teachers who have rooms of their own to which the pupils are assigned until they are ready to be returned to a regular classroom. In a few schools the task of bringing retarded pupils up to grade is assigned to the principal of the building, who devotes part of the time to supervision and part to teaching pupils below grade.

The following is typical of reports received from superintendents who have introduced such classes:

A great saving of time and strength of the regular teacher has been accomplished, and a large number of pupils have been kept up to grade and will be promoted. Otherwise, many of these pupils would have failed of promotion, which means double cost of instruction for those same pupils.

This point of double cost of instruction is worth considering. Suppose only 80 per cent of 200 pupils in a grade are promoted. The 40 pupils required to repeat mean double cost to the system. It has been discovered that special classes for backward children increase the number of promotions, and hence lower the cost of taking children through a certain grade. Suppose a special class would raise the promotion rate to 85 per hundred pupils in a grade of 200. There would be 10 more promotions, thus saving the cost of having them repeat the grade, or approximately $300 would be saved. The financial saving is, however, a small item compared to the educational gain. The failure in a grade is not all. If a pupil becomes retarded, he usually drops out of school at the age of 14, so in the end the total cost for repeaters is not so great. The real cost is in waste time and in the fact that pupils who fail drop out of school.

If special attention is not given to retarded pupils, the whole promotion machinery soon becomes clogged, and most of the children become lodged in the lower grades. A few backward over-age pupils in a room tend to lower the percentage of pupils promoted from the In a certain city it was discovered that considerably more than one-half of the children were in the first three grades. The process of retardation had been going on for some years, making it difficult for any except the very brightest children to be promoted. The retarded children acted as a dead weight. Since the introduction of several special classes relief has been afforded, though it will take several years to bring the schools in this city up to the point where normal children will not feel the effects of having retarded pupils in the same room.

It is true that the cost per pupil in special classes is somewhat greater than in ordinary classes, because the classes are smaller; but the advancement made by these pupils is also greater than it could possibly be in a regular classroom, and the fact that the regular class is relieved of the burden of carrying these pupils is an important item in school economics. The cost per pupil in special classes varies considerably. Data at hand show that the cost in small cities is

about $55 a year per pupil. In some cities the cost is as much as $100; in others only $25. In those special schools where much of the time is devoted to industrial work the cost is usually greater.

That special classes for retarded children are considered necessary is evidenced by the fact that the State of New Jersey has taken an advance step by requiring that children retarded three or more years shall be given special instruction, provided there are 10 or more in the school district. Of the 132 cities in the United States reporting upon special classes to this bureau, 27 are in New Jersey.

ESTABLISHING LENGTH OF THE SCHOOL DAY.

The following statistics show present conditions regarding the length of the school day. Of 1,270 cities reporting, 338 have a school day of from four and a half to five hours; 521, from five to five and a half hours; 411, from five and a half to six hours. Of 1,310 cities reporting, 1,242 have two daily sessions, and 68 but one daily session. The tendency is toward a longer school day, especially in the grammar grade and in the high school. The opinion of most school men is that a high school of two sessions is superior to a high school of one session. With the one-session plan, but little time is available for study periods. It is evident that four recitations, the number generally required, demand more than one or two 45 or 50 minute periods for study. The theory is that with the one-session plan pupils will prepare their lessons at home in the afternoon. The experience of the superintendents who have tried the one session plan has generally been similar to that of the superintendent of schools at Detroit, Minn., who says:

The one-session plan which I found in vogue in this high school was retained for the present year so that its workings might be studied. It is fine in theory, but a failure in practice. Asking the pupils to be ready for work at 8.30 caused much tardiness. It was impossible for those who came by the bus or train to be on time. Then the fact that the high school had one time schedule and the grades another, while occupying the same building, caused endless confusion. During the afternoon, when students came back only for shop and laboratory work or to consult teachers, there was further annoyance from students passing to and fro through the halls. There was too much idling about the buildings for the good of the grades in session or of the high-school students themselves. Of course, the fine theory was that students would spend the afternoon studying in the quiet and freedom of their homes, but they didn't. Too many of them roamed the streets and came to class unprepared the next day. The plan also kept the industrial teachers waiting until afternoon before they could begin their work. They were compelled to do it when pupils were tired and nervous. This work ought to be interspersed through the day to relieve the tension of the other work.

One argument advanced in favor of the one-session plan is that many students work their way through school by using the afternoon. The facts are otherwise. This year only three boys have worked afternoons, and possibly the same number of girls.

Next year we shall return to the "long day" and lengthen the time devoted to each subject, so as to give teachers a better chance to teach it thoroughly. Each student will also have a longer time at school to study under the supervision of the principal.

Tables 6 and 6A, pages 110 and 111, present a list of cities and the length of daily session in each.

SUPPLYING TEXTBOOKS.

In 931 of 1,257 cities reporting, it is the duty of the school board to adopt textbooks. Though there are State adoptions in 24 States, many cities are permitted to adopt their own textbooks. As a rule, school boards, according to reports of superintendents, adopt textbooks upon recommendation of the superintendent. In only 593 of these cities are textbooks furnished free, 366 being in those States that require them to be furnished free, and 227 in those States that permit them to be furnished free. In 530 of the 593 cities where textbooks are provided free, the city board furnishes the books, while in 63 cities the State furnishes them. In 744 of 1,257 cities reporting, such supplies as stationery and pencils are furnished free.

