early years of the movement the kindergarten was in the school, but not of it in the sense that its work had a definite relation to that of the grades to follow. There was a definite reason for this. The kindergarten illustrated a conception of education quite new at the time, that of the guidance of children's interests and activities at the successive stages of their development. Its work was therefore in marked contrast to that of the primary grades, which was still conceived of as the mastery of the tools of learning. This made the unification of the work of the two difficult.

THE NEW EDUCATIONAL AIMS THE BASIS FOR UNIFICATION

The advance in psychology in recent years has made great changes in educational theory and practice, and the conception of education as the guidance of children's interests and activities is being gradually accepted as the true one, not for the kindergarten only but, in a greater or less degree, for the school as a whole. In consequence, many changes have been made in the organization and equipment of the elementary school in recent years. Not only have such subjects as play and games, music, and art in its several aspects, been added to the curriculum, but playgrounds, gymnasiums, workshops, and art studios have been provided in order that the work in these subjects might be as effective as possible. The methods, too, have been changed to allow opportunities for initiative and self-expression. Since the new lines of work were of the active type the value of the kindergarten, whose work is largely active, became more apparent. The better knowledge of the child's development which these changes imply made corresponding changes in the kindergarten necessary, as it showed the play material devised by Froebel to lack the qualities that such material should possess. In consequence, there has been a change in the kindergarten materials; the small articles, such as sticks, rings, pricking and sewing cards, and fine weaving mats have been discarded or replaced by larger ones. Building blocks of several kinds are particularly favored to take their place. In this way the working material in the kindergarten and that in the grades have become more nearly alike.

These changes in the kindergarten and primary grades are based upon the recognized fact that the years from 4 to 8 constitute one psychological period, and that, in consequence, the work of the kindergarten and the first and second grades should be of the same general character.

KINDERGARTEN-PRIMARY SUPERVISION A MEANS TO MORE EFFECTIVE

UNIFICATION

The unification of the kindergarten and the first grade has been in progress in individual schools and individual communities for several years, but conditions have prevented its complete success. The

pros and cons of the kindergarten have, in fact, been the subject of many discussions, personal and professional, and these have doubtless contributed materially to an understanding of its value. If the work of a school is to be so organized that the work of the kindergarten is to serve as a real basis for that of the first grade, the work of both must be organized to that end.

The appointment of a kindergarten-primary supervisor is one of the means to that end. Such supervisors are relatively new, but the number is rapidly increasing. A study of kindergarten supervision, made by the Bureau of Education in 1918, showed that there were at that time kindergarten supervisors in 131 cities, and the statement was made that "in some instances the supervisor of kindergartens is also the supervisor of primary grades." This implied that the supervision of both kindergarten and primary grades by the same person was unusual. At present 159 cities provide kindergarten supervision in some form. Ten of these have had such supervision for the past year only. In 100 cities the supervision covers both the kindergarten and the primary grades. In 7 of these the supervisors were originally kindergarten supervisors only, but became kindergartenprimary supervisors the past year. In 7 cities the supervision includes the supervision of the kindergarten and all the elementary grades. In 5 the supervision is done by the assistant superintendent.

The 12 largest cities vary in their type of supervision. In 4, Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the supervisors are kindergarten-primary supervisors; in the others, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, they are kindergarten supervisors only. Chicago has no kindergarten supervision.

The standards of preparation have evidently been raised in recent years. Of the 100 kindergarten-primary supervisors, 74 report having had both kindergarten and primary training. Of the entire group, 41 have college degrees; 16 of these hold masters' degrees also.

PROBLEMS THAT NEED SOLUTION

The supervisors who recognize the unification of the kindergarten and primary grades as a means to the increased efficiency of the school have worked for the solution of definite problems. One of these has been the bringing of both the kindergarten and primary rooms up to the standards required by modern educational ideals. In this respect the kindergarten rooms have frequently had the advantage over the primary rooms in the matter of play and work space, and it has been the latter that have needed the greater attention. In the new buildings now in construction the need of adequate play space and equipment for young children is recognized and

met. Many rooms in old buildings lack these conveniences, but many of such rooms have been improved or play space has been found elsewhere. The kindergarten rooms are usually provided with cupboards and closets in which to keep the material, but with the adoption of the more active types of work the primary rooms need these also. One of the improvements made in these is to make the closet shelves low enough in both types of rooms so that the children themselves can get and put away the material.

The idea of continuity of progress from the kindergarten on has also brought about many changes in the furniture. In this respect, also, the greater changes are likely to be needed in the primary rooms, since the kindergarten has always had movable tables and chairs. The games, dramatizations, and construction work that now constitute a part of the early grade work make movable furniture essential in these grades also, and this has already replaced the stationary seats and desks in many places.

