Leaving out of consideration, for the moment, the cities which are consciously seeking to bring about a functional reorganization of their systems, certain tendencies are to be noted among the other groups. First, among the cities whose elementary period is nine years, several are shortening their courses to eight. This change is being effected in two ways: By eliminating one year entirely from the elementary division, beginning the school period at 6, instead of 5 years; and by transferring one year of the elementary division to the high school, making the course of the latter five years in length, an arrangement limited to those New England cities which find the task of preparing for college too great for four years. Second, among the cities in the South having but a three-year high-school course a decided tendency is apparent to add a year and thus secure a closer adjustment to the colleges. Third, many cities are making their systems so flexible that the exceptional child is enabled to shorten the time necessary for completing the public-school course. These tendencies may be fairly summarized by saying that the movement, which has been under way since city school systems were first established, is strongly in the direction of uniformity through adopting the eight-four arrangement; also toward securing, within the limits of such a grouping, means for enabling the pupils who possess marked ability to pass through their grades more rapidly than their fellows. It should be noted, furthermore, that, for the most part, in cities having a nine-year elementary period, the children enter at 5 years of age; in cities having a seven-year course, the age of enrollment is usually fixed at 7; and in cities whose elementary course is eight years children must have reached the age of 6 before enrollment is permitted. In these three groups, therefore, the age at which the pupil normally completes his elementary course and enters upon high-school work is practically the same, 14 or thereabouts. In consequence, it may be said that, in this country, custom and law have fixed the years from 5, 6, or 7, to 14, as the period for elementary schooling; from 14 to 18, inclusive, as the period for secondary education; and from 18 to 22, inclusive, as the period for college work, the termination of which is marked by the granting of the bachelor of arts degree or its academic equivalent.

Before discussing the departures from the typical grouping which are now deliberately being made, two interesting modifications, not yet mentioned, should be noted: That of the Boston Latin School and that of the college preparatory schools of Chicago, Ill.. and Providence, R. I.

The Boston Latin School, founded in 1635, is of interest in this connection because, for more than 50 years, it has had a course of study covering six years, to which boys of 10 or 11, who have satisfied certain scholastic requirements, are admitted.1 The school is a sur

vival of the colonial grammar schools that were founded primarily as college fitting schools, but which rapidly disappeared in the face of the demand for an education suited to the needs of the masses." These schools, in respect to defined aim, character of curricula, length of courses, and even the regulations governing the conduct of the pupils, were transplanted direct from England and at a time when the colleges were dominated by the idea that the classics were necessary to a complete education. In specific purpose, the Boston Latin School was established to prepare boys for Harvard College. All efforts which have been made toward compelling it to recognize, in its course of study, the nonpreparatory functions of the public high school, have been successfully resisted. In 1868 an attempt which sought to merge the school with the Boston English School was defeated. In 1877 a proposal was made to secure the admission of girls, and several hearings were given to the matter; but the decision of the school committee was adverse to the petitioners. One of its early head masters wrote:

3

The work of the Latin School is to prepare the student to enter college with the kind of instruction which shall best enable him to pursue a college course. In a word, its work is to feed the professions; and so long as Boston needs clergymen, doctors, and lawyers, it is right and proper that she should see to it that a free school is provided, so that her humblest citizen may secure to his children a classical, college education, and that poverty may be no insurmountable obstacle to talent.*

Except during an interval of some six years about 1870,5 it has steadfastly held to the aim of its founders. Even in the school regulations of the city of Boston (1910) the school is not called a high school, as is shown by the chapter heading, "Regulations for Latin and High Schools." To this day it stands out in striking opposition to the dominant conception that those institutions of secondary rank which are maintained at public expense shall minister to the needs of all rather than to the demand of a particular class that intend to enter college.

In the Chicago experiment of founding college preparatory schools, and in the “junior course" organized in several of the high schools of Providence, R. I., similar efforts have been made to segregate prospective college students. It is interesting to observe, furthermore, that these attempts were made because of the direct influence of the Boston Latin School.

