The Goldsboro Township schools







The Goldsboro Township Schools











The Goldsboro Township SchoolsA Cooperative Survey Report Directed by GUY B. PHILLIPS Professor of Educational Administration University of North Carolina




TABLE OF CONTENTS

ChapterPage
LIST OF FIGURESv
LIST OF TABLESvi
SURVEY STAFF AND CONSULTANTSvii
FOREWORD1
I. BACKGROUND6
II. ORGANIZATION9
Policy10
Enrollment10
Interpretation12
Citizens Opinionaire13
Program15
Personnel16
Recommendations20
III. FINANCES24
Ability24
Effort26
Cost of Education28
Budgeting School Funds30
Financial Accounting32
Safeguarding School Funds32
Account of Each School's Activity Fund33
Supply Management33
Insurance33
Recommendations34
IV. PHYSICAL PLANTS35
Importance of Careful Planning35
Selection of Architect36
Selection and Development of Site36
The Building36
Pupil Movement37
Planning for Community Use38
Classrooms38
Lighting38
Ventilation and Heating39
Service System40
Maintenance and Housekeeping40
Appraisal of Present Plants41
Edgewood Elementary School43
Virginia Street School44
Walnut Street School45
Williams Street School46
Goldsboro Senior High School48
East End Elementary School50
Greenleaf Elementary School52
School Street Elementary School53
Dillard High School55
Recommendations56
V. THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS57
General Statement57
Philosophy of Goldsboro High School Staff59
Graduation Requirements60
The Program of Studies60
English61
Foreign Language62






ChapterPage
Social Studies62
Health and Physical Education63
Mathematics64
Science64
Fine Arts65
Business Education65
Home Economics66
Industrial Arts66
Industrial Vocational Education66
The Pupil Activities Program67
Library Services70
Guidance Services70
Philosophy of Dillard High School75
Graduate Requirements76
Program of Studies76
English78
Foreign Language78
Social Studies79
Health and Physical Education79
Mathematics79
Science80
Fine Arts80
Business Education80
Home Economics81
Industrial Arts81
Industrial Vocational Education81
The Pupil Activities Program81
Library Services84
Guidance Services84
Recommendations86
VI. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS89
Good Elementary Schools89
Grade Organization90
Grouping of Pupils92
Pupil Progress Policies and Practices92
Reports to Parents96
Pupil Records and Guidance97
Provisions for Atypical Children98
Need for Instructional Leadership99
Summary of Suggestions for Improvement of the Organization and Administration of the Elementary Schools100
Language Arts101
Reading Instruction101
Writing105
Spelling106
Oral Language108
Listening109
Social Studies109
Science111
Health, Physical Education, and Safety112
Social Living114
Arithmetic114
VII. RESULTS OF THE TESTING PROGRAM117
The Psychological Testing Program118
The Achievement Testing Program120
Bi-Racial Aspect of the Test Results120
Reading Comprehension at Junior and Senior High School Levels120
Results and Interpretation122
Recommendations125

List of Figures

FigurePage
1. Organization Chart2
2. Enrollment by Grades and Races (1954-1955)11
3. Recommended Organization Chart21
4. Assessed Valuation of Property Per Pupil in A. D. A. in Goldsboro Township Schools (1941-1955)26
5. Number of Classrooms Needed by Races, 1955 and 195641
6. Score of the Edgewood School43
7. Score of Virginia Street School45
8. Score of Walnut Street School46
9. Score of Williams Street School48
10. Score of Goldsboro High School Plant49
11. Score of East End School51
12. Score of the Greenleaf School52
13. Score of the School Street Elementary School54
14. Score of Dillard High School55
15. Grade Survival of 1955 Graduating Class—White58
16. High School Graduates and Number Entering College—White59
17. Grade Survival of 1955 Graduating Class—Negro77
18. High School Graduates and Number Entering College—Negro78






List of Tables

TablePage
I. City Population—Goldsboro8
II. Goldsboro School Enrollment 1945-195511
III. Assessed Valuation of Taxable Property of Wayne County and Goldsboro Township School (1945-1955)25
IV. Tax Rate Per $100 Assessed Valuation for School Purposes in Wayne County (1945-1955)27
V. The Tax Rates for the Goldsboro Township Schools for the Years 1954-195527
VI. Tax Rates Levied in Cents of Eleven City School Districts in Eastern North Carolina28
VII. Cost Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance—State and Local Money (1951-1955 Inclusive)29
VIII. Cost Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance for Current Expense from Local Funds29
IX. Amount and Percentage for Educational Item for Current Expenses for 1955-5631
X. Cost Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance According to Character Classification of 1954-55 Budget31
XI. Age Range and Median Age of Pupils, Grades 1 Through 7 at the Beginning of the School Year94
XII. Chronological Age-Grade Distribution, White 1954-5595
XIII. Chronological Age-Grade Distribution, Negro 1954-5596
XIV. Stanford Achievement Test Grade Equivalents—Average Reading (Comprehension and Word Meaning)102
XV. Stanford Achievement Test Grade Equivalents—Spelling107
XVI. Stanford Achievement Test Grade Equivalents—Average Arithmetic (Computation and Reasoning)115
XVII. Summary of Test Results (Grade Averages), White Schools119
XVIII. Summary of Test Results (Grade Averages), Negro Schools122
XIX. Scores in Reading Comprehension Test, White Schools121
XX. Scores in Reading Comprehension Test, Negro Schools122
XXI. Distribution of Scores in Stanford Achievement Test, White123
XXII. Distribution of Scores in Stanford Achievement Test, Negro124

Survey Staff and Consultants

GUY B. PHILLIPS, Director

School of Education, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Members of the Faculty of The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

MRS. MARVIN ALLEN, Instructor, School of Education.

DR. RICHARD L. BEARD, Professor of Secondary Education.

DR. CARL F. BROWN, Professor of Elementary Education.

MRS. STACY EBERT, Elementary Education.

DR. GORDON ELLIS, Professor of Educational Guidance and Director of Kellogg Project.

DR. J. MINOR GWYNN, Professor of Secondary Education.

DR. E. H. HARTSELL, Professor of English and Secretary of North Carolina English Teachers Association.

DR. SAMUEL M. HOLTON, Professor of Secondary Education.

MISS MARY FRANCES KELLAM, Health and Physical Education.

MRS. MARY LANE, Elementary Education.

DR. W. H. PEACOCK, Professor of Health and Physical Education.

DR. ARNOLD PERRY, Dean, School of Education.

DR. W. E. ROSENSTENGEL, Professor of School Administration.

DR. DONALD G. TARBET, Professor of Secondary Education.

DR. THELMA GWINN THURSTONE, Professor of Education and Director of Psychometric Laboratory.

Members of The State Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh

MISS ELLA STEPHENS BARRETT, Supervisor of Guidance Services.

MISS CORA BOMAR, School Library Adviser.

MR. T. CARL BROWN, Supervisor of Distributive Education.

MR. A. B. COMBS, Director, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

MISS ANNA M. COOKE, Supervisor, Elementary Schools.

MISS CATHERINE DENNIS, Supervisor of Home Economics.

MR. TAYLOR DODSON, Adviser in Physical Education.

DR. S. E. DUNCAN, Supervisor, Negro High Schools.

MR. G. H. FERGUSON, Director, Division of Negro Education.

MR. A. E. HOFFMAN, Adviser in Music.

DR. A. S. HURLBURT, Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

MISS PATSY MONTAGUE, Supervisor of Elementary Education.

DR. VESTER MULHOLLAND, Director of Division of Research and Statistics.

MRS. DAISY W. ROBSON, Supervisor, Elementary Schools.

MR. HENRY A. SHANNON, Adviser, Science and Mathematics Education.

MR. MURRAY D. THORNBURG, Supervisor, Trades and Industry.

MRS. RUTH L. WOODSON, Supervisor of Elementary Education.

Members from Public School Systems

MR. FRANK ARWOOD, Principal, Hillcrest Elementary School, Burlington.

MR. G. L. CREWS, Principal, Shepard High School, Zebulon.

MR. MILTON M. DANIELS, Principal, Elvie Street School, Wilson.

MR. N. L. DILLARD, Principal, Caswell County Training School, Yanceyville.

MR. O. A. DUPREE, Principal, Sampson County Training School, Clinton.

MR. C. M. EDSON, Principal, Rocky Mount High School, Rocky Mount.

MRS. ELOISE ESKRIDGE, Supervisor, Johnston County Schools, Kenly.






MRS. CLARA B. HICKS, Supervisor, Wilson County Schools, Wilson.

DR. J. H. HORNE, Principal, Grainger High School, Kinston.

DR. JOSEPH M. JOHNSTON, Principal, Asheboro High School, Asheboro.

MISS ANNIE MAE KENION, Supervisor, Duplin County Schools, Warsaw.

MRS. NORA E. LOCKHART, Principal, Crosby-Garfield School, Raleigh.

MR. C. A. MCDOUGLE, Principal, Lincoln High School, Chapel Hill.

MR. E. E. MILLER, Principal, Smith High School, Fayetteville.

MISS MILDRED MOONEYHAN, Principal, Elementary School, Chapel Hill.

MR. HARVEY NEWLIN, Director, Secondary Education, Burlington City Schools, Burlington.

MISS SALLIE NEWMAN, Supervisor, Person County Schools, Roxboro.

MRS. GUSSIE DILLS PARKER, Principal, Clinton Elementary School, Clinton.

MRS. FRANCES PEELE, Principal, Frances Lacy School, Raleigh.

MISS CARRIE PHILLIPS, Principal, Brooks Elementary School, Greensboro.

MISS ELIZABETH RANEY, Language Teacher in Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill.

MRS. ESTELLE H. SAMPSON, Supervisor, Sampson County Schools, Clinton.

MISS EDNA S. SMALLWOOD, Principal, Pollocksville.

DR. WILLARD S. SWIERS, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Fayetteville.

MR. ALLEN THACKER, Principal, Altamahaw-Ossippee School, Altamahaw.

DR. W. H. WATSON, Principal, Ligon High School, Raleigh.

MRS. GLADYS F. WHITE, Supervisor, Wake County Schools, Raleigh.

MR. GEORGE WILLARD, Principal, Coon High School, Wilson.

MR. M. L. WILSON, Principal, Harrison High School, Selma.

MR. W. W. WOODARD, Principal, Scotland Neck Schools, Scotland Neck.

MRS. DOROTHY ZIMMERMAN, Supervisor, Caswell County Schools, Yanceyville.

Graduate Students

MR. BEN FOUNTAIN, JR., Associate Secretary, North Carolina School Boards Association, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

MR. FRANK B. GREER, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

MR. W. J. SCOTT, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

MR. GARMON SMITH, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

MR. CAMERON WEST, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Foreword

In the Spring of 1954 the Chairman of the Board of Education of the Goldsboro City Schools communicated with the Dean of the School of Education at Chapel Hill with regard to the possibility of making a school survey for the city. As a result of this inquiry negotiations were begun between representatives of the Board and the School of Education. Meetings were held in which the type of program was discussed and the purposes involved were outlined. Final agreement was reached in September 1954 for the development of a cooperative survey which would include local citizens, local professional personnel, staff members of the School of Education, representatives of the State Department of Education, and invited personnel from the public school system of the State. The Board of Education determined that the survey should be a comprehensive type.

The final agreement provided for a period of study to extend from December 1954 through June 1956 with a final report to be submitted and printed at the end of the study period. It was decided that the early months of the period would be devoted to organization and preparation work. The following purposes were accepted:

1. To examine and evaluate patterns of organization and administration.

2. To study present and potential pupil load of the system in terms of population trends and city growth.

3. To check the local economic base for the support of education.

4. To check physical facilities and plan long range building program.

5. To evaluate curriculum and teaching, special activities, and school services in elementary and secondary schools.

6. To examine personnel practices and problems.

7. To examine the local program of school interpretation.

Figure 1 shows the organization plan developed for the survey project.






Figure 1. Organization Chart

The Board of Education agreed to pay a given sum to the School of Education of the University for services connected with the survey and to provide additional funds for the publication of the report when finally submitted. The Board of Education is composed of the following members:

Mr. Munroe Best, Chairman

Mr. Harry Muir

Mr. Henry Weil

Mrs. W. A. Shepherd

Mrs. Frank Remsburg

Dr. A. H. Pate

Mr. Orris Dumas

Mr. J. B. Burroughs

Mr. George Steele Dewey

The Executive Committee for the survey, composed of seven members, was organized to serve as the responsible body for the overall planning and direction of the project. This committee included two members from the Board of Education, one member from the professional group of the school system, and four lay persons. The composition of the committee was interracial. Members of the committee were:

Mr. Henry Weil, Chairman

Mrs. Frank Remsburg

Mr. James N. Smith

Dr. R. O. Weathers

Mrs. William Taylor

Miss Emma Lou Garner

Mrs. Dorothy W. Hardy

Superintendent Ray Armstrong, Secretary

In addition to the Executive Committee an advisory committee of 35 members was organized to keep in close contact with the survey program and with the citizens in general. The majority of the members came from the citizens group. Every effort was made to get representative persons from the white and Negro citizens of the city.

Dr. Guy B. Phillips of the University staff was designated as the Coordinator of the Project with the agreement that other members of the staff of the School of Education would participate in the project as needed. Under his direction the program was initiated in December, 1954.

The entire professional staff of the local system came together for a discussion meeting at which time the tentative outline of the program was presented. At the same time each member of the professional staff was given a one-page opinionaire to be filled in indicating certain points of view with regard






to the professional attitude on the most favorable phases of the school system, most outstanding needs, and suggestions as to procedure. Meetings were also held with the Executive Committee and with the Advisory Committee of the survey project. Members of each of these groups were also given an opportunity to express opinions on certain questions relating to education.

After some preparation, public meetings were held to acquaint citizens with the purposes and plans of the cooperative survey. In the two sessions held, one in the Goldsboro High School and one in the Dillard High School, approximately 1500 citizens were present. There was enthusiastic response to the proposed program on the part of both groups. Many of the members of the two groups had already agreed to serve on at least one of the citizens study committees. Some of the materials which will appear in other parts of the report were developed by these citizen groups.

From the beginning there was a very cordial and intelligent attitude on the part of the local press. News items were given good space and editorial reaction was favorable.

As the program developed additional contacts were made with members of various civic groups and local organizations in the community. Special questionnaires were presented to these groups for the purpose of securing general reactions and also for the purpose of stimulating interest on the part of citizens in school matters. It is estimated that at least 3,000 citizens participated in one way or another in the study.

In May of 1955 a progress report was submitted in the form of a mimeographed statement and in a forty-minute film with appropriate script. This report was made available through various channels of communication so that the majority of the people of Goldsboro learned what the project was for and how it was progressing.

The following list of studies which have been made indicates the scope of the work. The studies are not listed in the order of presentation or importance.

1. Teacher Opinion Poll of Attitudes with Respect to Local Schools.

2. Advisory Council Questionnaire on Attitudes with Respect to Local Schools.

3. Opinionaire submitted to 1100 citizens who responded to 46 questions about the school program.

4. Sumption-Landes Building Survey. Scoring was participated in by approximately 100 citizens.

5. What Do Good Schools Look Like? A list of 20 questions was checked by about 350 citizens in various clubs of the city.

6. A City-Wide Census Check was made by several hundred citizens in cooperation with teachers.

7. Questionnaire on Methods and Procedures answered by elementary teachers.

8. Special forms have provided information on promotion, drop-outs, grade distribution, and other items.

9. A testing program was administered which involved each child enrolled in the schools.






CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND

Goldsboro, which is the county seat of Wayne County, is located at the center of the tobacco growing territory of North Carolina. It is a rich section in terms of agricultural products. The city of Goldsboro was incorporated in 1847 under the spelling “Goldsborough.” One of the first acts of this newly incorporated community was the establishment of a school operated from time to time under different leadership and known in different periods as a free school, a private school, male academy, and a mixed school. Under each of these types constructive contributions were made to the life of the community.

A second building was erected in 1857 which was used as the home of the Goldsboro Female College which was adequate at the time for about 600 girls. In addition to this school Goldsboro had a very large number of private schools for young children which were conducted in vacant buildings and in private homes by different teachers. Many of these teachers later became regular members of the public school faculty as the public school began to replace the private institutions.

The period of reconstruction following the war was a very difficult one for all communities in the South. Goldsboro was no exception. In spite of these difficulties, however, the spirit of the citizens responded to the call of education. It was during the decade of 1875 to 1885 that the graded school movement got underway in North Carolina. The larger communities of the State established such schools, the first being established in Greensboro, then in Raleigh, Salisbury, and Goldsboro. The General Assembly of 1881 passed a special act authorizing the establishment of the Goldsboro Graded School District, which provided for a 20c tax rate for the support of the school. This act was passed under the leadership of Aycock, Bonitz, and Daniels, leading citizens of the community. Aycock was later to become the Governor of the State. In the meantime he served as the chairman of the local school board and was active in the support of public education in his own community and county. This act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1886 which meant that the local schools were operated on funds raised by voluntary subscriptions until the General Assembly of 1887 amended the act to provide for the entire Goldsboro School System.

The list of administrators and staff members who have contributed to the educational activities of the Goldsboro School System carries the names of some of North Carolina's greatest educational leaders. Among these were Mr. Moses who later

became Superintendent of Schools in Raleigh; Dr. E. A. Alderman, later president of the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia; Dr. J. I. Foust, president of the Woman's College at Greensboro; Superintendent T. R. Foust, long time Superintendent of Schools in Guilford County; J. Y. Joyner, later Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State; E. C. Brooks, later Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State and President of State College; A. E. Woltz, later a Legislator of Gastonia; J. E. Avent, later an outstanding authority of public education; E. D. Pussey, later superintendent of Schools of Durham and Head of the Department of Education at the University of Georgia; W. C. Rankin, later to serve as State Health Officer and Duke Foundation Director; Dr. P. P. Claxton, U. S. Commissioner of Education; and the more recent leaders O. A. Hamilton of Chapel Hill and Ray Armstrong, the present Superintendent.

It should be noted that in the early period of the Goldsboro schools efforts were consistently made to improve the quantity and quality of the schools of the community. Because the community was small and because of the limited enrollment, there was no great physical expansion of the school system during those years. The story of the permanent structures for the public schools is an interesting one. The bulk of this construction occurred in the early 1920's. Previous to this time, in 1903, two elementary units were constructed on Williams Street. One high school unit was erected on this same location in 1915. These three units still stand and are being used for grades 5-8. A gymnasium was erected during the depression through WPA aid, and in the current year a cafeteria has been added. No other major changes have been made in the plant since those early years. The Walnut Street School and the Virginia Street School for elementary children were erected in 1921. The new high school was erected in 1927. The only additional new plant since that time was the Edgewood School erected for elementary children in 1951. Additions have been made from time to time to some of these plants, but no major classroom increase has been provided.

The Dillard High School, East End School and Greenleaf School were all started in 1922. The first units of School Street were erected in 1910 with additions made in 1925, and again in 1954. Several additions have been made to the Dillard School, including a cafeteria, in 1954. The special units referred to were in the form of other structures purchased and converted into school facilities. Four classrooms have been added to East End and to Greenleaf since the date of the original structure. These were added in 1935 and 1936 respectively. The cafeteria, gymnasium, and other special units have been added in recent years.






It is interesting to note that even though the population of the city and the population of the schools increased considerably from 1930 to 1955 very little physical additions were made to the school system. This explains some of the crowded and unsatisfactory conditions which now exist. The following table indicates the growth in Goldsboro from 1930 to 1955. There has been an increase in total population from 14,985 to 25,000.

TABLE I
CITY POPULATION—GOLDSBORO
1930194019451950Estimated 1955
White8,1179,38510,78711,82613,750
Negro6,8687,8899,0789,62811,250
Total14,98517,27419,86521,45425,000

During the period 1945-1955 the school population increased from 4,328 to 6,900. A more significant figure is the increase of first grade students from 511 to 792.

The reopening of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base early in 1956 with full operation to be reached by January 1958 has created a difficult situation for the public schools of the county and the city. The erection of 1,500 housing units in connection with the base will be completed in 1956 with an anticipated 1,500 more to be added later. It is estimated that this population increase will bring a minimum of 750 new children into the schools during 1956-1957. Past experience indicates that such installations tend to increase the general population of the community not directly related to the military life of the base. With a classroom and facility deficit already serious this increase challenges the community to prompt planning and action.

The fact that Goldsboro is located very near the center of the Coastal Plains section of North Carolina means that there will certainly be significant growth in the city in the immediate future. Its value as a distribution center increases each year. Available public utilities offer opportunities for new and varied industrial plants. Climatic conditions contribute greatly to favorable living conditions. All of these factors combine to challenge this city to expand and improve the quality of its educational opportunities in anticipation of considerable growth in population.

CHAPTER II
ORGANIZATION

Goldsboro developed one of the first graded school systems in North Carolina and was granted a special charter by the North Carolina legislature in 1881. Since that date many changes have been made in the administrative machinery of the State School System, but Goldsboro has retained its status as an administrative unit and is now a township system which includes an area larger than the city. The system operates in a different pattern from that in effect in most of the other cities of the State. This pattern should be studied and evaluated in terms of present conditions and probable future needs.

At present the School Board is composed of nine members, all of whom are appointed by the Wayne County Board of Education for overlapping terms of six years. This Board needs a more cooperative relationship with government officials of the city because it is very desirable that close working relationships exist between all units of the city government. Boards which deal with schools, recreation, health, police, library, zoning, and other city matters need to understand and appreciate common problems of the community. While there seems to be no friction in the present situation, the schools could profit by better channels of communication between the officials.

A recent study of the status and functions of Boards of Education in the 74 City Administrative Units of North Carolina shows that 33 cities select board members by popular vote while 41 cities secure board members by other methods. Only seven units have members appointed by a County Board of Education. One city has a board selected partly by election and partly by appointment. Attention should also be called to the size of the Board in the cities of the State. Only 14 Boards have more than seven members.1

The administrative organization of the school system is simple and direct, but possibly not adequate for the size of the task to be done. The Board of nine members employs the Superintendent of Schools in accordance with the law and in turn it approves the selection of professional and non-professional staff members. It holds regular and “special” meetings for the transaction of the business of the schools. The minutes are properly recorded by the Secretary of the Board. Records seem to indicate that a majority of the time of the Board is spent in management problems with only limited attention to matters of leadership. interpretation, and instruction.

1 Roland Reginald Morgan, School Boards in North Carolina, Published by the North Carolina School Boards Association, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1956.




Policy

The responsibility of the Board of Education for developing and expressing in written form a philosophy of education and administrative policies to be followed is of prime importance. Such a written statement should be the result of cooperative study and planning on the part of members of the Board of Education, employed personnel, and lay representatives of the school district. Its main purpose should be to set the framework for the educational program, the Board should then delegate executive responsibility to the Superintendent of Schools and his staff. The Board must, however, appraise continuously the execution of the policies which have been adopted.

Some of the matters which need to be considered in a policy statement are those relating to the various activities and responsibilities of the administrative staff. The statement should include a set of rules and regulations of the Board. The subjects included in the rules and regulations will vary with the traditions, the needs, and special characteristics of the particular school unit. These should be concerned with employment practices, board organization, instructional services, community relations, and general direction of school operations.

In initiating a statement of policy it will be necessary to examine all minutes of previous meetings of the Board to discover official action which has been taken with respect to the administration of the schools. A compilation of these acts of a policy nature will serve as a basis for re-examination of the actions of the Board. Certain duplications will be discovered and can be eliminated. Steps will need to be taken to set up new policies. The preparation of a statement of policies should take at least one full year of study and work, but no Board has the right to proceed without a simple, direct statement as indicated above.

Enrollment

The record of school enrollment over a ten-year period, 1945-46 through 1955-56, is shown in Table II. An examination of the first grade enrollment of a particular year followed through to graduation is revealing.

Enrollment by grades and races is shown in Figure 2.

The complete school census which was made by citizens and teachers in a house-to-house canvass has been translated into two spot maps which show the location of children. Data collected in this census are now on file in the office of the Superintendent and indicate the probable enrollment in all of the first grades during the next six years. Spot maps have been prepared which show the location of each child in the city. The data indicate

TABLE II
GOLDSBORO SCHOOL ENROLLMENT 1945-1955
YearTotalENROLLMENT BY GRADES
123456789101112
1945White2317275247227230214216202192171186156
Negro201123625421918420921419718113210976
1946W2456284254238204242228204193189168133119
N21972922792382071602181881881681159549
1947W2563300269249232219238223181195183149125
N227527324924319724017416919918813811095
1948W2550283282244236232216227192182165162129
N225523726924123721320416215619014910196
1949W2668293281264251232231217229187180168135
N231728421725322424021219116116715812288
1950W2745283309279267240229236197223154165163
N2406276267233252227237208184158128123113
1951W2828292334291273273239227230191202250126
N2424261255278219252216234190192115104108
1952W3116336341333321299273242232240176178145
N25453092542612732242452122242031539394
1953W3428439355314340305298276240235216157153
N268335229524726926721824419523515712579
1954W3546411461350319340308300267235208201146
N2894363352292252269263219232206207128111
1955W3821399433479370311352313310276230180168
N3079393340346295253264266220239174174115

Figure 2. Enrollment by Grades and Races (1954-1955).






the various age groups. This information can serve as a basis for reorganization, for determination of possible sites for new schools, and for modification or abandonment of some present schools.

Interpretation

Efforts were made to determine attitudes of citizens and teachers with respect to problems in education. Several instruments were used. One was a set of twenty statements prepared and used by the Metropolitan School Study Council in which each person had the choice of checking “pleased” or “displeased” upon reading the statement. The summary of these replies should be examined carefully by the School Board and the staff.