The progressive development of children's ability to use material of different kinds implies a reorganization of the materials used in both kindergarten and primary rooms. Much of the traditional kindergarten material, such as the pricking and sewing cards, the fine weaving mats, etc., are not now approved because of the strain on children's eyes and small muscles. These have been discarded, and other materials, such as small beads, sticks, and blocks, have been replaced by larger material of the same kind. Many new and larger types of building blocks have been devised, and in working out projects the smaller blocks, pegs, and beads can be used. With these changes the equipment and work of the kindergarten can be made to prepare children for the definite art work in the grades. Some differentiation, however, must be made in view of the development of the children's interest and power to use material. Beads and peg boards, for example, have an interest for the youngest kindergarten children but practically none for the children in the primary grades. This reorganization of the play equipment has already been effected in many places and is in process in many others. In the changes suggested and made in the furniture and equipment of the primary rooms in particular much credit is due the National Council of Primary Education.

The fact that these changes are well under way is shown in the replies to a questionnaire on certain phases of kindergarten supervision recently sent out by the bureau for compilation later. The point of this questionnaire was to determine the degree of responsibility in such matters as the planning and equipment of new rooms, the organizing of the curriculum, and related items. Replies were received from 89 of the 159 supervisors. Of these, 15 reported having from 75 to 100 per cent responsibility in the planning of new

kindergarten rooms; a large number that they had some voice in the matter; and only 14 that they had none at all. In some of these replies the explanation was made that this meant that their suggestions were asked for by school principals, superintendents, and architects, and these were carried out if possible. The replies to the questions concerning the purchase of supplies, the organization of work of the kindergarten and primary in relation to each other, and the development of the curriculum were of the same tenor. Indirectly they indicated that strategic work is in process and that it is being done with a fine spirit of cooperation between teachers, supervisors, and school executives.

PROBLEMS OF CLASSIFICATION AND PROMOTION

One of the important problems of the kindergarten-primary supervisor is the prevention of failures on the part of the children and thereby the prevention of "repeaters" often found in such large numbers in the primary grades. One of the main causes of these failures is that children have been classified and promoted on the basis of their chronological age instead of on the basis of their mental maturity as shown by psychological tests. The use of these tests is one of the forward steps in the organization of the school. If the failures due to wrong classification are to be avoided it is evident that children's mental ability should be tested early-at their entrance to the school. Tests for that purpose have been increasingly used with children in the grades, but with the exception of the Binet-Simon tests and the revisions of these, few of those in common use were adapted to children of kindergarten age. Within the past two years, however, several tests suitable for use with kindergarten children have been devised. Among these are the Detroit kindergarten tests and the Pintner-Cunningham tests, both of which are proving very serviceable. It has, therefore, become possible to classify and promote kindergarten children on a scientific basis.

In order to determine to what extent, if any, such tests are used in determining the classification and promotion of kindergarten children, an inquiry covering this subject was sent out during the past year. To this inquiry 95 people replied. Of these, 51 reported that they were using tests in a greater or less degree. The tests used are mainly the Detroit, the Pintner-Cunningham, and the Binet-Simon, or Stanford revision of the Binet test. According to the reports, the tests are used mainly for two purposes: (1) To determine children's readiness for promotion to the first grade and their classification into groups; and (2) to determine what to do with individual children of special types-those who are capable

of doing first-grade work but are below the entering age, those who have reached the promotion age but are below it from the standpoint of ability, and those whose promotion is doubtful for other

reasons.

Much would be gained if children were tested on entering kindergarten, physically as well as mentally. An experiment in this direction was made in New York City in 1922 by the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross. The testing of more than 1,000 children is described in a booklet entitled "The Examination of Pre-School Age Children." This was issued by the health service of the organization named.

The testing of kindergarten children is practically a development of the past two years. Fewer than one-third of the cities having kindergarten supervision replied, it is true, and in many cases the use of tests is still limited, but the fact that they are in successful use in so many cities will stimulate their use in others. As the use of tests for determining children's ability in the primary grades is already established, their use in the kindergarten is needed in order that the children who attend it may be more fully prepared for successful work later on.

UNIFICATION OF THE KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY CURRICULUM

The complete adjustment of the kindergarten to the school is shown in the unified kindergarten-primary curriculum, which is the product of the past few years. This also has been a matter of progressive development. In the early years of the movement the kindergarten teacher had her outline of work or "program" and the primary teacher her course of study. Both were little more than statements of things to be done or subjects to be taught during a given period. Both were equally formal. The change in educational objectives during the past few years, with the broadening of the elementary curriculum and the changes in method which this entailed, has called a new type of curriculum into existence. With a clearer understanding of the new educational ideals and their implications for the work of the early years the essential unity of the aims and methods of the kindergarten and primary grades became apparent, and the new courses of study gave evidence of this. In 1920 the State of New Jersey published a "Manual for Kindergarten Teachers," which was, in effect, a kindergarten-primary manual in its emphasis upon the unity of the two. In 1922 the Bureau of Education published a kindergarten-first-grade curriculum to indicate how the primary teacher should utilize the work of the kindergarten as shown in the kindergarten curriculum published by the bureau in

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