditor and providing for a daily
control of stock, location of responsibility, and the compilation of definite data in respect to supply purchase
and consumption and the appraisal of the system of purchase inspection
Formulate and adopt a uniform method of presenting estimates meeting the requirement of the board of estimate
Inaugurate an independent inspection of supplies issued
Conduct efficiency studies on purchase of supplies
A s to Building Bureau
Relieve bureau of its engineering functions and establish a
bureau of engineering
Institute a percentage method of estimating cost of draftsmen and inspectors
Publish percentage records of operations and bureau cost as
a means for review as to work and efficiency
Provide a lump sum contingent fund for temporary draftsmen and inspectors to avoid outside formal procedure to
secure emergency help
Establish a system of time and cost records to determine
adequacy of inspection work
As to Secretary's Office
Print minutes in time for adoption of next meeting
Use titles in minutes to facilitate reference
Publish minutes semi-anually, promptly at termination of
such period
Transfer secretarial work of committees from the secretary's office to the bureaus and offices supervised by
committees
Transfer the several committee clerks, now in the secretary's office to the various administrative units to which
their work relates
81

82

RECOMMENDATIONS—Continued

As to Budget Estimates
It may be expedient to give the board of education power
to purchase sites without the comptroller's consent, despite the board's record
Accounts of general fund expenditures should be extended
to show
a—All expenditures classified under budgetory estimate item numbers
b—All expenditures in terms of "teaching service rendered" in addition to cost thereof, such teaching
service representing number of teachers pro rata, to
actual days' service rendered
It would not be safe to decentralize the financial control
of the schools
It is necessary that demands for educational expansion be
weighed by some independent body
Growing demand for wider use of schools for civic and
recreational purposes makes advisable the concentration
of financial control and responsibility in the board of
estimate
Board of estimate should segregate school budget only to
determine large questions of policy
As to School Board Accounts
Board of education accounts should be made to conform
to those of other city departments
Board of education claims not in form for finance department certification should not be passed
As to Executive Committee
Under present organization the executive committee should
resume the functions contemplated by the charter
RECOMMENDATIONS I N T E N D E D TO SAVE MONEY
Exempt contractors from building delays only for legal
cause
Department should exercise its right in executing leases
so as to avoid delays
Adopt open contract basis for purchase of furniture and
equipment
Elaborate field survey notes for repair estimates and make
them a matter of permanent record
Maintain under the supervision of janitors fuel heat and
service records
As to Board of Education
Create an internal committee in board of education on
economy and efficiency to review methods, materials and
usage thereof
Avoid formal correspondence with interdepartmental
bureaus and offices where reference would suffice

RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRING STATE LEGISLATION
As to Duties of Board of Education
Amend charter so as to relieve both board and executive
committee from administrative work
As to Size of Board
Amend charter by providing that the board of education
shall consist of 8 members, three appointed by the mayor
for the city at large with three votes each; five appointed
by respective borough presidents, the Manhattan and
Brooklyn members to have two votes, the others one vote
One-fourth of the membership of board to retire each year
As to Board of Superintendents
Abolish the board of superintendents by charter amendment and make its members assistants to the city superintendent
As to Supply Bureau
Amend charter to allow purchasing of supplies for entire
city instead of by boroughs
As to Administrative Agents
Existing bylaws regarding administrative agents should be
repealed, and plenary power to administer schools lodged
in the school board as now accorded the board of estimate
to administer city affairs
A short, simple school charter should endow the board of
education with practically all authority over administration and policy, subject to financial control of the board
of estimate
As to Local School Boards
Board of education should develop local school boards by
devolution of some of its authority to local administrative agencies
The form of local school boards should not be provided by
state laws, but left to the board of education
As to Supervisors and Teachers
PowTers of teachers, principals, district superintendents,
should be determined by the bylaws of the board of
education [not by state laws] to awaken talent now
dormant
As to Budget Segregation
If board of education furnishes comptroller with data as desired, financial authorities should not continue detailed
budget segregation