WHAT DO GOOD SCHOOLS LOOK LIKE?

The following list of characteristics of school practice was submitted to approximately 400 citizens of the city who are members of civic clubs, P.T.A., Woman's Club, and other organized agencies. They were asked to indicate reactions to these items by checking “pleased” or “displeased” in each case.

Per Cent PleasedPer Cent Displeased
1.Many classes where you can hear a pin drop.4654
2.Students reading and discussing daily newspapers in school.8713
3.Students facing and solving real-life problems in school.937
4.Students developing their memories by memorizing poems, names of presidents, and dates in history.7822
5.High school girls assisting teachers with kindergarten children.6931
6.Students learning arithmetic entirely from a textbook without such activities as operating a school store or school bank.2773
7.Children memorizing parts of the constitution as one of the best ways of developing patriotism.3367
8.Schools spending time during the regular school day on music, art, and clubs.8119
9.Students working in a school garden during the school day.4951
10.Most high school students taking Latin, whether they are going to college or not.3565
11.Pupils and teachers seeking and discussing all available facts on controversial issues.8515
12.Schools in which education is based entirely on lectures by the teachers, textbooks, homework, and recitations by the students.2476
13.Children enjoying school very much.964
14.Children taking trips to farms and factories during the regular school day.8119
15.Schools recognizing that reading books written by great thinkers is the best way to learn how to think.6337
16.Children marching between classes, supervised by teachers.3070

17.Schools recognizing that book knowledge sticks better than knowledge gained in clubs, activities, and plays.3466
18.Placement offices helping students to secure employment.973
19.Schools placing a great emphasis on marks and grades.5347
20.High school students getting work experience during the school day in community banks, stores, and factories.7129

Teacher reaction to a number of questions regarding strong and weak phases of the program was sought through a single sheet of general questions. A summary does not indicate a common point of view except in a very few cases. A large number of teachers commented very favorably on the activities carried on in the schools such as music, art, and science fairs. There was a noticeable lack of recognition of the inadequacy of appropriate classrooms and other facilities. No significant number indicated a weakness in library facilities. There was very much evidence of a spirit of understanding and cooperation in the professional staff relations. The fact that the comments had such a wide range points to the need for a more thorough cooperative analysis and direction of the efforts made by the staff to implement the very fine statement of purposes outlined in the Guidebook. More organized leadership without domination of practices may be desirable.

Citizen Opinionaire

Another set of statements which has been used in a number of communities in North Carolina to determine attitudes with respect to 46 different questions was submitted to teachers and citizens. Each person had a choice of one of five possible answers.

An examination of the replies of the majority of the teachers and over 1000 citizens to the 46 questions submitted in an opinionaire reveals a number of very significant points of view. The following summaries of some of the responses have most meaning in this study.

In answer to the question about the purpose of education, 33 per cent of the white and 44 per cent of the Negro citizens checked the item “Earn a living.” None of the white and only 6 per cent of the Negro teachers checked this purpose. 94 per cent of the white and 68 per cent of the Negro teachers checked the item “Be useful members of society.” Citizen replies on this item were less than 35 per cent.

A significant difference in attitudes of citizens and teachers with respect to the adaptation of the school program to the needs of pupils was evident. Approximately one-third of all citizens expressed the idea that school leadership has not been progressive while about 45 per cent of the teachers stated that they






believed that the public wants the schools to teach today as they were taught when they were in school. More than 50 per cent of both groups expressed a desire for opportunities for all high school students to learn typing. Fifty per cent believe that a program of physical education should be required for all students.

There was a difference of opinion with reference to the controversial problem of homework. Thirty-two per cent of the citizens and teachers state that the amount of homework should be decreased with a provision for supervised study at school. Another 31 per cent approve the present plan which includes considerable homework.

While 60 per cent of the teachers propose help for the slow learners through “special classes and teachers,” only 21 per cent of the lay group is in agreement with this plan. In this citizens group 47 per cent proposed a reduction in class size.

A very significant result is noted in the question dealing with the quality of school work now and thirty years ago. Ninety-four per cent of the teachers and 81 per cent of the lay persons stated that it is much better than thirty years ago.

More than half of the citizens state that sectional and statewide athletic contests are good and should be encouraged. Sixty per cent of the teachers recognize the good, but call for careful control of such activities.

An important professional matter is that of educational conferences for the Board of Education members and school personnel. Fifty-four per cent of citizens and teachers believe that the Board should allot money to provide for attendance at such meetings. Approximately the same number approve funds for clerical assistance for principals.

Even though the administration of the school budget is a legal responsibility of the Board of Education, about 50 per cent of those responding state that the preparation of the budget should include the Superintendent, the Board, the principals, and the teachers. An equal number believes that the Board of Education should handle all matters as a committee of the whole and not through standing committees. Fifty-four per cent of both groups believe that the members of the Board of Education should be elected in a regular election. Another 16 per cent think that they should be appointed by the City Commissioners.

There is considerable difference in point of view with respect to the main concern about the responsibility of the high school to the student. Thirty-one per cent of the citizens think that the high school should help students choose a vocation and 28 per cent think preparation for college is its most important function. Fifty per cent of the white teachers and 21 per cent of the Negro teachers checked “better understanding of the world

about them” as the first purpose. About one-third of the teachers in both groups believe that “learning to get along with others” is the major function.

Methods of reporting to parents on pupil progress continues to be a very difficult problem. A suitable plan has not yet been developed. Goldsboro teachers and citizens express approval of different methods. About 25 per cent of both groups prefer Teacher-Parent Conferences. Fifty per cent of the teachers would add the pupil to the conference pattern. Thirty-six per cent of the parents prefer numerical or letter grades with teacher comments.

More than 50 per cent of both groups believe that money for new school buildings and equipment should be provided by the Federal and State Governments. Only 3 per cent believe the county should provide these funds.

The replies to the other questions did not reveal any unusual points of view in either group. The spread over five possible answers indicates a lack of interpretation of the school program. Program

No better statement on “Public Relations” is needed than the one made in the Goldsboro Guidebook. This presents a strong challenge to teachers for adequate interpretation of the public schools to the people of the city. It appears, however, that implementation has been left largely to chance methods and individual interests. Reference to the Parent-Teacher Association appears in a great number of the teacher opinionaires. They also mention home visitation frequently. Beyond these two means of building desirable public relations, there seems to be no well defined plan of operation.

The local newspaper is mentioned as a means of interpretation. The survey staff has received the News-Argus each day since the beginning of the project. Each item based on Goldsboro school activities has been clipped and reviewed. Several factors stand out as a result of this review. The Editorial Column has been very versatile and vigorous in support of education. Apparently more space would have been given if appropriate news materials had been provided. Th newspapers gave excellent coverage of the major phases of the survey project; this tended to create interest. Very little local school news was developed around the survey, however. A considerable amount of the space was devoted to the bond issue and related building problems. Special activities such as the Gold-maskers, the band and athletics, and special school programs have been given good space. It is very clear that the local press is generous in space and favorable in attitude on school matters. It is equally clear that school news tends to be spasmodic and related to special projects






and does not always provide a steady flow of simple, human interest stories of everyday activities in the schools. It may be hard to make such stories dramatic, but they are the stories in which parents are interested. Considerable direction and encouragement should be given principals and teachers in preparing material for the press. Adequate newspaper coverage does not just happen. It requires careful planning.

As a means of improving public relations, teachers should take an active part in the social, civic, and religious life of the community. They should seek out various ways in which they wish to serve the community beyond classroom duties rather than wait for invitations for work in which they may not be interested. They are citizens with more than the average in leadership skills and should share these competencies with the citizens. A complete success in the classroom certainly involves going beyond school walls. The good teacher goes with the pupil and parent in body and in spirit into the life of the home and the community.

Originality in taking the school into the life of the public and bringing the public into the school is an individual and a collective responsibility which must receive more attention than it has in the past. Every means of communication must be used continuously.

Personnel

Although the effectiveness of a school system is influenced to a degree by the physical facilities made available, the preparation, the character, the interests, and the personal efforts of the teachers and administrators largely determine the true qualities of the educational program. Desirable human growth and educational development can be achieved only through qualified instructional personnel.

It must be recognized that a community gets the quality of instructional leadership it is willing to pay for in the market and which is developed to its maximum in a well-organized system with well-arranged up-to-date facilities. While there are no exact instruments to fully measure teaching, there are many means of evaluating school effectiveness. Approximately 80 per cent of the local school operating budget is paid out in salaries to staff members. This means that the most important phase of the administrator's work should be in the wise selection, the effective induction, and the continued on-the-job development of the members of the teaching group. This is especially true in the current period of serious teacher shortage.

It is clear that the responsibility for more leadership at the local level to improve the quality of teachers is greater in a

system with an inexperienced staff than in one with a mature staff. There is evidence to show that additional instructional leadership needs to be provided in Goldsboro. Throughout the nation it is now generally accepted that school systems should expend funds for improving the staff now employed rather than making fruitless search for new staff members.

The professional staff of the Goldsboro School consists of 225 persons who serve as administrators and teachers. The selection of this staff is made by the Superintendent of Schools who submits recommendations to the Teachers Committee of the Board which then gives its report to the full Board which elects.

The state salary scale serves as the basis for teachers’ salaries; a small supplementary salary secured from special local tax funds is also provided.

The retirement provision fixes 65 as the maximum age for retirement.

A special study of selected characteristics of the school staff indicates several significant factors which are related to effective schools.

This survey does not attempt to evaluate individual teachers. Such a task is too difficult and uncertain with present instruments of measurement. It is possible, however, to apply certain well-defined teacher characteristics to specific school systems and thereby get a relative measure of the quality of the staff. Many studies have been made of staff factors which are related to the quality of the school. Those made in Pennsylvania and others by the Metropolitan School Study Council have been used extensively in efforts to determine influence of different factors upon the school. One of these studies, made by the Associated Public School Systems, appraises Characteristics of the Teacher in relation to quality of the school system. Instruments of this study have been used in Goldsboro and for comparative purposes in Asheboro, Whiteville, Gastonia, and seven North Carolina counties.

Seven characteristics were selected because they have more relationship to the quality of the school than any others. These characteristics are: (1) Staff maturity which may be indicated by the percentage of staff in the 36-60 age group, the median age of the staff, and the years of teaching experience; (2) the amount and distribution of academic and professional training; (3) “Informed Interest” as measured by ownership and contact with non-professional books and materials; (4) “Professional Interest” as indicated by the purchase of professional books and journals; (5) the travel of teachers; (6) the place of birth and former residence, and (7) the percentage of men in the school faculty.






The tabulation of the results obtained in the study of the Goldsboro staff gives a basis for some commendation and points out some weaknesses in personnel policies that should be overcome. Only tentative conclusions can be drawn, but these may prove to be helpful. It is possible even under present conditions of teacher shortage to take steps which will improve personnel policies and practices which have a bearing upon the quality of the administrative and teaching activities of Goldsboro.

The teachers of Goldsboro are considerably younger than the average in school systems which have been studied by various organizations. Evidence points to the fact that the systems with the higher percentage of teachers between the ages of 36 and 60 have the most adaptable and the most effective programs of education. The North Carolina schools which have been checked appear to have a smaller percentage of teachers in this age group than those studied by the Associated Public School Systems Staff. This group had an average of 60 per cent of the teachers of the elementary school and 53 per cent of those in the high school within the age bracket of 36-60.

In grades 1-8 in Goldsboro, only 37 per cent are in the 36-60 age group. In the three other North Carolina cities studied 53 per cent of the teachers are in this age. At the high school level 48 per cent of the Goldsboro group are 36-60 years old. In the three North Carolina cities 42 per cent of the high school teachers are 36 to 60 years of age.

While age is not the only factor related to effectiveness, it has a high correlation with the quality of performance in schools. Young teachers need a strong program of in-service help to overcome professional immaturity. The high percentage of young teachers in Goldsboro evidently calls for more instructional leadership than is now available.

When the median age of the staff is considered as a measure of maturity, there is additional evidence to show that the Goldsboro teachers are below the most productive age level. The median age for all white teachers in the four North Carolina cities including Goldsboro is approximately 33. In the Negro division the median age is approximately 38. These two facts indicate a definite annual loss of experienced teachers.

Since the amount of professional training is a significant factor in the quality of school performance it should be noted that where the Associated Public School Systems shows 24 per cent in the elementary school staff and 55 per cent in the high school staff with 5 or more years of training, the North Carolina cities show only 14 per cent of the elementary school staff and 30 per cent in the high school staff with that amount of training.

In the matter of variety of training, the teachers in North

Carolina cities rank about average. They seem to have had course work in more than an average number of areas.

With reference to the ownership of non-professional books the North Carolina city teachers have a rank of 40 per cent in comparison with only 22 per cent in the Associated Public School Systems. This fact indicates a very high level of what is called “Informed Interest,” and speaks well for Goldsboro teachers. An additional note should be made here that these books have been purchased by Goldsboro teachers with a considerably lower salary.

In the category of “Professional Interest” as shown by ownership of professional books and subscriptions to professional magazines the North Carolina teachers studied compare favorably with those from other sections. In many cases they outrank the other schools. Chandler and Petty, who have written in the field of Personnel, comment that, “Perhaps more emphasis should be placed upon good literature, both professional and non-professional.”

The travel record of the North Carolina group is about the same as that of those in other cities in the Associated Public School Systems when travel within a 500 mile range is considered. When the distance is increased to 1200 miles and then to foreign travel the difference increases rapidly and is more unfavorable to North Carolina teachers. In fact, Goldsboro, like the entire southeastern area, ranks low in lengthy domestic and foreign travel.

The place of birth of teachers is also an important factor because it tends to indicate the effect of local or regional customs and mores. In the Associated Public School Systems study it was found that 60 to 70 per cent of all teachers were born outside of the district or unit in which they taught. In North Carolina this percentage is much lower, which means that the influence of the local community or section may be more significant in this region. It is even more noticeable in the case of Negro teachers, where there is a tendency to employ even more local teachers. There does not seem to be a great amount of professional inbreeding in either the white or Negro Goldsboro schools.

Beyond these factors there appears to be another which seriously affects the quality of staff personnel. This is the amount of salary paid teachers in comparison with other cities or sections. Various research studies have shown that the amount of salary paid to teachers determines to a large degree the permanence of the faculty and the power of the community to induce outstanding teachers of experience to sign contracts. The range of supplemental salary payments in North Carolina is very wide. Some communities add as much as 25 per cent to the basic State salary,






while others add nothing. At present the Goldsboro supplement is only 5 per cent, which is lower than most of the school systems in which salary supplements are paid. This particular problem needs special attention.

Another factor which significantly affects personnel recruitment, performance and retention is working conditions, which are often referred to as “morale factors.” What appears to be good morale in a school system can sometimes be misleading. If it is merely satisfaction with pleasant living conditions without an attitude of active, creative and productive participation it can be deadening. The best kind of morale is exemplified by staff loyalty, mutual support, and stimulating professional activities and a strong desire for improvement of the total school system. This is often shown through a positive and cooperative staff effort to recruit superior teachers to fill any vacancies which may occur.

A good balance between men and women in a school faculty is desirable. The southern region is often handicapped because of salary limitations in securing enough men. The Goldsboro school system ranks very low in the percentage of men in the school system. It is at the bottom of the list of four cities studied.

Recommendations:

1. It is recommended that the board of education consider a reorganization of the general administrative “set-up” of the school system. Figure 3 shows the organization recommended. It is to be noted that the work of the superintendent of schools will be divided among three people, namely, the superintendent, the business manager, and the director of instruction. The chart points out some of the tasks which should be assigned to the business manager and the director of instruction. Attention is also called to the fact that the survey committee is recommending that a lay advisory council be appointed to serve in an advisory capacity only to the board of education and the superintendent of schools. It is also to be noted that an administrative council should be formed to advise and work with the superintendent of schools in setting up the administrative policies and practices carried out under the direction of the board of education. This advisory administrative council would be made up of the superintendent of schools, who should act as chairman, the business manager, the director of instruction, and representatives from the principals, and the teaching staff. The business manager and director of instruction should be responsible to the superintendent of schools and work cooperatively with the principals.

Figure 3. Recommended Organization Chart






2. The administrative and curricular organization plan should be based on a six grade elementary school, a three grade junior high school, and a three grade senior high school. The pattern for the elementary division may be varied temporarily because of space requirements, but this should in no way affect the curriculum and supervisory phases of the program.

There are several important considerations involved in the decision with respect to the grade organization of a school system. The eight grade elementary school with the four year high school is a plan in effect in much of rural North Carolina (8-4). Some city systems are organized with a 6 grade elementary division; a three year junior high school; and a three year senior high school (6-3-3). In some cases a six year elementary school and a six year secondary program is in effect (6-6). In others a seven year elementary school and a five year secondary program prevails (7-5).

The factors to be considered are the program to be offered by the schools, the growth periods of child development, the accessibility of the units to the children and the optimum use of present buildings. It is in terms of these factors that the following organization pattern is being proposed.

The six grade plan should be put into effect insofar as possible at the time the junior high school is opened. Primary grades should be added to the Williams Street School. The buildings must be improved in terms of the needs of children of this age. This should apply to the entire plant. It is suggested that district lines be set to provide fifth and sixth grade sections at Virginia Street and Walnut Street Schools. It is not possible to make this arrangement at Edgewood until a new school in that section of the city is available.

One new elementary school, grades 1-6, should be planned immediately for a site in the Elm Acres area with a minimum of ten acres. There is a possibility of a need for a site for a future elementary school in the section north of the Edgewood School. This should be investigated.

At the time of the completion of the new senior high school the present Dillard High School plant should be completely remodeled for use as a junior high school.

3. Plans should be developed to provide for a program of continuous and effective interpretation of the schools. A Citizens Committee of thirty to fifty members should be appointed on a staggered term basis to represent all sections and groups in the city.

4. It is proposed that the Board set up a special committee to serve with the superintendent to study and develop plans for an administration building to be made available as early as

possible. Such a unit calls for careful planning in order that there may be adequate space for all present and potential services.

There are several well-planned administration buildings in the cities and counties of the State which should be examined as the committee considers the matter.

The success of an institution is closely related to the spirit of cooperation and constructive planning which is generated by the leadership of the administrative staff. There is evidence to show that good working conditions consisting of well designed and fully equipped space for an administrative organization contribute to efficiency. Better school systems throughout the country have accepted the responsibility for providing suitable office space for the central administrative staff and have found it to be a wise investment of public funds. Another important item to take into consideration is that the service rendered to a city by the school system is much more comprehensive than any one of the various services rendered through city governmental units. A city will develop more pride in a school program when there is tangible recognition of the importance of the task which is being carried on.

At present the space allotted to the city superintendent of schools is entirely inadequate for the purposes of school administration. It should not be located in a school building. Space for conferences with citizens, board meetings and professional activities is not available.






CHAPTER III
FINANCES

The efficiency of a school system is determined to a great extent by the amount of its financial support and by the discrimination with which the money is spent. The qualifications of employees, types of curricula, the size of classes, the materials and equipment available for instructional purposes, the adequacy of the school plant, and all other phases of the school program are affected by the financial support and the efficiency with which funds are expended.

Adequate financial support of a school system depends primarily upon the economic ability of the community and secondarily upon the effort put forth by the citizens of the district. The ability of a community to finance public education is more or less set by factors over which school authorities have little control. The effort, however, depends to a great extent upon the value the citizens of the community place upon public education. The recognition of the importance of education by citizens is largely determined by the educational leadership of the school system.

Ability. The State of North Carolina is one of the few states where public education is financed to a large degree from state sources of revenue. Local money must be provided, however, to supplement current expense and to finance debt service and capital outlay. Although the state has made some grants during the past several years for school plant construction, the regular state program does not provide for financing capital outlay.

The chief source of local support is the ad valorem tax. Therefore, the assessed valuation of taxable property in the county and the district is the basis for raising local money. Table III shows the trends of assessed valuation in Wayne County and the special District of Goldsboro.

During the past 15 years the assessed valuation of Wayne County has increased 246 per cent, while the valuation of Goldsboro Township district has increased only 232 per cent. Although there has been a considerable increase in the assessed valuation during the past 15 years, there are evidences that the assessment for taxation is still low.

The total assessed valuation of property does not tell the whole story about the ability of a school district to finance public education. A better index is the assessed valuation back of each child. Figure 1 shows the assessed valuation back of each child for the past 15 years in the Goldsboro district.

In 1953, the assessed valuation of taxable property in Goldsboro Township Schools per pupil in average daily attendance

TABLE III
ASSESSED VALUATION OF TAXABLE PROPERTY OF WAYNE COUNTY AND GOLDSBORO TOWNSHIP SCHOOL (1941-1955)
YearsTotal Assessed Valuation of Wayne CountyAssessed Valuation of Goldsboro District
194134,607,531.0015,631,891.00
194236,185,506.0017,289,499.00
194338,098,896.0018,061,091.00
194440,835,926.0020,412,459.00
194540,100,681.0019,132,305.00
194640,398,085.0018,636,923.00
194744,459,763.0020,922,634.00
194849,014,588.0024,153,035.00
194952,112,927.0025,593,759.00
195052,524,158.0024,858,604.00
195156,648,295.0027,989,954.00
195277,196,022.0032,993,054.00
195383,212,790.0034,385,998.00
195483,511,057.0035,387,568.00
195585,299,489.00*36,295,365.00*

* This figure may not be accurate because it was obtained before the final assessment was made.

was $6,389. The same year the average for the whole state was $6,523. The assessed valuation of taxable property for all of Wayne County, including Goldsboro, per pupil in average daily attendance was $5,967. The index of economic ability of Wayne County based upon a number of factors such as cash income per family, assessed valuation of motor vehicles, sales and use taxes, incomes to individuals, and value of eleven principal crops is approximately 1.622*. The economic ability of the average county of the state is one (1). Therefore Wayne County has about 1.6 times as much wealth as the average county of North Carolina. Although the assessed valuation of taxable property in the Goldsboro district is a little less than the average of the state, Goldsboro and Wayne County have more than average ability to support public education.

* Mimeographed Bulletin State Board of Education. December 6, 1955.




Figure 4. Assessed Valuation of Property Per Pupil in A.D.A. in Golds-
boro Township Schools (1941-1955).

Effort.

The financial support for public schools in Goldsboro comes from three major sources, the state, the county, and the local district. The state money is a budget appropriation which depends altogether upon the average daily attendance of the school district. The county and local district funds are derived from ad valorem taxes. The tax rates and the assessed value of property determine, to a great extent, the amount of money raised locally. Table IV shows the tax rate for school purposes in Wayne County and services for which it is used.

TABLE IV
TAX RATE PER $100 ASSESSED VALUATION FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES IN WAYNE COUNTY (1945-1955)
YearTotal County Wide Tax Rate For Schools (1)County Current Expense (2)Wide Tax Rate Debt Service (3)For Capital Outlay (4)
1945-46.35.10.17.08
1947-48.56.12.35.09
1949-50.54.16.26.12
1951-52.635.19.08.365
1953-54.355.198.124.033
1955-56.561.226.105.23

Goldsboro Township schools receive their pro-rated share of the current expense money. The county is responsible for school plants, therefore, the money raised for debt service is used by the county for payment of bonded indebtedness for the whole county, which includes Goldsboro. The funds raised from the tax rate for capital outlay is apportioned to the two administrative units based upon needs. In a study of seven counties made by Willard Swiers in 1955, it was found that the average tax rate was 62 cents. Only one year since 1945 has Wayne County levied this large a tax rate.

In addition to the current expense money raised by the county, the Goldsboro Township district may raise funds for the support of the public schools. Table V gives the city tax rate, the tax rate authorized by the citizens of the Special Chartered school district and the amount levied for school purposes.

TABLE V
THE TAX RATES FOR THE GOLDSBORO TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS FOR THE YEARS 1954-1955
YearsTotal City Tax Rate Not for SchoolsTax Rate Authorized For Schools In TownshipTax Rate Levied For Schools In TownshipPer Cent School Rate Is of City Rate
1945-46$1.30.15.1511.5
1947-481.45.15.1510.34
1949-501.45.15.1510.34
1951-521.45.35.3020.7
1953-541.40.35.2316.4
1955-561.40.35.2115.






It is to be noted that the tax rate voted and levied up to 1950 was 15 cents on the 100 dollars. In 1951-52, the rate levied was 30 cents. Since that time the amount levied has been reduced. A study of the tax rate in 10 other cities in Eastern North Carolina was made. Table VI gives the rates in the ten cities in comparison with Goldsboro.

TABLE VI
TAX RATES LEVIED IN CENTS OF ELEVEN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Average
New Bern.09
Elizabeth City.10
Washington.20
Clinton.20
Wilson.20
Fayetteville.21
Goldsboro21
Tarboro.25
Greenville.25
Rocky Mount.30
Roanoke Rapids.50
5101520253035404550

In the eleven cities the range in the taxes levied is from a low of nine cents to a high of 50 cents, which is the constitutional limitation. The average rate levied for the eleven cities is approximately 23 cents. Six of the eleven cities levy the maximum rate which has been authorized by the voters of the districts. The rate authorized by the citizens of Goldsboro is 35 cents. The amount levied, however, is only 21 cents.

It has been pointed out that the assessed valuation of taxable property per pupil in average daily attendance in Goldsboro is less than the average of the state. The index of ability of Goldsboro to finance public education is over one and one-half times the average of the state. The effort put forth is less than the average of the city schools in the eastern part of the state and the tax rate levied is only 60 per cent of the amount authorized by the citizens of the community.

