in this connection that the States have been arranged in the decreasing order of the percentage of the rural school term lost. On this score Ohio and Illinois occupy the most commendable, and Kentucky and Connecticut the most derogatory positions. As a general rule the city child loses 39 school days annually, or 21.4 per cent of the term provided, while the child in rural communities loses 41 days, or 28.5 per cent of the school term provided for him. TEACHERS' SALARIES IN RURAL AND CITY SCHOOLS. In all elementary and secondary schools the average annual salary of teachers is $635. As shown in Table 10 the corresponding average in city schools is $854 and in rural schools $479. The variations from these average practices are best exhibited in figure 4. New Jersey, California, and Arizona head the list on the high salaries paid to rural teachers. Alabama, North Carolina, and Mississippi pay the lowest average salaries to rural teachers. Not infrequently the average salary paid to city teachers falls below the $600 line. The great inequality in the relative lengths of the "bars" and the "pins" in most of the States suggest the query as to whether the rural child is not entitled to as good a teacher as the city child. CITY AND RURAL SCHOOL PROPERTY. The estimated value of all school property and the average value for each pupil enrolled in school are shown for city and rural schools in Table 10. In city schools this per capita is found to be $146.62, while in rural schools it is only $59.07. For both combined it is $95.12. The reservations from these general averages are shown graphically by States in figure 5. Montana, Missouri, and Wisconsin rank first on the values of property in the rural schools. In some States little difference exists between the average value in rural and city schools. In most States the "pins" project far beyond the "bars," indicating that great inequality exists as to the "school home" provided for the rural and the city child. THE PER CAPITA COST OF RURAL AND CITY EDUCATION. An attempt has been made to ascertain the annual cost of education in city and rural schools. The results are shown in Table 12. Some of the averages are not precise, as the various per capitas for city and rural schools had to be derived by a process of subtraction, as explained above. While the averages shown are not precise, they are nevertheless fairly dependable. In figure 6 the per capita cost for each pupil enrolled has been ascertained. The city schools on this basis spend $40.60, while the rural schools spend only $24.13 for meeting the current expenses of each pupil. The States have been ranked on the magnitude of rural school costs. Montana, FIG. 4.-Average annual salaries of city and rural teachers, 1917-18. (Data based on the total number of teachers employed.) |