31

K.—lb

Composition.—Tests for the examination in composition for Standards 111.-VII. were set by the Education Department for the first time. The results obtained in Standard 111. were much the best, the work set seeming to present but little difficulty, only eighteen schools out of eighty-two falling below a satisfactory requirement. A general weakness, however, was observable in the synthesis of sentences, the fault being an inability to unite simple sentences into a complex form, even when the proper connectives were given. This failing was all the more marked in the written composition, where the sentences were often of a very abrupt and detached form. This weakness may be due to the fact that most practice has been devoted to the correct formation of the simple sentence, without going further —a course of work that is now laid down for Standard 11. The failing referred to might be readily remedied in the treatment of the oral composition, which is now required in every standard class. In this branch of the subject, many are satisfied if the pupils are able to form correct, simple, but entirely detached, sentences on the subject treated. While this power is, of course, absolutely necessary in the earlier stages, we venture to think that in the finished work of Standard 111., the child should be able to give expression not only to one principal thought, but to add in proper form other modifying and qualifying ideas. If this is methodically worked out in the oral composition, it will be found that the child will soon become familiar with the proper use of the more common connective words. In short, the demand in the oral composition should be a continuous, connected, and complete narrative from each child. In Standard IV., of ninety-one classes examined only fifty-one reached the satisfactory mark. The new form of question here seemed to present difficulty. The composition exercise usually set was the reproduction of a story which on the whole was satisfactorily done. Coming to Standard V. we found a much greater weakness than in either of the two lower standard classes —in fact out of ninety-four classes examined, only 37 per cent, were classed as satisfactory or better. Here again the first part of the tests, which contained questions in what is now demanded in grammar, was not well answered. There was a somewhat general failure to grasp what was actually asked. In the question " Pick out the words that stand for the names of persons or things," the great majority supplied a list of nouns. Again, many failed to distinguish between a clause and a phrase, while in only a few cases were the prefixes known. These defects in the preparation of the prescribed standard-work were no doubt due to the lateness of the introduction of the new syllabus. In Standard VI. a better result was obtained than in Standard V., but still some 57 per cent, of the number of classes examined were unable to reach the satisfactory limit. The tests were on similiar lines to those of the other standards. As in Standard V., the exercises in the blending of sentences and clauses, and in the conversion of one construction into an equivalent one, seemed to offer the greatest difficulty, while the knowledge of the form and functions of the different kinds of clauses was very limited. In this standard the last question usually took the form of a business letter, which was on the whole satisfactorily set out. Some improvement might be made in the neater arrangement of the work handed in. One point in regard to the form in which the tests were printed that seemed to be in a great many cases confusing to the children, was the use of the numbers 1, 2, 3, &c, both for the general question and for the subdivisions of it. This seems a somewhat trivial matter, but the confusion was so general that it might be advisable to adopt more distinctive lettering. Though in general the cards demanded a fair and complete knowledge of the requirements of the syllabus, they were rendered uneven in difficulty by the fact that some contained phrases and words quite beyond the capacity of children. Writing.—ln the teaching of this subject the copybooks in general use are Collins' New Graphic Series and Jackson's Vertical In general the results may be considered satisfactory, though there are some twenty-six schools that are classed as only fair. In a number of cases the writing presented still shows a lack of adequate supervision, without which no merely mechanical subject can reach its highest standard of excellence. Common errors in the formation of the more difficult letters and in the method of junction should be altogether stamped out in the lower standards, so that in Standard VI. mere copybook writing might to some extent be dropped and practice given to promote greater freedom of style and greater speed than is possible while the child is learning to write in the copybook. There is room for some improvement in the transcription tests presented for examination. In many cases the writing was inferior to that of the copy, in others there was a want of conformity with the style adopted, while many did not attempt to show the work prescribed by the regulations. Spelling.—The dictation tests for Standard VI. were as usual taken from previously unseen passages, with the addition of a selection of words from a prepared reader. In the lower classes, contrary to former practice, both of the tests for each class were taken from only the one book. This lessening of difficulty has evidently been appreciated, for the majority of the children found little trouble with the spelling, the work in more than four-fifths of the schools being satisfactory, forty-one of them being described as " good " and twenty-one " excellent." The word-building was not always systematic ; at any rate it was often difficult to find out the teacher's plan of action, or even to find any traces of such action. Good work was often done by those who, especially in the lower classes, had simply followed the lines suggested in the syllabus. Unfortunately some had omitted '' to use each word in a sentence," thereby neglecting the linking of this subject with composition, much to the detriment of both. In recitation this year the absence of specially prepared pieces gave to the work in some schools the appearance of want of finish, but we were pleased to find the subject so well treated on the whole, and that scarcely any had found difficulty in preparing the amount prescribed for each class. Improvement might yet be made in interesting the children beforehand in the selections made and enabling