When legislation provides special schools and classes for the benefit of defectives, it will be imprudent to make use of legal force to bear down the will of the parents. It will be better, in the first instance, to have recourse to persuasion. It will be pointed out to the parents that their children are behindhand in their lessons. The parents, as a matter of fact, know this quite well. It will be explained to them that classes of forty pupils are too large for children like theirs, and that the teacher cannot devote sufficient attention to them. It will be explained also that classes are being organised for ten to twenty pupils at most, in which it will be possible to give individual attention. Before instructing their child, it will be necessary to begin by awaking his intelligence, which involves the teacher devoting himself to him with method, order, and patience. One will appeal to the heart of these parents, and will surely manage to persuade them, especially the mothers. For such interviews we must rely upon the school teachers and the inspectors. It will only be necessary to warn them to avoid the use of certain expressions. It would never do to say to the parents that their child is an idiot, an imbecile, a fool, or even abnormal. The admission of their son or daughter into a special school should be represented to them as an advantage or even a favour. Their consent should not be demanded in too formal a manner. Thiswould make them think that it is they who are giving something, and many would refuse. In a word, much can be done by prudence, sympathy, and a little tact; and the personal experience that we have acquired has shown us that it is not difficult to gain the parents to the cause of special education.
Composition of a Board of Examiners.—We have now to consider how the selection of the children is to be made. It has been determined by statute that the examiners shall be three in number—the head of a special school, an elementary school inspector, and a doctor. As to the manner in which this committee is to carry out its work, the law preserves an absolute silence.
When the three examiners meet in order to judge the degree of retardation of the children who are presented to them, is this absence of a definite programme embarrassing? We do not think so. A committee which is duly authorised always manages to do something. The work is done more or less empirically, perhaps, but it is done. Tell the jury to find defective children, and they are sure to find them. The only question is, What will be the value of their selection? and, above all, How can so delicate a quest be saved from empiricism and rendered exact? It is to be hoped that at first there will not be too many mistakes. This would have a bad effect upon the new institution. It is unfair to a normal child to send him to a special school, just as it is unfair to a defective to keep him in the ordinary school. It is better to make such mistakes as seldom as possible. Moreover, it is of the greatest interest to try to forecast the exact way in which errors are most likely to arise. In every machine there is a point of least resistance which requires to be watched. In every human institution there is a detail of organisation where fraud and charlatanism are most liable to occur.
Since we have supervised the organisation of some classes for defectives, and have been able by some preliminaryobservations to take account of these dangers, we take it upon ourselves to give warning of them in advance. We fix buoys to the rocks that they may be avoided.
It seems to us that the selection of defectives calls for three varieties of experience—that of teachers, of doctors, and of psychologists. We shall proceed to indicate the services which these various persons may render. In this chapter we shall speak only of the pedagogical examination. The duty of making the first selection among the school-children and indicating those who are suspected of being defective belongs partly to the teachers and partly to the school inspectors, whose respective rôles, it seems to us, can easily be defined.
It is out of the question to make an entire school pass before a committee in order that 500 pupils may have their mental faculties analysed. Such a task, at once troublesome and useless, would require several months. One should rather, in the first place, adopt a rapid method of picking out the childrensuspected of mental defect. It is quite sufficient that they should be suspected. Such a selection once made, the committee will have before it only a moderate number of candidates upon whom it will be possible to concentrate attention.
Let us proceed to show how the teachers may make their selection:
A retardation of three years indicates a child who should be regarded as a suspect.A child enters the elementary school at the age of about six years. Each year he ought to advance one class. From six to nine years he is in the elementary course; from nine to eleven in the intermediate course; from eleven to thirteen in the senior course. All are not quite regular. Some are a littlein advance, some are behind, but the majority conform to the preceding scheme. When a school is well managed, when the assignation of the children to their respective classes is made by means of suitable tests, and without too great regard to the demands of the parents, the classification which results is very good. There is then no better means of finding out whether a child is intelligent or not than to take into consideration his age and his class. Intelligence, so extraordinarily difficult to judge, is indicated in the above way with a really curious exactness. A child two years behind his age, when irregularities in attendance, absence on account of illness, etc., do not explain his backwardness, is very likely to be less intelligent than one who is in, or in advance of, the usual class for his age. This amounts to judging intelligence by the degree of instruction. Theoretically, such a method is open to plenty of meticulous objections, of which the most important is that we are confounding intelligence and memory. To this we shall reply that the stage of instruction reached is not the result of memory alone. It presupposes also some degree of application, some facility of comprehension, quite a collection of diverse aptitudes. The child's success in his studies is, in fact, the best indication we have of his capacity to adapt himself to the school environment. If the child is unable to keep up with the classes suited to his age, if he is unable to profit like other children from the education provided, this shows that he has not the same degree or the same kind of intelligence as his companions, and there is a presumption, if not an absolute demonstration, that his intelligence is inferior to the average, or that his character is different.
