STATEMENT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, October 16, 1911.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following statement of the operations of this office for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. The work of the bureau during the last fiscal year was under the direction of Dr. Elmer Ellsworth Brown, whose resignation took effect on June 30, 1911.

DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

This division was created by an order of February 3, 1911, and the specialist in higher education who entered upon duty in November, 1910, was appointed chief of the division which has "charge of all matters, including statistical work, relating to higher education, agricultural and mechanical colleges, professional schools, and normal schools, and such other duties as may be formally assigned to it from time to time, or which would naturally fall to it in the ordinary course of the work of this office." To this division were assigned those persons who have hitherto had charge of the routine work upon the reports, catalogues, and publications of these institutions, and also the specialist in charge of land-grant college statistics. Through the two specialists the bureau has been enabled to enter upon the needed inspection of the work, equipment, organization, and administration of the agricultural and mechanical colleges. Thirty-two of them, nearly all of those located east of the Mississippi River, have been visited during the past year. The irregularities in the application of the Federal funds, more especially by the institutions for colored students, discovered in the course of these inspections show clearly the wisdom of providing for this field work. For the promotion of advanced work in agriculture, in cooperation with the committee on graduate study of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, the division prepared and issued a bulletin on Opportunities for Graduate Study in Agriculture in the United States. During the year there were examined in this office the reports required to be made by the institutions endowed under the acts of Congress approved August 30, 1890, and March 4, 1907, for the more complete endowment and support of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts, and it was found that the

appropriations made for said institutions were expended for the purposes specified in those acts. Each of the 50 States and Territories has, therefore, received for the year ending June 30, 1912, the sum of $50,000, making a total amount of $2,500,000, paid out for the year from the Treasury of the United States.

Upon the urgent request of the deans of the graduate schools represented in the Association of American Universities, the division of higher education has given much time to the preparation of a classified list of the large number of smaller colleges and universities whose students in considerable numbers each year apply for admission to these graduate schools. While the work of the division is not yet far enough along with its investigations to warrant regular publication of the results, it has already been serviceable in several directions upon special application. In the prosecution of these investigations the specialist in higher education visited 16 of the institutions having graduate schools, holding conferences with the presidents, deans, committees, and other officials. He also spent much time in the field in the South Atlantic States investigating the work of State institutions, colleges for men and for women, and institutions for the colored race-33 institutions in all. As a means of furtherance of their work, the specialists have been detailed to attend nine conferences and meetings of associations in different parts of the country, which are concerned chiefly with higher education or agricultural education.

DIVISION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION.

This division was organized May 11, 1910. It concerns itself with those problems of school administration which are met in State and city education offices, with a view to rendering the greatest possible assistance to those in charge. Under the present organization each of these two branches of work, State and city offices, has two subdivisions: (1) Administrative questions other than statistical, and (2) the measurement of administrative facts by statistical methods. Since the establishment of the division a standard scheme for the classification of legislation and judicial decisions relating to education has been prepared, and a file of the laws now in force has been classified in accordance with this scheme. During the sessions of the legislatures last winter a "Legislative circular," totaling 36 numbers, was issued, giving the most important facts relating to the progress of educational legislation. The laws that were passed are now being arranged for publication in the bulletin. The annual reports of representative cities have been indexed for ready reference. A "City school circular" has been recently begun in which it is intended to include the latest developments in the progress of city school administration for the early information of all who are

engaged in this field of labor. The division has also taken a prominent part in the conferences of chief State education officers relating to the recognition of teachers' certificates issued in other States, an extended study of present laws and regulations having been made and issued in part in printed form.

In the statistical branch of the work the division has cooperated with other national agencies-committees of the department of superintendence of the National Education Association, of the National Association of School Accounting Officers, and with the Bureau of the Census-in securing the adoption of a standard form of fiscal report for cities, which it is hoped will also become the standard in accordance with which accounting systems of local school boards will be revised. In addition this bureau has revised its fiscal forms in accordance with this standard schedule, and is now endeavoring to secure the adoption of certain standard items in all reports required by State officers of local boards of education in order that uniformity in national and State reports as regards the most essential items may be brought about. In this respect satisfactory progress is being

made.

With the consent of the Secretary of the Interior, and at the request of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore, Md., the Commissioner of Education undertook, in his official capacity, together with two prominent educators, a study of the public-school system of that city. A considerable part of the report as submitted was prepared by the Division of School Administration and the Editorial Divison of this office.

In addition this divison has made a detailed study of the expenses of certain city school systems based upon schedules prepared by agents of the Bureau of the Census, and a study of salary schedules in city school systems.

EDITORIAL DIVISION.

The following publications were prepared and issued during the year:

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1910.

Annual Statement of the Commissioner of Education to the Secretary of the Interior for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910.

Bulletin of the Bureau of Education:

1910, No. 2. State school systems: III. Legislation and judicial decisions relating to public education, October 1, 1908, to October 1, 1909.

1910, No. 3. List of publications of the United States Bureau of Education, 1867-1910.

1910, No. 4. The biological stations of Europe.

1910, No. 6. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by the State.

1911, No. 1. Bibliography of science teaching.

1911, No. 4. Report of the commission appointed to study the system of education in the public schools of Baltimore.

Several additional numbers of the bulletin were sent to the Printing Office during the fiscal year, but were not available for distribution until some time after the close of the year. The editor, who served as chief of the division, resigned at the close of the year to reenter the teaching profession at a considerable increase in salary.

STATISTICAL DIVISION.

In addition to the regular work of this division, a special inquiry concerning agriculture in secondary schools has been sent to about 4,000 principals of such schools in order to obtain definite information respecting this important work.

CORRESPONDENCE DIVISION.

During the year there was inaugurated the system of returning to writers letters requesting publications of the bureau or making inquiries which can be answered with printed matter, and sending to the writer a printed slip showing the action taken by the bureau. This system relieves the files of a large amount of useless material, renders unnecessary the preparation of a large number of letters, and has resulted in the relief of one clerk from duty in that division and his assignment to another division where additional assistance was needed. There were distributed 106,116 copies of the publications of the bureau.

LIBRARY DIVISION.

This division, besides maintaining its current work, has also made considerable progress in the reorganization of those sections of the library still requiring it.

The total number of volumes and pamphlets accessioned, which were acquired by gift, by exchange, and by purchase, was 2,312, as against 1,890 in 1909-10; of serial and periodical publications, 16,234 numbers were accessioned. The binding accomplished-1,310 volumes-consists mainly of current publications, since the bulk of accumulated unbound material had already received attention. There were 6,772 volumes classified and catalogued, as against 6,020 in 1909-10, this year's increase being largely due to the cataloguing of long series of State school reports. The number of bibliographies compiled was 474.

A notable step toward improving the material equipment has been taken by the introduction of six modern metal bookstacks. It is hoped that this precedent may be followed in future to the point of installing metal shelving throughout the library.

By arrangement with the Library of Congress, the bureau is now receiving from that institution selected copyright deposit books trans