In two of the schools studied, an X, Y, and Z division was formed in
certain difficult subjects for the failing pupils, by which they take
three semesters to complete two semesters of work. This plan, as judged
by results, is obviously insufficient for such pupils and tends to
prove further that the kind of work is more at fault in the matter of
failing than is the amount. Frequently a pupil who fails in the A
semester (first) will also fail in the X division of that subject as he
repeats it, while at the same time his work is perhaps not inferior in
the other subjects. The data for these special divisions were not kept
distinct in transcribing the records, so that it is not possible to
offer the tabulated facts here. There are numerous recognized
illustrations of how some pupils find some particular subject as
history, mathematics, or language distinctively difficult for them.
4. AN INDICTMENT AGAINST THE SUBJECT-MATTER AND THE TEACHING ENDS, AS
FACTORS IN PRODUCING FAILURES
The evidence already disclosed to the effect that the high school
entrants are highly selected, that few of the failing pupils lack
sufficient ability for the work, that they have manifested their
ability and energy in diverse ways, and that particular subjects are
unduly emphasized and by the uniformity of their requirement cause much
maladjustment, largely contributing to the harvest of failures, seems
to warrant an indictment against both the subject-matter and the
teaching ends for factoring so prominently in the production of
failures.
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