North Central Association Of Colleges Research Articles

Preliminary Report of the Committee on Individual Differences

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, at the Washington meeting, authorized the organization of a Committee on Individual Differences which was instructed to investigate the matters of ability grouping, differentiated curriculums, and the like. To avoid a useless and expensive duplication of effort, it seemed desirable that this assignment be assumed by an existing committee operating under the direction of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools known as the Committee on Unit Courses in Mathematics for Students of Low Ability. It seemed that it would be much better from every angle to have the National Council and the North Central Association cooperate in this difficult but crucial investigation.

Education

A general survy of the educational system of the United States by a representative commission is advocated in a volume issued by the National Industrial Conference board. General principles to govern federal participation in education are recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Education. The North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools has appointed a committee no propose new standards for the accrediting of colleges. The state institutions of higher education in Mississippi are droped by the Southern association of Colleges and Secondary Schools because they have undergone a political upheaval. Athletics continues to disturb colleges and universities. Standard tests and personal problems are given a substantial subvention to be administered by the American Council on Education. Curriculum revision is undertaken on a national scale. School supervision is studied. Education by radio and adult education make progress. New York University carries on extension courses with the help of an aeroplane. The care and protection of children receives wide attention as a result of the White House Conference.

The Four-Year Junior College

1 NH E Stephens College experiment with the four-year junior A.. college is based upon the following assumptions. The first is that the essential elements of the work now done in the junior high school, the senior high school, and the junior college should be completed by the end of the twelfth grade. Should a longer period for general education be required, the remaining two years should cover upper-division courses of the liberal-arts college and should lead definitely to the baccalaureate degree. The second assumption is that the junior college, however defined, is an integral part of the secondary-school system. Third, the work of the junior college should be organized upon the collegiate as distinguished from the high-school level, just as the work now attempted in the junior high school should be organized upon a secondary as distinguished from an elementary-school level. These changes may be brought about by increased teaching efficiency, by the elimination of duplicate courses in college and secondary curriculums, by a thorough reorganization of curricular content making it more definitely functional. These reforms may result in saving two years of time for the student and two years of expense for the community, but this may be done without serious loss. The specific nature of the experiment authorized by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools is shown by Figure i.

Some Policies of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

Some Policies of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

Size of Class and School Efficiency

In the spring of 1922 the Grand Junction High School was asked by the North Central Association of Colleges and Sec ondary Schools to participate in an experiment concerning the relation of the size of classes to school efficiency. The purpose of the experiment was to ascertain, if possible, whether the size of a class has any appreciable effect upon the knowledge the pupils acquire and the work they do. The only requirements made by the North Central Associa tion were that the experiment must be conducted in at least three classes, all of which must be taught by the same teacher and all of which must cover the same work. The size of the classes was to be approximately forty, twenty-five to thirty, and less than twenty. The pupils, as nearly as possible, were to be selected without regard to their intelligence scores. The North Central Association provided no particular plan and no particular tests. We were therefore left to conduct the experiment in our own way. Accordingly, in the fall of 1922, we planned the project for the junior English classes, and organized three of these classes as follows : No. 1 with 20 pupils ; No. 2 with 34 pupils ; and No. 3 with 44 pupils. We selected the pupils for each class with no thought of their intelligence quotients. Some four weeks after school began, however, we gave them the Terman Group Test of Mental Abil ity and computed their intelligence quotients. We then found that the medians for the intelligence quotients varied only a frac tion of one percent. The first and third quartiles were also nearly the same for all three classes. After thoroughly establishing our classes, our method of con ducting the experiment was merely to proceed with the year's 126

Junior High Schools in the North Central Association Territory, 1917-18

For the last two or three years it has been the policy of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools to make a scientific study of some one or more special problems connected with secondary education in its territory. The present year the topic was Junior High Schools. To secure data a questionnaire was sent to each North Central secondary school which was on the accredited list last year, and to such new schools as were thought eligible this year. The questionnaire was made a part of the required report of every school, and since a standard of the Association reads No school shall be considered [for accrediting] unless the regular annual blank furnished for the purpose shall have been filled out and placed on file with the inspector, it may be fairly assumed that replies were received from all schools having a junior high school organization. Moreover, the questionnaire was so worded as to call for a reply from all schools which had any modified form of the eight-four plan, irrespective of the name given to such modified form. Last year 1,165 secondary schools were accredited by the Association. Of this number, and including a few new schools, 293 this year made returns on the junior high school or its assumed equivalent. It may be concluded, therefore, that this is, approximately at least, the total number of such schools in the North Central territory today.' The table on p. 326 gives the summary of the replies to the questionnaire.

North Central Secondary Schools

During the week of March 20, 1916, the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools held its annual meeting in Chicago. This was the twenty-first year of the Association's existence. As in each previous year, the Association, among other achievements, accredited a long list of secondary schools. This year the number was 1,128. In order to have a basis for judging the character of the work of the various schools applying for recognition, the Board of High School Inspectors (as each year previously) collected a mass of statistical material respecting each school. In previous years these items of statistics have, in general, never been seen or scrutinized by anyone save members of the Board itself. They served their temporary purpose, were filed away, and straightway forgotten. Nor did the printed list of accredited schools consist of anything more than a bare enumeration of names.

Meeting of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, University of Chicago, April 3 and 4, 1896

Next article FreeMeeting of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, University of Chicago, April 3 and 4, 1896PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 4, Number 5May, 1896 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/433694 Journal History This article was published in The School Review (1893-1979), which is continued by the American Journal of Education (1979-present). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.