Trends in Testing

A NOTICEABLE increase in the interest in State cooperative testing has taken place during 1933-34. Agencies engaged in such testing are tending to increase the scope of their testing by using both general mental ability tests and achievement tests in particular subjects. The application of testing to guidance problems is increasing. This is attested by the prominent place tests have had in the series of guidance conferences held in different parts of the United States during the past year. The 10-year study of the efficiency of tests to predict educational and vocational success conducted by Thorndike and others was completed this year. The results of this study for the tests involved educational guidance, i.e., the prediction of scholastic success could be made with some degree of efficiency. The tests were found to be inadequate for the prediction of success in certain vocations. Because of the fact that tests used were limited in scope no general principles regarding the use of tests in guidance can be made. data is valuable for showing the efficiency of the particular tests used.

The

Several recent studies by educational psychologists and mathematicians report attempts to isolate abilities and traits of a more fundamental nature than those represented by the different school subjects. It is too early to be dogmatic about it but it seems probable that eventually this work will yield large returns in the practical educational field both in guidance and curriculum construction.

DAVID SEGEL

Highlights of 1933–34

[Continued from page 206]

Citizens Conference on Crisis in Education held at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. April 1934

Weekly education radio broadcasts, "Education in the News", inaugurated by Federal Office of Education.

One hundredth anniversary of the signing of Pennsylvania's free public-school act. New liberalized methods of accrediting institutions of higher education adopted by North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

May 1934

National Conference on Fundamental Problems in the Education of Negroes.

George-Ellzey bill, previously passed by the House and Senate, appropriating $3,000,000 to vocational education in

DURING 1933-34 the pressure of the economic situation was felt by the publicschool system with greater force than in any previous year. Due to the sustained cry for reduced tax rates, reduced appropriations, and reduced assessed valuations, the 1933-34 budgets for current expenses of schools were probably reduced to approximately 20 percent below what they were in 1930, about $368,000,000 or more than $2,000,000 less for each school day.

Tax delinquencies further reduced the actual amount of money available and made it necessary to either close schools before the end of the normal term or create a deficit. Tax delinquencies in one State amount to over $100,000,000. Floating debt, piled up by keeping the schools open the past few years, will be about $19,000,000 in another State, and a third has about $15,000,000 of school money frozen in closed banks.

While some States have combatted economic pressure by enlarging the unit of financial support, as in North Carolina and West Virginia, in an effort to get money from where it is and spend it where it is needed, other States have been forced greatly to curtail their State aid to local school districts and thus com

pel these districts to exist on what they

could collect from local taxation. One State that formerly paid as much as $7,250,000 aid will pay only $3,250,000 this year. Another formerly paying over $5,000,000 will pay only $2,000,000 this year and perhaps not even that.

Economic pressure has not only cut available revenue but it has also increased enrollments in the upper grades of the school that are most expensive to operate.

There are more than 1,000,000 more pupils in high school in 1934 than in 1930.

Since teachers' salaries constitute such a large part of the total expenditures, the number of teachers has been decreased by many thousands, and salaries have dropped to as low as $30 and $40 a month for white teachers in some States in both the South and West.

The inability to get funds even for teachers' salaries has necessitated curtailing of repairs to old buildings, and construction of new buildings to the utmost, except where these were made C.W.A. or P.W.A. projects.

The pressure of bond holders, note holders, and merchants with unpaid bills for payment of interest and debts has in some cases forced rulings giving these payments priority claim on all revenue, or forced the closing of schools in order to meet these payments. Since it was practically impossible to levy additional taxes to meet these fixed expenditures, current income has had to be diverted and the schools run on credit with additional interest charges for the present year or the teachers go unpaid or accept warrants which must be discounted to obtain cash.

For the first time in history local school districts have been forced to appeal to the Federal Government for funds in order to keep schools open for the normal term even on the low salary levels that have been established. Probably 34 States will receive approximately $17,000,000. This perhaps better than any other single event reflects what economic pressure has really done to the public-school system.

EMERY M. FOSTER

★ Guidance

THE economic depression has resulted in paradoxical demands on guidance services in the public schools. On the one hand, there has been a demand for economy in school expenses that has resulted in the partial elimination of the guidance work in some places. This is due

to the popular opinion that in a program of retrenchment the newer types of activities should be eliminated first. On the other hand the economic depression has brought into vivid consciousness the need of a plan for the selection and distribution of workers in the different fields of employment that will accord better with individual interests and aptitudes and

employment opportunities. This has resulted in a very definite demand that the public schools discharge in a more efficient way their responsibility for the adjustment of the individual to present day society. The general recognition on the part of the public of this need, points significantly to the further development of guidance as a regular function of the public schools. MARIS M. PROFFITT

THE years 1933 and 1934 mark a turning point in legislative policy for the maintenance of public education. For well-nigh half a century there had been few fundamental changes in the legal bases and principles of our public-school systems in the different States. Numerous changes were made in school laws, but they were in the main supplementary or amendatory to and in line with the general legal principles established in the formative years of State educational systems.

