a Current expenditure does not include interest upon the value of school property.

Group.

Group.

TABLE 9.-Summary, by geographical divisions, of the comparative statistics of State

school systems.

The classification of States made use of in the foregoing table is the same as that adopted for the United States Census of 1880, and is as follows:

North Atlantic Division: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermout, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

South Atlantic Division: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Average at-
tendance.

erty to total assessed valuation.

per capita of total

Ratio of school prop

Taxation for schools population.

Per ct.

South Central Division: Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.

North Central Division: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Western Division: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California.

It may be said, by way of explanation, that, in computing any ratio, percentage, or per capita, for any division, no State is included that does not furnish a return for both the components which enter into such ratio, &c.; and unless at least four such States are found for the three first divisions, or five for the two last, the result is left blank in the table; though in every case, for any ratio, all the States reporting both components are used to obtain the general result for the United States.

The following table gives the totals for the United States, for the eleven years ending with 1885-86, of the principal items of public school statistics:

The comparative table which follows is derived from the preceding:

The preceding tables present the principal facts regarding State school systems, and are as accurate and as complete as the material at the disposal of the Bureau permits. In their compilation, reports for the current year have been received from 41 States and Territories (excluding Alaska), a decrease of 4 from 1875-76.

In some cases where reports have not been received, either the figures of a former year have been used, or if it was especially necessary to get a total for the United States for the current year, estimates have been made by the Bureau from the best data available.

An attempt has been made to increase the usefulness of the tables by giving comparisons with the preceding year, also comparisons of the principal items with each other for the current year, thus presenting in a systematically tabulated form results which each individual using the tables would otherwise have been obliged to compute for himself. These inter-comparisons, whether they took the form of differences, per capitas, or percentages, gave in some instances results so abnormal as to indicate serious errors in the data; either special letters of inquiry were written in regard to these or the results were omitted if there was no time for inquiry. The comparative tables furnish a very ready means, as far as they go, of determining by inspection the relative educational status of the different States.