From these statements, which we have expounded at length elsewhere,[6]it follows that not only the head-master,but an entire stranger, can determine which are the less intelligent children, the less well adapted to that school, without taking the trouble to interrogate them all individually. It is only necessary to compare their position in school with their age.
We thus obtain no merely subjective appreciation, but a simple statement of the actual condition of things. The only thing one must be careful about is to make allowance for irregular attendance. Backwardness in school instruction is significant only when it coincides with regular attendance. At the present time the regulations as to school attendance are very little respected. In country districts there are children who do not go to school till they are eight or nine years of age. It is not surprising that they cannot read, when no one has taught them. Allowance must also be made for long illnesses. When the absences have been considerable, their total amount must be subtracted. A child of nine, who has come to school at the age of six—i.e., the usual age—and who has been absent for about 250 days, should, from the present point of view, be counted as eight. The school authorities will have no difficulty in making such estimates. That is their business, and they will quickly make up their minds even in a difficult case. One will, of course, bear in mind that the number of classes differs in different schools, and that certain classes are parallel. Lastly, one must remember that a defective may, on account of his age, be placed in a class too advanced for his knowledge. This, indeed, is often the case.
Exception may be taken to the rôle that we have assignedto the teachers. We may be reminded that about two years ago, when statistics concerning defectives were being collected by circular, many of the head-masters replied in a notoriously unsatisfactory manner. Even in Paris one school was stated to contain 25 per cent. of defectives, whilst not a single one was acknowledged in another in the same neighbourhood. This amounted, as M. Bédorez ironically remarked, to an average of 12 per cent.
We shall reply, in the first place, by asking whether a mistake has really been committed. This cannot be taken for granted, since the proportion of defectives varies enormously from one school to another. But let us admit a mistake, and ask who is responsible. The master of the school understood badly what the circular had explained more badly still. In these circulars we actually read the following definition of defectives: "Subjects who are in a condition of mental debility, possessing only a limited intelligence and a limited responsibility, which do not admit of their acquiring, at the ordinary school and by the usual methods of education, the average elementary instruction which the other pupils receive." If one interprets this badly constructed formula literally, it is evident that half the children of France must be defective, being of necessity below the average. If the teacher is to work intelligently, he must have more precise directions. After having explained to him that a defective child is one who does not adapt himself, or who adapts himself badly, to school life, one will tell him that the degrees of non-adaptation vary indefinitely; for it is quite exceptional for even a defective child not to adapt himself at all, and to learn absolutely nothing at the ordinary school. It remains, therefore, to decide what degree of retardation or of non-adaptation is to be recognised as determining a defective.
According to a convention accepted in Belgium, which we modify slightly,the retardation which determines a childas a defective is two years when the child is under nine, and three years when he is past his ninth birthday. Here we have a very precise rule, easy to apply to all children, with the corrections already indicated relating to school attendance. The rule is, perhaps, a little rigid, we admit, but it will always be possible to make allowances when examining closely the individual cases to which it will have to be applied.
Thus, the method which we have just indicated permits the making of a first selection.
This selection will be good, without being final. It will be good, for it is based upon a wide experience extending over several years. Just think what it means in the way of inattention and want of comprehension if a child is three years behind. For our own part, we consider this evidence from experience of the greatest value. It is the obvious point of departure. We can and should try to interpret it and to complete it, but we are not justified in taking no account of it. Let us even say boldly that if, by some unhappy chance, other finer methods should conflict with this, and indicate as defective a child who has shown himself well adapted to school life, it is school life which should be considered the more important test. How, indeed, could one call a child defective who succeeds in his studies and profits by the instruction in the normal way? Thus we sum up by remarking thatwe possess a very simple method which enables us to recognise all the children whom we have any right to suspect of mental deficiency.This method consists in taking account of the retardation of the children in their studies.
