It has seemed best that opportunity should be provided in this report for comparison by States and Territories of the figures for each year successively. In order to do this, the figures for 1882-'83 have been perfected up to June, 1883, while the figures for 1883-84 are compiled many months earlier than is usual.

No report for 1882-'83 was received from the States of Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, the Territories of New Mexico and Wyoming, and the District of Colu bia. In 1883-'84, of these States, Delaware and Florida make reports, but for low and the District of Columbia the statistics for 1881-82, for Kentucky those 1880-'81, and for New Mexico and Wyoming those from the United States Census 1880 are still used. For New Jersey the figures for 1882-'83 are also used in the table for 1883-284.

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The Territory of New Mexico has no superintendent of schools and can make no general report of its school statistics, and Wyoming makes no general report of its schools; therefore there can be no figures given for these Territories, beyond those furnished by separate counties or cities or institutions or those derived from the enforced decennial census. This is greatly to the disadvantage of these Territories.

LEGAL SCHOOL AGE.

In 1882-'83 the school age remained the same in every State and Territory as reported for the previous year, except in Louisiana, in which State the age then reported as from 6 to 18 is for 1882-'83 given as 6 to 18, inclusive.

This increases the total number of different school ages in the country from sixteen for 1881-82 to seventeen for 1882-'83.

In 1883-'84 the school age in Texas was lengthened by two years, and is now 8 to 16, instead of 8 to 14; in Dakota Territory the age was shortened by a change from 5 to 21 to 7 to 20; and in Washington Territory it was shortened by two years, the change being from 4 to 21 to 6 to 21. Although Texas has still the shortest period in school age of any State or Territory, this period is now eight, instead of six years in 1882.

SCHOOL POPULATION.

In six States and three Territories, namely, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, District of Columbia, New Mexico, and Wyoming, the figures for school population from the United States Census of 1880 are still used, no State or territorial census having been reported by any of the States or Territories named of later date than the United States Census of 1880.

DURATION OF SCHOOL.

For 1882-83 three States and four Territories fail to report the average duration of the school period; for 1883-84 four States and four Territories make no report.

For 1882-83 New Jersey shows the highest average, it being 192 days; in Georgia the average for the cities is greater and in Wisconsin the average term for the cities is the same as in the State of New Jersey, but in both States the average for the whole State would apparently fall below that given for New Jersey. For the same year Tennessee shows the shortest school term, 78 days. For 1883-'84 no report of this item was received from New Jersey, and the States ranking next in length of term are Ohio and Rhode Island, both of which report 184 days as the average duration of the term. Of the Territories, Arizona stands at the head, reporting 210 days as the average length of the school term.

TEACHERS.

As in previous years, several States and Territories fail to report the sex of teachers. For 1882-83 this is true of Delaware, Georgia, and Maine of the States, and Idaho. Indian, and Washington of the Territories. For 1883-84 another State, Missouri,

'Since the date of the above writing, statistics for 1882-'83 and for 1883-'84 have been received from the District of Columbia. These figures are used in the abstract of the official report of the District, which abstract is given among those of the Territories in the body of this report.

gives the total number of teachers, but fails to report sex, The total number of teachers in all the States and Territories has increased in two years (1882 to 1884) from 293,294 to 307,804.

SCHOOLS.

Of the items reported in this summary, Part 1 (A and B), namely, school population, enrolment, average daily attendance, and total number of teachers, all show increase in 1883 over 1882, and again in 1884 over 1883.

FINANCES.

The totals for each item of income and expenditure and public school property given in Part 2, Summary A, show increase in 1882-83 over the corresponding totals for 1881-82, and in turn those for 1883-'84 exceed those for 1882-'83.

Public school income, expenditure, and school property.—The totals in these items for the three years are as follows: Income: 1882, $94,327,188; 18x3, $97,967,739; 1884, $110,567,567; total increase for the two years, $16,240,379. Expenditure: 1882, $91,158,039; 1883, $97,844,521; 1884, $103,949,528; total increase for the two years, $12,791,489. Public school property: 1882, $216,562,197; 1883, $231,944, 158; 1884, $240,635,416; total increase for the two years, $24,073,219.