A graduate of the Boston Latin School and of Harvard University, Hon. Charles S. Thornton, as a member of the board of education of Chicago, in March, 1894, proposed the following resolution:

1 Rules of the School Committee of Boston (1910), pp. 95-97.

2 See p. 11.

3 Jenks, Catalogue of the Boston Latin School, p. 138.

4 Ibid., p. 77.

5 Ibid., pp. 69-71.

Resolved, That a school, to be called "The Chicago College Preparatory School," with a course of study and upon conditions substantially as hereinafter set forth, be organized; that a competent corps of instructors be employed; and that the same begin with the commencement of the next school year.

This resolution was accompanied by a tentative six-year course of study, which provided that pupils should enter upon the work after the completion of the first six years of the elementary course. In May of the same year (1894) the plan was adopted, and an amount not exceeding $5,000 was set aside for the expenses of the first year of trial. The original hope of those proposing this plan was to establish an independent school, in a separate building, the whole modeled after the Boston Latin School. However, sufficient funds were not available, and in consequence vacant rooms, wherever they could be found, were pressed into service, with the result that in September, 1894, classes with an aggregate enrollment of 150 pupils were organized in three of the high-school buildings. Two years later (September, 1896) the number of pupils in these classes had fallen to fewer than one-half of the original enrollment. This loss was due to long distances, poor accommodations, incompetent instruction, and to other adverse circumstances. The pupils entering the regular high-school course from these classes, at the beginning of their ninth year, were scattered about among 14 schools; hence no satisfactory conclusions could be drawn respecting their progress. One class, however, that at the Hyde Park High School, was kept intact, and made such excellent progress as to warrant the continuance of the experiment. In July, 1895, on petition of over 1,200 families, the board established some 30 class centers for the accommodation of pupils who wished to take the course. Before the close of the year, however, upon recommendation of one of its committees, the board abolished these centers and schools.1

A plan having the same object, as well as the same defect, was inaugurated in Providence, R. I., in 1898. In each of four high schools the "junior course" was formed for those pupils who wished to specialize at college in classics or modern languages. Besides the regular studies of the seventh and eighth years of the grammar schools, somewhat modified, this course included French in the first year and French, Latin, and some algebra, along with arithmetic, in the second. The work in French, Latin, and algebra was regarded as additional to the regular work of the seventh and eighth years rather than as a substitute for it, and in consequence the course was limited to those pupils whose scholarship in the lower grades was superior. After a trial of one year the course was abandoned in

1 For an account of this experiment see Nightingale, Sch. Rev. (1898), vol. 6, pp. 379-393.

three of the four high schools because of light attendance and because "the difference in results seemed of questionable value," though, in response to the desire of a particular section, the course was retained in one of the schools. However, stringent regulations restricting admission, the burden of carrying additional subjects, and the indifferent attitude to the plan of those in authority resulted in such a reduction of the number taking the work that the course, though still maintained, "has now become a matter of small significance."

The weakness of the Chicago and Providence plans, which is doubtless the real reason for the failure of the arrangement in both instances, is clearly set forth in the comment of Dr. Nightingale, who was superintendent of the Chicago high schools at the time the experiment was tried. Commenting upon the Chicago plan, he said: Ideally beautiful and fascinatingly unique as these separate and distinct institutions may seem for the select 400, we must not lose sight of the essential fact that it is the underlying purpose of the schools of the people and for the people to give our youth a preparation for life and for citizenship rather than for college, and it is our duty to give all the children, stop where they must, the best education possible to the limit of their privilege.1

Among the cities in which the school authorities are making a definite and deliberate effort to readjust their school systems on a functional basis, one finds many stages and gradations of development, as well as much variation in form, because of local causes and differing educational conceptions held by those in authority. A sufficient number of examples can be given to indicate the trend of the movement and the proportions which it has already reached. The facts respecting the following city systems have been provided, in most instances, by the superintendents: 2

Peabody, Mass. Albert Robinson, superintendent.-The system now comprises eight years in the elementary division and five years in the secondary. The ninth grade was transferred to the high-school building in 1905, "partly for educational reasons and partly because of local conditions." The superintendent added:

The change was made for the reason that the work [of the ninth grade] could be done better in the high schools than in the grammar schools. Perhaps the strongest reason for adding the year to the high-school course is that many pupils found it difficult to prepare for some colleges in four years.