For the recognition of the ill-balanced children the rule is the same. The head-master must pick out those children whose undisciplined character has kept them from submitting to the ordinary school régime, and has made them a continual source of disturbance. Whilst the simplydefective fail to adapt themselves to school life by reason of their mental deficiency, the ill-balanced fail owing to their inco-ordination of character. In the second case, as in the first, there is a similar defect of adaptation, and the best proof that this defect is present in a particular child is the continued evidence of several years, the testimony of different masters, who declare that, with the best will in the world, they cannot break in the recalcitrant child to rule. But it must be recognised that the appreciation of want of balance is more delicate, more subjective, than that of retardation. The latter is indicated by a definite incontrovertible fact—the insufficiency of instruction. On the other hand, lack of balance has only a slight effect on a child's intelligence and his success in his studies. It is indicated to outsiders especially by the complaints of the masters. And the latter, to tell the truth, may be led to exaggerate a little, especially if they see a means thereby of ridding themselves of children with whom they have not much sympathy. We shall see in a little, when we speak of the rôle of the inspector, how the latter must check the statements of the head-masters.
Distribution of the Pupils in a School.—To put into practice the principle which we have just formulated, a circular is distributed to the schools asking the head-masters to arrange the children in each class according to age upon a blank table furnished to them. The work is easy, and the return should be required in a maximum period of eight days. Within this period twenty elementary schools in Paris supplied us with the information which we asked for through their inspectors. We give one of these returns, which we shall examine briefly, insisting only on the essential points.
We ask, then, that on the table, of which a blank copy is supplied, the head-master shall give the number of children who on October 1—that is to say, the first day of the session—were of such and such an age—e.g., six orseven years. The normal ages for the different courses or standards are as follows:
Preparatory or infant6 to 7 years of age.Elementary, first year7 to 8 years of age.Elementary, second year8 to 9 years of age.Intermediate, first year9 to 10 years of age.Intermediate, second year10 to 11 years of age.Senior, first year11 to 12 years of age.Senior, second year12 to 13 years of age.
Thus a child is "regular" in instruction when he is found in the class named at the age indicated.
The normal age for the infant class is from six to seven years. The children of that age are entered in the table in the appropriate column. Now consider the extreme ages between six and seven which obey this condition. On the one hand would be a child exactly six years of age on admission. Such a child is exactly normal as regards age. He is behind by 0 years, 0 months, 0 days. At the other extreme would be a child exactly seven—or, rather, one day less than seven—on admission. Such a child would be behind by exactly one year. Consequently, the column headed six to seven years for the infant class contains children behind by 0 day as a minimum, and one year as a maximum. The average will therefore be behind by six months (compared to the ideal). Analogous reasoning would show that the children of the infant class entered in the column headed five to six years would, on the average, be six months in advance of their age. Similarly, those shown in the column headed seven to eight years would be on the average one and a half years behind.
Interpretation of the Tables.—The next point is to sort out the defectives from these tables. Nothing is easier if we follow the rules already given. Turning to our tables, we would consider as suspects the children entered in the fourth and following columns for the infant class; in column five and following for the elementary course, first year; in column six and following for the elementary course, second year; in column eight and following for the intermediate course, first year; in column nine and following for the intermediate course, second year. If the reader will calculate the retardation implied in the columns which we designate, he will see that this retardation is equal to at least two years under the age of nine, and equal to at least three years above the age of nine.