In all study of the subject of income it should be kept in mind that in some States the balance on hand from the previous year is included in the annual income; this fact has been carefully noted in the foregoing summaries, and a study of Table I of the appendix will, in most instances, show the amount so included.

The apparent increase in public school property for two years from 1882 to 1884 is $24,073,219. If from this is subtracted $5,257,756, the value of property in Connecticut, which was not reported in 1882, the net increase for the two years is $18,815,463.

Permanent funds.-The same number of States (35) and Territories (2) report their permanent school funds in 1882, 1883, and 1884, the States failing to report in each of the three years being Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

In each of the three years the total for the Territories is made up of a small fund in the District of Columbia and the funds of the Indian Territory.

The increase in these funds in the States is larger than appears from the totals given. In Nebraska the estimate of the future value of the permanent school fund was given in 1882 as $23,000,000, while in 1884, a more careful estimate being made, this figure is given as $20,395,033. The apparent increase in the totals for the two years for the States should therefore have added to it $2,604,967, and the actual increase becomes $5,044,881. The States showing increase are Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Those showing decrease are Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Nebraska,' and Virginia. For the other States the same figure is used in 1884 as in 1882.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.

The record of public education in the United States for the period under considertion (1883-'84) presents many interesting and important particulars. Efforts have been made in certain sections to direct public interest toward denominational schools and in others to limit the free schools to the most elementary work. Here and there such efforts have hindered the progress of free schools, but on the whole they have had the contrary effect. The growth of the free school system in the South, the interest manifested in the Eastern and Western States in various measures for the improvement of the schools, the attention given to the subject by the public press and

The figures from Nebraska show decrease, notwithstanding the fact that the State superintendent in a special letter to this Office writes of a large increase in the permanent fund. It is probable that the figure given for 1882 was too large an estimate. that for 1884 being spoken of as "a more careful estimate."

public societies, the enthusiasm displayed at the meeting of the National Educational Association at Madison, Wis., show that on the whole the public school system is stronger than ever in the confidence of the people. Since the date of my last report, legislation has been secured in several States increasing the efficiency of the schools. Kentucky has reclaimed school funds sufficient probably to add from $160,000 to $170,000 to the amount annually distributed for public instruction, and has made provision for optional county school taxes to the amount of 25 cents on every $100 and $1 on every poll, in place of the optional district tax of $2 on every person sending a child or children to the district school. In Texas the office of State superintendent has been restored, and in both New Mexico and Kentucky provision has been made for county superintendents. In Massachusetts the law with respect to school supplies has been extended. Heretofore school books and other material have been furnished to pupils in the public schools of that State and the price taken out of the next annual tax. Now, school committees are required to purchase the necessary text books and loan them to pupils free of charge.

In several successive reports I have dwelt particularly upon the deficiencies of the rural schools and the obstacles in the way of their improvement. My judgment of the need there was for calling attention to this subject has been confirmed by the correspondence which has resulted from its presentation, which correspondence is especially gratifying on account of the evidence it affords that school officers and teachers in one part of the country desire to know what improvements have been effected, and by what means, in other parts. In a few States, at least in favored sections of these States, the rural schools are in a high degree of efficiency; but, considering the whole country, their condition is still very unsatisfactory. The situation is clearly set forth in the abstracts of the appendix and in the summarized view of the individual States and Territories embodied in my own statement. A few subjects that arise in' this connection deserve more extended notice.

SCHOOL INSPECTION.

Inspection, which has come last in the order of development, I place first in this consideration, since I am persuaded that it would be a fundamental condition in a system formed in accordance with conclusions derived from the most satisfactory experience. By inspection I mean the constant oversight of the work going on in the schools and of the condition of school buildings, appliances, &c., with the definite purpose of correcting errors, removing hindrances, and insuring progress. This service requires officers qualified by scholarship, experience, and those natural dispositions that excite the respect of adults and the confidence of children. The officers should be well paid and should have authority to carry out the measures that they deem expedient. The school laws of certain of the States provide for such inspection, and it has been practically accomplished in a number of counties, townships, or groups of towns voluntarily united for the purpose; as a rule, even where legal provision has been made for the service, it still remains to establish it upon a sound basis as regards the salary, the qualification of the officers, and the time they devote to the duties of the office.