The course of study pursued by the ninth-grade pupils is an integral part of the high-school course, which now covers five years. The grammar-school course is eight years in length, and has not been materially modified by the transfer of the ninth grade to the high school. This shift may, perhaps, be in the direction of a six-year secondary period, but probably it signifies nothing beyond a response to the pressure of college-entrance requirements. If the latter be

1 Nightingale, Sch. Rev. (1895), vol. 3, pp. 337-8.

2 For further illustrative statements, see An. Repts. Commis. of Ed., 1914, Vol. I, ch. 6, especially pp. 135-157, and 1915, Vol. I, ch. 5, p. 113. A list of junior high schools is given in the report of 1914.

the explanation, the city should properly be classed with the group mentioned on page 76, wherein is to be found a movement from a nine-year elementary period toward the eight-four plan.

Webster, Mass. E. W. Robinson, superintendent. This city is another illustration of a shift from a nine-four grouping to an eight-five, through the pressure of university demands. The superintendent wrote:

Nine years ago I found a nine-year elementary course which seemed inflated and a congested four-year high-school course which was not properly equipping students for eastern colleges. Many of the grammar-school boys were dropping out at the end of or during the eighth-grade course. By absorbing the ninth grade into the high-school course as a preparatory year, under the control of the high-school principal, I stiffened up the entire high-school course, and also offered inducement for boys and girls to remain in the eighth grade for their diplomas, which came a year earlier by this method.

Marshalltown, Iowa. A. Palmer, superintendent.-The eighth grade of this city was transferred to the high school, primarily on account of the fact that the ward buildings were crowded and room was desired in each for a kindergarten. The eighth-grade course has not yet been included in the high-school course, nor has the transfer changed the course pursued by the eighth grade, except in this, that the work is now carried on departmentally. The course of the first seven grades has not been modified by reason of the transfer.

Aurora, Ill. C. M. Bardwell, superintendent.-The school department offers in the high school four courses, each four years in length; and two courses, the "Latin" and the "general," each of five years. The latter entitles pupils 66 to advance credit in some of the colleges and saves from one-half to a whole year on their college course." Besides, several high-school subjects are studied in the seventh and eighth grades; elementary geometry in the seventh grade; elementary algebra in the B eighth and A eighth grades; and the history of Greece in the A eighth. In another year, the superintendent hopes building arrangements will be such as to enable him to introduce in the upper grammar grades industrial and vocational work, with opportunity for electives.

Selma, Ala. Arthur F. Harman, superintendent.-At the beginning of the fall term, 1909, the change was made from the eight-four grouping to the seven-five, by transferring the eighth grade to the high school and making it a regular part of the high-school course. The change was made partly because of expediency and partly because of the educational advantages of the new arrangement. It enabled the work of the eighth grade to be conducted departmentally, and it was also thought that problems of discipline would thereby be lessened. Says the superintendent:

Experience has verified the correctness of the belief. The eighth-year pupils also enjoy under the new plan whatever advantages there are under departmental teaching. Local conditions are such that we can not yet have departmental work in the upper grammar grades. We were also convinced that placing eighth-year pupils in the high school would be the means of increasing 'the enrollment in the secondary division. Without knowing just what part of the increase must be attributed to increased population, I may mention that the enrollment in the high school during the past session was 20 per cent larger than the enrollment of 1908-9. Indications are that the enrollment will be materially increased during the current session.

Muskegon, Mich. Joseph M. Frost, superintendent. This city is now organized with the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades grouped in the high school proper; the eighth and ninth in the high-school annex; the seventh grades of the entire city congregated in one school for departmental work; and the first six grades occupying ward buildings. This plan was adopted in 1904, in order to give the children an opportunity to take work in manual training earlier than the ninth year.