Classes.Regular Age (Years).Courses (Parallel Classes = A and B).Number of Pupils who, on October 1, were—Totals.5 to 6 Years.6 to 7 Years.7 to 8 Years.8 to 9 Years.9 to 10 Years.10 to 11 Years.11 to 12 Years.12 to 13 Years.13 to 14 Years.14 to 15 Years.15 to 16 Years.Supplementary————————————Senior A————————————VI.11 to 12Senior B—————6121641—39V.10 to 11Intermediate (2nd year)————113175——238IV. A.9 to 10Intermediate (1st year)———91496————38IV. B.9 to 10Intermediate (1st year)——1415107——2—39III.8 to 9Elementary (2nd year)——614112—1—1—35II.7 to 8Elementary (1st year)—62386——22——47I.6 to 7Preparatory34212——83————68Totals348423547484524642304
The number of children suspected of mental deficiency obtained by this method varies extremely from one school to another, independently of the mistakes which are made by the head-masters with lamentable frequency. We have found the proportions varying from 0.2 to 10 per cent., with all the intermediates represented. The average of suspects for ten girls' schools, with an average of 300 pupils, was 3.7 per cent.; for eight boys' schools in the same district, and strictly comparable to the preceding, it was 5.35 per cent. It must be clearly understood that these figures are provisional. They do not correspond to real defectives, but to childrensuspectedof mental deficiency; and, moreover, they do not include the unstable, unless they are also defective.
Having made these deductions, one writes to the head-masters, or perhaps summons them to a meeting, in order to ascertain the names of these children and various other particulars.
These particulars will refer to three main points:
1. Give the full names and date of birth of the backward children (by two or three years, according to the distinctions given above), and indicate also whether the retardation is explained by irregular attendance, by want of application, or defective intelligence.
2. Indicate the children who, although they do not belong to the preceding category, yet appear to be distinctly abnormal.
3. Indicate also the children who are ill-balanced andrebellious to all discipline in the opinion of several teachers who have had them in their classes.
We have already received replies which seem to us instructive, and even carry us beyond the study of the abnormal, as they may throw some light on the psychology of those who are commonly called "dunces." As a general rule, the children classed as retarded are the victims of disease, constitutional debility, or malnutrition. We find included in our lists some who are the children of nomadic parents; some who have been kept from school; some who have attended a religious school, where they learned little but sewing and writing; some who have changed their school too often; some also who are foreigners, and understand little French; and, lastly, some who have been kept back in their studies by unrecognised myopia. Such causes are extrinsic to the child. The personal causes of retardation are defective intelligence, sluggishness of mind, insubordination, an eccentric and excitable nature, a constant want of attention, and, lastly, laziness.
The complete and methodical study of the documents relating to 223 children with a retardation of three years has taught us a number of interesting facts. It is very rare for the cause of the retardation to be single. Usually, several causes were at work simultaneously. Feebleness of mind complicated by illness is noted in 20 per cent. of the cases. Insufficient school attendance (due to other causes than illness), in conjunction with feebleness of mind, is met with in 25 per cent. of cases. If, without taking account of those associations of causes, one enumerates simply the frequency with which each single cause of retardation is mentioned, one obtains the following percentages:
Feebleness of mind50 per cent.Insufficient attendance (without illness)33 per cent.Illness25 per cent.Lack of application, laziness7 per cent.
If we admit, as a hypothesis, that the frequency of each of those four principal causes indicates its importance, we shall conclude that laziness very rarely explains a retardation so great as three years, and that the most important factor is undoubtedly feebleness of mind. We should have expected the teachers to give much more frequently the banal reason of lack of application. They have not done so, and these results confirm in a quite unexpected manner the convention according to which every retardation of three years should make one suspect feebleness of mind.
It would be interesting to know whether any children really defective in intelligence escape the revelation furnished by our tables. We have put this question in writing to the heads of the schools, and they have notified fifteen children, or 6 per cent., who seem to them to be clearly defective, although without a retardation of three years. On testing the statement, we found that mistakes had been made, and the sole residue of defectives who had escaped our census consisted of three subjects who wanted only a month or a few weeks to have shown clearly a retardation of three years. They were therefore on the border, and such exceptional cases are always to be found when one fixes an exact limit. There is no need to worry about them.
