Enrolment by Grades in Fourteen School Systems of Central Illinois
- Author:
Gayler,
Superintendent of Schools, Canton, Illinois.
The following brief study of the enrolment by grades in fourteen school systems of Central Illinois is based upon the enrolment for the month of September, 1911. The statistics were furnished by the superintendents of the several schools in response to a request sent by the writer. The purpose of the investigation was to secure statistics to be used in comparing the grade enrolment of the several cities with the enrolment in the writer’s home city. It has been deemed worth while to place some of this material before the public with the hope that it will be helpful to other superintendents.
Table I gives the enrolment by grades of the fourteen schools. The most fundamental fact shown is that with rare exceptions there is a constantly decreasing enrolment from the first grade to the senior year of the high school. The exceptions to this rule come most often in the second grade. In five instances we find the enrolment in the second grade dropping below that in the grade next higher, and in four cases it is less than the enrolment in each of the next two grades. In six instances the enrolment in the fourth grade is greater than that in the second, while in two cases there is a larger enrolment in the fifth grade than in the second.
The total enrolment in the last four grades (high school) is 5296, only 48 more than the number in the first grade, and 121 less than the enrolment in the seventh and eighth grades. When it is remembered that many of these pupils come into the high school from the adjoining country which does not give them high school advantages it will be seen that a comparatively small per cent of the pupils who started in the first grade remain to enter the high school. The enrolment for all schools in the senior year is 800, about one-sixth of the number in the first grade.
According to the figures given in this table the elementary graded school is the finishing school of a very large majority of the boys and girls. Since so many never get into the high school it seems that some form of vocational work should be begun, probably about the seventh or eighth grade.
TABLE I. Canton Monmouth., Beardstown. Rock Island. Moline Kewanee.. . Jacksonville. Clinton Galesburg. . Mat toon…. Champaign.. Decatur…. Pekin Quincy Totals. 328 241 212 489 412 315 253 169 498 405 292 703 333 598 5248 257 158 134 496 396 273 216 138 364 278 234 642 258 527 4371 272 133 167 391 384 257 202 165 350 303 214 683 233 500 4254 309 153 146 394 374 233 224 147 314 245 248 671 236 450 4144 207 163 152 348 359 234 185 116 357 275 174 618 190 425 3803 201 130 112 317 359 203 159 113 308 191 210 538 167 442 3450 163 134 107 271 302 125 169 102 287 138 187 499 155 285 2924 120 144 86 271 288 182 130 61 244 112 139 331 117 268 2493 0OQ -? J3 w 119 137 79 163 170 116 124 104 242 102 137 171 80 160 1904 10 50 133 50 148 85 76 108 38 244 52 128 150 52 150 11 1464 40 64 37 120 95 64 74 39 168 35 57 133 36 100 1062 CM 12 41 58 27 70 68 46 48 35 120 40 65 128 30 90 866 19
Table II shows a total of 36,002 pupils in the fourteen systems, of which number 30,687 or 85.2 per cent are in the eight grades, and 5316 or 14.7 per cent are in the high school. The enrolment in the high school in these cities varies from 10.5 per cent the lowest, to 23.8 per cent the highest. The average enrolment in the high school is 14.7 per cent. A closer examination of the table shows that the highest per cent of high school enrolment is found in the college cities?Monmouth, Galesburg, Jacksonville and Champaign, the average for these four cities being 21.4 per cent. Decatur is an exception but the college here has been more recently established than in the
TABLE II. Total ! Enrolment Canton Monmouth. Beardstown. Rock Island. Moline Kewance. .. Jacksonville. Clinton Galesburg. . Mattoon Champaign. . Decatur Pekin Quincy 2,112 1,649 1,309 3,478 3,292 2,131 1,892 1,231 3,496 2,176 2,085 5,269 1,887 3.995 Totals 36,002 Total in Grades 1,857 1,256 1,116 2,977 2,874 1,822 1,538 1,011 2,722 1,947 1,698 4,685 1,689 3,495 30,687 Per cent in Grades 88.0 70.2 84.6 85.5 87.3 85.9 81.2 82.1 77.9 89.5 81.0 89.1 89.5 87.4 Total in H. S. Per cent inH. S. 85.2 255 393 193 501 418 309 354 220 774 229 387 584 198 500 5315 12.0 23.8 14.7 14.3 12.7 14.1 19.2 17.6 22.1 10.5 20.9 11.0 10.5 12.6 14.7
four cities above mentioned. The lowest per cent of enrolment in the high school is found in the manufacturing cities, the average for these being 13.2 per cent.
The relation of the spirit of the community to the high school as reflected in these returns is very significant and suggestive. In the college city imbued as it is with the literary spirit, the high school as organized attracts more children than the high school in the city which is dominated by the manufacturing and commercial spirit. It might be that a revision of the high school course in the manufacturing centers to harmonize with the vocational interests of the communities would bring about a larger enrolment and thereby make it of greater service to the communities. Table III gives the number and per cent of children in the first six grades as contrasted with the number and per cent in the last six. The summary shows a total of 25,270 pupils or 70.1 per cent in the first six grades and 10,713 or 29.9 per cent in the last six. (This does not include the 19 post graduates.) Again we notice in the four college cities (Monmouth, Galesburg, Jacksonville and Champaign) the percentage of enrolment is
TABLE III. Town Canton Monmouth. Beardstown. ltock Island. Moline Ivevvanee… Jacksonville. Clinton Galesburg . . Mattoon … Champaign . Decatur… . Pekin Quincy Total Total Enrolment 2,112 1,649 1,309 3,478 3,292 2,131 1,892 1,231 3,490 2,170 2,085 5,209 1,887 3,995 30,002 (First 6 grades) Number j Percent of Enrolled j Total 1,574 978 923 2,435 2,284 1,515 1,239 ? 848 2,191 1,097 1,372 3,855 1,417 2,942 74.5 59.3 71.2 70.0 09.4 71.0 05.4 08.9 02.0 77.9 05.7 73.1 75.0 73.0 25,270 70.1 (Last 6 grades) Number Percent of Enrolled 533 070 380 1,043 1,008 009 053 379 1,305 479 713 1,412 470 1,053 10,713 Total 25.5 40.7 28.8 30.0 30.0 29.0 34.0 31.1 37.4 22.1 34.3 20.9 25.0 20.4 29.9
larger in the last six grades than it is in the other cities. The average for these four cities is 3C.7 per cent, while the average of the remainder is 27.5 per cent. This further emphasizes the fact that in these college cities there seems to be a better adjustment than elsewhere of the schools to meet local conditions. Other factors may enter into this,?probably several,?but a reorganization of courses in the grammar and high schools to meet existing local conditions would probably increase the attendance and thereby promote the greater usefulness of the schools.
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