The
Psychological
Clinic
Copyright, 1915, by Lightner Witmer, Editor.
Vol.
IX,
October 15, 1915
No. 5.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY. By J. Harold Research Fellow under the Buckel
Williams,
Foundation, Stanford University.
This study was undertaken as a part of the recent educational survey of Salt Lake City, under the direction of Dr. Ellwood P. Cubberley, of Stanford University. The results here presented were included in a chapter of the survey report entitled "The Progress of the Children through the Schools." The population of Salt Lake City is approximately 105,000, of whom 18.5 per cent are children of school age. This proportion of children is above the average for American cities, and considerably above that of western cities. Like other cities of the West, the population is increasing rapidly, and hence retardation and of a similar nature reach very large proportions. Table I shows the distribution of children for each half year of age and each half grade. The heavy lines running diagonally through the center of the table enclose the number of children who may be said to be making normal progress, as regards age-grade distribution. For example, this includes those in the first grade who are between
problems
the ages of 63^ and 8 years; those in the eighth grade who are not This classification is younger than 133^ or older than 15 years. based upon the fact that children usually begin school at 6 years of age and complete the eight grades of the elementary school at 14. Those represented by numbers above the diagonal lines may be considered accelerated, or under the average age for their grades.
Those below the diagonal lines are retarded, or over the average The degree of acceleration or retardaage for their present grades. tion depends upon the distance above or below the lines enclosing This does not, of course, take into considerathe normal group. It is tion the reasons for children being accelerated or retarded. the the of conditions month a during age-grade merely presentation the survey
was
being
made. (125)
126
AGE-GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS.
CITY. LAKE SALT IN RETARDATION
TABLE I.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY. The percentages of the three groups
represented
are as
127 follows:
Accelerated Normal
16.2 per cent 40.4 per cent
Retarded
43.4 per cent
TABLE II.?PERCENTAGES OF
ACCELERATED, NORMAL,
AND RETARDED PUPILS
BY GRADES.
Per Cent Accelerated
Per Cent Normal
Per Cent Retarded
5.9
55.8
33.3
I-B..
30.0
49.3
20.7
II-A.
57.1
30.7
12.2
I I-B.
23.6
49.6
|
26.8
III-A.
10.7
43.9
|
46.3
III-B.
21.3
44.0
34.7
8.6
38.8
IV-B.
16.2
40.8
| | j
V-A..
8.5
31.7
|
59.8
V-B..
16.1
37.5
|
44.6
VI-A.
10.7
28.3
j
51.0
VI-B
12.2
35.5
52.3
VII-A
7.7
29.8
62.5
VII-B
15.1
35.3
VIII-A
9.9
36.4
53.7
VIII- B
18.1
34.7
47.2
5.7
31.2
63.1
18.1
34.4
47.5
X-A
6.3
34.7
59.0
X- B
18.7
35.7
45.6
XI- A
4.8
37.3
57.9
XI- B
26.3
33.9
39.8
XII- A
66.7
33.3
0.
XII-B
25.7
45.2
29.1
16.2
40.4
43.4
Grade
I-A...
IV-A
IX- A IX- B
Entire
City
52.6 44.0
|
49.6
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
128
The percentage of retardation found here is above that of the majority of American cities where similar studies have been made, although this ranges from 19 per cent in Quincy, Mass., to 51 per cent in Passaic, N. J.* Table II shows the retardation for each grade, as well as the The average cent of normal and accelerated pupils for each. per for any entire grade is not far from the city average, including in than half the children in the grade. An important factor in connection with a study of retardation Of the is the degree of variability from the normal distribution. 43.4 per cent constituting the retarded group, some are retarded less than one year, some one year, some two years, etc., and not infrequently the degree of over-age is as great as five years. Taking an average grade for illustration, we find that the teachers have to deal with a very wide range of ages. The following table represents the percentage distribution of the children of different ages in the some cases more
fifth
grade: Ages in Years and Months
9.0- 9.5.. 9.6- 9.11.
10.0-10.5.. 10.6-10.11. 11.0-11.5.. 11.6-11.11. 12.0-12.5.. 12.6-12.11. 13.0-13.5..