Cost of Education. Another means of looking at the effort being made by a community for the support of education is the annual cost per pupil in average daily attendance. An analysis

of the costs over a period of years will point out whether or not the costs are increasing or decreasing.

Table VII gives the cost per pupil in average daily attendance for the Goldsboro schools for the years 1951-1955 inclusive.

TABLE VII
COST PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE STATE AND LOCAL MONEY (1951-1955 INCLUSIVE)
YearsCurrent Expense Cost Per ADATotal Cost Per ADA
1951-52$139.$155.
1952-53143.181.
1953-54153.160.
1954-55154.160.

The cost presented in Table VII includes both State and local money. It is to be noted that the cost for current expense has increased $15., or about 11 per cent, during the past four years. Total costs, which include current expense plus debt service and capital outlay, have increased only $5., or 3.2 per cent. If the purchasing power of the school dollar is considered Goldsboro citizens are not spending as much on their schools today as they were a few years ago.

A truer picture of what the citizens of Goldsboro are spending on each pupil in average daily attendance may be seen by finding the cost based upon the local contribution. Table VIII gives this information.

TABLE VIII
COST PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE FOR CURRENT EXPENSE FROM LOCAL FUNDS
YearsTotal Current Expense From Local FundsA.D.A.Cost Per A.D.A.
1951-52$140,8244,818$29.23
1952-53152,6085,03033.99
1953-54166,9215,34831.21
1954-55190,4545,68933.48
1955-56198,3946,03132.89






Although the amount of money spent in 1954-55 was about $50,000 more than in 1951-52, the increased number of pupils during this same time was such that the cost was only $4.25 more. In other words the increased appropriations are about ample to keep a static school program. If the school program is to be changed to meet the changing times, the citizens of Goldsboro will have to provide more money to meet the increased costs.

Budgeting School Funds. The desirability of sound budgetary procedure for the control of public school money has long been recognized. School expenditures can be more effectively made when the available funds are apportioned to the various items necessary for efficient management of the school systems. Serious effort should be made to restrict expenditures to the amount set forth in the adopted budget. If the budget is to be a means to an end, the educational program as well as the financing and spending plan must become a part of the budget. The educational program is not something to be developed in one day; it is the result of long-time planning by the administrative officers, classroom teachers, and citizens of the community. The educational plan of the school system certainly has financial implications. Adequate tax levies cannot be set, nor appropriations made unless they are based upon educational programs.

Each school and each department within a school should receive its just share of all money. Allotments of funds to schools or departments should be made after a thorough analysis of the educational program and the cost for executing such a program. Accurate estimates of costs must be made. Allotments of funds should not be made on a “lump sum” method.

A matter of no small importance is the proper percentage of the budget to be allocated to the several functional divisions. The ratio of each functional division of the budget to the total current expense should be within certain limits. Table IX gives the amount of money and percentage appropriated to each main division of the budget and also the average percentages generally allocated to these divisions.

Although the approximate percentages given below would not be ideal for all schools, they constitute, however, an index by which a school system may evaluate its budget. Attention is called to the fact that a very small percentage of current expense goes for general control and operation of the plant. More money spent on plant operation may reduce the need for maintenance.

The cost per pupil in average daily attendance per each character classification of the budget is presented in Table X.

As pointed out previously, a small percentage of money is spent on several different divisions of the budget. It may be seen that the instructional service is receiving the greater amount of

TABLE IX
AMOUNT AND PERCENTAGE FOR EDUCATIONAL ITEM FOR CURRENT EXPENSES FOR 1955-56
Functional ItemAmount AppropriatedPer CentApproximate Per Cent Found In Well Proportioned Budgets
StateLocalTotal
General Control$ 11,479$ 5,570$ 17,0491.84.
Instruction674,806119,700794,50685.276.7
Operation of Plant42,22014,40056,6206.19.8
Maintenance of Plant48,82448,8245.24.5
Fixed Charges8,3008,300.92.
Auxiliary Agencies5,4461,6007,046.83.
TOTAL$733,951$198,394$932,345100.0100.0

TABLE X
COST PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE ACCORDING TO CHARACTER CLASSIFICATION OF 1954-55 BUDGET
A.D.A. = 5689 Pupils
Character of BudgetTotal Amount SpentCost Per A.D.A.
StateLocalStateLocal
General Control$ 11,151$ 5,370$ 1.96$ .92
Instruction632,211106,884111.1318.78
Operation of Plant39,16514,3006.992.51
Maintenance of Plant54,8009.64
Auxiliary Services5,9341,1001.04.19
Fixed Charges888,000.0151.41
Total Current Expense$688,549$190,454$121.10$ 33.48
Debt Service19,3753.41
Capital Outlay11,6502.05
Total Cost$688,549$221,479$121.10$160.00

the money per child in average daily attendance. No doubt this amount is not too large, but parts of the school should be strengthened. The general control function of a school system cannot be adequately carried out if less than $6.00 per pupil is






spent for this function in a city the size of Goldsboro. Other items of the budget should receive greater appropriations if the total school program is to be “well-rounded.”

The desired educational program cannot be achieved by merely making a good budget. The budget must be administered. The administration of an adopted budget is the responsibility of the superintendent. Some one person with authority must have power to control expenditures in the light of the budget allotments. Not only is it necessary to have some one person to administer the budget, but it is also necessary to have a well-organized plan or system to control all allotment accounts. A study of the auditor's report, June 30, 1955, pages 9 through 14, would indicate that more attention should be given to the control of budget accounts. Although the total current expense budget was overspent by only about $3,500, there were 28 budget allotments with a deficit and 23 with a surplus. It is fully realized that some transfer of funds from one budget item to another is often necessary; however, sound budgetary procedures will reduce such transfers to a minimum.

A monthly statement of expenditures, budgetary appropriations and the unexpended balances, under the several subdivisions of accounts should be made to the board of trustees. This will serve as a control of expenditures and reveal the extent to which funds are administered in accordance with budget allowances. Financial information may constitute a part of the interpretative material that flows regularly from the school to the citizens. Parents and taxpayers should be shown what activities and educational projects are carried on, what each costs, how the school dollar is raised and expended, and what results are achieved through the expenditures. Financial reporting to the board of trustees and to the citizens of the community is the responsibility of the administration.

Financial Accounting. The regular accounting forms approved by the state are being used. The Board of Education gives the Superintendent of Schools authority to pay all bills when due. The bills are paid before the 10th of each month. A listing of bills paid or to be paid is not made and presented to the board of education, neither are they recorded in the minutes of the board. The minute book is the official record of the board and probably should contain the official actions taken by the board of trustees, including the payment of bills.

Safeguarding School Funds. All money of the school district is deposited in the banks of Goldsboro. The banks furnish collateral for deposits which exceed the $10,000 guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Superintendent and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees sign all checks. All persons

who have the responsibility of handling money are bonded under the blanket bond furnished by the state.

The Board of Trustees has an annual financial audit made by a certified public accountant. The accountant is selected by the trustees on a bid basis. The accountant not only audits the funds of the school district, but he also audits the cafeteria and activity funds of each school.

Accounting of Each School's Activity Fund. The principal of each school appoints a central treasurer to handle all activity funds for his school. The treasurers are bonded by a local bonding firm for an amount equal to the greatest amount of money on hand at any one time. The treasurer and principal sign all checks. Reports are made frequently to the Superintendent by the several treasurers. There were no indications that several different activities operate on a budget plan for financing the activities. The finances of the cafeterias are handled by the cafeteria manager and principal of each school. Separate accounts are kept for each school cafeteria. Reports on the finances of the cafeterias are made to the superintendent by the several managers.

Supply Management. The purchase and management of supplies in the Goldsboro district is under the direction of the superintendent of schools. The selection of supplies for instructional purposes is made by the classroom teachers and principal. Those who use non-instructional supplies have a voice in the selection. Supplies are purchased in quantity through the State Division of Purchase and Contract. There is no uniform method of executing the purchases. Sometimes the principal, and at other times the superintendent makes the purchases. The purchases are usually made by the use of a purchase order. Requisitions as such are not used in the school system. When a principal desires the superintendent to purchase an item, he will call by telephone or send a note to the central office.

All purchases of instruction material made for the schools are delivered directly to the schools. There is no central warehouse. Each principal is responsible for the care of the instructional supplies. There are some non-instructional supplies stored in the basement of one of the buildings. This store room is very inadequate and creates a serious fire hazard.

Insurance. The insurance program on the Goldsboro school buildings seems to be adequate and well planned. The insurance is carried with the North Carolina State Board of Education, Division of Insurance. The method of obtaining insurable value of the school plant is sound. The buildings were first appraised by the Division of Insurance of the State Board of Education. Three years ago a committee made of contractors, engineers, and






architects, appointed by the Board of Education, reappraised the buildings and equipment. The superintendent has made the necessary adjustments since that time.

The record of the insurance coverage on each building in the system is in the office of the Superintendent. The total amount in force is buildings $2,393,000.00, contents $302,000.00, total $2,695,000.00.

In addition to the extended coverage on buildings and equipment, the board also carries boiler insurance at a cost of $300 per year, and liability insurance on athletic participants and persons who are spectators at athletic events. The board of education does not carry any burglary insurance. The superintendent thinks there is not a need for such insurance since no money is kept in the buildings overnight.

Recommendations. In light of the facts presented in this survey, the following recommendations are made relative to the financing of public education in the Goldsboro Township Schools.

1. Consideration should be given to a further re-valuation of property for tax purposes.

2. The tax rate levied for school purposes should be increased.

3. Sound budgetary procedure should be followed. This involves not only wider participation of professional and lay people in formulating the budget, but also more adequate control of the administration of the budget. Consideration should be given to working out a better proportioned budget.

4. A more adequate plan for the purchase, storage, and distribution of supplies, instructional materials and equipment should be developed.

CHAPTER IV
PHYSICAL PLANTS

A democratic society, such as is found in America today, demands a broad, liberal education for all youth. Children vary greatly in background, experience, and intelligence, and need a wide variety of activities. Broadening the curriculum to meet today's needs of youth is difficult, if not impossible, without adequate physical facilities. New activities and procedures now essential in a modern school program require special types of rooms and equipment.

The dependence upon textbooks alone is no longer considered satisfactory in either an elementary or secondary school. Many books and other source materials are important tools for the present day school. The school library and storage space for materials are essential facilities in a modern program of education.

Health and physical education have become a necessary part of the total educational program for all youth. To carry out such a program it is essential to have adequate playgrounds and building facilities to include a gymnasium or playroom, restrooms for sick or injured, and a lunchroom. Adequate toilet and lavatory facilities are necessary for teaching correct health habits. Increased emphasis on health education also makes it necessary to consider drinking fountains, heating and ventilating system, and natural and artificial lighting of school plants.

An adequate auditorium with stage and dressing rooms is considered not only an essential in an educational program, but also in the life of the total community.

Other features of a modern educational program requiring special provisions in a school plant are visual education, art, music, crafts, industrial arts, and all types of vocational training programs.

Importance of Careful Planning

The construction of a new school building is one of the most important, far-reaching activities that a community can undertake. A building which will last for many years will have a tremendous influence on the lives of the boys and girls who pass through it because it will limit and even control the kind of educational program to be offered. It will serve to implement and perhaps to stimulate a finer and broader program of education and community life, depending upon the thoroughness and vision of the original planning activities. Many school buildings continue in use in Goldsboro which were erected long before the facilities demanded by a modern program in education were known. A community should make a long time plan of the school






needs and revise the plans from year to year to meet the needs of a modern program of education. School plant planning is one of the most important functions of the board of education and the administration.

Selection of Architect

School design and construction constitute a highly specialized service. To give positive assurance of success, the school architect must be thoroughly conversant with trends and recent developments in the philosophy and practice of education; he must realize fully the demands and significance of each school activity, individually and in relation to the whole; he must possess the vision to interpret the aims of the educator; and the ability and imagination to coordinate his architectural knowledge with educational functions. Beyond this, the school designer must have the other qualifications of any good architect—artistry, technical knowledge and skill, tact, integrity, and business ability.

Selection and Development of Site

The site or school ground should be located where the most children have the least distance to travel. It should be reached easily by modern transportation. The site should be free from undue noise, disagreeable odors, traffic hazards, and unsightly surroundings. There should be at least ten acres for each elementary school and at least twenty acres for each junior and senior high school. The grounds should be made attractive, with shrubs and flowers, conveniently served by walks, driveways, bus-loading places, parking areas, and fully developed for suitable play.

The Building

The school building of today should be inviting and intimate in spirit, as homelike and attractive as possible, opposed to the severe formality and the institutional or factory-like appearance of so many school structures still in use today. The building should, moreover, exemplify through its design those techniques of beauty and good taste that are properly a part of the activities within. Expenditures for non-essential ornamentation, interior or exterior, at the expense of educational facilities, cannot be justified in public school buildings.

There are many facilities that must be considered in constructing a building if an effective educational program is carried out. In general the one-story building is preferred. A common mistake in the design of many school buildings has been a provision of a large basement area. Such areas are undesirable for recreation purposes and are totally unsuited to instructional uses. There is nothing in the practice of using basement areas to

commend it. The rooms which are subject to concentrated occupancy—such as assembly rooms, gymnasium, and cafeterias should be kept as near ground level as possible for safety.

The useful life of a well-planned and soundly-built school may reach fifty years or more. During that time, needs in space and educational facilities will change greatly. Seldom is it possible or in any way advisable to provide immediately for probable ultimate demands. The alternative is to plan the building and so to place it on the site that it can be enlarged to meet changing conditions. There is no way to foretell with any assurance of accuracy the exact nature of future needs. Therefore, not only should the initial plan anticipate additions, but it should permit as much latitude as possible in the nature of these additions. A few general rules that should be observed in allowing for future expansion are:

1. Carry corridors through to outside walls wherever an addition might be desirable. Do not cut them off with rooms that cannot readily become corridor extensions.

2. In multi-story buildings avoid placing stairs in corridor ends. Place them at right angles to corridors.

3. Do not place indispensable windows in walls against which a future addition might be built.

4. Plan boiler rooms of sufficient size to accommodate an additional or larger boiler.

5. Locate points of outside access where they will not be eliminated by additions.

6. Provide oversize water supply and sewage disposal systems and keep them far away from any possible areas for additions.

7. Lay out plumbing and heating lines, electrical systems, and so on with a view to eventual expansion.

Interior flexiblity, like expansibility, is a quality necessary in far-sighted planning. The need for internal readjustments is a natural consequence of the development of educational programs over a period of years. Often it is necessary to change the use to which a room is put, adapting it to specialized activities for which it was not originally designed. It may be necessary to create a large room by removing the partitions between two smaller rooms, to sub-divide a room with additional partitions, or to install new service connections. A few general rules which should be observed in allowing for flexibility are:

1. Partitions should be non-bearing so that they may be readily removed.

2. Ducts, water lines, conduits, and so on, should be run in outside and corridor walls rather than in partitions between rooms.

3. Fenestration should be designed to allow a relocation of interior partitions.

4. Inflexible elements, such as toilet rooms and stairways should be grouped and located so as to permit alterations and be of maximum use.

Pupil Movement

Thoughtful planning can do much toward preventing congestion






and confusion. Sufficient corridor width is, of course, a fundamental necessity. Under no circumstances does good school design permit botttlenecks in student passages. Even in the small schools it is essential that pupils, singly or in groups, may at all times pass freely from any point in the building to another point without distraction to other activities that may be going on.

Planning for Community Use

Since the building of a school is essentially a community enterprise and since it represents a heavy investment on the part of the community, it is but sound business to shape that investment so that it may realize the fullest possible returns in terms of service to the community. Of necessity, the school building contains many facilities that may be employed for other than strictly school purposes. It only remains to make those facilities available for more extensive use so that the school may function as the civic, social, and recreational, as well as the educational center.

Among the units of the school which are more adaptable to community use are the

AuditoriumLibrary unit
Gymnasium unitHealth service unit
Cafeteria unitLocker rooms
PlaygroundsShops and vocational units

Classrooms

Classrooms should be planned to allow 25 to 30 square feet per pupil plus other space required in school activities. Each classroom, especially in the elementary school, should afford ventilated space for storing children's garments. All classrooms should be equipped with chalkboards, ample bulletin boards, cabinet or locker for teachers’ equipment and supplies, and bookshelves.

Lighting

The aim of school lighting is to produce the conditions under which the visual tasks of the school day can be done efficiently, by providing a sufficient amount of light for easy seeing and to control the distribution of brightness to assure visual comfort. Good lighting involves the quality as well as the quantity of illumination.

Comfort and efficiency in seeing are increased by having a balanced brightness through low surface brightness, high reflection factors, and non-glass surfaces. The quantity and distribution of natural light in a room can be increased by the use of bilateral and clerestory light, overhead skylights or plastic domes, and the control of glare and heat from light source.

Although the full use of daylight has been made available for the classrooms there still remains the need for good supplementary

artificial lighting for dark days and night use. The artificial light can be either incandescent or fluorescent lamps. No one fixture is the solution to every lighting problem. In new construction consideration must be given not only to the original installation costs but also to the maintenance costs.

Colors play an important part in school room lighting. Colors have a psychological effect upon pupils and teachers, as well as upon quality and quantity of light. In general the ceilings should be almost white, walls pastel, and floors, woodwork and furniture should be near the natural wood colors.

The glass area should be at least one-fifth of the floor area. Direct sunlight and glare should be avoided by using shades or blinds. Cloth blinds should be translucent and mounted on double rollers so that either window sash can be shaded independently of the other. Some classrooms should be equipped with the opaque, darkened shades to facilitate the use of visual education. The interior finish should be non-glaring with the walls reflecting thirty to fifty per cent of the light and the ceiling reflecting less than seventy-five per cent. Provision should be made for ample artificial light. Improved lighting does not consist merely in stepping up the intensity of the light. Merely to add more footcandles without taking other steps may actually bring more discomfort rather than greater comfort.

In many places elementary education has expanded downward to include the five-year olds. The kindergarten room should be made attractive and located so it will get ample sunshine. It should be on the first floor and have at least 1000 square feet of floor space. It should have a private toilet. There should be an outside exit leading from the classroom to its separate play area.

Ventilation and Heating

Adequate means should be provided for positive ventilation of all rooms used by teachers or pupils and for all corridors. Toilet rooms should be provided with an exhaust system which is entirely independent of the ventilation system or systems serving the rest of the building. Special means of positive ventilation should be provided in laboratories, domestic science rooms, shops, cafeterias, and lockers. A simple type of ventilation with window air intakes and gravity exhaust ducts has grown in favor.

Simple heating systems should be installed in all plants when it is unlikely that skilled operational and maintenance men will be available. Probably steam or hot water systems are most practical. Radiant panel heating seems to be gaining in favor in some schools. This type of heating is designed to produce a feeling of comfort by surrounding the room occupants with surfaces heated to a temperature that will permit a normal but prevent






an excessive heat loss from the body. This system of heating is very good for kindergarten and primary rooms. Heating controls are essential in fuel economy, temperature control, and smooth operation of the heating plant.

Service System

Every school building should have sanitary drinking water, sanitary toilet facilities, and adequate hand washing facilities. Drinking fountains and hand washing facilities in the classrooms are highly desirable. All classrooms should be equipped with a sink. Fountains located in the corridors should be recessed. Drinking fountains should never be located in toilet rooms.

Toilet rooms for each sex should be located on each floor. In multi-story buildings the greatest number of toilets are needed on the first floor. Toilet facilities should be provided in the rooms for children of the first three grades. Toilet rooms should receive ample ventilation. (Urinals of floor type should be provided in the ratio of 1 to each 30 boys using the boys’ toilet room.) Floors and walls of all toilet rooms should be non-porous and equipped with floor drains so that they may be scrubbed easily. Showers should be constructed in connection with physical education facilities.

Maintenance and Housekeeping

Maintenance refers to keeping the school site, the building, and the equipment in as near their original state of repair as possible. All parts of the school plant are continually depreciating. Although depreciation cannot be eliminated, much can be done to retard it. Repairs should be made to all property as soon as the need for them is discovered. Negligence in making repairs is not only costly, but it also is a standing invitation to vandalism.

One of the essentials of the building is that it shall be a safeguard to the health and safety of all the pupils who are housed in it throughout the day. Pupils learn more readily when in a happy mood. A happy mood is associated with comfort and cheerful surroundings. Many school buildings which are otherwise pleasing in appearance are often unattractive in and around the toilet rooms. Obnoxious odors, marked and soiled walls, dripping of dirty water and soap in the lavatories, and dirty floors, indicate a state of general neglect in many of the toilet rooms. No school system can keep its buildings and grounds clean and in a good state of repair unless there is a good janitorial force as well as a good maintenance crew.

These general principles have been stated to serve as a basis for an understanding of the evaluations which have been made and to indicate the basis for the construction of any new plants.

A study of the building needs was made in May, 1955. The following chart indicates the classroom requirements for the 1956-57 session.

Figure 5. Number of Classrooms Needed by Races, 1955 and 1956

Appraisal of Present Plants

Although no completely objective yardstick or standard can be applied to a particular building to say whether it ought to be remodeled, abandoned for school purposes, or continued as it is, there are certain criteria such as age, size of site, safety service systems (heat, light, etc.), classrooms, and special rooms, which aid in determining the worth of any particular school plant. For judging the worth of the school plants in Goldsboro the Citizens Workbook for Evaluating School Buildings1 was used. Each plant was evaluated by one or two professional school men with the assistance of from six to twelve citizens. The functional characteristics by which the plants were scored or evaluated are listed as follows:

1. Adequacy. This term refers to the relationship between the size of the site and the over-all housing space and the number of students being served or the number to be served. The internal features of the plant are also considered.

1. Jack L. Landes and Merle R. Sumption, Citizens Workbook for Evaluating School Buildings, (Dubuque: Iowa, William C. Brown Company, 1951).




2. Suitability. This characteristic includes those features, type of building and facilities available, which enable the school to satisfactorily house the particular educational program.

3. Safety. This characteristic refers to those features of the building which makes it structurally sound and protects the students from hazards of traffic, fire, and accidents.

4. Healthfulness. This term refers to the degree to which pupils are insured freedom from dirt and excessive noise and other disturbance and provided with satisfactory facilities for lighting, heating, ventilation, and sanitation. Facilities to take care of pupils who may become ill at school are also considered. In general, all features of a school plant designed to protect and promote the good health of the pupils are considered.

5. Accessibility. This term refers to the proximity of the school to the pupil population center of the area served. The general character of the approaching streets and walks, as well as the site features affecting the ease of of access to the building, are considered.

6. Flexibility. This term refers to the possibility of change, as incorporated in the construction of the building and the development of the site, to meet the new demands of the educational program of the school. Through necessity school programs must change to meet the needs of a changing society.

7. Efficiency. Efficiency means the securing of maximum effect with a minimum effort. An efficient building makes possible the reduction of pupil and faculty travel to a minimum, convenient custodial facilities, minimum noise, and room areas located for maximum utilization.

8. Economy. Economy means the achievement of proper plant operation at a minimum cost.

9. Expansibility. This term refers to the possibility for enlargement of the site and building to meet the educational needs at a minimum cost.

10. Appearance. This term refers to how the school plant looks and whether it is pleasing to the eye. Attention is given to such as landscaping of site, surroundings, color harmony, appropriateness of furnishings, and the use of decorations.

In light of the characteristics mentioned, a chart showing the rating and some general remarks pertaining to each building are presented.

The score card for each building may be read in the following way: The ten characteristics are listed at the left of the card.

The score from 0- to a perfect rating of 100 is at the top of the card. The line opposite each characteristic is the composite rating given that item by the evaluating committee.

Edgewood Elementary School

The Edgewood Primary School is used for children, grades one through four, located in the eastern section of the city. The school has a total enrollment of 570 pupils, and has seventeen classroom teachers, plus a special education teacher and a music teacher.

The initial building, of brick and cinder block construction, built in 1949, consisted of ten classrooms, a library, auditorium, and cafeteria, and was planned for a total enrollment of 300 pupils. As enrollment increased, the library was divided into two classrooms, and the back of the stage was used as the library. The auditorium is used for special classes most of the day. In 1953 an additional five classrooms and a library, also of brick and cinder block, were constructed, making a total of sixteen classrooms and a library. Because of enrollment the new library is now used as a classroom, making a total of seventeen classrooms to accommodate 570 students, or an average of 33.5 pupils per room. The site, auditorium, play space, and cafeteria were not adequate for 300 pupils, much less the number now using

Figure 6. Score of the Edgewood School






these facilities. These facilities cannot be expanded economically. The school site occupies one city block of 4.2 acres, and is surrounded by a residential section. Since there is no parking lot, teachers and visitors must park along the streets adjacent to the school.

Virginia Street School

The original Virginia Street School was built in 1920. Six years later, 1926, a classroom addition was added. The cafeteria was added in 1952 at a total cost of $31,000. The school, located on a site of 1.2 acres, has an enrollment of 390 pupils in grades 1-4 and a faculty of twelve teachers.

The basement which includes the furnace room, the coal storage area, and the janitor's work room had two inches of water covering the floor on the day of the visit.

The work space for the janitor in the basement is totally inadequate because it is only about five feet in height with no room for tools or supplies.

The classrooms are on the first and second floors of the building. They have just recently been painted a suitable shade of light green. All the rooms are too small for the number of children enrolled. In view of the limited amount of artificial light, the high ceilings, and the high window sills, the lighting does not seem to be adequate. In two of the classrooms pupils must hang their coats on open racks in the corridor. Storage space for supplies and pupil equipment seems to be insufficient.

The corridors are double loaded and do not meet the minimum requirements. The two drinking fountains which are located in the south wing corridors on each floor project into the narrow corridors.