The operations of this department in the different sections of the country and its deficiencies will best be understood by particular statements.

Hon. Thomas B. Stockwell, commissioner of common schools, Rhode Island, observes in his report for 1883:

The gross amount paid for supervision varies but very little from year to year though the movement has been, if either way, towards a less expenditure rather than towards a greater. The fact is that, with the exception of a few places, the amount of supervision demanded and the compensation allowed have been so near nothing that the thing itself has come to have, at least, a very doubtful significance, while in some instances it has undoubtedly been worse than none. What is clearly needed is to proceed to the laying out of a system or scheme of supervision that shall take the time, thought, and labor of qualified men and receive proper compensation. In other words, in order to save the money already expended for this purpose, it is absolutely necessary to put more with it. But the effect will

not be merely to save that comparatively insignificant sum. That is merely incidental. The result to be secured by such an increased outlay in that direction will be a greatly enhanced value of the whole school expenditure.

The board of education of the same State advise that the annual appropriation from the State school fund be raised from $90,000 to $120,000, and add:

We recommend that the payment year by year to any town of its share of the additional appropriation be made conditional upon the town's adopting an efficient system of paid supervision.

In California the average annual salary of county superintendents is $1,000; individual salaries run as low as $500, $300, even $80. In this connection the superintendent, Hon. William T. Welcker, says in his report for 1884:

Another great defect in the system of the public schools is the fact that in many of the counties the superintendents of the schools are poorly paid; so poorly, indeed, that we can scarcely speak of their slender stipends as pay at all. The county superintendent should be able to give and should be required to give the whole of his time to the duties of his office.

It will be objected that many counties are too poor to pay their school superintendent a salary which will engage his whole time in their service; that they are too sparsely settled, and that they must wait till more money shall have been invested within their borders. The ready answer is that to have good schools in the county is the best invitation to settlement and investment; with population comes wealth, the enhancement of existing property, and the production of more. Let it be well understood that any county, even the remotest and least developed, has superior schools, and the fact will give an immediate and great impulse to immigration thither, Now, this great desideratum may be had by simply paying one officer a decent salary. The people can impose a local tax on themselves for additional school facilities, and surely no school facilities can be so valuable as a good superintendent. But I prefer to invite the attention of the legislature to this important matter and leave the details of accomplishing this great reform to their wisdom.

In Illinois, 26 superintendents spend all their time in supervision; 43, two-thirds of their time; 69, one-third; and 105, one hour a day.

In Minnesota, 75 counties are provided with a superintendency of schools, leaving only one not so provided; but the conduct and effects of the service are widely different in different counties. Hon. D. L. Kiehle, the State superintendent, observes in his report for 1883-'84:

Unless the district will see to it that the highest intelligence and the interest of the people are represented in an efficient superintendent, who will introduce the best methods and the best facilities of instruction and provide for the more careful selection and improvement of teachers, the loud voice of the multitude will prevail and experience will be lost in the chaos of ignorance and selfishness. These two years have only confirmed my judgment that our method of selecting superintendents of education by our political machinery is not the wisest, and is endangering educational interests by introducing principles or precedents of selection which subordinate the interests of education to those personal or political. The advantages of a good system of any kind appear in the general distribution of what would otherwise be confined to the few, because the better and more intelligent will do more for themselves by an unwise law, or by no law, than the ignorant and ill disposed can gain by the most wholesome one. Hence, some of our counties have for years elected capable superintendents, and their schools have been growing better, while in other counties the superintendency has been so inefficient that the evil is but slightly increased by the abandonment of the office. As it is, we must rely upon the diligent use of present methods to elevate public sentiment, and show, by example, how much is gained by good supervision.