13.6-13.11. 14.0-14.5.. 14.6-14.11. 15.0-15.5.. 15.6-15.11. 16.0-16.5.. 16.6-16.11.
Per Cent of Pupils
0.1 0.5 5.0 12.0 19.0 17.5 13.3 15.0 7.0 4.0 2.5
Classification
Accelerated
Normal
Retarded
2.0
1.3 0.4 0.2
0.2
Children in the fifth grade who are more than 12 years of age may be reasonably considered retarded; and yet in this grade 17.6 per cent are more than 13 years of age; 6.6 per cent are older than 14, and 2.1 per cent are older than 15 years. There are more children two years retarded than the total number of accelerates. Not every teacher of a fifth grade class has pupils of all the ages shown *
Ayres: The Identification of the Misfit Child.
Bull. 108; Russell Saga Foundation.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
129
foregoing table; but there are classes in the city where an fully as great may be found. distribution of retardation in the elementary the 1 shows Fig. for the half-grades have been consolidated for The grades. figures There is an over-ageness in the entering grade of this purpose. This includes, of course, those who have failed of 29.5 per cent.
in the
amount of variation
The amount increases greatly year in school. until the sixth grade, where the maximum is reached. That there is a general decrease in the amount of retardation beyond the sixth grade has been noted in other studies. A large part of this is due,
promotion their first
FIG FIG
1. 1.
RETARDATION IN ELEMENTARY GRADES. ELEMENTARY GRADES. RETARDATION IN
efficiency of the instruction in the grades beyond but to the dropping out of school of the retarded pupils. Probably no single fact argues more strongly for greater attention to industrial training and vocational guidance before the time of discouragement is reached. It is very evident that failure to make progress in the traditional school subjects has caused many pupils to leave school who might have been saved for training in some practical and useful line of work, had the opportunity been afforded
not to the increased
that
point,
at that time. matter of common observation that the presence of greatly over age pupils in a regular class is a hindrance to the progress of the normal pupils, an injustice to the teacher, and often of
It is
a
This is especially little value to the retarded pupils themselves. true in growing cities, where the greatly increasing number of children to be cared for has caused many classes to have more pupils
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
130
than the generally accepted standard. The following is a fair sample of the results brought about by placing children of greatly varying ages in the same class. Miss L., teacher of grades 2-B and 3-A, has a class of 39 pupils. They range in age from 7 to nearly 13 years, being distributed thus:
Ages
2-B
3-A
7.0- 7.5.. 7.6- 7.11. 8.0- 8.5.. 8.6- 8.11. 9.0- 9.5.. 1
9.6- 9.11. 10.0-10.5.. 10.6-10.11.
1
I
4
3
11.0-11.5..
11.6-11.11. 12.0-12.5.. 12.6-12.11.
represented by the numbers between the heavy lines are normally Probably all of those below the dotted line are sufficiently over age to warrant their removal to special classes. We should ordinarily consider 39 pupils too large a number for one class, even if all were normal, or approximately so. The time which would necessarily be given to instruct properly such a class as the one given here is surely greater than the length of the school day. There are 1670 school children in Salt Lake City who are repeatthe work of their grades. This is approximately 9 per cent of ing the school enrolment. The great majority of these children are the Others have gone over the work for the second time. taking work of the same grade as many as five times. The distribution Those
distributed.
is
as
follows:
Taking Taking Taking Many were
more
work second time work third time work fourth or more times
would be
it not for the
1555 101 14
taking the work for the third and fourth times dropping out of school due to repeated failures.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
131
The great difference between the number of second time and third time repeaters suggests that there may be an over-generosity on the part of teachers in promoting pupils who have "made up" their work after having gone over the work of the grade for a second time. 2 shows the distribution
by grades, of failures and proThe number of failures in grade 1-A the motions during past year. is approximately 16 per cent of the number enrolled. The proportion decreases after the first few years, and in the last year of the elementary school it becomes relatively very small. This is the result of the weeding out of the pupils who make slow progress. Fig.
