An investigation of the age-grade distribution of pupils in the public schools of Texas and the factors that have influenced this distribution

This study has grown out of the interest generated from the writing of some term reports on the subject of an age-grade study of some of the schools of Texas. A desire to know more about the situation in general with regards to the public schools of Texas was kindled. An attempt has been made here to approach the subject from a little different angle than has previously been done in order to throw light on some phases of the school conditions which have not received treatment before. In order to carry out this idea, the following major problems have been advanced: 1. A determination of the age-grade status of Texas pupils in certain schools. 2. The factor of size of city. 3. The factor of geographical location. 4. A comparison of the English-speaking and the Spanish-speaking white children. 5. A comparison of the Negro and the Spanish-speaking children. The age-grade status has been determined in order to examine the general situation and in order to be able to make comparison with the age-grade status of schools in Texas for different years, and with that of schools of other states. We hear a great deal of discussion with respect to the many advantages that larger high schools have over the smaller ones in the matter of training students; for instance, offering courses of study desired, better supervised study plans, better guidance programs, better methods of scientific classification, better promotional methods and devices and, therefore, better holding power or ability to hold students in school and less failure and retardation. This problem of size of city, then, is approached from the standpoint of the determination of the amounts of retardation, acceleration, elimination, over-ageness, under-ageness, school failures, age-range, range of retardation and acceleration, and apparent causes for these conditions. It is hoped by this method to be able to compare the efficiencies of the different-sized schools. If the larger schools have the advantages claimed, they should demonstrate it by superior efficiency