The only two toilets in the building are located on the first floor—one for each sex. The number of water closets in the toilets were sufficient to meet only minimum needs. The boys’ toilet has no facilities whatsoever for heating and opens into an outside entrance area which is also unheated.

There are two stairwells. In each case the steps are made of wood and are of a minimum width. One main door leading outside from the center stairs would not open. Several of the nonacoustical composition blocks used in the ceiling of one stairwell are loose and at least one extends downward as much as two inches.

As a result of the increased enrollment the school library has been relocated in one end of the auditorium. Because of the high ceiling, poor light fixtures, and frosted windows illumination is totally inadequate for the library use.

The cafeteria has a capacity for serving 120 pupils at one

time. Food storage space in the kitchen is at a minimum and no provision has been made for the storage of cleaning materials and equipment. Otherwise, the cafeteria is well constructed and well furnished.

No space is available for a health room. All minor injuries are treated in the principal's office but more serious cases are sent home immediately.

It should be understood that in spite of very unfavorable physical conditions the staff is making good use of the building.

The principal's office which is very small and inadequate is located on the second floor. There is no space for a health room. The school does not have an electric bell system for schedule changes or fire signals. The small bookroom is also on the second floor and is totally inadequate for supplies and books. Audio-Visual materials must be kept in the teachers’ lounge.

The school site which is enclosed, is too limited to provide outside space for the children who are enrolled in the school.

Figure 7. Score of Virginia Street School

Walnut Street School

The Walnut Street School which is located on a two and one-half acre site has 14 classrooms, a cafeteria, auditorium, and a library. This two story building houses approximately 500 pupils in grades one through four. The original building was constructed in the 1920's to which a new wing was added in 1952.






Although the site is entirely too small and not well drained, the play area is well arranged. The play equipment is grouped in one area leaving the remainder for free play. The service drive is located in such a way that vehicles must turn around on the play area. There is no parking area except the streets.

The classrooms are rather small. The average size is about 600 to 700 square feet. For the number of pupils assigned to each room the size should be 1100 to 1200 square feet per room. The natural and artificial lighting in the classrooms is inadequate. The floors are in poor condition.

Under the wooden stairways there are storage closets which are fire hazards. The auditorium is inadequate with a small stage which can be reached only by a vertical ladder. Toilet facilities are very poor.

This building cannot be expanded to care for additional enrollment.

Figure 8. Score of Walnut Street School

Williams Street School

The history of this school dates back to 1857 when the Williams Street School was built as the town high school. In 1904 two additional buildings were constructed on the high school grounds, each consisting of 8 classrooms. In 1924 two wings were added to the original building. In 1927 a new high school was built on a new site and the Williams Street school was converted

into a junior high school and elementary school. In 1934 a gymnasium was built by the W.P.A., and in 1955 a cafeteria was constructed. Today this school accommodates grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. The school is located on a site of 7.0 acres, only three blocks from the main business district on a main thoroughfare. The enrollment is approximately 1175 pupils. There are 32 teachers, a principal, and three custodians.

The three classroom buildings were considered as separate buildings. Building A—the first building constructed, Building B, and Building C—as the two buildings constructed in 1904. The gymnasium was rated as a part of the site of all three classroom buildings.

Building A—This is a two story plant with a basement. There are several classrooms, a general storeroom for the school system, toilet rooms and the furnace room in the basement. On the first floor there are five classrooms, the superintendent's office, and the auditorium. There are eight classrooms on the second floor. These eight classrooms are served by one stairway in the middle of the building. The building is not fireproof. The general storeroom in the basement makes a serious fire hazard and there is very inadequate equipment for fire fighting in the building. The small auditorium will seat only approximately 300 pupils. The boys and girls on the first and second floors must go to the basement for toilet facilities. This building is not suitable by any standard of measurement for school purposes. It is very questionable whether it could be remodeled at a reasonable cost to make it a suitable school plant.

Building B—This is a two story building with four classrooms on each floor. The principal's office is in this building. This building is over 50 years old. The classrooms are small, poorly lighted, and are not adequate for elementary clasrooms. The stairs are of wooden construction.

Building C—This is also a two story building with four classrooms on each floor. This building is also over 50 years old. The classrooms and stairs are similar to those found in Building B.

In general it may be said that these three buildings are not adequate for elementary classrooms. They have certain fire hazards and are very much out of date for a modern school system. Goldsboro has received more than value invested in these three buildings.

The gymnasium, which was constructed in 1934, is adequate. When the committee visited the school it needed a thorough cleaning. The new cafeteria is an asset.

The school site is entirely too small for the number of students. The play area does not drain and is not suitable for play purposes of upper grade children.






The following chart shows the rating of this school plant. All buildings were considered as a single plant.

Figure 9. Score of the Williams Street School

Goldsboro Senior High School

The plant consists of the main classroom building and a small brick structure constructed in 1927. A gymnasium was erected in 1953. The school site consists of 14.0 acres. A lighted athletic field, with movable bleachers, occupies about one-fourth of the site. A high cyclone fence completely surrounds the playing area. Students have access to a city owned park and playground which is located across the street from the school. A network of paved streets completely surrounds the school site. A parking lot, adequate for approximately 50 parked automobiles, is located in one corner of the school yard.

Main Classroom Building

The main classroom building is a two story plant without a basement and houses the following facilities: principal's office, library, cafeteria, shops, classrooms, auditorium with balcony, laboratories, broadcasting studios, toilets, music and art studios, and photographic darkrooms. Metal lockers for students are located in the corridors on each floor and in nearby alcoves in each wing of the building. Lockers are adequate in number;

however, they are not ventilated. The library is inadequate in size and unattractive in appearance. Additional space is needed for conference rooms, stacks, and reading rooms. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 1,250. Although used extensively and over a long number of years, it is the most attractive and best preserved unit of the building. The cafeteria has a seating capacity of approximately 120 and seems to be adequate. The electric service system in this building needs attention. There were several open and exposed electrical outlets which present a constant pupil hazard. The number of incandescent fixtures in each classroom is too few to provide an adequate amount of light. There is a need for immediate major repairs to walls and woodwork as well as a complete paint job for the interior and exterior of the building. Classrooms generally are below standard in size and are, for the most part, equipped with dark colored tables and chairs. New light colored furniture would add to the appearance.

Gymnasium

The gymnasium, erected in 1953, is a modern fire-proof structure which is adequate in size for the needs of the school. Due to the lack of forced ventilation in the shower and dressing rooms, the plastered walls are in poor condition and the metal work, in two short years, has become corroded with rust. All outside doors are equipped with panic bolts, but were securely fastened and padlocked during the day of the evaluation.

Figure 10. Score of Goldsboro High School Plant






The playing floor is in excellent condition. Concrete bleachertype seats provide seating capacity for about 1,000 individuals. Toilet facilities appear to be adequate in number and are in very good condition.

Heating Plant

The heating plant is housed in a small, badly deteriorated brick structure located near the main classroom building. The two low pressure steam furnaces, the main control room, and the coal storage bin are located below ground level in the building. Everything about the component parts of the building suggest the lack of day to day maintenance and general care. A band and orchestra room is also located in one end of this building. The room has been acoustically treated and is adequate in size. Storage cabinets for uniforms and instruments line the entire back wall of the room.

East End Elementary School

The East End Elementary School for Negroes, including grades one through six, is located in the eastern end of Goldsboro. There are 20 teachers with an enrollment of 757 pupils. A federal Negro housing project with 250 units is located directly across the street from the primary building.

The initial building, constructed in 1922, consists of six classrooms and an auditorium. In 1935 four additional classrooms were built. Four more classrooms, a gymtorium, and a cafeteria were added in 1949. The most recent and most modern of the entire facilities are four primary classrooms which were constructed in 1953. The exterior of the entire plant is of brick construction.

All buildings comprising the physical plant, with the exception of the recently constructed primary building, are joined together as one unit. The primary building, however, is joined to the main building by a short covered walkway. The buildings are constructed somewhat in the shape of an “L” and are placed approximately 75 feet from the paved streets which run in front of and down the right side of the school site. The entire school site covers an area of only 3.5 acres. A heavy cyclone fence extends across the front and right side of the school site.

The ground in front of the school has been planted with grass and shrubbery, but the area to the rear of the buildings, comprising the rest of the site, has no grass, and there are several deep holes around the playground apparatus which detract from the safety and appearance of the site. An open ditch, varying in depth from two to four feet, forms the rear boundary of the school site.

A steam heating system is operated by two hand-stoked coal furnaces. Both fluorescent fixtures and incandescent lamps with

large frosted globes are about equally used in lighting the classrooms.

The main building, though structurally sound, needs new floors, repainting, and replastering in many places. The new primary building, a single story four-room structure, is modern and up-to-date, and contains many features of good school design and construction.

The lunchroom is one of the most impressive of the school facilities. It is light, airy, attractive, and clean. The most recent sanitary rating showed a grade of 94. The cafeteria seats 125 persons, which appears adequate for the number of pupils who regularly use it.

The gymtorium, adjacent to the lunchroom, is located at one end of the main building. It is of brick and cinderblock construction, and has an excellent floor of top-quality maple. A stage is located at the rear of the structure, with toilet and shower facilities opening off from each side of the stage. The building provides a large basketball court, with adequate space for sets of four-tiered bleachers seating about 1200 persons. The room is heated with overhead hot air blower units, thermostatically controlled. The gymtorium provides the only facilities of its type for the Negro schools of Goldsboro.

Since there was a great difference in the age and appearance

Figure 11. Score of East End School






of the two buildings on the site, it was decided to score the buildings separately, in order to get a true picture of the condition of each. Building A is the old section and B the new addition.

Greenleaf Elementary School

Greenleaf School is an elementary building housing grades 1-7. It has an enrollment of 511 students, 16 teachers, a librarian, and a principal. The main portion of the building which was constructed in 1922 has six classrooms and an auditorium. In 1936 the building was expanded by the addition of four classrooms. In 1950 two classrooms and a cafeteria were added, and in 1952 the old auditorium was converted into two classrooms and a supply closet. Three classrooms and a combination auditorium and gymnasium were added in 1954.

The site consisting of only 2.3 acres is not adequate for the present enrollment. There are no parking facilities available on the site. Play areas cannot accommodate more than one-half of the students at one time. There is very little play equipment and only one cement walk on the entire site.

Many of the rooms lack suitable desks and other furniture. There are limited provisions for water use and water disposal in the classrooms. The only space available for special work is the small combination auditorium and gymnasium. Lack of locker and storage space in classrooms is one of the worst features of the building. Floors in most of the building are old, dirty, and

Figure 12. Score of the Greenleaf School

seem weak at certain spots. Inflammable materials and equipment present a fire hazard at many points. The building could not be quickly evacuated in case of fire.

School Street Elementary School

The original School Street Elementary plant was constructed in 1910 as a two story classroom structure. A classroom addition of approximately the same size was built about fifteen years later. These two sections total sixteen classrooms. A modern cafetorium was added in 1954 at a cost of $35,000.00. The school, located on a site of 1.78 acres, has an enrollment of 720 pupils in grades 1-8. Several classes are operating on a double session arrangement.

The basement of the building includes the furnace area, coal room, janitor's storage area, and a storage area for the cafeteria. The furnace is completely unprotected. The janitor's storage area is accessible only by means of a window. This storage area serves also as a repair room. Actually, it seems to serve primarily as a storeroom for broken and unusable furniture, baskets, and radiators. The fire hazard seems unusually great. The storage area for the kitchen is not a room, but only an open unsurfaced area under the building accessible through a window. Stored here were soap, floor compound, and liquid cleaning materials.

The classroom building consists of two floors. A flight of steps located at each end of the corridors connected them with the outside area. Both stairways are of wooden construction approximately four feet in width. The closets located under the two stairways serve for storage of office supplies, books, food supplies, and instructional equipment.

Teachers use the corridor as a work room when they are not teaching. For this reason a table, chairs, and a piano are located in the corridor. A water fountain with two outlets is located on each floor. Since the two sections of the building are not on the same level, four steps are necessary to connect the corridor on each floor. The top step does not fit smoothly with the floor to the extent that the top step is one and one half inches higher than the floor. Manually operated fire doors are located at the top of these steps where the two sections of the building are joined. Unfortunately, the doors do not close sufficiently to provide adequate fire protection.

The areas of the classrooms are between 537 and 785 square feet. According to the number of pupils in the rooms, each room should contain approximately 1400 square feet. The chalk board space seems to be adequate, but the bulletin board space was limited. The coat closets are too small or non-existent. Storage space is insufficient both for the pupils and for the teachers. The size of the seats is appropriate for the primary grades but






The size of the seats is appropriate for the primary grades not for the upper grades. The same situation prevails in regard to the height of the drinking fountains and chalk boards. Each room is equipped with four incandescent lamps. Window shades are provided for the south side of the building. None of these shades are adequate for the use of visual aids. Cracks in the plaster and loose ceiling boards were observed throughout the building.

Water and toilet facilities are inadequate for the number of pupils enrolled. No heat is available in the boys’ toilets, which have only two wash basins each.

The principal and school secretary share one small office. No space is available for conferences. No central book or storage room is available in the building. Neither is there any area available for health services.

The school seemed to have a considerable amount of musical equipment, including three pianos, but no space is available so that adequate use can be made of the equipment. A similar situation exists in regard to audio-visual equipment.

Play space and play equipment are limited on a site which is poorly graded and drained. No improvements in the form of plantings or parking space have been provided.

The modern cafetorium is attractive and suitable. It was noted, however, that the design of the cafeteria did not provide for sufficient space for storage of mops and other cleaning materials. The service sink is located in the kitchen in the food preparing area.

Figure 13. Score of School Street Elementary School

Dillard High School

Dillard High School was built in 1922 at an estimated cost of $168,000. The first additions to the original building were made in 1954. However, certain repairs were made in the interim:

1. A new furnace was installed in the main building in 1951 at a cost of $2,000.

2. The building was rewired in 1941 at a cost of $1,200.

3. In 1953 a new roof was installed at a cost of $3,500.

4. The building was renovated in 1953, at an estimated cost of $2,500.

In 1930 the system acquired from the Durham Knitting Mills a unit now being used as the Vocational Building at a cost of $5,000. In 1942 the Brick Masonary Classes added the Auto Mechanics Building. In 1948 the Band Building was acquired from military surplus. In 1954, a cafeteria was built to serve about 120 students at one time.

The five acre site of this school plant is totally inadequate for high school purposes.

It does not properly drain and parts of it are covered with cinders and broken glass. The shrubbery which is around the building has been allowed to go without pruning to the point that much natural light is lost.

It was pointed out that there have been many additions constructed at this plant. These additions seem to have been made

Figure 14. Score of Dillard High School






without “over-all” general plans for a complete school plant. There are parts of this plant that should be wrecked and moved off the site. The stairways are constructed of wood and are in bad condition. There is a shortage of storage rooms for instructional and custodial supplies were found scattered “all over” the building. There is an insufficient number of drinking fountains, hand washing, and toilet facilities. The toilets are not conveniently located. The water pressure was very low. This would indicate that the water pipes which lead into the building are too small. The furnace room needs repairs. It had been leaking when the committee visited the plant. In general the maintenance of the whole plant is poor.

The classroom situation in this school is not very desirable. The rooms are small and poorly equipped. The interior of the plant should be painted.

Recommendations

1. Due to the fact that most of the buildings are old there will be a continuing increase in maintenance and operation costs. A larger amount of money is needed to improve the general appearance of the interior of many of the buildings.

2. Fire hazards are always present in buildings of the type of construction in the majority of the schools of Goldsboro. This places heavy responsibility upon the administrative officers for careful supervision of safety measures at all times. Closets, storerooms and basement areas should be inspected often. Proper protective devices should be available.

3. Custodial services should be improved by the addition of personnel and a closer supervision on the part of some member of the administrative staff.

4. Reconditioning and major changes should be made at the present Dillard High School to make the plant adequate and suitable for the Junior High School program.

5. A new site of a minimum of ten acres should be acquired in the new section known as Elm Acres to provide for an elementary unit to house grades 1-6. The Board of Education should be alert to future expansion and anticipate needs early enough to secure adequate sites for new plants.

CHAPTER V
THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

General Statement

Secondary Education has experienced severe tensions as a result of modern day educational discussions. To a very large extent the high school of the past served as an academic institution designed and operated for the preparation of college students who were working toward professional careers. In more recent years the public has come to think of secondary education as a program for all of the children of all of the people. Its purposes under this point of view must be both broad and specific to serve as a guide for all youth into a life of personal satisfaction and community service.

Educators have attempted to define the purposes and the scope of secondary education through numerous guiding statements. One of the most meaningful of these is known as the “Imperative Needs of Youth.” These have been stated as follows:

1. All youth need to develop saleable skills and those understandings and attitudes that make the worker an intelligent and productive participant in economic life. To this end, more youth need supervised work experience as well as education in the skills and knowledge of their occupations.

2. All youth need to develop and maintain good health and physical fitness.

3. All youth need to understand the rights and duties of the citizen of a democratic society, and to be diligent and competent in the performance of their obligations as members of the community and citizens of the state and nation.

4. All youth need to understand the significance of the family for the individual and society and the conditions conducive to successful family life.

5. All youth need to know how to purchase and use goods and services intelligently understanding both the values received by the consumer and the economic consequences of their acts.

6. All youth need to understand the methods of science, the influence of science on human life, and the main scientific facts concerning the nature of the world and of man.

7. All youth need the opportunities to develop their capacities to appreciate beauty in literature, art, music, and nature.

8. All youth need to be able to use their leisure time well and to budget it wisely, balancing activities that yield satisfaction






to the individual with those that are socially useful.

9. All youth need to develop respect for other persons, to grow in their insight into ethical values and principles, and to be able to live and work cooperatively with others.

10. All youth need to grow in their ability to think rationally, to express their thoughts clearly, and to read and listen with understanding.

The survey attempts to evaluate and characterize the instructional program in Goldsboro as it contributes to the development of a well-rounded individual. An examination of the philosophy and the practices as presented by the faculty reveals many positive and constructive phases of the program; on the other hand, the faculty indicates important needs and modifications for better provision of opportunities for children.

Reports have also been prepared by a number of representative school leaders from many types of school situations in the state which are based on short intensive periods of visitation and conferences with members of the professional staff of the system. An analysis of this material has been prepared to serve as the basis for recommendations for the improvement of the secondary school program.

Figure 15 is a grade survival chart which shows what happened to the 230 first grade students who entered school in 1943 and were due to graduate in June 1955. One hundred and forty-six completed the program.

Figure 15. Grade Survival of 1955 Graduating Class—White

Figure 16 shows the number of Goldsboro High School graduates each year from 1947 to 1955. It also shows the number entering college. The percentage ranges from about 45 per cent to more than 50 per cent which is very much higher than the 32.3 per cent reported in the July 1956 State School Facts for the White Schools of the State.

Figure 16. High School Graduates and Number Entering College—White

Records of college students who have graduated from the Goldsboro High Schools show a high degree of academic achievement and significant leadership activities.

Philosophy

The Goldsboro High School staff accepted as their basic philosophy the meeting of the needs of the youth of the community. The statement of this philosophy includes (1) the teaching of knowledge, of appreciation, of responsibilities of an individual and group nature; (2) the development in students of skills, desirable habits, patterns of conduct, and attitudes; and (3) growth of the student in aspects of good physical and mental health. This quotation from the lengthy statement of purposes illustrates a breadth of aim: “To bring about changes in pupils which are socially desirable in a democratic way of life, developing self-directing individuals for a society that is growing more






and more complicated and social in its structure and organization.”

In addition to the regular program of studies of the school, the methods which the staff sets forth to use to achieve these main purposes and to meet the needs of youth in Goldsboro were:

(1) Teacher example

(2) Oral class discussion

(3) Teacher, parent, and student observation

(4) Tests

(5) Cumulative record files on pupils

(6) Life-like situations in school in which responsibility is shared.

(7) The library as a resource bureau and service center, with its wide variety of up-to-date materials of all kinds

(8) Guidance, including counseling, homerooms, career days, and administrative channels

(9) A student government organization which is active and democratic.

Two other methods employed by the staff seemed to the visiting committee to be especially valuable:

(1) Home visitation

(2) Anecdotal records which are kept throughout the four-year period of a student's school life.

Graduation Requirements

Certain state requirements are set out for graduation for North Carolina High Schools. A student must complete at least 16 units, these include 4 units in English, 2 units in history (one in U.S. history), 2 units in mathematics, 2 units in science (one in biology), and any other 4 units. All subjects offered in Goldsboro High School if passed give a unit for graduation.

The Program of Studies

The self-evaluation carried out by the Goldsboro High School staff resulted in a rather high estimate of the total program of studies as to general principles, procedures in curriculum development, the extent and nature of offerings, and the general outcomes of the program. The visiting committees felt in general that these self-evaluations of each subject-matter field gave evidence which supports this estimate.

Careful examination of the appraisals of both the high school staff and the visiting committee justify these conclusions concerning the program of studies (high school curriculum) as a whole:

(a) The school is offering a wide variety of subjects both for those students who plan to go on to college and for those who plan to go to work or into married life.

(b) The offerings are wider than the “takers,” i.e., more courses are offered than are elected by the pupils. For example, Social Science I (usually called Civics or Citizenship) is offered in Grade 9, but no students were enrolled in this course in either 1954-55 or in 1955-56. On the other hand, almost all 9th grade pupils were enrolled in ninth grade General Science in 1955-56. Some consideration should be given to better educational guidance for ninth grade pupils, so that those who want both Social

Science I and General Science can get both, and so that others can take one or the other as they need or choose.

(c) Though there is a rather wide variety of Mathematics courses in the school, some careful consideration should be given to

1. One year of General Mathematics in Grade Nine, as at present.

2. Elimination of the second year of General Mathematics in favor of offering to seniors a course in Mathematics covering arithmetic and such phases of Mathematics as will be needed by the non-college graduate, such as consumer mathematics.

3. Should not Business Mathematics be offered by the Business Education Department?

4. A class in Solid Geometry in the Senior High School for students preparing for technical and engineering work to be offered on alternate years.

(d) The recent addition of Distributive Education and Metal Trades classes can be given as a valuable enrichment to the school program for both the non-college student and the mechanically-minded pupils.

Language Arts

(a) English

The English program includes English courses as required for all pupils. While the classes are often over-crowded, the staff as a whole seems earnest in trying to meet the needs of the group.

It is felt that in both the areas of literature and the language arts students are being well-prepared. Speech skills are emphasized in the department of dramatic arts and radio, where facilities are far above average. Interest in reading on each student's level is being developed through a number of means, including use of the library.

There are no elective English courses available. There is no provision for remedial, or clinical, reading activities or speech activities, although both are needed. There is a strong department of dramatic arts, including radio, dramatics, and art, which is functioning well. Audio-visual equipment is available for students taking the course in radio, but there is also the need for the use of the tape recorder for the development of speaking skills in the classes.

The staff appears to be well-prepared in all areas except in preparation for teaching reading in the high school, especially remedial work.

Limited observations show that pupils are practicing good English usage in informal situations, including student council meetings. The interest in creative writing is encouraging. Listening skills seemed good in most classes visited and excellent in student council meetings. The good classroom atmosphere suggests that teachers could include pupils more often in teacher-pupil planning






situations. The possibilities for grouping within the classroom by special interest groups should be carefully explored.

(b) Foreign Language

The three foreign languages offered to the students appear to be adequate. Proper counseling is given with regard to the selection of language courses. The instruction is related to the culture of the people who use or used the language. The conversational method of teaching is supplemented by clubs for each language group. The French class could profit by the adoption of a more recent textbook which brings some of the background up to date. The entire department could benefit from ownership of a record player.

The instructional staff in the foreign languages is well prepared and utilizes some excellent instructional material in the classes. There are, however, certain weaknesses in reference materials such as foreign newspapers, correspondence with foreign people, and materials which have been selected to fit the different achievement levels of the pupils.

The reports describe a number of very interesting activities which have been carried on by the groups in the Departments of French and Spanish. The students have been very practical in planning their meetings, in making contacts with other people and in presenting original projects in the respective languages.

Social Studies

Some good teaching in the Social Studies department is reflected by student interest and attitudes in class discussion and projects. To a certain extent the work is handicapped as a result of inadequate facilities, but staff members are making good use of most resources that are available.

In the organization of the social science program it is noted that “driver education” is combined with the course in World History. There seems to be a question as to whether or not the time should be taken out of this history program to provide for the special safety program in driving. There may be a possibility of shifting this unit of work into other areas of study. In fact, if it is worth doing it should have its own part of the schedule. Special attention is called to the absence of a course in citizenship on a regular basis.

While there is some cooperation between the members of the faculty who teach in the Social Studies area, there appears to be

a lack of consistent and well directed overall planning which would tend to unify the program.

Interesting reports of field trips and other types of challenging assignments indicate that curriculum enrichment is planned by the faculty. Considerable directed use of the library is evident, but there is only a limited amount of free time for students to browse in the library. Audio-visual aids are being used to help instruction. Emphasis should be placed on the importance of preplanning and follow-up in the use of such materials.

Health and Physical Education

The Physical Education program is provided for all 9th grade students in a period of sixty minutes which allows adequate time for students to bathe and dress. The work in the health education classes seems to be very satisfactory. On the other hand, the activities in the physical education sessions do not seem to be as effective. Proper costumes for physical education activities are available. The activities have been designed to develop skills in both teams and individual sports. Apparently visual aids, including films, charts and posters, are limited. The new gymnasium offers excellent indoor facilities for instruction and activities which do not appear to be adequately planned and carried out.

