E.—l

V

it is evident that in different districts different views were taken as to the expediency of making the .proposed change in one year, and in some districts the work of examining children for passes in Standards 111. to V. seems to have been still largely performed by the Inspectors. In the majority of cases,, however, the directions of the syllabus appear to have been followed in the spirit, if not in the letter. The promotion of the children from class to class was left without any limitation in the hands of the teachers, and did not necessarily follow the results of the standard pass examinations, whether these were conducted by the Inspectors or by the head teachers. Further, the number of pass-subjects was reduced, and there was some modification of the conditions for securing a pass.

TABLE D. —Classification by Standards, December, 1900.

It will be interesting to consider Table D, which gives the actual classification at the end of the year, with Table E, which shows the passes in standards. For the whole colony, of those present at examination, there passed in Standard 1., 93 - 3 per cent.; in Standard 11., 90-4 per cent.; in Standard 111., β-i , 7 per cent.; in Standard IV., 84■ r3 per cent. ; in Standard V., 81 - 7 per cent.; and in Standard VI., 76 per cent. The corresponding figures for 1899 were 96-4, 93-4, 811, 77.'0, 75-5, and 80-3. It will thus be seen that the percentage of passes in Standards I. and 11., which in both years were examined by the head teachers, is less for 1900 than for 1899 ; and that the percentage of passes in eacli of the Standards 111., IV., V., which were examined by the head teachers for the first time last year, was greater than in the preceding year, the difference being most marked in Standards IV. and V. It is difficult to say how far the higher percentage of passes in these Standards may be set down to the willingness of teachers to pass children more easily than the Inspectors have been accustomed to pass them, and how far it is due to the easier conditions on which a pass may be secured. Probably the. latter is the predominant cause, for the reports of the Inspectors of Schools (E.-1b) do not appear to reveal any general desire on the part of head teachers to exercise greater leniency in this respect. For Standard VI., a pass for which secures a "certificate of proficiency," the Inspectors were in both years the examiners, and the lower percentage gained seems to indicate a somewhat greater stringency in the conditions for securing a pass.

TABLE E.—Passes in Standards, 1900.

Standards. Boys. Girls. Totals. 'ercentag< J9 for Fiv Years. Preparatory classes Class for Standard 1. II. HI. IV. v. ,, '„ VI. Passed Standard VI. 18,034 7,854 8,251 9,261 9,069 7,562 5,362 2,455 15,965 7,233 7,757 8,321 8,406 7,391 4,984 2,819 33,999 15,087 16,008 17,582 17,475 14,953 10,346 5,274 1900. 26-00 11-54 12-25 13-45 13-38 11-44 7-91 4-03 1899. 25-09 12-06 12-44 14-00 13-65 11-06 7-63 4-07 1898. 24-52 12-32 12-77 14-15 13-67 11-17 7-28 4-12 1897. 24-58 12-30 12-85 14-30 14-10 10-90 7-26 3-71 1896. 24-91 12-68 13-13 14-46 14-11 10-53 6-75 3-43 Totals.. 67,848 i 62,876 130,724 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00

Education Districts. I. Pr< II. Prosei it at Examination. III. IV. V. I VL II, Passes in Standards. III. IV. V. VI. ■i I. Auckland Taranaki Wanganui Wellington Hawke's Bay Marlborough Nelson Grey Westland North Canterbury South Canterbury Otago Southland .. ' 3,228 515 1,238 1,650 997 241 652 171 133 2,133 527 2,193 1,024 14,702 15,121 3,409 579 1,320 1,807 1,017 268 644 166 143 2,342 593 I 2,491 1,184 3,811 571 1,443 2,006 1,064 280 791 192 155 2,713 693 2,635 1,258 17,612 17,342 3,568 506 1,263 1,781 925 255 694 203 169 2,575 656 2,588 1,170 2,475 302 942 1,541 627 223 641 170 142 2,121 577 1,980 908 1,645 146 552 973 403 135 445 126 90 1,458 380 1,422 603 3,039 440 1,127 1,554 911 225 539 156 129 2,022 495 2,117 966 3,098 459 1,229 1,610 916 249 545 161 137 2,099 560 2,280 1,093 3,337 452 1,243 1,625 914 252 647 172 133 2,133 627 2,277 1,110 3,034 389 1,108 1,446 804 227 522 202 140 2,063 575 2,252 1,031 2,112 220 808 1,238 527 200 425 150 125 1,621 481 1,650 786 [1,173 113 461 758 293 101 320 105 78 1,194 262 1,030 477For the colony .. In 1899 15,963 16,149 16,353 16,260 12,655 12,694 18,378 J7,979 13,720 14,579 14,436 15,085 14,922 14,056 13,793 12,515 10343 9,582 6,365 6,404