week credit, mainly in the commercial subjects. But failures were
unnoted when the subject was listed for less than three hours a week.

There are certain other elements of assumption in the treatment of the
failures, which seemed to be unavoidable. They are, first, that failure
in any subject is the same fact for boys and for girls; second, that
failures in different years of work or with different teachers are
equivalent; third, that failures in elective and in required subjects
are of the same gravity. It was found practically impossible to
differentiate required and elective subjects, however desirable it
would have been, for the subjects that are theoretically elective often
are in fact virtually required, the electives of one course are
required in another, and on many of the records consulted neither the
courses nor the electives are clearly designated.


3. THE SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE FIELD COVERED

As any intensive study must almost necessarily be limited in its scope,
so this one comprises for its purposes the high school records for
6,141 pupils belonging to eight different high schools located in New
York and New Jersey. For two of these schools the records for all the
pupils that entered are included here for five successive years, and
for their full period in high school. In two other schools the records
of all pupils that entered for four successive years were secured. In
four of the schools the records of all pupils who entered in February
and September of one year constituted the number studied. There is
apparently no reason to believe that a longer period of years would be
more representative of the facts for at least three of these four
schools, in view of the situation that they had for years enjoyed a