There is a problem involved in the assignmnet of pupils to the various physical education classes because of the individual needs of students. Certainly a number of corrective programs should be designed for the improvement of various skills on the part of high school boys and girls. While the interscholastic program seems to be very adequate the intramural program seems to be neglected, particularly for the boys. The instructors in the intramural classes for girls are well prepared and are doing a good job.

No records were available on physical examinations of students as a part of the program. Individual testing for various skills was not in evidence. In view of the excellent facilities which are available both indoors and outdoors it would seem that a more adequate health and physical education program should be planned. Equipment and cost of the department should be secured from the school budget funds, rather than from gate receipts of interscholastic contests. The instructional staff for work with the boys is well prepared in biological and physical sciences. Since many of the staff members have heavy work assignments in other fields, there is evidence of lack of coordination of the total program. It would appear that thoroughly trained staff members giving full time to this subject should be considered.






Mathematics and Science

(1) Mathematics

The mathematics courses include Mathematics, Algebra, Trigonometry, and Plane Geometry. All 9th grade pupils continue their work in mathematics, which was begun in grades seven and eight. On the basis of work in the 9th grade they are advised with regard to the later courses in the subject. The program is especially well adapted to meet the needs of students going to college, with very little emphasis given to those who plan to enter business. There is also reason for considering some specialized mathematics for students who wish to take Solid Geometry and those who need preparation for work in the metal trades, drafting and blueprinting.

While the staff is well prepared in mathematics some questions need to be raised with respect to preparation in methods of teaching mathematics. One of the teachers is a science major who teaches general mathematics. All of the staff members are handicapped because of lack of instruments, supplies, and demonstration equipment. If special equipment were available, there is very little space for storage. It is also noted that the classes are too large in some cases to provide for the individual assistance which is seriously needed in mathematics.

It should be pointed out that special study should be made of the entire mathematics program. General mathematics if properly presented can be very valuable for a limited period of study. It should not be a course designed to take care of all of the “misfits” in mathematics. It offers an excellent basis for mathematics related to printing, industrial arts, metal trades, the home, the store, and the office.

(2) Science

There are four science teachers who are responsible for the work in Biology, Chemistry, and General Science. The Biology program is available to all students. The sixty minute period must take care of the class work and any laboratory work which is needed. The staff in science is very capable.

The facilities for teaching science are inadequate because the rooms are too small and lack of sufficient exhibition cabinets, storage cabinets, equipment and supplies. Crowded conditions make the use of visual aids for demonstration difficult. Emphasis should be placed

also on the importance of field projects. Science lends itself naturally to the development of student projects which should serve as a continuous evaluation of the results in the various fields. There seems to be a need for closer correlation of the subject matter in all of the science areas through careful, cooperative faculty planning.

Fine Arts

The music department is doing some excellent work in the high school band, the freshman chorus, and the mixed chorus. In addition to these programs there is a sixteen piece band, a mixed ensemble, and a boys’ quartet which are elective in nature. There was evidence of a very fine attitude on the part of pupils, faculty and the community as the result of activities in music. The suggestion is made that a general music course would give a wider opportunity for participation of more students in this experience. It should be noted that when additional room can be made available the chorus should be placed far enough away from regular classes to avoid disturbing other classes.

The instructional staff in the music division is well qualified and thoroughly devoted to the task. The excellent working relationship with other departments is to be commended.

Practical Arts

(a) Business Education

The program in Business Education is organized on the basis of vocational preparation rather than general business education. Typewriting is more popular than shorthand. The courses are limited to juniors and seniors. Of the number enrolled approximately 25 per cent are preparing for office work with no further training planned beyond high school graduation. This calls for very close cooperation with the community in order that appropriate work experience may be developed. In the Diversified Occupation and Distributive Education programs students spend part of the time in class work and part of the time on the job. It is suggested that a very careful examination of these two programs be initiated to provide for a better understanding of the work on the part of citizens and faculties. The need for the program should be understood.

While there is a large supply of typewriters now available there seems to be need for some additions in order to provide a general utility course for a large number of students. This seems to be desirable since in the






opinion questionnaire submitted to citizens over 50 per cent suggested that skill in typing ought to be provided for all high school students.

It is noted that a large amount of typing for school and community projects is carried on by the typing classes. It should be pointed out that this kind of work is valuable up to a certain point, after which there is a loss in value. Typing projects during the past year apparently took too much time of the teachers and the pupils and thus may have decreased the learning potential available to the students.

(b) Home Economics

Elective home economics courses are available for girls in grades nine to twelve. The program provides for supervised work experience in the home as well as the school with a desirable balance between the in-school and out-of-school practice. No instruction seemed to be available in the area of child care and development, consumer economics, and home management. The facilities for this department are very limited. One room is well equipped, but the other space is unsatisfactory. When more space is available in the building a completely new department should be planned. There is evidence of a very fine working relationship between two young qualified teachers and their students. The attractiveness and efficiency displayed in the department are commendable. This department sponsors the Future Home Makers Club of America, with 47 members.

(c) Industrial Arts

A very superior Industrial Arts program is provided for a rather limited number of students. Leadership for this work is not available in after-school hours when it could serve a number of students. There is some feeling that the offerings do not provide enough opportunities for exploratory and trial experiences in a variety of industrial occupations. Additional space is needed for related work.

Some of the strong features of the program include a development of hobbies and understandings and appreciation of the tools of industry. Emphasis is also placed on the Graphic Arts as a means of expression.

(d) Industrial Vocational Education

The work in the Industrial Vocational division includes a small number of pupils in the machine shop,

diversified occupations and distributive education, and the metal trades. It is apparent that these programs are not involving as many members of the student body as may be desirable. The business and occupational institutions of the city should support extensive classes in these divisions. A careful examination of the present schedule of operation and a thorough survey of occupational opportunities in the city should be made. It could possibly be based on a follow-up study of high school graduates. Teachers in this field are well qualified and very much interested in their work.

The following recommendations should be considered:

‘a’ Make the course elective for seniors. Two years of industrial arts, printing, and mechanical drawing are now open to underclassmen. If the present intention to work toward the enrollment of juniors is continued, a situation can be established in which the instructor over a period of two years will work with only fifteen or sixteen students.

‘b’ Encourage prospective students to take industrial arts and mechanical drawing prior to metal trades.

‘c’ Keep an up-to-date survey of placement opportunities in Goldsboro and surrounding area and actively assist with the placement of students who complete the course.

‘d’ Keep a follow-up record on file for each student who takes the course.

‘e’ Select students carefully. (If this is a vocational course, more than one student from a class should continue work in the metal trades or related work.)

The Pupil Activities Program

Many types of student activities are found in the Goldsboro High School. Some of the activities are organized around the special interests of certain subject-matter courses; of this type are the French, Spanish, Latin, Distributive Education, Future Homemakers of America, and Journalism (Quill and Scroll) clubs. Others are activities growing out of special interests of students; for example, the Goldmasquers Club is a large group of students whose special interests run along dramatic lines; in part this Club is stimulated by the unusual offering in dramatic arts in the Goldsboro School. Then there are clubs or organizations mostly honorary in character, like the Varsity Club, composed of sports






lettermen, Quill and Scroll for students who excel in work on the newspaper and annual (school yearbook), and the National Honor Society for outstanding juniors and seniors.

(a) Nature and Organization

The program is well organized from three standpoints: (1) It is closely connected with the regular program of studies and supplements it; (2) It provides opportunities for a majority of the student body to develop qualities of leadership and fellowship; and (3) It provides many opportunities for students to help and participate in school problems and organization. Some of the clubs are highly selective, i.e., membership is on the basis of high academic standing; and this practice tends to limit certain groups to only the talented or superior students. Perhaps the sponsoring of additional hobby or special aptitude clubs would take care of this. Students should be encouraged to participate in such quasi-school organizations as the Boy or Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs, and Future Teachers of America Club. There is little evidence that the pupils themselves take part in systematic attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of their own activity groups.

(b) Student Association

This group is essentially a guiding group for many activities of the school. It sponsors elections, intercultural contacts through the exchange of students with foreign countries, career days; and it exercises influence over some other pupil activities and organizations. It has probably been, along with the Goldmasquers, a major influence in developing a fine spirit and attitude in the school. The Association has developed no policies that would make it responsible for the regulation of student behavior and conduct.

(c) Homerooms

There is little evidence that the homeroom program in the school is effectively organized for student guidance of both an individual and a group nature. So many different activities crowd the homeroom period that at times few pupils are left in the rooms to be helped.

(d) Assembly

Assemblies are frequent and the programs are varied. The sample programs submitted do not indicate that they are carefully preplanned for achieving specific purposes.

(e) Publications

Both the school newspaper and the yearbook are good examples of high school publications. The contents of the paper could from time to time feature outstanding curricular accomplishments, as well as extra-curricular happenings.

(f) Music Activities

When some 22 per cent of a student body participates voluntarily in various aspects of one creative activity, the activity is touching the lives of many, and is filling pupils’ needs. Some pupils might feel the need for a general music course in this area of their special interest.

(g) Dramatics and Speech

These activities in the Goldsboro school have been cumulative in effect, resulting in a national reputation for the group and its director. The visiting committees found that the present student activities in these areas fulfilled that reputation in both quality and in the wide scope of participation by students.

(h) Social Life and Activities

Social activities are somewhat limited as compared with the large number of other activities in the school. Some plan should be worked out for the use of the gymnasium more frequently for large group activities; and departments could cooperate more closely to make space available for small group social activities. There is great need for some kind of organized social activity at the lunch hour.

(i) Finances of Pupil Activities

The records show that pupil activities are financed in two main ways: (1) Students raise money themselves for these activities, through selling of magazine subscriptions, publishing and selling the school directory, stunt night, and proceeds from programs or contests put on by various groups or teams; and (2) The Touchdown Club handles program advertising, season ticket sales, and gate receipts for athletic contests. The Directors of the Touchdown Club make out a budget each year for each sport, and funds to meet that budget are turned over to the High School Treasurer. The visiting committees called attention to the fact that Goldsboro is a member school of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The rule in regard to interschool athletics reads, in part: “...Inter-school activities






in all member schools shall be under the control of the principals of those schools.” Inter-school activities include not only matters of eligibility, scheduling, age for participation and the like, but also the financing of those activities. The fact that the Touchdown Club makes out and approves the budget for each high school sport and furnishes the money to meet that budget, including gate receipts of contests held on school ground, cannot be construed to place control of such athletic activities under the control of the principal. We recommend that this aspect of inter-school activities be brought into line with the policy and rule of the Southern Association.

Library Services

The evaluation showed that the Goldsboro High School library was adequate in regard to the preparation and qualifications of its staff, conditions of service, and duties and responsibilities. The book collection needs to be evaluated and antiquated materials need to be weeded out carefully. The library has a good list of representative periodicals and newspapers. There is a question as to whether 35 per cent of the total budget for books and periodicals should be spent on periodicals alone. There is an adequate freshman orientation program to the library, a materials bureau, a wide variety of periodicals, books, and reference books. A good feature of the library service is provision for definite class schedules in the library, giving all students an opportunity to go to the library in a group under guidance of the subject-matter teacher and with the librarian at hand as a resource person for the students and those doing committee work and reports.

In these respects the school staff and visiting committees found need for improvement:

(a) There is lack of space for books, for filing, and for a library workroom.

(b) There is no reference room for the library.

(c) The Materials Bureau needs more current information.

Guidance Services

“Guidance services, as applied to the secondary school, should be thought of as organized activities designed to give systematic aid to pupils in solving their problems and in making adjustments to various situations which they must meet. These activities should assist each pupil in knowing himself as an individual and as a member of society; in making the most of his strengths and in correcting or compensating for weaknesses that interfere with his progress; in learning about occupations so that he may intelligently plan and prepare, in whole or in part, for a career;

in learning about educational opportunities available to him; and in discovering and developing creative and leisure interests.

These objectives should be achieved through cooperative relationships among the home, school, and community; through a closer coordination of the work of the secondary school and the sending schools; through use of a system of cumulative records and reports; through interpretation of adequate and specific data concerning the individual pupil; through a comprehensive and effective system of counseling; through coordination of the work of the school and community agencies; and through definite provisions for articulating the work of the school with the needs of the individual after he leaves school.

To effect these results the school administration must support and encourage the guidance function with leadership and facilities necessary to provide adequate services. All members of the guidance and teaching staffs should understand their mutual responsibilities and should desire to cooperate in fulfilling these responsibilities. Although every teacher and administrative officer should be prepared to participate in guidance activities, the services of competent counselors who have specialized training should be available. In conjunction with other available information, measurements and tests of various types, standardized or locally devised, and personality and interest inventories should be available and should be used as guidance tools with full knowledge of their values and limitations.

Finally, the guidance services should reveal facts about the pupils enrolled and the community served which the whole staff should study and interpret in the continuous evolution of the curriculum.” (Evaluative Criteria, 1950 Edition, p. 221.)

(a) General Nature and Organization

In the Goldsboro High School the policies and practice of the Guidance Services are determined primarily by the Principal and the Director of Guidance. In the absence of a faculty guidance committee these two individuals assume responsibility for most guidance service activities without the organized and continuous help of such a committee. While teachers assist in carrying out certain guidance functions, the over-all program is characterized by a lack of staff planning, staff organization and coordinated staff participation.

During the school evaluation, a special committee composed of the Principal, Director of Guidance, and two teachers was appointed to complete the Guidance Section of the Evaluative Criteria. Even though there was a committee the evaluation was actually made by the






Director of Guidance and submitted to the Principal for his approval. Teacher members of the committee played no active part in the evaluation because “they were too busy as members of other evaluating committees.”

At present the Director of Guidance appears to be performing duties which reflect the more traditional functions of a Dean of Girls, and, in collaboration with the Principal, a Dean of Boys. While such activities are important, they deviate considerably from those associated with modern programs of Guidance Services. In the development of an effective Guidance Service, guidance policies, practices and staff responsibilities should be defined through cooperative staff planning and staff action. Until staff planning and staff understanding are developed more fully in Goldsboro High School, the program will be limited in both scope and effectiveness.

(b) Guidance Leadership

The principal devotes a “good portion of the day” to guidance. If much of it is used in planning with the staff and with making available staff time, facilities and materials so that counselors and teachers can provide guidance services more effectively, then the time is well spent. In the Goldsboro High School, the principal appears to be giving an unusually large amount of his time to counseling which should justifiably be delegated to trained guidance workers and other staff members. By delegating most of these “counseling activities” he would have more opportunity to assume a positive leadership role, as an administrator, in organizing his staff and in providing facilities for an integrated program of guidance service which would be of benefit to all pupils in the school.

Referral Consultants

Referral consultants used by the school include a Juvenile Judge, Superintendent of the County Welfare Department, The County Nurse, the Director of the local Employment Security Office and the Executive Director of the Wayne Memorial Community Building. A good relationship exists with each of these consultants and they are called upon from time to time to assist individual students. The use of these and other consultants should be encouraged and expanded.

Teacher Participation

In the Goldsboro High School the homerooms are not organized so that appropriate guidance functions can be performed,

Certain administrative functions are performed by homeroom teachers but neither the organization nor time is provided in homeroom periods for guidance activities.

The activity period is at a time during which pupils should be participating in various extra-curricular activities. In the guidance evaluation by the high school guidance staff it was stated that this thirty minute period was used for individual and group guidance. It is unreasonable to assume that this period can serve both functions effectively. Group guidance activities should be scheduled during a lengthened homeroom period during which all pupils may participate.

Teacher participation is limited by the inaccessibility of the central personal records which are located in the principal's office.

Teachers do visit homes, confer with parents by telephone and make reports to parents of students who are failing. Individually they do what they can to assist students with educational and personal problems but their efforts are limited by the lack of staff coordination and direction.

Individual Inventory Services

Information concerning home background, health, scholastic aptitude, special aptitudes, school marks, achievement, extracurricular activities, interests, personality and character traits, out of school experiences, school attendance, and other pertinent data should be systematically recorded in a cumulative record for each pupil in the school. This record should be maintained in a simple usable form and be located so that it is immediately accessible to teachers, counselors and other professional staff members.

The cumulative record in Goldsboro consists primarily of an envelope which contains the official register sheets, a series of statements prepared by the pupils’ elementary school teachers and some test profile sheets. Some additional data and evaluations are needed by the high school teachers.

While some essential information is recorded in the records envelope, the record system is inadequate when evaluated in terms of the needs of a modern school. Up-to-date home and family information is generally lacking. Individual staff members have much information in this area but it seldom finds its way into the record.

All freshmen are given physical examinations by the Health Department and some follow-up is made with students but no provision is made for systematically recording these data into a comprehensive, usable cumulative record system.

There are no organized procedures whereby data concerning personal and social development can be collected and recorded.






Provision for recording test data in usable form is also missing in the present records folder.

The whole individual inventory system in the Goldsboro High School needs extensive revision, and reorganization.

Accessibility and usefulness are important characteristics of a cumulative record. These records should be filed in a personnel office where they may be available to staff members at any time during working hours.

Informational Service

Much of the occupational and educational information needed by pupils in planning their future and making decisions can be presented economically through group instruction.

An extensive file of occupational and educational information is now located in the high school library. It was collected during years past and shows evidence that it has been used extensively. There appears, however, no evidence that the file is now being currently maintained. The director of guidance, the librarian and other staff members should collaborate in determining how the informational service can best be developed, maintained and utilized.

The Career and College day is held for seniors each year. This practice is commendable and should be continued. Additional emphasis should be given to ways and means of imparting occupational and educational information through classroom and homeroom activities.

Counseling Service

It was not possible in the survey to judge the quality of the counseling being done at Goldsboro High School. To do so it would have required extensive information from the pupils who were counseled. It was possible, however, to identify some conditions which would decrease the counseling effectiveness of any counselor who might be so employed. First, physical facilities for counseling are entirely inadequate. At present the school counselor must use a make-shift room off the home economics classroom, or the principal's office. An adequate counseling program cannot be carried on under such conditions. Appropriate offices for the director of guidance and other counselors should be provided at the earliest possible date.

The present counseling staff is inadequate to provide needed services to all pupils in the high school. In a school the size of Goldsboro High School there is need for the equivalent of two full-time counselors. This would be in addition to the assistance that should be given by the librarian and other teachers in providing for a total program of guidance service.

Placement and Follow-up Service

The Director of Guidance and the Principal make considerable effort to help graduates receive employment, service scholarships and gain entrance to college. The local office of the Employment Security Commission is most helpful and cooperative in assisting youth get jobs after leaving school.

Most placement activities in the school are performed, however, on an incidental basis. There is need for a well-planned and well-organized program of placement which is designed to help the drop-out as well as those who graduate. This program needs to be extended to all school leavers and not just to those who can be most easily helped.

There has been no organized effort to follow-up school leavers at Goldsboro High School. Some information is received concerning graduates, particularly those who achieve some degree of success in college or on the job. These isolated bits of information do not find their way into the permanent records for constructive use by the school staff in evaluating the curricula of the school. There is a great need for periodic follow-up studies of both graduates and drop-outs. Such studies are of great value in determining strength and weakness of the school program in terms of the adjustment problems encountered by pupils after leaving school.

The work of the teachers of distributive education, diversified occupations and metal trades are commended for their efforts to secure employment for their students. Such placement efforts should not, however, be confined to students in these classes. Placement service should be made available to all students, not just to those in these classes.

Special Characteristics of the Guidance Service

An examination of the present program indicates a number of favorable activities. The fact that there is a full time director is significant. It is also noted that a Career Day program is successfully administered each year. Special assistance is given through the vocational division of the school in placement services. Then continuation of the testing program and a sincere desire on the part of the administration and the staff indicates definite interest.

The most serious problems noted have to do with office facilities and adequate records for counseling. The schedule indicates that the time for staff counseling is insufficient. An examination of the information of an occupational and educational nature reveals a great deal of inadequacies.

Philosophy of Dillard High School

This quotation from the philosophy which the staff worked






out cooperatively illustrates rather well their beliefs about what the secondary school should do: “We . . . believe that all youth of secondary school age need to understand and appreciate the ideals of American democracy. They need to assume responsibilities and understand their rights in a democratic society. They need to develop ethical standards and habits; achieve and maintain sound mental and physical health; learn to live in their natural and scientific environment; to think logically and express themselves clearly; and learn to live esthetically.” The staff believes that the school curriculum should be evolved to meet youth's needs; in the establishment of the curriculum they feel that the acquisition of knowledge and the activities and guidance of students are important.

The staff feels that major handicaps to the attainment of these aims include:

(1) the low economic level of the school's patrons;

(2) the large number of broken homes from which children came;

(3) the lack of adequate public recreational facilities;

(4) the existence of questionable private recreational facilities;

(5) the need for churches to cooperate more with the school program; and

(6) the meagre cultural background of the majority of the school community.

The visiting committees found that the staff did a good job of analyzing the needs of students and the community in the light of their purposes, namely, to meet the needs of youth in a democratic, constantly growing society.

Recommendations concerning the modification of the school's philosophy as time goes on could include consideration of:

(1) the unique features of this school situation, which perhaps preclude its being classified as a typical high school;

(2) more emphasis upon “problem-solving” techniques and methods in teaching for the objectives that have been set up;

(3) further exploration of and illustration of what is meant by such concepts as “guidance,” “critical thinking,” and “propaganda and public opinion”;

(4) clearer statement of the relationship(s) between “subject-matter” purposes and “pupil activities” purposes.

Graduation Requirements

Certain State requirements are set for graduation. A student must complete at least 16 units, to include 4 units in English, 1 unit in mathematics, 2 units in science (including biology), 2 units in social studies (including American history), 1 unit in physical education and health, and 6 units in electives. All subjects offered if passed give a unit for graduation.

Program of Studies

The visiting committees found the program of studies to be

adequate insofar as general principles and procedures in schools of this type are concerned. There is a three-track program which leads to a high school diploma for students interested in the academic or college preparatory requirements, scientific preparation and vocational training. There was evidence of staff activities in the planning of programs in the various subject matter and activities work of the school. There are a number of very important questions with regard to facilities, parent interest, extension of breadth of the program and means of communication with the public. Considerable material was found indicating close cooperation with parents of children experiencing academic difficulty in the school. Attention needs to be called to the value of regular follow-up studies of former graduates and “drop-outs.”

Figure 17 is a grade survival chart which shows what happened to the 275 first grade students who entered school in 1943 and were due to graduate from the Dillard High School in June 1955. Approximately one hundred completed the program.

Figure 17. Grade Survival of 1955 Graduating Class—Negro

Figure 18 shows the number of graduates from the Dillard High School each year from 1947 to 1955. It also shows the number entering college. The percentage ranges from about 20 per cent to 25 per cent as compared to 28 per cent in the Negro High Schools of the State as reported in the July 1956 issue of State School Facts.






Figure 18. High School Graduates and Number Entering College—Negro

Language Arts

(a) English

The typical four year curriculum in English is being followed in the school. The enrollment in English I classes apparently averaged about 36 students, which is entirely too large to permit work in remedial difficulties in reading and speech. There was a report, however, to the effect that some provisions are made for developing skills in reading and in grammar.

The members of the staff teaching English are well qualified, with many members of the group holding the M.A. degree. This staff has worked together in planning the immediate goals and the long range scope and sequence of the program. The visiting committee members were favorable in their evaluation of the work in English but emphasized the urgent need for more adequate instructional supplies and improved physical facilities.

(b) Foreign Languages

The two foreign languages being taught in the high school are French and Latin. It is generally understood that they are being taught primarily for the preparation of those

students who plan to enter college. Instructional materials in these subjects are very limited even though a few foreign newspapers and periodicals are available. Audio-visual aids for language activities are not available for the teachers. In general it is reported that even though teachers are well qualified the language teaching is not as satisfactory as would be desirable.

Social Studies

Students in the Dillard High School have an opportunity to take work in citizenship, world history, American history, and sociology. Unfortunately it is not possible for all seniors to elect the course in sociology. Activities and projects indicated that good work was being done in the areas of inter-cultural understanding of other peoples and in an evaluation of contributions by individuals to society. Considerable emphasis was noted in the area of current events and contemporary social problems.

The instructional staff ranks well in preparation. In some cases the program of work is considerably teacher-dominated, while in others there is extensive student participation. It is suggested that the staff should make further efforts to exchange experiences in teaching methods. Community problems need to be considered in planning the learning activities for many of the future citizens of the city. While a number of types of standardized tests were being used it was noted that from time to time good teacher-made tests were in evidence.

Health and Physical Education

It was generally agreed that instructors in this area were very effective in directing a program with practically no satisfactory facilities. Excellent use was being made of the indoor and outdoor space which was available.

All of the facilities are far below satisfactory standards of health and sanitation. Equipment for visual aids was not availble.

Driver education has been included as a part of the health and safety instruction for students in grades 9 to 12. The interscholastic athletic program was reported as good.

It should be pointed out, however, that no complete and satisfactory instruction can be accomplished with the unfavorable physical surroundings.

Mathematics and Science

(a) Mathematics

Courses in general mathematics, algebra and plane geometry are available to students in different grades. There is no remedial work in mathematics either for the regular






classes or the special classes. No advanced programs in solid geometry or trigonometry are available for those who may need this work for college or for specialized occupational activities.

Instruction in mathematics is below average, partly because of inadequate materials needed for successful learning. The blackboard is about the only available tool.

It is suggested that much of the mathematical instruction is formal and mechanical in contrast to what needs to be done in a very practical and helpful manner.