I
I PROMOTED FAILED
co
Psychological
Clinic
Copyright, 1915, by Lightner Witmer, Editor.
Vol.
IX,
October 15, 1915
No. 5.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY. By J. Harold Research Fellow under the Buckel
Williams,
Foundation, Stanford University.
This study was undertaken as a part of the recent educational survey of Salt Lake City, under the direction of Dr. Ellwood P. Cubberley, of Stanford University. The results here presented were included in a chapter of the survey report entitled "The Progress of the Children through the Schools." The population of Salt Lake City is approximately 105,000, of whom 18.5 per cent are children of school age. This proportion of children is above the average for American cities, and considerably above that of western cities. Like other cities of the West, the population is increasing rapidly, and hence retardation and of a similar nature reach very large proportions. Table I shows the distribution of children for each half year of age and each half grade. The heavy lines running diagonally through the center of the table enclose the number of children who may be said to be making normal progress, as regards age-grade distribution. For example, this includes those in the first grade who are between
problems
the ages of 63^ and 8 years; those in the eighth grade who are not This classification is younger than 133^ or older than 15 years. based upon the fact that children usually begin school at 6 years of age and complete the eight grades of the elementary school at 14. Those represented by numbers above the diagonal lines may be considered accelerated, or under the average age for their grades.
Those below the diagonal lines are retarded, or over the average The degree of acceleration or retardaage for their present grades. tion depends upon the distance above or below the lines enclosing This does not, of course, take into considerathe normal group. It is tion the reasons for children being accelerated or retarded. the the of conditions month a during age-grade merely presentation the survey
was
being
made. (125)
126
AGE-GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS.
CITY. LAKE SALT IN RETARDATION
TABLE I.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY. The percentages of the three groups
represented
are as
127 follows:
Accelerated Normal
16.2 per cent 40.4 per cent
Retarded
43.4 per cent
TABLE II.?PERCENTAGES OF
ACCELERATED, NORMAL,
AND RETARDED PUPILS
BY GRADES.
Per Cent Accelerated
Per Cent Normal
Per Cent Retarded
5.9
55.8
33.3
I-B..
30.0
49.3
20.7
II-A.
57.1
30.7
12.2
I I-B.
23.6
49.6
|
26.8
III-A.
10.7
43.9
|
46.3
III-B.
21.3
44.0
34.7
8.6
38.8
IV-B.
16.2
40.8
| | j
V-A..
8.5
31.7
|
59.8
V-B..
16.1
37.5
|
44.6
VI-A.
10.7
28.3
j
51.0
VI-B
12.2
35.5
52.3
VII-A
7.7
29.8
62.5
VII-B
15.1
35.3
VIII-A
9.9
36.4
53.7
VIII- B
18.1
34.7
47.2
5.7
31.2
63.1
18.1
34.4
47.5
X-A
6.3
34.7
59.0
X- B
18.7
35.7
45.6
XI- A
4.8
37.3
57.9
XI- B
26.3
33.9
39.8
XII- A
66.7
33.3
0.
XII-B
25.7
45.2
29.1
16.2
40.4
43.4
Grade
I-A...
IV-A
IX- A IX- B
Entire
City
52.6 44.0
|
49.6
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
128
The percentage of retardation found here is above that of the majority of American cities where similar studies have been made, although this ranges from 19 per cent in Quincy, Mass., to 51 per cent in Passaic, N. J.* Table II shows the retardation for each grade, as well as the The average cent of normal and accelerated pupils for each. per for any entire grade is not far from the city average, including in than half the children in the grade. An important factor in connection with a study of retardation Of the is the degree of variability from the normal distribution. 43.4 per cent constituting the retarded group, some are retarded less than one year, some one year, some two years, etc., and not infrequently the degree of over-age is as great as five years. Taking an average grade for illustration, we find that the teachers have to deal with a very wide range of ages. The following table represents the percentage distribution of the children of different ages in the some cases more
fifth
grade: Ages in Years and Months
9.0- 9.5.. 9.6- 9.11.
10.0-10.5.. 10.6-10.11. 11.0-11.5.. 11.6-11.11. 12.0-12.5.. 12.6-12.11. 13.0-13.5..