Hon. W. W. W. Jones, superintendent of public instruction, Nebraska, gives the following statement with respect to county superintendents in that State:

The compensation of superintendents is slowly increasing, but the majority of these officers are as yet poorly paid. The average compensation of 58 of these officers in 1881 was $507, and in 1882, of 54 superintendents, $506. But, in 1882, 30 received less than the average, and 24, more. Only 2 received as much as $100 per month. As a consequence of poor pay, much poor work is done; the best talent is not secured, and many superintendents have to combine other business with their school work in order to make a living. In the new counties this will remain a necessity for some time, but in older counties it ought not to be. A good superintendent can earn more by teaching than, in many instances, he receives from the county for superintending. I believe the work of the superintendent is necessary to the prosperity of our school system, and he should be paid a sum proportionate to the work done. By the present law the compensation is placed in the hands of the county

commissioners, and the minimum sum per day is $3. Thirty-five are paid this minimum sum, a few receiving a little extra per day for some classes of work. Eleven more receive $3.50, and only 2 even reach the maximum of $5. It seems to me that if these officers are worth retaining they should be fairly paid for the labor performed. I therefore recommend that a fixed salary, based upon the number of pupils in the county, be paid them, in place of the present uncertain amount. If this does not meet your approbation, I would suggest that the minimum per diem be placed at $4, instead of $3, as at present. As a suggestion, I would state that if the salary were placed at $1,200 in counties having 5,000 school population or more and at $1,000 in counties having 4,000 and less than 5,000, at $800 in counties having 3,000 and less than 4,000, and at $500 in counties having 2,000 and less than 3,000, and in counties having less than 2,000 a per diem of $4, the work would be somewhat better paid for than at present and no hard burden would be placed on the counties. By this arrangement and at the present enumeration, 8 counties would be in the first class, 4 in the second class, 12 in the third class, 7 in the fourth class, and 33 in the last class. Justice to this hard worked officer demands better pay. Other States have tried a plan similar to this and find it works well.

The superintendent of public instruction for New York presents the following statement of the system of school supervision in his State:

In the rural districts the schools for the most part are ungraded and are supervised by trustees elected by the voters of the district and by school commissioners chosen by the people in the various school commissioner districts. The present plan of supervision by school commissioners was inaugurated in 1856; it is not perfect as it is, but it is the best system that has yet existed and altogether better than any yet suggested. There are in the rural districts 112 school commissioners; for their services they receive $800 per annum and an additional yearly allowance by the boards of supervisors of $200 for expenses. The services of a competent man are worth more. The law clearly defines their duties, and there is work enough to keep them busy most of the time. Some of them, however, engage in other business. The law should be so amended as to require school commissioners to give their whole time and attention to the duties of their office and the engaging in any other business should work a forfeiture thereof. Qualifications for school commissioners have been discussed; although affecting their own interests, many of them urge that only persons should be eligible to the office who have had successful experience in teaching and who hold either a State certificate, the diploma of one of the State normal schools or of a higher institution of learning. It seems reasonable that some qualification should be demanded, when it is remembered that teachers whom they are to examine and supervise must be qualified and must have passed certain prescribed examinations before they are allowed to teach. Of course any qualifications required would not necessarily give efficient commissioners. There are competent officers who have not the qualifications spoken of. Much depends on tact and natural ability for success; but, if qualifications were required, totally unfit persons could not hold the office. The school commissioners generally have heartily coöperated with the department, and, as a class, they have faithfully discharged their duties. The school commissioner districts vary largely in size; the number of school districts therein ranges from 9, the lowest, to 196, the highest. It is evident that some school commissioners have more work than they can efficiently accomplish. I recommend that some action be taken to equalize the districts.

In New Jersey there is great harmony of action among the county superintendents; they have succeeded, among other things, in securing uniformity in the text books used in 198 of the 361 school districts of the State.

It is quite evident that the schools of a county or township can only be organized into a harmonious system through the agency of a supervising officer interested equally in all the districts of the section. Where this is wanting there is the greatest inequality of school facilities and in general the state of things described by Hon. Charles D. Hine, secretary of the board of education of Connecticut, as follows:

With the facts in full array before us, the difficulty of determining whether there has been progress proceeds from the absence of any standard. There is no general supervision of schools and no authority which can secure uniform excellence or and approach to it. There has not been laid down for the State or any considerable number of towns any line or course of study and effort by which they can be measured. Hence, every town or district is a law unto itself. The result is absolutely good schools in one place and absolutely poor schools in another. It is only by investigation of the separate parts in detail and with much labor that every phase of the subject is made clear. Many schools have made rapid strides. Local interest, energetic