(b) Science

The science program is possibly more seriously handicapped by inadequate facilities than any other of the major subject matter areas. Good teachers are limited by reason of small rooms, limited laboratory and demonstration space and funds for materials. Science instruction appeared to be rather formal and of the question and answer type. In a world so richly blessed by the contributions of science it seems that high school students should have a better introduction to basic science instruction.

Fine Arts

The music activities of the school center in glee club and band work. About 24 per cent of all pupils participate in general music courses and activities and 27 per cent participate in the special phases of music. A creative dance group adds variety to the program. The general caliber of the work done in music is good. The elective courses are quite satisfactory and appear to have plenty of materials. Since the building is not adequate the practice space and storage facilities are very limited.

Practical Arts

(a) Business Education

The offerings in business education fall in the areas of general business, typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, and printing. Much interest and enthusiasm was exhibited by students who seemed to express themselves freely and participated effectively in the program. Teachers exhibited good classroom technique.

Additional equipment and supplies are needed for the full development of this valuable phase of high school education. A thorough study of the needs of graduates of the high school with respect to business opportunities should be developed as the new senior high school program is put into effect. The answer as to how much the community needs and what the requirements are should be determined. A faculty advisory

committee in cooperation with local business leaders should make such a study.

(b) Home Economics

Extensive efforts are being made to provide training for girls in homemaking. All girls in the 9th grade are in the introductory course. The instructors are well qualified and are attempting to relate the work of the school to the practical home and community problems. With more appropriate facilities considerable progress could be made in improving family living.

(c) Industrial Arts

The areas of electricity, woodwork, and metals are in the industrial arts program. It is to be hoped that when the new building is completed and Dillard becomes a Junior High School plans will be made for adequate shop space for industrial arts, with particular application to the junior high school student. At present some of the work which is being done is valuable.

(d) Industrial Vocational Education

The most practical tasks of bricklaying, blueprint reading and carpentry have relatively small enrollments which may result from inadequate space. The program itself is very satisfactory in developing specific trade skills, trade knowledge, trade appreciation and related theory. All of this seems to stimulate interest on the part of students in the various occupations and trades. This is an area in which considerable leadership needs to be exercised in order to fit young people into some kind of serviceable occupation or trade.

The Pupil Activities Program

The general nature of the types of activities and the extent to which students participated in them were found to be adequate and on the whole satisfactory. There was a total of twenty clubs of different types in the school. Some of these clubs were built on interests in subject-matter courses, such as the Science, Dramatic, Future Teachers of America, Press, and New Homemakers of America Clubs. Others were special interest or hobby clubs, such as the Hobby Club, the Motor Club, the Library and Music Clubs, the Creative Dance Club and the Speech Club. Still other clubs were associated with quasi-school organizations which helped to sponsor them, such as the Tri-Hi-Y and Hi-Y Clubs and the Explorer Post of the Boy Scouts. There were also some clubs primarily honorary in nature, requiring outstanding performance or achievement, such as the National Honor Society and the Varsity Club. Clubs are regularly scheduled during the






school day twice a week. Total membership in these clubs for 1955-56 was over 600.

(a) Student Council

There is a student council, which acts as both a clearing house in part for student activities, clubs, and elections, and in part in helping in the development of school policies in regard to the conduct of students. Under the crowded conditions in the school, the student council has done well in its ability to identify and offer solutions for school problems.

(b) Homeroom

The three 40-minute periods per week which are available for the homeroom activities offer ample time for the teacher to do work both on individual and group problems. It is an excellent opportunity to consider various types of occupational and educational information. There is time and need for productive teacher-pupil planning in advance. This period can also be used for evaluation activities.

(c) School Assembly

The assembly programs seem to be varied with a flexibility in time allotment which gives ample opportunity for completion of longer programs when they are worthwhile. There seems to be some question as to whether there is adequate pupil participation in these programs. There was no evidence of a faculty-pupil assembly committee which did long-range planning.

(d) Publications

The Dillard Hi News is the school paper, published quarterly. It is a printed paper, and gives evidence of a rather wide coverage of various types of news, with major emphasis upon news of pupil activities. The committees had no information on whether or not the staff and reporters for the paper were volunteers, limited to juniors and seniors, or whether the positions were open to all competitors.

(e) Music Activities

The music groups have a total of 149 pupils of the more than 600 enrolled who participate voluntarily. There are two bands, a glee club, and a Creative Dance Club. An example of the type of special interest activity was the opera-pageant of the spring of 1955, “The Promised Land,” with a cast of 75.

(f) Dramatics and Speech

In addition to the regular class in drama (25 students), there are three different sections of the dramatic club, with a total of 108 pupils. Reading for parts in the productions

comprises an important part of this activity, resulting as it does in drill in speech and effective oral expression.

(g) Social Life and Activities

Club and class socials are planned by students, teachers, and parents. Teachers supervise social parties at the Community recreational center. Crowded conditions at the school make it difficult for more social activities to be carried on during the recesses or breaks in the school day, but more could be done along this line even under the present adverse circumstances with careful planning.

(h) Physical Activities for Boys and Girls

The visiting committees found that only 82 students, 12 per cent, participated in voluntary physical activities for boys, mostly in intramural football, basketball, and baseball. There were practically no provisions for intramural games and physical activities for girls. It is suggested that the school staff work on a long-range program to improve the situation and furnish satisfactory conditions for voluntary activities of this nature.

(i) Financing of Student Activities

Money to run the student activities is raised in various ways. There is a yearly “Student Activity Ticket” offered to all students which gives admission to certain performances. This ticket is issued upon payment of a student fee of $5.00 from each student from grade 8 through high school. Classes and clubs keep their own smaller accounts with the “Bank of Dillard,” a student bank which is operated by students under teacher supervision. Funds can be withdrawn only upon proper authorization and signature by duly constituted authorities or officers. There are other kinds of student fees, too; and there is a scale set up for the distribution of the student-fees total on a proportionate basis. In general, the “Bank of Dillard” and the school's bookkeeping system seem to offer adequate execution of the principle that all school funds and accounts should be under the direction of the school.

The local staff furnished little information in regard to the operation and the financing of interscholastic activities. There is a Booster Club which provides the cost of the accident insurance for the football team.

The standard set up by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for the control of athletic activities is stated in part as follows: “Inter-school activities in all member schools shall be under the control of the principals






of these schools.” This includes all matters of eligibility, scheduling, and finances. It is recommended that all aspects of the athletic program be kept in line with the policy and rule of the Southern Association.

Library Services

The inadequate library quarters offer a tremendous handicap to extensive use of the library and library materials. Dillard has a full time professionally trained librarian, with adequate preparation and qualifications for the work. The organization and management of the library were found to be as satisfactory as possible under the circumstances. It may be possible, even under the existing unsatisfactory physical facilities, for more library materials to be loaned to classroom and study hall groups, thus making better use of these materials. The committees call attention to the fact that a total library budget of $800.00 (1954-55) for a student body of over 600 pupils is below the minimum that should be set up. Additional funds should be spent to strengthen the areas by buying additional books in science, the useful arts, literature, and the fine arts. Expenditures for periodicals seem to be adequate. There is a lack of audio-visual materials and modern supplementary instructional materials which should be available. The library is open at all times, but the space is so limited that they can seat only some 20 pupils at one time. The library should purchase and use Wilson printed catalog cards.

Guidance Services

Guidance activities in Dillard High School are determined primarily by a Guidance Committee composed of ten staff members. The duties of this committee are: (1) to stimulate the interest of the faculty in performing guidance functions, (2) to sponsor faculty meetings for in-service training, (3) to study problems which have guidance implications, and (4) to investigate activities which might remedy these problems. This committee has been an active organization through the last several years and provides opportunity for the total staff to participate in the determination of staff policy and practice where guidance functions are concerned.

Leadership

Dillard High School is fortunate in that three members of the faculty have Master's degrees with majors in the field of guidance. Their knowledge, skills, and understanding of the guidance services and their functions have provided a basis for professional leadership which is not found in most other schools.

The trained staff is available in Dillard High School, but time must be allotted in the schedule for guidance work. In a

school of this size the equivalent of two full-time guidance workers can be thoroughly justified in terms of existing needs for guidance services. This time for guidance work might advantageously be distributed among the three professionally trained members of the staff.

Teacher Participation

There is considerable interest among the Dillard faculty in a higher standard of guidance service, but the lack of time and the multiplicity of teaching duties tend to lessen the quality of participation. Teachers will participate if they are helped to understand what they should do and how they can do it. In helping teachers do this the supervisory staff must assist the staff in determining their role with respect to guidance activities.

Individual Inventory Service

It is desirable that significant information from the elementary or junior high school be made available at or before the time of the pupils enrollment in the next higher school and additional items of information having guidance value be added to each pupil's record be progressed through the school.

The members of the Guidance Committee at Dillard High School recognize the necessity of having adequate information about each pupil. However, because of lack of time and facilities it has not been possible to develop this service. Records of scholastic progress are fairly complete but there is a dearth of recorded information concerning home and family background, personal and social development, interests and aptitudes. Tests administered as a result of the Survey will do much to provide information needed for effective counseling and curriculum planning.

In Dillard High School some educational and occupational information is available in pamphlet and book form in the library. Reasonable amounts of material are made available to pupils concerning colleges, scholarships, loans and related data. On the other hand, information about occupations, job opportunities and requirements are almost completely lacking. The few books and materials which are in the library are out-dated to the point that most of them should be destroyed. New materials have not been purchased because of limited library funds.

Counseling Service

Provision should be made so that counselors have sufficient time to work effectively with all children who have need of help. Competent counselors are already on the staff at Dillard High School. They should be given time for counseling in the school schedule.






Placement Service

There are no organized provisions for placement services at Dillard High School. Again the staff sees a need for such services but because of lack of personnel, staff time has not been allocated to do this work.

Follow-up and Adjustment Services

Last year the Dillard High School conducted a follow-up study of drop-outs and graduates. While this study provided some useful information, efforts to acquaint the community and the staff with the results was not effectively accomplished.

Special Characteristics of the Guidance Services

The Dillard High School staff is well qualified and interested in counseling activities. It would not be necessary to employ new staff if adequate time can be given to the members now employed. Certain physical facilities have been made available which have improved the service. The testing program continues under the direction of staff members.

The greatest need is in the allotment of time for the counseling work and the provision for adequate records. It is also necessary to add recent materials of an occupational and educational nature.

Recommendations

These recommendations are being made to apply in general to both of the high schools of the city with special applications to specific problems in each of the schools. While the development of a junior high school program for the system will create some new situations and opportunities the overall suggestions will be valuable.

(1) The curriculum should be continually evaluated in terms of the outcomes desired and the organization pattern followed.

(a) A curriculum committee composed of staff members from all departments should be actively at work on the changing objectives, the new demands, the procedures, study guides and a guidebook for staff members.

(b) Evaluation procedures which include staff, pupils and citizens should be developed and implemented.

(c) A proper balance between the college preparation requirements and vocational opportunities must be maintained in a comprehensive high school program.

(d) Curriculum revision should follow the suggestions made in the previous individual sections of this chapter.

(2) The instructional program may be improved in the following manner:

(a) A plan is needed to provide for the selection, purchase and prompt distribution of audio-visual materials, equipment and supplies.

(b) There should be a much closer cooperation between the school and the community in the utilization of local resources both human and physical in providing desirable work-experience for high school students.

(c) Better coordination of effort and planning should be established between departments in the schools to the end that activities and projects may be of mutual value.

(d) A policy should be developed which will serve as a guide for principals and teachers in determining the amount and nature of community service projects which may be undertaken by students and teachers through the school. When such activities interfere with instruction they should be stopped.

(e) The homeroom programs should be more effectively used for group guidance activities, presentation of occupational and educational information and personal guidance.

(f) Qualified staff with sufficient time and appropriate materials should be available to work with the “exceptional” pupils in reading, speech, health, social, and psychological problems.

(g) Special committees should be constituted immediately to begin plans for the introduction of the junior high school programs to be started in February 1957 and September 1957. It should include personnel from the upper elementary grades, the junior high high school grades, and the senior high school grades. Faculties for the new units should be selected early in order that meetings and conferences may be held during the year. Visitation to well established junior high schools should be planned for as many staff members as possible. The principal should give full time during the term preceding the opening to planning with the staff and the administration. Special work in the reorganization of the senior high schools should be started by the principals.

3. Guidance services should be improved and made more functional:






(a) An in-service program designed to stimulate democratic staff planning on guidance needs should be started.

(b) A revision of the cumulative record system with space and location for the most effective use of this information is necessary.

(c) Provision for systematic placement service and follow-up of all graduates and drop-outs is essential.

(d) Plans for city wide cooperation on guidance activities at all school levels should be developed under trained guidance leaders.

(e) Each high school needs the time equivalent of two full-time counselors, one of whom should give full time to the work.

4. School facilities should be improved:

(a) The Goldsboro High Building should be remodeled to provide more appropriate space for the various phases of the school program. The building needs to be redecorated in lighter colors. When any new furniture is purchased it should have a light finish.

(b) The present Dillard High School building which is to become a new junior high school building in 1957 must be completely remodeled to make it a satisfactory plant. Certain units may have to be removed from the site while others must be repaired and redecorated. Staff members and visiting committee members were emphatic about the inadequacy of this building.

(c) There is a serious shortage in both buildings in satisfactory storage space in central store rooms or in the classrooms. Science rooms are especially weak in this respect.

(d) There are many small classrooms which cannot be enlarged. When schedules of classes and homerooms are made the principals should take this factor into consideration.

(e) Electrical facilities, enlarged library space, conference rooms, audio-visual equipment and rooms, maps and charts are needed.

CHAPTER VI
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

In appraising the elementary schools of Goldsboro the survey staff was greatly aided by the use of Evaluating the Elementary School and other publications of the Southwide Cooperative Study of Elementary Education sponsored by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Criteria for use in the appraisal of the schools were developed from Good Schools for Children1, a publication of the Cooperative Study growing out of evaluation programs carried out in more than 1500 cooperating schools in eleven Southern states. These criteria may be stated as follows:

Good Elementary Schools

1. Teach effectively and efficiently needed skills—the fundamental 3 R's and other skills needed for scholastic effectiveness, personal development and social growth.

2. Teach moral and spiritual values.

3. Foster personal and community health and safety.

4. Develop democratic citizens.

5. Meet child needs and broaden interests.

6. Provide adequate guidance for children.

7. Fully recognize individual differences and provide special programs for exceptional children.

In keeping with the belief of the directors of the Cooperative Study in Elementary Education, the staff conducting the Goldsboro survey believes that achievement of these goals is facilitated when these “earmarks” are in evidence:

1. The instructional staff is properly trained and experienced.

2. Dynamic supervisory leadership is given.

3. Adequate instructional materials and supplies are provided.

4. Good buildings and grounds with modern equipment are available in sufficient amount to meet enrollment needs.

5. Class size is limited to 30 pupils with 25 being an even more desirable number.

6. Good home-school relationships are established through pre-school contacts and are effectively maintained throughout the child's elementary school experience.

1. Published by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 316 Peachtree Street, N. E., Atlanta, Georgia.




7. A stimulating, cooperatively planned program for improvement is in evidence at all times.

To determine the extent to which the Goldsboro elementary schools meet these criteria and provide the needed facilities and services the survey staff gathered data from a number of sources, chiefly through the following activities:

1. School visitation and observation by survey staff members during a period of more than one calendar year.

2. Reports from 28 experienced, trained observers called in for one or more days of observation in selected schools. These observers included elementary school principals, supervisors, and teachers from other school systems, college specialists and personnel of the State Department of Public Instruction. Practically every classroom in every school was visited, some several times.

3. Reports of self-surveys made cooperatively by the staff in each school using Evaluating the Elementary School—A Guide for Cooperative Study. In the opinion of competent judges these were the most comprehensive surveys yet made by a complete school system using this guide.

4. A testing program covering both intelligence and achievement and reaching from grade 2 through grade 8.

5. Numerous conferences with teachers, principals, school board members and the superintendent of schools.

6. Questionnaires filled out by the instructional staff and by 107 selected families.

7. More than 200 photographs of buildings, classrooms and instructional activities, organized around the seven criteria and the seven “earmarks” mentioned above and presented to lay and professional groups for their reactions.

From these data it is possible to make a fairly accurate description of the Goldsboro elementary schools and to appraise various aspects of the total educational enterprise.

Goldsboro has a bi-racial school system which in 1955-56 enrolled 5,344 children in the elementary schools, 2,967 being white children housed in four school plants and 2,377 being Negro children housed in three school plants. A total of 155 teachers and principals are employed to teach these children giving a ratio of teachers to children of 1 to 34.5.

Grade Organization

The grade organization in Goldsboro schools varies, the differences in the number of grades in the schools arising more

from a building shortage and population shifts than from commitment to the grade organization currently in effect. The names of the schools, the grades comprising each school, and the number of teachers in 1955 is given in tabular form below:

SchoolRaceNumber TeachersGrades Included
EdgewoodW211-4
Virginia StreetW141-4
Walnut StreetW171-4
William StreetW375-8
East EndN261-8
GreenleafN211-7
School StreetN191-7
155

The survey staff is of the opinion that the grade organization in the Goldsboro elementary schools has been dictated largely by building emergencies and not by a careful planning to meet the growth needs of children. In urban situations throughout America the advantages of a six year elementary school followed by a three year junior high school and a three year senior high school are becoming more apparent each year. As soon as a long range building plan can be made and construction of buildings can be financed, the system should be reorganized along 6-3-3 lines, with the six year elementary school becoming the basic foundation for the educational structure. Such a unit in the system should admit children at approximately six years of age and provide six years of integrated learning experiences for them before they are sent into the larger and more formalized situations of the middle division of the system. This would make the elementary school the school of childhood, leaving the middle school free to develop a program expressly for the young adolescent.

In the three white schools having grades 1-4, the two Negro schools having grades 1-7 and the one Negro school having grades 1-8, the basic interval organization is patterned along conventional lines with each classroom operating as a self-contained instructional unit. The survey staff believes that this plan is basically sound and should characterize the new six-grade elementary schools proposed in this report. The self-contained classroom has much to recommend it and has long been advocated by most leading authorities in elementary education. Inasmuch as the teacher in such a situation spends the entire day with one group of children, she gets to know each child, is able to give better guidance, to plan work better suited to individual and small group needs, and to unify the experiences of children. Effective pupil-teacher planning is facilitated and units of study cutting across subject matter lines can be easily developed. Such a plan






will not preclude use of special teachers with unusual skill in such areas as music and library, but will permit integration of their work into the total instructional pattern more easily and effectively.

Throughout the Nation there is a trend toward providing formalized education for children below six years of age. Although only permissive and not required under present North Carolina laws, Goldsboro should be looking toward publicly-supported kindergartens as a part of the elementary school program.

Grouping of Pupils

The grouping of pupils in elementary schools that have more than one section for a grade has long been a matter of controversy in public education. Many experiments have been conducted to find out which is better, homogeneous or heterogeneous grouping. In practically all of these experiments the investigators have concluded that homogeneous grouping is impossible. When the criterion of homogeneity is intelligence then the groups vary extensively in age, size, interests and other factors. When some other criterion of homogeneity is used as a basis of grouping wide disparities may occur in achievement or some other important area. In Goldsboro, teachers and the administration alike have avoided strict grouping according to ability and have followed promotion practices which tend to hold age groups together. This is a commendable policy in keeping with the best educational theory and practice. This does not mean that children of similar instructional needs should not be grouped within the classroom for more effective teaching and meeting individual needs. In fact, this practice is highly beneficial but is not followed in many classrooms to the extent desired. The trained observers reporting on their classroom visits frequently told of instances in which 35 or more children were being taught the same thing at the same time and in the same way despite an apparent wide range of ability which made the teaching seem above the heads of some children and not challenging to others.

Pupil Progress Policies and Practices

The promotion policy advocated by the Goldsboro administration is set forth in the GUIDEBOOK of the system as follows:

The policy of promotions in the local system has been to place each child in the grade where he will profit most. Promotions are never made on the basis of achievement alone but are made after considering the following: Ability, achievement, maturity, social development, age, attendance and the number of grades already repeated.

No child should repeat more than one year in the primary grades nor more than one in the grammar

grades. This would mean that he would enter high school not more than two years retarded.

The data collected in this survey and observations made by survey staff personnel indicate that this policy is being followed liberally and in operation means almost “automatic” promotion for each child. The policy is a good one as stated and is defensible if the teachers fully understand the philosophy behind it and work together to make the promotion policy help to implement the democratic philosophy of the school. From conferences of the observers and survey staff with individual teachers a feeling arose that the policy and what is behind it are not fully understood by some of the teachers. It is recommended that a continuing effort be made to develop a fuller understanding of promotion policies and that parents and teachers study together this and other aspects of pupil evaluation so as to arrive at a policy which is thoroughly understood and effectively implemented by practices and procedures in keeping with the educational objectives of the schools. Such a study would consider not only promotion, but the marking system, reports to parents, and the cumulative records kept for all pupils. All the objective data available as well as careful subjective appraisal should be skillfully interpreted and used in evaluating the progress of each pupil.

In the late spring of 1955 the elementary school teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to give first hand knowledge of practices not easily observed in the schools and to determine teacher attitudes regarding various teaching procedures and operational policies. Of the 155 teachers 99, or 64 per cent, responded, the total group including 48 white teachers and 51 Negro teachers. Many of these teachers reported pupils had been moved into their classes who had received “social” promotion, that is to say pupils who were advanced into their grades despite inability to do standard work for the grade. Thirty-seven of the 48 white teachers and 36 of the 51 Negro teachers reported receiving a total of 572 “social” promotions, the Negro group accounting for 423 of the total. The white teachers reported an average of 4 “social” promotions and the Negro teachers 12. Few teachers criticized this practice and in all probability made as many “social” promotions from their rooms as they received into their rooms.

The survey staff does not denounce this practice, but wishes to point out that continuous promotion of children who are below grade standard carries with it an obligation to adapt the curriculum and teaching procedures to the needs of the children even though the policy may advance into the higher grades pupils who are two or more years below standard. Table XXII in Chapter






Seven, for example, shows that many Negro children have been advanced to the eighth grade with serious deficiencies. Whereas the national average at the time of testing was 8.7 years this grade contained 99 (of 200) children with average achievement of less than 6.0 years, 20 of the 99 showing achievement less than 4.0 years with 4 of them making an average score of less than 3.0 years. In Table XXI in the same chapter it will be seen that 15 of the 243 white children in grade eight achieved less than 6.0 years, one of the group having an achievement score of less than 4.0 years, and none less than three years.

Although the policy and practices now in effect may tend to extend the achievement range within a given grade, they have one tremendous advantage—they tend to keep children of similar ages together. This is clearly seen in Table XI which shows the age range and median for each of the first seven grades and gives comparable figures for Mobile, Alabama, where a rigid grade standard theory of pupil progress was in effect when that city was surveyed a few years ago.

TABLE XI
AGE RANGE AND MEDIAN AGE OF PUPILS, GRADES 1 THROUGH 7 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR 1954-55 GOLDSBORO FIGURES, 1945-46 MOBILE FIGURES
White Schools
GoldsboroMobile
GradeAge RangeMedianAge RangeMedian
15½- 9½5½-136
26½-106 -148
37 -137 -179
48½-14½8 -1610
58½-13½10½8 -16½11
610 -14½11½10 -1712
711 -1512½11 -17 & over13
Negro Schools
16 - 8½5½-157
27 -12½6 -158
37½-137 -159
48½-147 -17 & over10
59 -15½10½8 -18 & over11
69 -1611½9 -17 & over12
711½-1612½10 -17 & over13

It should be pointed out, moreover, that a rigid policy of promotions employing considerable grade repetition in Mobile did not achieve homogeneity in achievement. In the white schools at the seventh grade level in that city the range was from 4.7 to 11.0 years, a span of 6.3 years.2 In both cities this range is such

* Mobile data from Cooperative Study of the Mobile Public Schools, Vol. 5, p. 38, published by the Bureau of Educational Research, College of Education, University of Alabama, 1949. Goldsboro figures are from the office of the Superintendent of Schools.2.Op. Cit. p. 49.

as to require grouping within classrooms and considerable individual attention in the case of the very slow learner and the very bright learner.

That Goldsboro is consistent in its use of a continuous or “normal progress” policy is further shown in the limited amount of pupil acceleration found in the schools. Only 60 of 2,739 white children were found to be under-age for their grades; only 50 of 2,245 Negro children were so classified. The total of 110 under-age pupils out of a total of 4,984, only a little over two per cent, suggests that further study be given this aspect of pupil progress to learn whether or not gifted children are being held back needlessly. As pointed out elsewhere in this report, pupils of superior mental ability should make faster than normal progress through the grades if they are physically and socially capable of holding their own with older children.

How promotion policies have affected age-grade distribution in Goldsboro is shown in Tables XII and XIII.