Many more of the smaller cities that do not furnish free textbooks could do so if they wished. The matter of expense is a comparatively small one. In 25 representative cities, both large and small, furnishing free textbooks, the average cost a year per pupil is about 90 cents. The average for the country is no doubt much less.

State superintendents who have the free textbook system in their own States were questioned several years ago by the Russell Sage Foundation with respect to the effect on educational efficiency, with the following results:1

In no case is there any movement looking to the repeal of the free textbook law.

Each of the superintendents testifies that free books enhance the efficiency of the teaching in the public schools.

A majority of superintendents wrote that the free textbook system makes easier the securing of uniformity in books.

Schoolbooks bought by the community cost the community about 20 per cent less than they do when they are bought by individuals.

One unforeseen feature of the passage of the Massachusetts law was an increase of 10 per cent in high-school attendance.

OFFICERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.

THE PRESIDENT.

The successful working of a school board depends very largely upon the president, who should be a business or professional man of large experience, capable of presiding over a deliberative body. In those cities where the school board conducts its business with

1 Bulletin No. 124, Russell Sage Foundation, Division of Education.

dispatch the president knows and applies the ordinary rules of parliamentary procedure. Many boards waste time because parliamentary rules are not enforced. Presidents of boards who conduct the board meetings in a businesslike way adopt some order of business from which they do not deviate except for good reason.

One mistake often made by school boards is to elect a new president each year. When a board discovers that it has selected the right man for president, it should continue him in office for several years. Another mistake sometimes made is that of electing a new member president. As a rule it takes a year or two for a new member to become thoroughly acquainted with the problems of the board. Before a man is elected president of the school board he should have shown that he has a fair knowledge of the business side. of school administration and that he has decided ability as a presiding officer.

SECRETARY OR CLERK.

In 799 of 1,277 cities reporting, the secretary, or clerk, of the school board is a member of the board, while in 119 cities the superintendent of schools serves as secretary, and in 359 some outside person acts in this capacity. The tendency seems to be to employ some one not a member of the board, especially in cities of more than 10,000 population. All of the cities reporting from Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Oregon employ some one not a member of the board; all of those reporting from Louisiana and Maine employ the superintendent; and all of those reporting from Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada employ a member of the board.

Among the different duties generally assigned the secretary are that he shall be custodian of records and all written documents belonging to the board; keep a correct account with the tax collector or city council; give statement of tax accounts and of finances of board at each regular meeting; make an annual report of business transactions to the city council, board of estimate, or town meeting; prepare and deliver notices for meetings of board and of committees; countersign the receipt of the treasurer to the collector; prepare and forward the annual report of the district to the State superintendent; prepare and sign orders on the treasurer for payment of bills approved by the board; have general supervision of all business affairs subject to the board; attest in writing the execution of all deeds, etc., that must be executed by the board; take inventory annually of all school property; act as custodian of supplies; attest signature of president of board upon contracts, notes, etc., and certify copies of board resolutions; keep records of proceedings; prepare reports; and keep accounts.

Some boards in cities of more than 10,000 or 15,000 population, realizing the vast amount of work that a secretary should do, employ a secretary to give all his time to the clerical work.

It has been demonstrated in several cities of between 15,000 and 30,000 population that a secretary can be profitably employed to devote all of his time to school affairs. His duties consist not merely of recording transactions, but of acting as business agent under the direction of the superintendent. Where this plan is in operation one person is held responsible for carrying out the orders of the board relating to business matters, instead of a half dozen committees.

The president of a school board in a city of 27,000 population says that the board in that city by establishing a business office and electing a secretary as general business manager has effected a great saving. The board must do all business through the secretary's office, no matter how insignificant. Before this plan was adopted, a director would order what he pleased, with the result that the bills exceeded the funds. Under the new system of a paid secretary, who gives all his time to the work, the business of the board is conducted as would be that of a private corporation. No one is permitted to order anything unless it comes through the secretary's office. This school board, it is claimed, is saving $10,000 a year by its business methods.

In cities of less than 15,000 population the superintendent's clerk could be profitably made the secretary of the board if the superintendent is provided with a clerk. If not, a slight addition to the salary paid the secretary of the board would employ a capable young man or woman to act as secretary for both the superintendent and the board. If the superintendent is provided with a secretary, say at $500 a year, and the school board is paying $300 a year for its secretary, a combination of the two offices could be effected without additional expense in many cities, and probably at a saving in some.

One superintendent in a city of about 12,000 population, speaking of the value of having the superintendent's secretary act as secretary of the school board, says:

The superintendent becomes the executive head of the school system in the full sense of the word both in respect to professional and business matters. In fact he really becomes a sort of general manager with a three-fold function: Supervisor of instruction, inspector, and business manager. Under proper conditions this in no wise interferes with the prerogatives of the school board, but it does eliminate the assumed prerogatives of individual members of the board. The superintendent must get his authority from the board as a whole or from committees to whom definite duties are assigned.

Instead of our secretary being a school-board member whose private duties make it necessary for him to consider his secretaryship a side issue, we employ a man who gives all of his attention to our business. As a consequence the business phase of the administration of the schools is "up to the minute," and pro