INDEX
PAGE

Absence of board members
70
Accounts
71, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82
Accruals
See salary, 72, 78, 81
Administrative procedure
72, 79
Associate superintendents,
See board of sup'ts
Audit of supplies
78
Auditor
70, 77, 78
Board of education,
accounts
71, 76, 82
attendance
70
by-laws
72
calendar
73
meetings
74
members
73
organization
72
printed minutes
70, 74
printed reports
73
reading of reports
73
size
72, 83
state policy
71
Board of estimate
70, 71, 72,
81, 82, 83
Board of superintendents
79, 83
Budget estimates
82
Building recommendations.76, 80, 81
Bureau of audit... .70, 77, 78, 80, 81
Bureau of buildings
76, 81
Bureau of engineering
81
Bureau of investigation and
appraisal
80
Bureau of school supplies... 76, 78,
80, 81, 83
Business administration
83
Business manager
80
By-laws
72, 83
Census board
75
Charter
71, 72, 83
Clerical work
77, 79, 80
Committee clerks
78, 81
Committee interference
77
Committee on buildings,
75, 76, 77, 79
Committee on by-laws
78
Committee on care of buildings.77
Committee on economy and
efficiency
82
Committee on sites
75
Committee on supplies
77
Committee system
74
Comptroller
71, 72, 76, 78,
80, 81, 82, 83
Contracts
76, 82
Corporate stock
75, 79
Cost records
81
Curriculum
79
Depository—supply
District superintendents
Dormant talent
Double entry accounts
Draftsmen

77, 80
83
83
81
81

Emergency help
81
Engineering bureau
81
Estimates
72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81
Executive committee
74
Experience of other cities
80
Finance committee
75
Fuel
Furniture

78, 82
.J76

Index of board minutes
Information
71, 79, 80,
Inspection
77, 80,
Investigation
73,
Investigation and appraisal
bureau
Leases
Legal decisions
Library
Local school boards

78
81
81
78

76, 82
71
78
79, 83

Meetings—school board
73, 74
Membership of school board
83
Minutes—school board... 70, 78, 81
New teachers
72
Parents' associations
79
Policy of school board.. .72, 79, 82
Principals
83
Priority of buildings requested.. 76
Purchase of supplies
81, 83
Purchasing furniture
76
Recommendations
80, 81, 82, 83
Records
79
Repairs
76, 80
Resolutions, action on
74
Responsibility
72, 73, 77, 81, 82
Revenue bonds
Routine work
72, 73
Salary accruals
72, 78, 81
School board accounts
School policies
72, 79, 82
Secretary—school board
78
Segregation—budget
70, 82, 83
Single entry accounts
Sites
75, 79, 81, 82
Special revenue bonds
75
Statistics
78, 79, 80
Stock—supplies
77, 81
Superintendent of buildings
76
Superintendent of schools... 79, 80
Superintendent of supplies,
70, 77, 80
Supplies...70, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83
Supervisor of janitors
80
Teachers
Time records
Transfer of
Trial balances

72, 80, 83
81
finds
75
79

INDEX OF TOPICS AND INVESTIGATORS
Absence
.3, 19, 26, 30, 31
Administration, elementary,
17, 23, 33, 46, 49, 51, 52, 59;
high school, 10, 36, 47, 56
Age-grade reports
See overage
Annexes
See organization
Arithmetic
22, 33, 34, 52, 56, 62
Armstrong. ,12,43-45, 49, 50, 59, 60, 62
Assoc. supt s..See superintendents
Attendance
3, 11, 30, 53, 55, 61
Averill
18, 48, 50, 58, 65
Bachman.. .8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 24-30, 46,
49, 53, 54, 60, 61, 65
Ballou... .10, 35-38, 47, 49, 56, 57, 62
Board of education
1, 3, 66, 67
Board of estimate
4, 64
Board of supt's.See superintendents
Budget. ..7, 10, 29, 31, 38, 54, 57, 64
Buildings
12, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50,
59, 60, 62
Bureau of Municipal Research.64,67
Burks
11, 30-31, 55, 61
City sup't
See superintendents
Classroom instruction.See teachers
Clerical assistance.. .17, 18, 23, 36,
37, 46, 47, 50, 58
Commercial education... 10, 34, 40,
47, 53, 62
Composition
See grammar
Compulsory
See attendance
Continuation school
48
Cooking
See special branches
Corporal punishment. See discipline
Course of study, elementary,
9, 21, 24, 29, 49, 51, 54, 61;
high school, 10, 38, 47, 57, 62
Courtis
33-35, 56, 62
Curriculum
See course of study
Davis
10, 38-39, 47, 57, 62
Discipline
20, 46, 51
District sup't...See superintendent
D r a w i n g . . . . . .See special branches
Drinking cups
See buildings
Elementary
See teachers, etc
Elimination
See promotion
Elliott.8, 9,13-17, 46, 49, 50, 51, 60, 61
Ettinger plan.
27, 54
Estimating t e a c h e r s . . . . See budget
Ettinger plan
27, 54
Evening Sun
65
Examiners. .8,13,17, 24, 50, 51, 52, 69
Feeble-minded.. 10, 32, 46, 49, 56, 60
Fire precautions
See buildings
Forced promotions, See promotion
Geography
„
.. .22
Globe, New York
64, 65
Goddard
10, 32, 46, 49, 56, 60
Grammar
9, 21
Gymnasiums
58
Hanus
.7, 62, 65
Heating
See buildings
High schools
See teachers, etc
Hygiene
23