TABLE XII
CHRONOLOGICAL AGE-GRADE DISTRIBUTION, WHITE 1954-55
GRADES
Age (in yrs.)Age* (in yrs. & mos.)12345678TOTAL
5-3 up to 5-911
65-9 up to 6-3133133
6-3 up to 6-91752177
76-9 up to 7-3711592232
7-3 up to 7-9161933212
87-9 up to 8-3268115185
8-3 up to 8-918122101151
98-9 up to 9-31264931170
9-3 up to 9-9142312011159
109-9 up to 10-329531221187
10½10-3 up to 10-951812112156
1110-9 up to 11-321350882155
11½11-3 up to 11-923159710127
1211-9 up to 12-341158942169
12½12-3 up to 12-924241058143
1312-9 up to 13-3113184488155
13½13-3 up to 13-9211882103
1413-9 up to 14-35173961
14½14-3 up to 14-91272434
1514-9 up to 15-331518
15½15-3 up to 15-9918
1615-9 up to 16-311
16½16-3 up to 16-90
1716-9 up to 17-311
Totals3994583483183413063002692739
Number Under Age125101313121066
Percent Under Age.3.41.43.13.84.24.03.72.4
Number Over-age1936424235504550319
Percent Over-age4.87.912.113.210.316.315.018.611.6

*Age of Child to Nearest Birthday as of September 1, 1954




TABLE XIII
CHRONOLOGICAL AGE-GRADE DISTRIBUTION, NEGRO 1954-55
GRADES
Age (in yrs.)Age* (in yrs. & mos.)12345678TOTAL
5-3 up to 5-9
65-9 up to 6-3134134
6-3 up to 6-9168168
76-9 up to 7-349127176
7-3 up to 7-981411150
87-9 up to 8-334776126
8-3 up to 8-92211384165
98-9 up to 9-38407951133
9-3 up to 9-9318974122
109-9 up to 10-3838961143
10½10-3 up to 10-9251110711136
1110-9 up to 11-32282388123
11½11-3 up to 11-91398916118
1211-9 up to 12-31535576113
12½12-3 up to 12-915127211101
1312-9 up to 13-313274363119
13½13-3 up to 13-924586685
1413-9 up to 14-314174567
14½14-3 up to 14-9562132
1514-9 up to 15-315814
15½15-3 up to 15-9113914
1615-9 up to 16-31214
16½16-3 up to 16-911
1716-9 up to 17-311
Totals3643532922522702632192322245
Number Under Age1441361750
Percent Under Age.31.63.34.92.77.32.2
Number Over-age1338373435364141275
Percent Over-age3.610.812.713.513.013.718.717.712.2

* Age of Child to Nearest Birthday as of September 1, 1954Reports to Parents

Each nine weeks parents of elementary school pupils receive reports concerning their children's work in school. These reports are frequently the major communication between home and school and at times fail to convey to the parent the true progress to the child. This may be attributed largely to the inadequacies of formal reporting and to a lack of understanding of the marking system and the philosophy behind it. As in a majority of the school systems throughout the United States, there is in evidence in Goldsboro of some dissatisfaction on the part of both teachers and parents in the matter of pupil reports. The time seems ripe for a comprehensive, cooperative study of the marking system and methods of reporting.

The city school GUIDEBOOK emphasizes the necessity of a fair and helpful written report and suggests parent-teacher conferences and open-house days as means of supplementing reports and informing the parent about the work of the school and the achievement of his child. The suggestion that teachers point out

to parents the strengths of their children as well as their weaknesses is a good one and implies an evaluation of the total child and a psychologically sound approach to the parent. Implementation of this suggestion will require a broadening of the scope of reporting and more informal procedures. In such a broadening of scope the importance of parent-teacher conferences, home visits, planned telephone calls and informal letters become more apparent. In recent years some school systems, such as Battle Creek, Michigan, have practically eliminated formal report cards and have come to rely very largely on scheduled reporting conferences, vis á vis, each fall and each spring. Battle Creek goes so far as to excuse children for one full day each semester in order to free the teacher to schedule parent conferences throughout the day. Both teachers and parents report these days as two of the most productive of the school year.

Of 107 parents interviewed in Goldsboro 56 reported that they got most of their information about the school from their children. To interpret the work of the school, therefore, the teachers must be sure not only that pupils carry home understandable reports, but must also find ways of getting to the parents in person for an exchange of ideas and for development of mutual help in the guidance of children.

The survey staff believes that reporting to parents should be a matter for cooperative study and action in the near future. Inasmuch as the reports are for the parents, the parents should be fully represented in study groups. In all likelihood each school should handle this problem separately and develop the kind of reporting that its parents want. Certain information such as attendance and subject evaluations may have to be standardized throughout the city for administrative purposes, but beyond this each school should be free to experiment with new ways of reporting in keeping with the objective of better parental understanding and cooperation for the good of the child.

Pupil Records and Guidance

The Goldsboro elementary schools keep individual cumulative records of all children from the time of entrance until they are passed on to high school or leave school for other reasons. These records are tangible evidence of the school's interest in the study of children and in their proper development. Information concerning the child's health, scholastic programs, social growth and character development is recorded by each teacher and is therefore available to other teachers who may teach him later. These data are extremely valuable in child guidance and if studied as a whole over a period of years will shed much light on the problems, issues and needs of the school itself.






Although there is room for improvement in record keeping by supplementing existing data with anecdotal records, pupil inventories, sociograms, and samples of pupil work, the survey staff is of the opinion that the chief need is for better use of data being currently collected. The cumulative records should be turned over to the teacher at the very start of the school year for study and should then be filed where they are readily available. When a child moves from one school to another, a duplicate of his record should go with him; when he is promoted to the next higher school his record should be passed along to that school promptly for the value it will be to the teachers who will receive him and because these records are useful in planning for articulation between school units.

Provisions for Atypical Children

In various school surveys it has been found that about three per cent of the children of elementary school age are handicapped to such an extent that they cannot begin to realize their potential in a typical classroom situation. If this figure holds for Goldsboro, then there are more than 150 children who need special programs under teachers trained for special kinds of teaching. These 150 or more children would probably include children who are hard-of-hearing, partially-seeing, defective in speech, cerebral palsied or extremely slow-learning. For them to get the kinds of educational experiences they need they must have special instruction, frequently on an individual basis.

In Goldsboro there is only one special teacher and her time is almost entirely taken up with children who have speech difficulties. There is an indicated need for seven or eight special teachers, at least one of whom would be broadly trained in special education and testing so that these atypical children could be positively identified and appropriate plans for their growth, rehabilitation or both could be at a faster rate than possible in a regular classroom situation. An “institutional” arrangement for these children should be avoided. Plans could be effected whereby each child could spend a large part of his day in a regular classroom situation with time away from the group for any special instruction or therapy he may need. No handicapped child should be stigmatized because of his handicap and certainly he will benefit greatly from contacts with normal children and an understanding teacher.

A program to meet the needs of handicapped children is expensive. Classes must be very small and specially trained teachers and special equipment demand a greater outlay of funds than is the case in a typical situation. The added costs, however, can be justified within the expressed philosophy of the system which emphasizes a belief that the school has an obligation to all

the children of all the people who provide the kind of program which will meet the needs of the individual.

The first step in providing for these handicapped children is the making of a special survey to determine the number of children who are handicapped, the nature of their handicaps, and their physical and educational needs. The Division of Special Education in the State Department of Public Instruction can give valuable assistance at this point. The second step would logically be the formation of a committee of laymen and educators to sponsor the program, employ a director, and get the program under way. From this point on much of the leadership could be assumed by the director who would seek additional personnel and plan additional services in keeping with the needs of the program as it develops.

In considering the atypical child, the gifted child should not be overlooked. As pointed out in Chapter VII, there are many bright children in the Goldsboro elementary schools who are not being challenged and, therefore, tend to waste time and fail to “burgeon out all there is within them.” No special classes are recommended for these children, but attention is called to their needs and to the necessity for regular teachers to provide enrichment, extra assignments, and in some cases acceleration, so that the child is not held back because he is in an average or slow group.

Need for Instructional Leadership

Over a period of years one of the greatest needs in Goldsboro has been the need for additional personnel for instructional leadership. The superintendent has done far more in this area than the average superintendent and has shown a keen interest in curriculum development and improvement of teaching. He has been restricted in his instructional supervision, however, by the day-to-day press of administrative duties and a serious lack of administrative assistance in such matters as construction, operation and maintenance of buildings, purchasing, accounting, budget-making, personnel management, and the like. The addition of a Director of Instruction to be placed in charge of curriculum and teaching appears to be a major need at the present time. Such a person could be freed of other responsibilities and devote full time to program development and in-service education of teachers. He would, of course, need assistants if adequate supervision is to be given the seven elementary schools, the junior high school now under construction, the two high schools, and other schools that may be built in the future.

The employment of a Director of Instruction would in no way relieve principals of their responsibilities for instructional






leadership. On the contrary it would demand of them greater leadership under the coordination and stimulation of the Director. Principals would remain the heads of their schools and the supervisory services from the central office would give them the stimulation, encouragement and practical help which would multiply their strength. It is believed that with proper leadership and guidance from a capable Director, the principals would learn more about instructional leadership and would increase their activities having to do with supervision of instruction. There is some evidence to indicate that the principals as a group spend too much of their time in routine office work and not enough time in making purposeful supervisory visits to classrooms and in conferring with teachers about instructional problems. Of the 48 white elementary school teachers who in May, 1955 filled out the questionnaire concerning school practices, 33 answered the question “How many supervisory visits has the principal made to your room this year?”. The 33 reported only 132 visits, an average of four visits a year. Of the 33, however, nine reported no visits, and 24 reported only two or three supervisory visits. Fourteen of these 33 teachers said that they had held no individual conferences with the principal as a result of these visits. Teachers in the Negro schools reported more supervisory visits and follow-up conferences, but even then indicated that the principals were not spending a proper proportion of their time in visiting classrooms and conferring with them about matters of instruction.

Throughout this report there are recommendations having a bearing upon the need for instructional services to teachers that can only be provided by a leader who is technically trained and broadly experienced in the field of instruction. The suggestion that additional supervisory personnel be provided, therefore, takes on added significance. Moreover, these days of expanding enrollments, teacher shortage, and educational ferment further emphasize the need. In the immediate years ahead Goldsboro is facing increased enrollments, introduction of a junior high school program, reorganization of the grade set-up in practically every school, the induction of a large number of new teachers, significant curriculum revision and other matters having a farreaching effect upon teaching. In such a situation the need for dynamic leadership in instruction is unmistakable.

Summary of Suggestions for Improvement of the Organization and Administration of the Elementary Schools

1. The elementary schools should be reorganized in line with a 6-3-3 grade pattern as soon as finances and plant construction will permit.

2. The policy of heterogeneous grouping should be continued with adequate provision for small groups within each classroom to provide for varying levels of attainment in skills.

3. The promotion policy now in effect should be continued with only slight revision in application to provide for acceleration and grade repetition for only the extreme cases.

4. A cooperative study of reporting to parents should be made by a lay-professional group to devise more effective procedures for developing home-school cooperation.

5. Greater attention should be given to the use of cumulative records in the guidance of children.

6. A program of special education should be developed to provide better learning for the atypical child.

7. A Director of Instruction should be appointed to give full time to instruction and to develop an improved program for the in-service education of teachers.

Curriculum and Teaching the Language Arts

The purpose for teaching the language arts in the elementary school is to help each boy and girl to use the mother tongue effectively. Language arts is usually thought of as consisting of reading, writing, oral language, and listening ability. These are very important areas in the social and personal development of children. The degree of school success which boys and girls attain is definitely conditioned by skill in the language areas. The Goldsboro teachers indicate an awareness of the importance of language skills and make a consistent effort to see that each child attains maximum growth in language. In most classrooms a sufficient amount of time is allotted during the school week for instruction in this area. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are all parts of the broader program of communication of ideas and they are interrelated. Success in one area contributes to success in the other areas, and retardation in one area interferes with normal growth in the other areas of language. Even though these areas are so closely related, most schools have separate periods for the development of specific skills in each area. Good teachers, however, do not confine their teaching of language skills to separate language periods, but recognize opportunities for helping children with their language growth in all of the school situations which involve language. For evaluation purposes, each language area will be discussed separately.

Reading Instruction

As a part of the survey, tests were administered to obtain scores in reading which could be compared with the norms of the tests throughout the country. The results of the tests in reading are indicated below:






TABLE XIV
STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST GRADE EQUIVALENTS
AVERAGE READING (COMPREHENSION AND WORD MEANING)
White Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average2.73.44.45.66.37.58.2
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm0-.3-.3-.1-.4-.2-.5
Negro Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average2.93.43.75.05.86.65.7
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm+.2-.3-1.0-.7-.9-1.1-3.0

The objective test data show that Goldsboro children get off to a good start in learning to read. In both white and Negro schools the second grade children compare favorably with the national norms, the Negro second grade children actually scoring two-tenths of a grade above normal. From this point on through the elementary school the children as a group read below the national norm. The negative deviation, however, is not serious in the white schools, but reveals a surprisingly large deficiency of three years in the eighth grade in the Negro schools.

The survey staff is of the opinion that Goldsboro teachers, like other teachers in many schools in North Carolina and elsewhere, do not give enough attention to the development and maintenance of reading skills in the middle and upper grades. Renewed emphasis on basic work-type reading, wider use of the library and dictionary and carefully planned remedial programs would enable the children to progress through the grades without the accumulation of deficiencies revealed by the test data.

In appraising the effectiveness of reading instruction, however, it should be pointed out that the data show a wide dispersal of ability in each grade, encompassing a range of five to nine years in the white eighth grades and from five to ten years in the Negro eighth grades. It should be kept in mind that within this great range a large number of children read far above the national norm. In the white eighth grades, for example, 62 of the 248 children tested, 25 per cent, read with better skill than average beginning tenth grade children, 25 of them reading better than average eleventh grade children. At the lower end of the scale there are children with weaknesses almost as remarkable as the strengths shown by certain children at the upper end of the scale. These facts emphasize the need for individualizing the teaching of reading and the use of grouping within classrooms to provide for instruction that starts with the child where he is.

For the seriously handicapped child the need of a modern reading clinic is indicated.

The survey staff believes that the teachers recognize individual differences in such areas as reading readiness, ability, achievement, and interests. Their chief attempt to adjust instruction to these individual differences is through grouping of children for the teaching of reading skills and in selecting materials at the reading level of these groups. While some kind of grouping for reading instruction is in general practice, a few teachers indicate that they do not fully recognize individual differences and needs, but because of large numbers of children try to teach all of the children in their rooms the same skills, at the same time, and out of the same books.

Children who are seriously handicapped in reading may have types of learning problems which cannot be solved in the typical classroom situation by the regular teacher. Such children are entitled to special help which a clinically trained teacher can give them in a remedial reading program. There is a special teacher who does do something about teaching remedial reading in the schools, but a much more comprehensive program of remedial instruction is needed.

A large part of the reading program is concerned with the teaching of basic reading skills, such as basic sight words, phonics, word analysis, comprehension, and using appropriate rates of reading. In the primary grades considerable emphasis is given to skill development. The teachers use the basal books which are adopted for use in this state. They indicate special consideration of such skills as those involved in word meanings, pronunciation, syllabication, diacritical marks, building new words from base words, prefixes and suffixes, use of the dictionary, encyclopedia, table of contents, and index. These reading skills are built into the program found in the state adopted books, but unless a teacher uses the manual or guidebook which accompanies the series the skill development program suffers. Some of the teachers indicate that they do not have or use the manuals and guidebooks which facilitate successful use of the reading books which they use as texts. These manuals are furnished by the publisher at no cost to the teacher or the school. The very minimum preparation expected of a teacher of reading would be to plan a program for her children which is consistent with the suggestions in the guidebook or manual which accompanies the books being used. In the absence of this preparation, a carefully planned sequential skill development program is unlikely.

Learning to read is a life-long process. A person does not learn all there is to know about reading at any given grade level. The development of desirable reading skills, attitudes, and habits






becomes the task of every teacher. At each maturity level there are new reading skills which should be taught. Desirable reading skills are not taught by having everybody in a class open a reading book to the same place and having each child read aloud a few lines until the time devoted to reading has elapsed.

A study of the reading program showed only limited attention to the development of reading skills beyond the fourth grade. Some evidence was seen of “reading around the room” as a method of teaching. Children who are taught in this way tend to habituate at a rather low level of reading.

An important part of a good reading program is concerned with the development of reading tastes, attitudes, and habits. This part of the program helps children to read for pleasure and enjoyment, to become acquainted with the best literature, to read for practical purposes such as gaining desired information and learning how to make and do things. Good library facilities are essential for the development of this part of the program.

The teachers showed concern for helping children grow in desirable reading tastes and habits. They frequently referred to the obvious handicap of inadequate library facilities, either in their classrooms or in a central library room. In some of the schools the library space has been taken over for classroom use and the library materials have been dispersed. A good elementary school library has the services of a trained librarian. There are indications that the elementary school libraries are serviced chiefly by WPA trained personnel skilled in accessioning and cataloging books, but whose training did not make adequate provision for the broader, and more important, duties of an elementary school librarian. A fully trained school library director would be of great help in developing a good reading program.

A good reading program gives emphasis to the functional, purposeful reading of children, and does not rely too heavily upon the reading assignments made by the teacher. Such a functional reading program develops best in a classroom where the pupils have had a part in planning and developing units of work in which they have a genuine interest. In a few classrooms there was little evidence of such units of work or of functional reading by the children.

The following suggestions should result in improvement in the reading instructional program:

1. More effective use of a variety of techniques for determining and recording the individual differences of children and their specific reading needs.

2. More effective emphasis upon reading for comprehension, enjoyment, and for practical purposes.

3. Better library facilities and a trained librarian.

4. More teaching aids in bookrooms and more effective use of those already available.

5. More help for children who have reading difficulties, both in the classroom and through services of specialists in reading.

6. Less dependence upon “reading around the room” as a method of teaching reading.

7. More attention to individual differences and needs through grouping for instruction and adjusting instruction and materials to the needs of the children.

8. A richer, more meaningful total school program which stimulates functional reading.

9. Supervisory help directed toward planned improvement of reading instruction throughout the elementary school.

10. An in-service program for teachers to develop common understanding about a total reading program, characteristics of a good reading lesson, desirable methods of teaching, and wise use of materials.

Writing

The purpose for teaching writing in the elementary school is to enable children to express their ideas in writing. Handwriting and spelling are taught, not as ends in themselves, but as abilities necessary for an easy and effective expression of ideas in written form. In like manner, knowledge of sentence structure and paragraphing, acceptable forms for friendly and business letters, story pattern, and theme writing are not ends in themselves but are means to an end. The end result is that when a child has a purpose for writing his ideas, it may be done in conformity with acceptable standards, and without long delay while consideration is given to the form to use. Major emphasis is placed upon the expression of a thought or an idea rather than upon the correctness of forms, punctuation, spelling, and handwriting. These latter elements should be mastered in order to facilitate the best presentation of ideas. Emphasis is usually given to the practical writing of children, such as friendly and business letters, summaries of research, book reports, and themes and stories. Of equal importance is the personal or creative writing of children in which children use language as an avenue for expression of feelings, emotions, and moods.

The teachers indicate a program of emphasis upon grammar and form of composition to facilitate higher standards of written work. State adopted texts are used at appropriate grade levels. They indicate that children have practice in writing poetry, stories, invitations, social and business letters, accounts of trips, etc. In the upper grades a school newspaper offers experience in






writing for publication. The program includes drills in handwriting and spelling lessons which follow the state adopted texts. Some teachers indicate that their children keep and study a list of their own hard spelling words.

Manuscript writing is taught to the children in the early grades because this is more consistent with their muscular development and the script they write is rather similar to the printed forms of the letters which they see in reading experiences. Cursive writing is added to the curriculum as the children become more mature, generally being introduced in the latter half of the second year or the first half of the third year.

Observation and study of the program in writing lead to the following suggestions for improvement in the program of written language:

1. The language areas are too often taught as separate subjects—writing, spelling, oral language, etc., with little evidence of effort to integrate these areas which reinforce each other and all of which are part of the same process of sharing of ideas.

2. There is too much emphasis upon following a textbook and too little emphasis upon a functional use of language.

3. Insufficient attention seems to be given to individual differences. It appears that cursive writing is introduced to all of the children in a given grade at the same time, without regard to readiness to learn this form of writing.

4. Pupil-teacher planning and pupil evaluation appeared to receive too little attention.

5. Poor readers are expected to have the same experience in spelling and writing that the good readers have. A child should not be expected to write a language which he is unable to read. Reading and writing may be used to reinforce each other, but there was little evidence of this integration of areas of language.

6. There is a great need for supervisory help in this area. All of the teachers need to agree on the scope and sequence of the language skills and enrich the present textbook methods.

7. In the upper grades rather heavy assignments in language were observed, with no differentiation of assignments to meet individual needs and individual differences, opportunities for study, and the like.

8. In a number of rooms the best work of a number of children was placed on display and the work of the other children was not in evidence. This is a questionable practice.

Spelling

A reasonable accuracy in spelling skill is expected of an educated person. In earlier generations spelling was considered a

major part of the curriculum of the elementary school. Much time was devoted to the teaching of spelling, with considerable emphasis upon oral spelling and spelling matches and other competitions. Reading was taught by a method which emphasized spelling, and thus a child learned spelling skill in reading lessons, in addition to the help he received in spelling lessons. Spelling skill was considered an end in itself. Today, spelling is considered important to the extent that it enables a child to express his ideas in writing. Little emphasis is placed upon oral spelling. Much attention is given to word meanings, and to spelling methods which include the use of syllabication, phonics, visual memory, and the learning which comes from writing the word correctly. Research has shown the words which are more commonly used in writing by children and adults and these words become the basic spelling words to be taught in the elementary school. Children are encouraged to keep and study a list of their own difficult words.

The survey staff found inadequate attention being given to spelling skill. The use of state adopted texts assures a consistent program from grade to grade and many teachers supplement this list with words which children need to write at a given time. Concern is shown for accuracy in spelling of the words which are studied each week and also in all of the written work which children do.

That children of the Goldsboro schools compare favorably in spelling with the national norms is shown in the following tabulation of test scores:

TABLE XV
STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST GRADE EQUIVALENTS SPELLING
White Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average3.23.94.55.76.57.78.6
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm+.5+.2-.20-.20-.1
Negro Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average3.74.04.55.46.87.37.5
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm+1.0+.3-.2-.3
+.1-.4-1.2

In both white and Negro schools the children in grades one and two as groups are considerably above the national average. In the middle grades the children are at or near the






average. In the eighth grade Negro children are more than a year below the national norms, a ranking that may be a reflection in part of the serious reading deficiency of these children which was mentioned earlier.

In view of the good pattern of spelling scores made by Goldsboro children, no special recommendations are being made in this except to point out the need for continued study of spelling with particular attention to the poor spellers who need individual help. The fact that Goldsboro children equal or exceed the national spelling norms in most grades does not deny the fact that there are many Goldsboro children who need help in spelling. The scores reported are group scores and many serious spelling problems are swallowed up in the averages. In the white eighth grades, for example, of 247 children there are 37 children whose spelling ability is two years or more below the national eighth grade average. In the Negro schools 75 of the 209 children scored two years or more below the national average.

Oral Language

Many of the experiences of the school day afford opportunity for children to express their ideas orally. A good oral language program emphasizes spontaneity of expression and provides time for children to talk, gives them something to talk about, and affords a classroom environment that makes a child comfortable as he talks. Oral language is best taught in functional situations where children have some need to express themselves in speech.

The teachers indicate a major emphasis upon speaking correctly, with adequate attention to enunciation and pronunciation. That this emphasis is effective is shown in the results of the language section of the Stanford Achievement Test. White children in the various grades rank at a point about equal to the national norm and slightly above it at the eighth grade level. In the Negro schools the record is not so good, being about a year and a half below the national norm in grade eight.

Survey staff observers report many functional situations being utilized for the improvement of oral expression. Among these are the following: oral book reports, individual reports to the class, student council elections, choral reading, discussion periods, debates, reading aloud, participation in committee and group work, participation in school drives, and assembly programs. Tape recorders are sometimes used as a basis for improvement in speech. State adopted texts are used in language periods.

A special teacher of speech is available to the schools, but the service is spread so thin over the school system that only a

small portion of the children can be reached effectively.

A study of the language program leads the survey staff to make the following recommendations for improvement:

1. More use of functional language instruction and less reliance upon textbooks.

2. More emphasis upon language usage throughout all of the activities of the school day and not just during the language periods.

3. More emphasis upon teacher-pupil planning for evaluation and careful study of evaluation procedures.

4. More supervisory help for teachers in planning the total program from grade to grade.

Listening

Listening is an important skill in communication. The school relies rather heavily upon listening as a means of learning. The research in this area is rather limited, but it is known that children have to be taught some specific skills in listening. The teachers did not indicate a program of emphasis in listening skills. Undoubtedly each teacher does something to help children learn to listen better. Supervisory help is needed to aid teachers in planning certain specific listening skills for emphasis from grade to grade.

Social Studies

The social studies deal with human relationships and with the ways in which people react to their physical and social environment. The chief function of social studies is the development of democratic citizenship. This is done by trying to help boys and girls understand human relationships in such a way that they develop the skills and competences needed for democratic citizenship. The social studies use materials drawn from history, geography, government, economics, sociology, science, and the arts. Experiences, content, and materials are provided to help children live democratically in the school, which is a small counterpart of the community, the state, the nation, and the world in which they live. A well-planned program helps children understand human relations in the home, school, community, and other places both near and far in relation to time and space.

Not enough is done to further the objectives of social studies in classes in history and geography which frequently become teacher-dominated recitations of facts contained in one or more books previously assigned. Provision must be made for children to be actively engaged in democratic living, where purposing, planning, executing, and evaluating are normal experiences of the children. The scope and sequence of the content must be carefully planned and the teacher must know how each day






contributes to the developmental program of skills and understandings.

The North Carolina Handbook in Social Studies makes valuable suggestions for the development of a good social studies program. The teachers indicate that they attempt to follow the Handbook in their work in this area. They refer to experiences for individuals, small groups, and larger groups in which children learn to become leaders and followers. They indicate an effort to help boys and girls have creative experiences which lead to critical thinking. They mention a variety of activities for children such as the following: oral reports, trips, hearing resource persons, reading newspapers and books and reporting on the reading, making pictures and murals, collecting historical items, making puppets, and using audio-visual materials. In the upper grades mention is made of additional experiences such as panel discussions, selling lunchroom tickets, developing pupil interest in hobbies and leisure time activities, producing the William Street Journal, and producing original plays, programs, and exhibits.