The impact of the depression reverberated to the very foundations of the educational systems in many States. Facing grim realities, law makers began to realize that many traditional local school systems had outlived their usefulness. The paramount educational obligation which confronted 1933 legislators consisted in replenishing insufficient school funds. But numerous legislators found themselves under a corresponding obligation to reduce or otherwise relieve property taxes. Legislators struggled with the educational crisis along several fronts; they sought new school revenue, restricted school services and facilities, reduced teachers salaries, curtailed or controlled administrative expenditures. Wrestling with these problems, legislators reached decisions which reveal definite trends:

1. An unprecedented utilization of nonproperty tax systems for the support of education.

2. An unusual number of reductions and restrictions in property tax levies for school purposes, and also modifications of provisions for their collection.

3. An unprecedented State assumption of greater proportion of school cost.

4. Increased State control over public expenditures for school purposes.

Law makers disclosed a willingness to follow the theory that education is a State function to its logical conclusion. Since the founding of statehood, in practically all States, both legal and educa

tional theories have regarded education as a State function. But the idea that the State should assume a sizable or major amount of financial responsibility for public education has been of slow legislative development. Delaware seems to be the first State to enact legislation under which the State assumed the major responsibility for the financial support of public education; this was in 1922. Since then slight increases in State responsibility were made in a few other States. It was reserved for the economic depression to give profound impetus and effect to this movement.

Beginning in North Carolina in 1931 and continuing in 1933 and 1934 the legislatures, especially in California, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia, manifested unusual willingness to have the State assume greater responsibility for the support of public education. Law makers and public officials came to the conclusion that there is a way to keep the schools going.

The Governor of Indiana, after explaining the fundamental legislative changes affecting State policy with respect to school support, said:

This is Indiana's answer to the question how to save the schools during a period of economic stress. The Indiana program is important because it demonstrates conclusively that there is an answer to the school problem. The Kansas Teacher, March 1934 Volume 38, No. 5, page 7.

Of the problem of obtaining adequate funds for education, W. W. Trent, State superintendent of public instruction for West Virginia, made the following noteworthy observation:

But we do not agree with the contention that no additional funds can be collected. We know there is money within the State. We believe it may be had for education. As we pass about we see football games well attended, new cars appearing on the streets from day to day, men and women wearing expensive clothing, pleasure parties going on long automobile drives, and motion pictures continuing a prosperous business. We believe it possible to tap the resourses these people represent. The West Virginia School Journal, October 1933, page 16.

WARD W. KEESECKER

★ Parent Education LONG-TIME programs and projects in parent education have been moving forward effectively during 1933-34 under the guidance of various institutions and This moveagencies, public and private. ment received decided impetus when the Federal Emergency Relief program of parent education was inaugurated through which departments of education in 22 States instituted emergency programs in this field.

Professional training of leaders in parent education has increased in colleges and universities in their summer and regular sessions, and further instruction is provided for the training of leaders through institutes, conferences, and short courses.

The program of the 1934 Convention of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers focussed upon the "Future of the Forgotten Child" and stressed parent education as a safeguard to insure a rich and satisfying life for children and a means by which an effective citizenship may be developed.

★ Health

ELLEN C. LOMBARD

PHYSICAL education is holding its own remarkably well for a late comer in the curriculum. The trend of its activities are, as in other recent years, away from formal and prescribed exercises toward more recreational activities, conducted as far as possible by the pupils themselves. To this end the suitability of past programs has been under investigation.

In Health Education the importance of instruction in the effects of alcohol has come to the fore. Laws, in all but one State, require such teaching and curriculums are being revised along lines indicated by more recent knowledge.

There has been an encouraging interest in furnishing adequate instruction in hygiene for the much neglected pupils in the last four years of public-school life.

JAMES F. ROGERS, M.D.

grow apace during the present

year. This statement is based on individual reports reaching the Federal Office of Education. Complete data on enrollments are being gathered, but are not yet available on a national scale for the school year 1933-34.

Tabulated figures from the 48 States and the District of Columbia indicate approximately 64 millions of pupils in public high schools of all types in 1932. The most accurate estimate available places the number in the last 4 years of high school at about 5,100,000 during 1932; this represents an increase of 15.9 percent during the 2-year period 1930-32. It is the highest percentage increase that has occurred since the biennium 1922-24 and is in total numbers the largest increase that has ever taken place in a 2-year period.