Instruction
See teachers
Intermediate schools.. 12, 49, 54, 61
Investigation
. .15, 46, 61
Janitors
See buildings
Kindergarten
9, 20, 21
Large classes
See organization
Licenses
See examiners
Literature
See reading
Local school boards
.19
McMurry. 8, 9,19-24, 46, 49, 51, 52, 61
Method of inquiry
7
Music.....
.22, 52
Nature study
9, 22, 52
Night schools
. . . 1 1 , 41, 42
Non-promotion
See promotion
Organization, elementary
26, 43
high school, 10, 35, 37, 47, 49, 56
Overage.
.9, 24, 26, 53, 61
Parental school
11, 20, 48, 51
Part time
11, 25, 27, 35, 45
Permanent census board
.41, 53
Physical training
22
Principals..8, 14, 17, 20, 23, 33, 37,
51, 52, 65
Promotion.. .8, 11, 24-29, 46, 49, 53,
60, 61; of teachers, see examiners
Public Education A s s ' n . . . .
67
Rating of teachers.. See examiners
Reading....
9, 21, 52
Recommendations
18, 19, 53
Records
10, 18, 30, 33, 53
Repairs...
See buildings
Salaries
See principal, teacher
Sanitation
See buildings
Schneider.il, 41-42, 48, 50, 58, 60, 62
School inquiry committee,
See board of estimate
Sections
See organization
Shop w o r k . . . .See special branches
Sites
See buildings
Special branches.9, 17, 22, 46, 49, 51
Spelling....
..9, 21, 52
Superintendent.. .city, 8, 18, 28, 66;
associate, 16, 18, 37, 46, 48,
50, 58, 60, 61, 68; district,
16, 51, 66
Superior merit
14
Supervision
See administration
Syllabus
. . . See course of study
Teachers, elementary.9,13,14,19-20,
51, 65; high school, 35, 36, 62
Thompson
10, 40, 47, 58, 62
Trade trainmg.ll, 41,48, 50, 58, 60,62
Truancy
See attendance
Ungraded classes,
See feeble-minded, promotion, overage
Ventilation
See buildings
Vocational guidance
40
Winslow-Baskerville
12, 45, 60

BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH
J a n u a r y 1st, 1906 Organized as ' 'Bureau of City Betterment''
May 3rd, 1907
Incorporated as "Bureau of Municipal R e s e a r c h "
PTJBPOSES
To promote efficient a n d economical municipal government; to promote the
adoption of scientific methods of accounting and of reporting t h e details
of municipal business, with a view to facilitating t h e work of public officials;
to Secure constructive publicity in matters pertaining to municipal probl e m s ; to collect, to clarify, to analyze, to correlate, to interpret and to
publish facts as to the administration of municipal government. (Articles
of incorporation)

Helpful Publications for School Workers
(Postage prepaid)

Civics and Health, W. H. A U , B N
- $1.48
Woman's Part in Government, W. H . A U , E N
1.62
New City Government, H E N R Y B R U ^ R B
1.66
Organized Democracy, F . A. CI,EVEI«AND
- 2.66
Helping School Children, Ei,SA DENISON - 1.40
Conditions and Needs of Rural Schools in Wisconsin
.14
School Reports and School Efficiency, S N E D D E N and AI^LEN 1.11
Outside Cooperation with the Public Schools of Greater
New York
_
,28
A Report on the Division of Child Hygiene (1911)
.28
School Progress and School Facts (1909)
.29
School Stories: A Topical Guide to Education Here and
Now (Illustrated; abridged)
.07
Help-Your-School Surveys (Waterbury and St. Paul)
.15
School Inquiry Follow-up Cards
Series of 22 bulletins on the New York school inquiry, Wisconsin state survey, etc., issued 1912-1913
Classroom instruction card for teachers and supervisors, 10 for
10c; 50 for 40c; 100 for 75c
St. Louis and Philadelphia Follow-up Cards
Series of 20 bulletins giving in condensed form some ' 'high - spots''
from the N. E. A. meetings of the division of superintendence

B U R E A U OE MUNICIPAL RESEARCH
261 Broadway, N e w York