13.6-13.11. 14.0-14.5.. 14.6-14.11. 15.0-15.5.. 15.6-15.11. 16.0-16.5.. 16.6-16.11.
Per Cent of Pupils
0.1 0.5 5.0 12.0 19.0 17.5 13.3 15.0 7.0 4.0 2.5
Classification
Accelerated
Normal
Retarded
2.0
1.3 0.4 0.2
0.2
Children in the fifth grade who are more than 12 years of age may be reasonably considered retarded; and yet in this grade 17.6 per cent are more than 13 years of age; 6.6 per cent are older than 14, and 2.1 per cent are older than 15 years. There are more children two years retarded than the total number of accelerates. Not every teacher of a fifth grade class has pupils of all the ages shown *
Ayres: The Identification of the Misfit Child.
Bull. 108; Russell Saga Foundation.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
129
foregoing table; but there are classes in the city where an fully as great may be found. distribution of retardation in the elementary the 1 shows Fig. for the half-grades have been consolidated for The grades. figures There is an over-ageness in the entering grade of this purpose. This includes, of course, those who have failed of 29.5 per cent.
in the
amount of variation
The amount increases greatly year in school. until the sixth grade, where the maximum is reached. That there is a general decrease in the amount of retardation beyond the sixth grade has been noted in other studies. A large part of this is due,
promotion their first
FIG FIG
1. 1.
RETARDATION IN ELEMENTARY GRADES. ELEMENTARY GRADES. RETARDATION IN
efficiency of the instruction in the grades beyond but to the dropping out of school of the retarded pupils. Probably no single fact argues more strongly for greater attention to industrial training and vocational guidance before the time of discouragement is reached. It is very evident that failure to make progress in the traditional school subjects has caused many pupils to leave school who might have been saved for training in some practical and useful line of work, had the opportunity been afforded
not to the increased
that
point,
at that time. matter of common observation that the presence of greatly over age pupils in a regular class is a hindrance to the progress of the normal pupils, an injustice to the teacher, and often of
It is
a
This is especially little value to the retarded pupils themselves. true in growing cities, where the greatly increasing number of children to be cared for has caused many classes to have more pupils
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
130
than the generally accepted standard. The following is a fair sample of the results brought about by placing children of greatly varying ages in the same class. Miss L., teacher of grades 2-B and 3-A, has a class of 39 pupils. They range in age from 7 to nearly 13 years, being distributed thus:
Ages
2-B
3-A
7.0- 7.5.. 7.6- 7.11. 8.0- 8.5.. 8.6- 8.11. 9.0- 9.5.. 1
9.6- 9.11. 10.0-10.5.. 10.6-10.11.
1
I
4
3
11.0-11.5..
11.6-11.11. 12.0-12.5.. 12.6-12.11.
represented by the numbers between the heavy lines are normally Probably all of those below the dotted line are sufficiently over age to warrant their removal to special classes. We should ordinarily consider 39 pupils too large a number for one class, even if all were normal, or approximately so. The time which would necessarily be given to instruct properly such a class as the one given here is surely greater than the length of the school day. There are 1670 school children in Salt Lake City who are repeatthe work of their grades. This is approximately 9 per cent of ing the school enrolment. The great majority of these children are the Others have gone over the work for the second time. taking work of the same grade as many as five times. The distribution Those
distributed.
is
as
follows:
Taking Taking Taking Many were
more
work second time work third time work fourth or more times
would be
it not for the
1555 101 14
taking the work for the third and fourth times dropping out of school due to repeated failures.
RETARDATION IN SALT LAKE CITY.
131
The great difference between the number of second time and third time repeaters suggests that there may be an over-generosity on the part of teachers in promoting pupils who have "made up" their work after having gone over the work of the grade for a second time. 2 shows the distribution
by grades, of failures and proThe number of failures in grade 1-A the motions during past year. is approximately 16 per cent of the number enrolled. The proportion decreases after the first few years, and in the last year of the elementary school it becomes relatively very small. This is the result of the weeding out of the pupils who make slow progress. Fig.
I
I PROMOTED FAILED
co