While this large increase in number of pupils has occurred, school revenues have in most cases been drastically reduced. Consequently, teachers have been obliged to instruct not only enlarged classes, but more of them. Budgets have been trimmed to provide less equipment. It appears that the economic depression has during 1933-34 made itself felt in the secondary schools more keenly than in any preceding year.

Evidence is at hand to show that the schools are retaining more of the pupils until graduation. While this tendency has been apparent over a number of years, it is of interest to note that the number of pupils in the fourth year in 1932 increased 24 percent over the number in 1930. This percentage is almost twice as large as the percentage increase for the biennium 1928-30. Compared with a 16-percent increase in the high-school enrollment, it is obvious that the holding power of the schools is improving. A somewhat smaller although significant increase occurred in the registration for third-year work.

The schools are meeting a responsibility and opportunity in caring for those who, finding no employment, return for post-graduate work. For the most part they are assigned work in subjects for which they did not register while they were regularly enrolled in high school. It is

by

felt by many that more adequate provision should be made for these pupils. A recent study completed in New York State indicates that 6 of every 100 pupils enrolled in senior high schools of that State are post-graduates.

Educators are alert as never before to the problem which confronts youth at the present time. They are seeing clearly that something needs to be done not only for those in school but also for the larger group not in school attendance. According to the census of 1930 there were more than 16 millions of our population of ages 14 to 20, inclusive. From the same source it is learned that only 51.3 percent of this number were in school between September 1, 1929, and April 1, 1930. It appears that if the schools in a

Number of Secondary School Pupils Enrolled

in Secondary Education

typical year are reaching only half of the youth between these ages something will have to be done about caring for the other half who are neither in school nor, with rare exceptions, employed.

In order that their interests might receive consideration the Commissioner of Education called a conference early in June of this year to discuss their needs and to develop a program for coordinated attack upon their problems. The deliberations of the conference centered principally around the needs of youth for education, guidance, employment, and worth-while leisure-time activities. The problem was viewed broadly as relating to the entire population between the ages of 16 and 25, but interest was focused especially on those within these age limits who, their

LOCKING in retrospect at the school situation in 1934 one sees educational administrators working with all their might against adverse conditions. In some instances they were making headway, in other instances they were keeping in the same place, and in still other instances they were being forced back; but every school administrator was working as he had never worked before.

Since the receipts for school purposes had been greatly reduced, the administrators had to meet the situation by adopting economy measures. In some cases, however, what were termed economy measures should have been designated as retrenchments, and in other cases they might have been designated as temporary savings, special economies, or expedient measures in order to meet the situation.

One sees great reductions in teachers' salaries, greatly enlarged classes, school term in many school districts shortened, supplies decreased in quantity and quality, repairs to school buildings and needed schoolhouse construction postponed, and many highly essential activities and services eliminated or curtailed.

It thus appears that conditions in 1934 were not promising and that little headway was made, but adversity caused school administrators to look anew at their problems and to analyze them very carefully. The schools were being criticised for not doing this, or for doing that, and for costing too much. It then became incumbent upon the school administrator to justify his every recommendation and to interpret the schools to the public more fully than he had in the past and in better ways. Accordingly, State and local school administrators set about explaining to the public, through the press, bulletins, and addresses, not only what education means to the community and the State but what

the schools should do to meet changing social and economic conditions. By this procedure they helped to stem the rising flood of criticism directed against the schools themselves and against the cost of education.

School costs, however, had to be reduced to meet the reduced income. It thus became necessary for the administrator to decide where reduction in expenditures might be made without affecting the efficiency of the schools, or where such reduction might be made with the least harm. They, therefore, applied themselves assiduously to the task of budget making, which involved the establishment of educational policies and the presentation of evidence to justify the policies and the expenditures recommended.

Greater attention was also given to the development of accounting systems so that the source of every dollar of income and the purpose for which it was expended might be revealed and so that unit costs among the same types of schools and activities in the same school system might be checked with a view of instituting economies wherever possible.

The situation was met in various other ways, some of which were undoubtedly real economies. Among these might be mentioned abandonment of very small schools for consolidation with larger schools; elimination of very small highschool classes by giving instruction in certain subjects only in alternate years; and scheduling of classes to secure the maximum utilization of the school building.

Although the accomplishments of administrators in 1934 may not appear to be great, it is doubtful whether there was ever another year in which conditions were more adverse and in which more in relation to conditions was accomplished.

W. S. DEFFENBAUGH

In a study recently issued by the Office of Education (Residence and Migration of College Students-Pamphlet No. 48, 5 cents), the home States of 995,875 college students in 1,210 colleges and universities are shown; numbers are also shown of students who migrate from State to State; and the drawing power of various types of institutions is revealed.