Teachers indicate a need for encyclopedias and dictionaries in each room. Field trips are limited by the lack of bus facilities. They feel a need for more maps and globes. They feel a weakness in the program is inadequate to help boys and girls in the selection of radio and TV programs.

A study of the social studies program shows that there is a lack of adequate materials for the development of meaningful units of work or centers of interest. While some good seatwork and group work may be seen, too much of the time is concerned with textbook recitations, stencils, and stereotyped hectographed materials. In too few cases did the survey observers see activities which related the work in social studies to the community and to other environmental resources. Children seemed to play a minor role in planning with the teachers for the work in which they are engaged. In some rooms there was little to suggest the presence of units of work or large centers of interest. When the school system was considered as a whole, there seemed to be a need for a coordinated, well-planned, long-range program in social studies.

The following suggestions should result in improvement in the social studies program:

1. Supervisory help for teachers in planning the scope and sequence of the social studies program and in helping teachers understand and use units of work in the social studies area. area.

2. More teaching materials such as reference books, globes, maps, charts, construction materials, and the like.

3. Reduction of the emphasis upon assignment and recitation, use of stencils and stereotyped hectographed materials.

4. Greater effort to relate social studies to the community and other environmental resources.

5. More effective use of the North Carolina Handbook in Social Studies in seeking a well-planned, long-range social studies program.

Science

Boys and girls today are living in a scientific age and the elementary schools are giving the study of science much more attention than in former years. A modern program in science is rather far removed from the earlier program of displays, and identification of leaves, barks, shells, insects, and the like. Today's science program in the elementary school has broad objectives. Blough and Huggett, in their book Elementary-School Science and How to Teach It, suggest four major objectives: to help boys and girls come to know some generalizations or science principles which they can use in solving problems in their environment; to help pupils grow in ability to solve problems effectively; to develop in children a scientific attitude; and to create in children an interest in and an appreciation for the world in which they live. Other leaders in the field of science teaching in the elementary school have worded these objectives differently but essential agreement is evident in this area.

The teachers indicate that their science program rather closely follows the suggestions contained in the State Handbook in Science. They reveal a variety of activities and problems based upon concepts of science and nature study. Reference is made to simple experiments, map study, field trips, developing balanced aquariums and terrariums, keeping charts, studying conservation, and studying the stars and the heavens. They take advantage of the incidental science interests of children and give attention to the things of scientific implication which children bring to the classrooms. Teachers of the upper grades also indicate the use of models, objects, audio-visual aids, and periodicals. The upper grade children participate in the Science Fair, which some teachers feel has had too much emphasis.

Teachers mention certain limitations of the science program. The lack of better bus transportation limits the field trips which they believe children should have. They state the need for more science equipment and for better books and materials. The crowded rooms prevent adequate display of things of scientific importance which the teachers would like for children to see. Teachers also mention the need for a central storeroom of science equipment and materials, available to all teachers.






A study of the program is in agreement with the opinion of the teachers that there is a need for more materials, supplies, books, and equipment. Little evidence was found that there is a carefully planned program of science in the elementary schools, with definite scope and sequence worked out by the teachers and agreed upon by all teachers as a basis for the work in science. A number of displays were seen in classrooms, some of which were poorly organized and labeled, but there was no indication that they were related to a live, planned, developmental program of science instruction. Little evidence was found in some rooms that science activities are being coordinated with other subject-matter areas in units of work or centers of interest. There was not much evidence that teacher-pupil planning has an important place in the program and that teachers plan the scientific concepts to be taught and how they could be taught best.

The following suggestions for improvement are indicated by a study of the science program.

1. More books, equipment, and supplies are needed, along with better storage facility for them.

2. Supervisory help for the teachers in planning the scope and sequence of the science program throughout the schools.

3. A program which is actually based upon the suggestions of the North Carolina Science Handbook in regard to content and teaching methods.

4. A program which is designed to further all of the objectives of an elementary school science program as indicated above.

5. The development of more units of work, or centers of interest, in which science understandings are coordinated with other areas of the curriculum.

Health, Physical Education, and Safety

For many years the elementary school has recognized responsibility for the health and safety of children and for teaching them how to protect the health and safety of themselves and others. The school environment is planned with emphasis upon sanitation, health, and safety. Programs in physical education are designed to improve the physical condition of children and to help them to develop some interests for leisure time activities. Regular health examinations, immunizations, and correction of unfavorable physical conditions are important. Well-balanced meals are served in the lunchrooms and the dining periods serve as an important part of the instructional program with emphasis upon courtesy, manners, good conversation, etc.

The teachers indicate an awareness of the importance of this area. They point to many phases of their program which result in better health and safety for their pupils. Reference is

made to a good lunchroom program. In some schools the lunchrooms are new and well equipped. Inadequate space is available in other buildings. The meals are well-planned and the lunchrooms are well operated. They assist in providing a balanced diet for the day and in development of good eating habits.

The Health Department cooperates with the schools in providing physical examinations, immunizations, X-ray examinations, and clinics for dental, eyesight, and tonsil cases. Teachers have yearly health examinations. Some help is available through the services of a nurse.

The school Safety Patrol and the City Police Department help to protect the safety of children. There are regular fire drills in the buildings and fire prevention is studied. Safety on the playground is important, and though the playgrounds are somewhat limited in area, they are in most schools protected and safe.

The teachers feel that the schools have a good physical education program and that health principles are being adequately taught. It is felt that through meeting the needs of children in all of their school experiences, mental health needs are being met.

A study of the program reveals that there is a friendly atmosphere in most classrooms and that the pupil-teacher relationship is good. Recognition is given to the emphasis upon health and safety through the incidental activities of the school. On the other hand, a regularly planned, diversified, developmental program in physical education was lacking. The periods designated for physical education were frequently periods when many children were turned loose on the play area with one teacher on duty to prevent serious trouble. There was not much evidence of an organized health program in some primary grades and little to suggest teacher-pupil planning.

The following suggestions should be helpful in bringing about improvement in the program:

1. Supervisory help in developing a planned developmental program in physical education.

2. Recognition by teachers that physical education is a part of the curriculum and offers time for effective teaching in contrast to turning children out on the playground with inadequate supervision and no instruction.

3. Supervisory help in planning for a sequential program in health instruction.

4. Provision of more adequate materials for instruction.

5. More adequate provision for playground space and equipment and provision of indoor space for recreatory activities and rainy day use.






6. More adequate services of school nurses.

7. Better lunchroom facilities, where needed.

8. Better provision to make lunch periods educative experiences.

Social Living (creativity, appreciation, etc.)

A good elementary school emphasizes the social adjustment of the child, the exploration of special skills in creative arts, and the development of appreciation of natural resources, human relations, the arts, and religion.

The teachers feel that their program is limited by the need for music rooms, more record players and records, and music charts. They feel that they have established a good rapport with children and parents through a home-visitation program. They believe the classroom environment promotes the social adjustment of children. Provision is made for free periods when children devise their own games and learn to play together. Emphasis is given to various media of expression such as drawing, painting, finger painting, clay modeling, folk and square dancing, dramatizations, rhythm bands, singing, and playing the autoharp. The testing program, the cumulative records, personality cards, and reports of parent conferences help teachers understand children and give better guidance in meeting their problems. The special teacher of music contributes to growth in that area.

A study of the program justifies the following suggestions for improvement:

1. Provision should be made for all children to participate in creative activities.

2. Better facilities are needed for the display of children's creative work and better use could be made of the present facilities.

3. Provision should be made for a closer coordination of the work of the special teachers and the classroom teachers.

4. The development of centers of interest would stimulate growth in social living and in the arts.

5. The use of the first period of the school day for a “free period” is of questionable value in the minds of the trained observers who visited the schools and saw the “free period” in operation. In their opinion many of the classrooms got off to a slow start and lost valuable minutes in the early part of the day, a part which is generally regarded as the most productive of the entire school day.

Arithmetic

A good elementary school program provides for children many meaningful, quantitative experiences, helps them to understand the number system, and assures mastery of needed skills in computation and arithmetical reasoning. Achievement of these

objectives demands a wide variety of experiences with numbers and problems and special skill-development periods with adequate purposeful drill.

The teachers indicate an emphasis upon the mechanics of arithmetic with considerable attention in the upper grades to problem-solving techniques. They feel that the program is centered around the number concepts which children encounter in their environment. They point to emphasis upon such matters as money, buying, measuring, estimating, keeping records, operating a school store, selling lunchroom tickets, and the like. They report the use of a variety of objects in their teaching. They attempt to make the meaning clear through the use of rulers, play money, maps, globes, objects to count, etc.

The test data show that Goldsboro children scored in relation to the national norm as follows:

TABLE XVI
STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST GRADE EQUIVALENTS AVERAGE ARITHMETIC (COMPUTATION AND REASONING)
White Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average2.73.54.95.76.67.58.5
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm0-.2+.20-.1-.2-.2
Negro Schools
Grade in School2345678
National Norm2.73.74.75.76.77.78.7
Goldsboro Average2.83.24.05.05.96.86.2
Above (+) or Below (-) National Norm+.1-.5-.7-.7-.8-.9-2.5

The test scores reported here are scores for tests in computation and reasoning combined. When these two aspects of arithmetic were examined separately it was found that the grade averages in computation were about the same as the grade averages in reasoning. Testing programs in other school systems in North Carolina have generally tended to show better than average scores on computation and lower than average scores in arithmetic reasoning. The relatively good scores in reasoning achieved by Goldsboro children reflects balance in the program and richness in quantitative situations involving meaningful problems. This is all the more commendable in view of the reading difficulties experiences by a considerable portion of the children in grades six, seven, and eight, especially in the Negro schools. A handicap in reading is surely to be reflected in problem solving unless teachers provide meaningful arithmetic situations and stress the techniques of problem solving.






In arithmetic the standard deviation in scores, a measure of scatter or range in abilities, was only 1.60 in the white schools and 1.72 in the Negro schools at the eighth grade level. This was the smallest deviation noted in any of the areas tested and suggests that grouping, individual help, and remediation activities receive more attention in arithmetic than any other school subject.

Despite the objective evidence of the test scores, the trained observers who visited in the classrooms reported a prepondence of drill-type activities and not enough problem situations demanding critical thinking. Also, some question was raised as to the scope and sequence of arithmetic experiences.

In efforts to mantain and improve the program in arithmetic the survey staff recommends:

1. Supervisory help to teachers in planning for the scope and sequence of the arithmetic program.

2. Continued emphasis upon the use of functional situations for providing learning experiences in arithmetic.

3. A study of individual differences in arithmetic and provision for individual differences within the program.

4. Less emphasis upon drill-type materials and more emphasis upon the development of critical thinking.

CHAPTER VII
RESULTS OF THE TESTING PROGRAM

As one part of the survey of the Goldsboro Public Schools a comprehensive testing program was carried out in all of the elementary schools of the city in the Spring of 1955. In the Fall of the same year a reading test was administered to all children from grades 7 through 12 inclusive. The testing program had two purposes: First, an objectives appraisal of the capacities and achievements of the elementary school pupils and second, the establishment of an adequate guidance program at all grade levels. The testing program was carried out, as were other parts of the survey, as a cooperative project between the Goldsboro Public Schools and the School of Education of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The actual testing was administered by the classroom teachers in the Goldsboro schools and was supervised by Thelma Gwinn Thurstone, Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina.

For some time the Goldsboro schools have administered achievement tests at various levels and at various intervals of time. A measure of a child's accomplishment in reading or in arithmetic or any other school subject at some particular grade level is of interest to his teachers and to his parents and to the school. If a fifth grade child is reading at the fifth grade level, one might be tempted to conclude that he is measuring up to what may be expected of him. A psychologically more accurate conclusion is that we cannot tell from this fact alone whether a child is doing satisfactory work. If he is a child of considerably better than average intelligence, he should be reading in advance of his grade placement. If he is a child with a slower than average learning rate, we should not expect him to be reading at the fifth grade level, but should compare his achievement on a standardized test of reading with an expectancy score which can be set up for him in terms of mental capacity. This is the idea underlying the testing program which was carried out in the Goldsboro schools.

All children in the even-numbered grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 were given a comprehensive test of mental abilities. The tests used were the Chicago Test of Primary Mental Abilities.1 These tests cover a wide range of ability at each age level and afford the teacher and the school not only a general measure of the child's mental level, but also a profile of his abilities in verbal comprehension, space thinking, numerical thinking, reasoning, word fluency, and perceptual speed. This report will not give in detail all of the results of the examination, but will be concerned only with the

1. By L. L. Thurstone and Thelma Gwinn Thurstone. Published by Science Research Associates, Chicago.




total scores. After the original plan for the study was made, it was decided to include grades 5 and 7 of the William Street School in the psychological testing program. The Stanford Achievement Test2 was administered at the appropriate grade level to all children in grades 2 through 8 in every elementary school in the city. These tests afford for each child scores in reading comprehension, vocabulary, total reading, spelling, arithmetic computation, arithmetic reasoning, and total arithmetic, and language. In addition there is an over all grade score which will be referred to in this report as the battery median. This is an average of all the scores made on the separate parts of the battery achievement tests.

Complete test data for each child tested are on file in the school which he attended in May 1955. Tables of scores summarizing the data for both white and Negro schools are on file in the office of the Superintendent of Schools.

The Psychological Testing Program

The classroom teachers in the Goldsboro schools administered the psychological tests. In order to insure that the testing would be done in a way to make it valid and useful, several conferences were held in each school with all of the teachers in that school. The number of conferences varied from three to five, depending on the need of the teachers for further instructions. The instruction in the administration and interpretation of the tests was given by the University test consultant. Numerous conferences were held with the principals of the elementary schools, who were made directly responsible for the supervision of the testing when it was carried out. The coordinator of this work feels that the administration of the tests was done very conscientiously and effectively. Although it was the first time many of the teachers had carried out this kind of program, their interest and desire to do a good job was evident all through the project. Detailed reports of the psychological tests in tabular form have been submitted to the superintendent. Summarized reports on the significant facts from these tests are given in Tables XVII and XVIII of this report and will be discussed along with the tables.

Since the basic idea of the testing program was to evaluate each child's school achievement in terms of his mental age grade expectancy, the grade expectancies for all pupils who took the psychological examinations were determined. Because the testing program was carried out in the seventh month of the school

2 By Thurman L. Kelley, Richard Madden, Eric F. Gardner, Lewis M. Terman and Giles M. Ruch. Published by the World Book Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York.

TABLE XVII
SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS (GRADE AVERAGES), White Schools
Grade in School
23*45678
Chronological Age7-119-010-111-012-013-114-2
Mental Age7-79-1110-611-212-713-7
I. Q.959996939796
Achievement Tests
Word Meaning2.63.44.35.86.47.68.3
Paragraph Meaning2.73.44.45.56.27.58.2
Average Reading2.73.44.45.66.37.58.2
Spelling3.13.94.55.76.47.78.6
Arithmetic Computation2.63.35.05.56.77.48.2
Arithmetic Reasoning2.73.54.85.86.57.68.7
Average Arithmetic2.73.44.95.76.67.58.5
Language3.54.75.76.17.78.8
Battery Median2.73.54.65.76.47.68.5
M.A. Grade Expectancy2.64.95.56.27.68.6
Deviation from M.A.+.1-.3+.2+.20-.1

TABLE XVIII
SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS (GRADE AVERAGES), Negro Schools
Grade in School
23*45*67*8
Chronological Age8-09-010-010-1112-012-1114-1
Mental Age7-38-810-211-9
I. Q.91878683
Achievement Tests
Word Meaning2.93.53.75.15.86.65.9
Paragraph Meaning3.03.23.64.85.86.75.5
Average Reading2.93.43.75.05.86.65.7
Spelling3.74.14.55.46.87.47.5
Arithmetic Computation2.62.93.94.96.06.86.4
Arithmetic Reasoning2.93.33.95.05.86.66.0
Average Arithmetic2.83.24.04.95.96.86.2
Language3.84.45.56.87.17.1
Battery Median3.03.44.05.16.16.96.2
M.A. Grade Expectancy2.33.75.26.8
Deviation from M.A
Grade Expectancy+.7+.3+.9-.6

year, the normal grade expectancies would have been 2.7, 3.7, 4.7 and so on for the respective grades. The mental age grade expectancies as shown in Tables XVII and XVIII are only slightly lower, the discrepancy being due to the fact that the scores on the psychological examinations run slightly, through not significantly, below average.

The results of the psychological tests indicate that the children in the Goldsboro schools represent a fairly normal group of children. The scores on the psychological tests are almost at the norms published with the test, only a small negative deviation being noted here. Goldsboro is a city with a wide range of ability,

* Psychological Tests were not given in Grade 3.* Psychological tests were not given in Grades 3, 5 and 7.




but it is not atypical in this respect. The standard deviation, which is a measure of varied ability a group, shows that the school groups are no more heterogeneous with respect to mental age than is usually found in other schools.

The Achievement Testing Program

The new Stanford Achievement tests for the appropriate grade levels were administered to all children from grades 2 through 8 inclusive by the regular classroom teachers. The coordinator feels that a very commendable piece of work was done by the classroom teachers in the whole testing program. The scores in the various parts of the achievement test have been filed with the superintendent of schools. Summaries of the battery medians for each test are reported in Tables XVII and XVIII in this report. It is obvious from the tables that the schools are doing a good job of bringing pupils up to their grade expectancy in several school subjects. There is no conspicuous area of negative deviations or of positive deviations, indicating a well balanced distribution of time spent on the various school subjects.

In making the tabulations it was often noticed that the large negative deviations were found in the case of the more capable children. This is consistent with the results of other survey findings that it is the bright children in our schools who are not being challenged and who are not coming up to what should be expected of them. It is a justifiable conclusion from these data that the schools should put forth more effort to challenge these pupils and to provide an individualized program of instruction in the classroom which would meet their needs.

Bi-Racial Aspect of the Test Results

Both the psychological program and the achievement testing program are summarized in two tables: One for the white schools and one for the Negro schools. Caution is needed in making any comparisons between the work of the white schools and the Negro schools. They have been presented in separate tables because the grade levels of achievement are somewhat different. It should be noted, however, that the amount of deviation from expected achievement is not significantly different for the white schools and the Negro schools. This means that the school curriculum and the methods of instruction in the white and Negro schools are about equally effective in meeting the needs of the pupils.

Reading Comprehension at Junior and Senior High School Levels

In the Fall of 1955 a test of reading comprehension was administered to all pupils in grades 7 through 12 in both the white and Negro schools. This test bearing the title “Understanding

Communication, - A test of Reading Comprehension,”3 is a complex reading test which involves vocabulary, sentence comprehension, and paragraph comprehension. It is very closely related to success in school work at the upper grade levels. The Goldsboro results show a definite gain in scores from 7th grade through 12th grade. Tables XIX and XX summarize the results.

TABLE XIX
SCORES IN READING COMPREHENSION TEST, White Schools
Grade in School
Scores789101112
40145
391326
382427
3731458
361238611
3547357
3414510613
33239769
3278131213
312578711
30410181074
2936201083
28712151087
27716121058
267126727
251481111158
2410710657
231522171581
22221215755
21121416936
20201211553
191017953
1821139693
1722147252
161615534
151075521
141598421
139922
12137421
1162321
1052
99321
8111
71
61
51
4
3
2
1
01
Total Cases270257246189158157
Averages19.322.224.326.826.630.3

3. By Thelma Gwinn Thurstone. Distributed by the Education-Industry Service, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.




TABLE XX
SCORES IN READING COMPREHENSION TEST, Negro Schools
Grade in School
Score789101112
40
391
38
371
36
35111
341
3311
32112
311111
302221
2911341
28232
2733444
2621544
25317875
245313113
23625455
222843132
2151010494
20161098811
19815111448
1899141598
172119121147
1620121310710
15201220765
1417122510115
13231517883
12111013674
111710563
10786432
974421
82324
7211
611
5
41
31
2
1
0
Total Cases20517119114114297
Average15.716.116.718.220.119.2

Results and Interpretation

Perhaps the most interesting and significant observation to be made from the study of the testing data is that the children in the Goldsboro Schools represent a somewhat normal population. If anything, the children scored slightly lower on the psychological examinations than children in larger cities, but this is a frequent finding. The psychological test results support a belief that the children in the Goldsboro Public Schools may be expected to do normal work at each grade level, and the results

of the achievement testing program indicate that this is the case.

The average deviations between mental age group expectancy and battery median score on the achievement tests are small. This finding supports the conclusion that the over-all work of the schools is adequate. However, examination of the distribution of discrepancies reveals a large number of children who are not achieving in school at a level which could be justifiably expected of them.

Large deviations in achievement scores in the various subjects indicate a need for individualized program of instruction. One of the most striking facts in the detailed tables which have been filed with the superintendent of schools is the large scatter in every grade and amount of overlapping from grade to grade in all of the results. As an example of the wide overlapping, Tables XXI and XXII show the complete distributions in over-all achievement as measured by the median score in all parts of the Stanford Achievement Test.

TABLE XXI
DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES IN STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST
Battery Median, White Schools
Grade in School
Grade Scores2345678
1-0— 1-45
1-5— 1-93241
2-0— 2-499389
2-5— 2-9141471521
3-9— 3-470533663
3-5— 3-942583024711
4-0— 4-4105438272452
4-5— 4-933039381863
5-0— 5-418385634214
5-5— 5-94364528175
6-0— 6-421424292719
6-5— 6-911330282518
7-0— 7-4521353429
7-5— 7-9213342416
8-0— 8-4111182921
8-5— 8-96122532
9-0— 9-4581114
9-5— 9-9121621
10-0— 10-431422
10-5— 10-911015
11-0— 11-439
11-5— 11-9510
12-0— 12-411
12-5— 12-91
Total Cases403299277309285274243
Average2.733.524.585.676.417.638.46
Standard Deviation.65.921.251.391.541.771.79






TABLE XXII
DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES IN STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST
Battery Median, Negro Schools
Grade in School
Grade Scores2345678
1-0— 1-4425
1-5— 1-93167
2-0— 2-44629148
2-5— 2-964511524
3-0— 3-493362411516
3-5— 3-9635738319210
4-0— 4-4841364120415
4-5— 4-97172232241421
5-0— 5-4282321221722
5-5— 5-93945221321
6-0— 6-41922181912
6-5— 6-9215311321
7-0— 7-4311311619
7-5— 7-95193813
8-0— 8-471811
8-5— 8-95117
9-0— 9-466
9-5— 9-9424
10-0— 10-421
10-5— 19-93
11-0— 11-443
11-5— 11-91
12-0— 12-4
12-5— 12-9
Total Cases318251207236219178200
Average2.953.423.985.086.106.926.24
Standard Deviation.74.901.261.151.481.541.91

It should be pointed out that the results shown in these tables are similar to those found in other school surveys. They are due in large part to the promotion policy which is used in most schools.

Another evidence of the wide disparity of ability within grades and of overlapping from grade to grade is found in the results of the reading comprehension test which was used in grades 7 through 12. Tables XIX and XX show the distribution of ability in comprehending prose paragraphs.

The reading test indicates that it would be of value to the pupils and to the schools to include more instruction in reading at the upper grade levels. A plan for improvement of the reading program in the upper grade levels has been discussed with the superintendent of schools and with the principals of the William Street School and the Goldsboro High School, and plans have been made to carry out an extensive reading program in all of the 7th and 8th grades and with those high school students who could profit from such a program. The program is expected to be started in the fall of 1956.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. It is recommended that the guidance program based on testing which was carried out as part of the survey be made a regular part of the school program.

2. The schools should give special consideration to the needs of the more gifted students. The plans which should be considered are enrichment programs, individualized programs of instruction, and more frequent use of special promotions.

3. The teaching of reading should be carried out more intensively in the upper grades and in the high school than has been the practice.

4. Careful consideration should be given to the establishment of special help classes for those children who are in the lowest range of learning ability and are unable to keep up at all with the work of the regular classroom. The school could take advantage of the State program in special education for this purpose.

5. The Schools should consider the advisability of slowing down the progress through the grades of very slow learners.

6. The schools should consider the advisability of wider use of special promotion for gifted children whose physical and social development are adequate for it.






















Title
The Goldsboro Township schools
Description
The Goldsboro Township schools; a cooperative survey report, directed by Guy B. Phillips, professor of educational administration. [Chapel Hill, 1956] viii, 125 p. illus. 24 cm.
Date
1956
Original Format
books
Extent
Local Identifier
LA342.G6 N6 1956
Creator(s)
Contributor(s)
Subject(s)
Spatial
Location of Original
Joyner NC Stacks
Rights
This item has been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Researchers are responsible for using these materials in accordance with Title 17 of the United States Code and any other applicable statutes. If you are the creator or copyright holder of this item and would like it removed, please contact us at als_digitalcollections@ecu.edu.
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Permalink
https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/16837
Preferred Citation
Cite this item
Content Notice

Public access is provided to these resources to preserve the historical record. The content represents the opinions and actions of their creators and the culture in which they were produced. Therefore, some materials may contain language and imagery that is outdated, offensive and/or harmful. The content does not reflect the opinions, values, or beliefs of ECU Libraries.

Contact Digital Collections

If you know something about this item or would like to request additional information, click here.


Comment on This Item

Complete the fields below to post a public comment about the material featured on this page. The email address you submit will not be displayed and would only be used to contact you with additional questions or comments.


*
*
*
Comment Policy