Hostile Head-Masters and Teachers.—It is important to state that the procedure for selection which we have outlined can be carried out without the concurrence of the head-masters. As a matter of fact, one has to be prepared for everything, even the hostility of the school staff. It may be that a head-master who has a defective in his school refrains from mentioning the fact. It may be that he is indifferent, or does not believe in special education, or simply does not choose to put himself about; or, again, he may be timid and afraid of trouble, or may shrink from the recriminations of parents, behind whom he sees the hostile shadow of some town councillor or journalist.Lastly, he may be an ignoramus who, even at this time of day, imagines that a child cannot be a defective unless he has incontinence of urine or a sugar-loaf head. We have already come across several fellows of this kind. The sceptical type is most common. We recollect a head-master who, in response to our inquiry, replied with irritating calmness: "I have five hundred pupils in my school. I am sure that not one of them is a defective. You are of a different opinion. Well, my school is open. Come and see for yourself." And he added with a sceptical smile: "The school doctor and myself will be very curious to learn how you manage the inquiry." As a matter of fact, the proportion of defectives in his school was just the usual one—about 2 per cent.
At the time when the Government Commission was holding its inquiry as to the number of defectives, we found in the statistical tables which we had in our hands that whole towns, even as important as Fontainebleau, had replied "None," yet we knew by personal inquiry that that reply was wrong.
The systematic reticence of the head-master is therefore already in evidence, and will certainly turn up again even when the law is in full operation. Doubtless wiser counsels will prevail in the long run, and opposition will become less. But it will never disappear entirely. However, one will not be affected by it in picking out the backward children, but the children who are abnormal, though not backward, and the ill-balanced children, will perhaps escape, unless the inspector visits the school, and, knowing the disposition of the head-master, takes the precaution of questioning the teachers as to the children in their class who give them the most trouble in regard to discipline. As a rule the masters have an interest in pointing out these pupils in the hope that they will be removed.
In the pedagogical examination the inspector should exercise a measure of control. It is he who sets the teachers to fill up the schedules, who interprets the returns, and estimates their value.
Work is better done when it is subject to inspection. The head-masters will take more care in the selection of the defectives if they know that all their cases will be examined by a person whose competence is equal to their own, and whose position is higher. The inspector, who is generally well acquainted with his personnel, will see at a glance what he ought to think of the returns which are furnished to him. He knows that one master is too severe, and another too indulgent. He has to restrain the overzealous, to stimulate the indifferent, and encourage the despondent. When it is a question of estimating a child's want of balance, it is necessary to know the character of the judge. Some good teachers fail to gain the necessary ascendancy over one of their pupils, either because they are indulgent where strictness is necessary, or because by excessive brusqueness and severity they alienate natures which require to be humoured. The inspector will succeed in taking all these things into account. He will interpret correctly the facts which are laid before him, because it is his business, hismétier.
Significance of Irregular Attendance.—The inspector will begin, let us suppose, by examining the returns given concerning the backward children. From the notes sent to him he will be able to distinguish between the children whose backwardness is due to irregular attendance and those who may justly be suspected of mental deficiency or want of balance. He will thus make a first selection.
Here are some examples of the notes referred to:
Renné G——, age thirteen years, is in the intermediatecourse, second year; she is therefore three years behind for her age. The explanation given by the teacher is as follows: "Had contagious ophthalmia; not admitted to school till ten. Intelligence middling." If the return is correct, one is not surprised that the child has not made more progress.Suzanne M——, age twelve and a half years (two years behind); always very delicate and frequently absent; of average intelligence.Yvonne D——, age ten and a half years (two years behind); lived a long time on a boat without going to school; intelligence average; very industrious.Eugenie V——, age eleven and a half years (three years behind); educated at a convent school until October last; intelligence little developed; slow of comprehension; writes and sews pretty well; spelling poor.Suzanne B——, age eleven and a half years (two years behind); an intelligent and industrious child, who has travelled much with her parents, and afterwards stayed in a little boarding-house. At school since October; she has made great progress.Anna E——, age eleven and a half years (two years behind); born in German Switzerland, brought up in England, and has been in Paris only a year and a half.Germaine G——, age ten years (three years behind); very short-sighted. It was only last year that it was noticed that this defect of vision was keeping the child from learning to read. Since spectacles were provided she has made rapid progress.Marguerite L——, age ten years (two years behind). This child has some affection of the eyes; she has been operated on several times.
Renné G——, age thirteen years, is in the intermediatecourse, second year; she is therefore three years behind for her age. The explanation given by the teacher is as follows: "Had contagious ophthalmia; not admitted to school till ten. Intelligence middling." If the return is correct, one is not surprised that the child has not made more progress.
