E.—lb
44
Pass Subjects—Table I.—Numbers examined.
Pass Subjects—Table II. —Proportions calculated in Percentages.
S7. Percentage of school-roll, 0-5) , N -, n , v - -, p ° on.-i \ («) and (o) combined. For groups (a) and (5) combined the proportion passed per cent, of the school roll is in everj r standard higher than the corresponding percentage for the whole district last year, the official percentage of passes for the fifty-four schools being 49-7, as compared with 42-95 for the whole district (153 schools) last year. The percentage of failures on the sum of passes and failures is also lower for every class : the percentage for Standards VI.-I.—that is, the official percentage of failures —is 19-4 ; for the whole district last year it was 25-08. No separate return has been made for these schools before ; nevertheless, it is safe to say that we have in the facts just stated sufficient evidence of an advance upon the whole in the quality of the work in pass subjects. A qualification to this judgment must be made when we compare the percentages of failures for the groups (a) and (b) respectively in the second of the above tables. The difference between them is very marked in all the standards except Standard 11. In Standard VI. and Standard I. veryplausible reasons may be urged for this difference : in the largest schools of group (a) special provision is made for the instruction of Standard VI., and a more careful selection is made by the teachers of the pupils presented in Standard I. There remain Standards V.-111. : and it might be thought that there also the disparity is due to essential differences in the circumstances of the schools. Such a conclusion would, however, be unfair to at least half of the schools in group (b). If, for example, we roughly divide the schools of group (b) presenting pupils in Standard V. according to the results of the examination, we find that one half of them (including schools of all sizes) have an average percentage of failures of 21, the other half an average percentage of failures of 64. Similarly dividing Standard IV., one half of the schools have an average percentage of failures of 19, the other half 58; Pond for Standard 111. the average percentage of one half is 24, of the other 49. It will be noticed in each case that one half of the schools in group (b) do as well or better than the corresponding standards of schools in the group (a) ; and the other half very much worse. The differences are far too great, and, after carefully discriminating schools for which special allowance must be made during the year, one is forced to the inevitable conclusion that for about onethird of the schools in group (b) the instruction given in the important classes Standards lII.—V. is decidedly inferior in character. As I had different districts for 1887 and 1888, an exact or detailed comparison is hardly possible, and my remarks on the several subjects must be chiefly confined to criticism of existing faults. It must not be supposed that these faults are present in all cases. Beading and writing call for little remark : they are generally of passable quality, but in perhaps the majority of schools the amount of comprehension of the subject matter displayed leaves something to be desired. Arithmetic is generally the best-taught subject, though the attention given as yet to the amount and character of the oral lessons is less than they should claim. An improvement manifest in the accuracy of the bills of parcels set in Standard IV. is counter-
Class. Prese: .ted. Absi :nt. Exec ited. Fai eel. Pasi ted. (a) 43 182 389 765 1,032 878 831 2,066 76 221 351 495 556 505 1,062 (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) («) (b) S7 S6 S5 S4 S3 S2 SI P. 13 14 30 53 40 28 1 6 11 20 23 12 3 9 21 33 29 6 1 13 14 35 11 1.1 26 109 147 233 92 18 15 78 128 157 72 56 140 257 567 708 717 779 59 124 198 282 450 426 Totals 1 6,186 3,270 178 73 106 86 625 506 3,168 il,539 9,456 151 192 1,131 4,707
Failed of Sum of and Failures— i.e., " of Failures. Passes Percentage Class. Absent of Class Poll. Excepted of Class Roll. Failed of Class Roll.. Passed of Class Roll. Presented of School Roll. Passed of School Roll. (a) (b) Total (a) and (6) 16 15 14 13 12 il 5-4 3-3 3-7 4-8 4-4 3-0 1-6 3-6 3-1 4-8 2-8 1-3 15-9 30-7 24-6 25-5 11-4 5-5 77-1 62-4 68-5 64-8 81-4 90-2 2-7 6-4 11-8 16-1 15-2 14-1 2-1 4-0 8-1 10-7 12-3 12-6 15-7 29-8 20-6 24-8 11-4 2-3 i 23-4 38-6 39-3 35-8 13-8 11-6 17-1 32-9 26-4 28-3 12-3 5-8 !s6tol... 4-0 18-1 74-9 66-4 49-7 16-5 j 24-7 19-4 3-1