The 10 highest States with respect to native students attending institutions within the home State are in rank order: California (92.5 percent), Texas (89.9 percent), Oklahoma (89.8 percent) Washington (88.9 percent), South Carolina (87.6 percent), Nebraska (87.4 percent), Kansas (86.9 percent), Oregon (85.7 percent), Louisiana (85.1 percent), and Utah (85.1 percent). For the United States as a whole 80.3 percent of the students attended institutions in their own home States; the other fifth left their homes to enter institutions in other States.

An interesting table shows how each State draws students from other States for higher education. Sometimes proximity is a factor, and sometimes the reputation of institutions within a State. WALTER J. GREENLEAF

T

tional situation, looking back to the year 1933-34, would doubtless

point to the various indications of contraction in our university and college programs and activities for approximately 1,000,000 students.

The fundamental cause of contraction is the great shrinkage in income of higher educational institutions. This has been brought about through reduction in income from stocks and bonds, reduction in appropriations based on taxes on land or other public wealth, reductions in fees from students, and in gifts. These losses for the year 1933-34 have varied from 10 to 40 percent.

This financial situation is largely responsible for the reduction in the number of teachers employed. Three hundred institutions show a reduction of 4.2 percent. Those teachers still employed have in a large number of cases suffered salary reductions varying in amounts from 10 to 50 percent.

Likewise, there has been a considerable decrease in students attending college in 1933-34; 5 percent for full-time students, and 9 percent considering total enrollments.

Reorganization

Despite this negative picture, 1933-34 stands revealed as a year when increasing stress was placed on a sound reorganization of the higher-education program. In nearly all cases, reorganization has been in the direction of stressing qualitative values, in order to offset the somewhat barren

results of a period in which quantitative

standards had come to be paramount. These efforts toward improved organization have not been due entirely to the depression, but have been caused also by long-felt needs.

Among the most broad and fundamental of these efforts has been the work of the committee on classification of institutions of higher learning of the Association of American Colleges. This reclassification has not been devised for the purpose of accrediting, but rather to provide the basis for a more exact grouping of institutions within the several categories of information regarding which permanent records

must be compiled, such as refer to statistics, finances, and other information.

Another important development which has come to focus in 1933-34 is the approach to a new basis of accrediting. Accrediting of colleges and universities from 1900 to 1920 was based largely on quantitative measures. As experience grew in accrediting, the lack of recognition of the highly important and less tangible characteristics of colleges not expressed in quantitative terms became more and more evident so that measures were taken a few years ago by the North Central Association to overcome this difficulty. A more qualitative approach to the problem of accrediting has also been made by other accrediting associations.

Under the new plan of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools it was announced this year that the standards will give less emphasis to the "material and intellectual possessions of an institution and rather emphasize the effective use of the means at hand." If standardization has been thought of as the significant matter in the past, the future plan will give due recognition to significant differences, to "diversification." Uniformity in quantitative standards is not the goal.

The Association of American Universities through its report on the Classification of Universities and Colleges and Revision of Standards, has restated its criteria for the admission of colleges to its list, but it calls attention to the fact that it does not apply its standards in a mere mechanical manner.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools also has been going back of mere quantitative measurements to those more significant.

More tangible and concrete are the recent series or reorganizations of colleges and universities. Need for financial retrenchment and greater educational efficiency have dictated these reorganizations. Immediately prior to 1933–34, reorganization of publicly controlled institutions of higher learning had taken place in Oregon

and Mississippi, following the tendencies indicated by earlier reorganizations in Iowa, Kansas, and Florida, and by the plan of organization in Montana, the characteristic of which is the single board and single executive officer in control of all institutions.

In 1933 Georgia and North Carolina took definite steps to coordinate all their publicly controlled higher educational institutions. In Georgia 26 institutions have been reduced and consolidated into the new university system of the State under the general direction of a chancellor and a board of regents. The work of the Commission on University Consolidation in North Carolina has led to the combining of all public higher educational institutions under a single system with a president at the head.

A less complete plan of reorganization has been suggested for the State of Kentucky by the Kentucky Educational Commission. Consideration has also been given in Oklahoma to a comprehensive program of coordination which will embrace all public and private higher institutions of learning under a system called the Greater University of Oklahoma.

The report of the committee on college and university teaching conducted by the Association of American University Professors and completed in 1933 should be of great help in the improvement of college teaching. Practices of 70 colleges of every type were studied, largely through the personal investigations made by Dean Homer L. Dodge of the University of Oklahoma, field director of the committee.

The American Council on Education brought to a conclusion its investigation of the standards of graduate instruction in this country.

The shock of the depression has brought to the front the great importance of student guidance in colleges and universities. Basic to adequate guidance programs are facts of sufficient scope and quality that can serve as a basis for the counseling of prospective college students. The year 1933 marks the third year of the