Suzanne M——, age twelve and a half years (two years behind); always very delicate and frequently absent; of average intelligence.
Yvonne D——, age ten and a half years (two years behind); lived a long time on a boat without going to school; intelligence average; very industrious.
Eugenie V——, age eleven and a half years (three years behind); educated at a convent school until October last; intelligence little developed; slow of comprehension; writes and sews pretty well; spelling poor.
Suzanne B——, age eleven and a half years (two years behind); an intelligent and industrious child, who has travelled much with her parents, and afterwards stayed in a little boarding-house. At school since October; she has made great progress.
Anna E——, age eleven and a half years (two years behind); born in German Switzerland, brought up in England, and has been in Paris only a year and a half.
Germaine G——, age ten years (three years behind); very short-sighted. It was only last year that it was noticed that this defect of vision was keeping the child from learning to read. Since spectacles were provided she has made rapid progress.
Marguerite L——, age ten years (two years behind). This child has some affection of the eyes; she has been operated on several times.
Without pretending to give a final opinion on the above cases, one may believe that the retardation is due to the ailment or to irregular attendance. If it were necessary, one might make further inquiries at the schools previously attended by the child, or find out at the present school the exact number of days of absence.
In other cases it seems clear that it is the intelligence of the child that is at fault. For example—
Jeanne L——, age ten years (two years behind); attends school regularly; stupid and lazy.Hortense G——(two years behind); irritable temper; very backward in arithmetic and spelling; intelligence mediocre.Marie R——(two years behind); intelligence very mediocre; inattentive; progress very slow.Blanche B——(three years behind); intelligence much below the average; has some slight aptitude for sewing and arithmetic, but very backward otherwise; incapable of giving a reply indicative of good sense and reflection.Jeanne B——(two years behind); intelligence decidedly mediocre; none of her answers particularly sensible.
Jeanne L——, age ten years (two years behind); attends school regularly; stupid and lazy.
Hortense G——(two years behind); irritable temper; very backward in arithmetic and spelling; intelligence mediocre.
Marie R——(two years behind); intelligence very mediocre; inattentive; progress very slow.
Blanche B——(three years behind); intelligence much below the average; has some slight aptitude for sewing and arithmetic, but very backward otherwise; incapable of giving a reply indicative of good sense and reflection.
Jeanne B——(two years behind); intelligence decidedly mediocre; none of her answers particularly sensible.
When the inspector has read these notes and formed an opinion on the children, and obtained as far as necessary additional information about their school attendance,[7]etc., he will make his first choice. He will decide which children are to be examined, and will have them brought to him.
Be it understood, then, that the child must now be presented, and that it is by questioning him that the inspector will form an opinion of his mental level. This examination is important. The inspector must observe the child, induce him to talk, watch the play of his features. In this way he receives a living impression which rarely deceives an experienced eye. He will even chat with him a little about something—for example, the occupation of his parents.... After these preliminaries, the examination proper begins. It includes the estimation of the degree of instruction and the degree of intelligence.
A child is presented to the inspector, for example, as belonging to the intermediate course, first year. Is this correct? It may be that the child is at the foot of the class, or is even incapable of following the lessons. Thus, it may be that his class gives a very poor indication of his capacity. There are plenty of cases where thehead-master, in order to please the parents, puts a child in a class too high for him. A rapid examination will suffice to test the grading. This testing is absolutely necessary, and presents no difficulty to the inspectors. They have the fortnightly report brought to them, examine the pupil's marks and his exercises, whereby they form a first impression. It is then necessary to ask some questions, and on this point we have something to say with respect to method.
There are two ways in which the degree of instruction may be tested. There is what we may call thecasual method, which consists in putting the first questions that come into the mind; and there is thesystematic method, which consists in putting questions arranged in advance, whose difficulty is known, and for which we have a scale (p. 54), which shows the average number of errors to be expected from normal children of each age. The latter method takes no longer than the former, and is even easier, because it makes no demand on the imagination. Moreover, we consider it quite indispensable for fixing in an objective manner the degree of instruction of the defectives on the day of their admission to the special school. It is very important that this degree of instruction should be definitely known, because it will be necessary to refer to it every time one wants to find out to what extent the child is profiting by the special instruction. We shall return to this point in our concluding chapter.
It has seemed to us that the test of instruction might bear upon three exercises, which are easily marked—reading, arithmetic, and spelling. Here is a very simple table of tests (p. 54), of which we have made much use. It has been arranged with the help of M. Vaney. The table is suited to the elementary and to the intermediate course, and that is sufficient for examining defectives, since none of them are found in the senior division. It is scarcely necessary to say that this table of tests is the outcome of careful experiment. We have established for each age the average acquirements of all the children of that age whatever their place in school. One might quite as well have taken into account only the results given by typical children in the class proper to their age, but on reflection we rejected this proceeding as arbitrary, because it is affected by the difficulty of the curriculum, which is constructeda priori, whilst the average furnished by all the children of a given age is less artificial and is an adequate expression of the reality. Let us remark in passing that these two methods of calculation do not lead to equivalent results. The average furnished by thetypicalchildren is higher than that furnished byallthe children, for, as we have shown above, more children are backward than in advance. Lastly, the time of year when the tests are made is not a matter of indifference. For spelling and arithmetic the time chosen was the end of February—that is, the middle of the session. For reading we are obliged to make use of results a little more advanced, for they were furnished later, namely, in June.
Age of Children on October 1.Course.Grade of Reading.Arithmetic.Number of Mistakes in DictationSpelling (Dictation).Phrases 1, 2, 3, 4.Phrases 1, 2, 3.Phrases 1, 2.Years.6 to 7PreparatorySub-syllabic to syllabicFrom 19 apples take away 6 (Answer 13)1196228Phrase 1.Émile est un petit garçon bien sage, il écoute son papa et sa maman, il va à l'école.7 to 8Elementary(first year)HesitatingSubtract 8 pence from 59 pence. (Answer 51)1196230Phrase 2.J'ai une tête, deux bras, deux jambes, une bouche, vingt dents, une langue, dix doigts.8 to 9Elementary (second year)Hesitating-fluentA box contains 604 oranges. If 58 are sold, how many will be left? (Answer, 546)784719Phrase 3.Le soleil brille déjà de ses plus gais rayons. Les hommes partent en chantant. Les bergers sont heureux de la belle journée qui se prépare, ils suivent au pâturage le grand troupeau des vaches pesantes.9 to 10Intermediate(first year)FluentTo make a dress, 7 yards of stuff are required. How many dresses can be made with 89 yards, and how much will be left over? (Answer, 12 dresses and 5 yards left)42254Phrase 4. Le garçon de ferme, de son pas lourd, entrait dans la grange, encore obscure, ou nous réposions. Les bœufs mugissaient tout bas. Dans la cour le coq, les poules, le chien, allaient et venaient.10 to 11Intermediate (second year)Fluent-expressiveA workman makes 250 shillings in February. He spends 195 shillings. How much does he save per day, February having 28 days? (Answer, 1s. 11-½d.)1141
Let us now explain the details of the exercises shown on our table.
Reading.—The proceeding we adopt consists essentially in distinguishing five grades of reading:
1.Sub-Syllabic.—The child reads in syllables, but very slowly and with many mistakes.
2.Syllabic.—This consists in stopping at every syllable, but reading these pretty correctly. Thus the child reads "The—sol—di—er—car—ries—a—big—gun."
3.Hesitating.—There are stops as in (2), but they are less frequent. The child reads by words or groups of words—e.g., "The soldier carries—a big gun."
4.Fluent.—There are no stops except at the marks of punctuation, but the reading is monotonous, as if the child does not understand what he reads. The voice may fall at the end of the sentences.
5. Expressive.—The child shows by his intonation that he understands what he reads.
We found it necessary, as may well be believed, to use not only the expressionssyllabicreading,fluentreading, etc., but compound expressions, such ashesitating-fluent,fluent-expressive, and even compound expressions with accentuation of one of the epithets, a2 hesitating-fluent. This is very useful in practice.
We have stated that the scale of reading was founded on experiments made by M. Vaney at the end of the school year. We have modified it slightly in consequence of experiments made by ourselves in February. It may be of interest to give here the table arranged by M. Vaney. It has been arranged not by age, but by class.