CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGES OF ALL NON-GRADUATES LOST BY SUCCESSIVE SEMESTERS
Per Cent 33.7 53.4 62.6 76.2 81.9 90.7 94.0 98.6
These percentages of non-graduates indicate that more than 50 per cent of those who do not graduate are gone by the end of the first year, but that there are a few who continue beyond four years without graduating.
2. THE LATER DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS BY SEMESTERS
Consideration is here given to the number of the total entrants remaining in school for each successive semester, and then to the accompanying percentages of failure for each group. The following figures show the rapid decline in numbers.
THE PERSISTENCE OF PUPILS IN SCHOOL, BY SEMESTERS
6,141 (Total) 4,723 3,893 3,508 2,935 2,697 2,234 1,936
Percentages 76.9 63.4 57.1 47.8 43.9 36.4 31.5
As was pointed out in Section 3 of Chapter I, the above group does not include any increment to its own numbers by means of transfer from other classes or schools. We find, accompanying this reduction in the number of pupils, which shows more than 50 per cent gone by the end of the second year in school, that there is no corresponding reduction in the percentage of pupils failing each semester on the basis of the number of those in school for that semester.
PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS FAILING OF THE PUPILS IN SCHOOL FOR THAT PERIOD
Per Cent 34.2 37.3 38.5 40.2 38.2 37.1 30.0 24.0
There is no difficulty in grasping the simple and definite significance of these figures, for they tell us that the percentage of pupils failing increases for the first four semesters, slightly declines for two semesters, with a greater decline for two more semesters. These percentages of failures are based on the number of pupils enrolled at the beginning of the semester, and are accordingly lower than the facts would really warrant since that number is in each case considerably reduced by the end of the same semester.
That the failures are widely distributed by semesters, by ages, and for both boys and girls, is shown in Table I.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF FAILURES ACCORDING TO THE AGE AND THE SEMESTER OF THEIR OCCURRENCE[A]
SEMES- AGES UNDISTRIB- TERS 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 UTED TOTALS
1 B. 0 20 321 650 575 167 34 16 2 .. .. 10 1795 G. 1 19 356 813 611 236 67 3 0 .. .. 13 2119 3914 2 B. .. 2 95 423 534 256 57 27 4 .. .. 5 1403 G. .. 6 99 483 589 280 91 5 0 .. .. 7 1560 2963 3 B. .. 0 17 267 443 363 96 22 5 0 .. 2 1215 G. .. 1 28 318 548 317 99 15 0 2 .. 1 1329 2544 4 B. .. .. 5 101 437 403 169 32 7 2 .. 5 1161 G. .. .. 4 102 475 425 160 39 6 2 .. 6 1219 2380 5 B. .. .. 1 19 195 377 214 61 13 3 .. 6 889 G. .. .. 0 15 277 438 212 60 15 0 .. 3 1020 1909 6 B. .. .. .. 4 70 322 326 99 33 3 .. 6 863 G. .. .. .. 9 117 407 349 78 33 4 .. 3 1000 1863 7 B. .. .. 1 0 17 155 227 106 16 4 1 4 531 G. .. .. 0 2 14 200 299 127 38 0 0 3 683 1214 8 B. .. .. .. .. 0 42 173 109 49 2 .. 5 380 G. .. .. .. .. 2 58 244 140 49 10 .. 3 506 886 9 B. .. .. .. .. .. 0 31 32 18 1 .. .. 82 G. .. .. .. .. .. 4 39 67 31 5 .. .. 146 228 10 B. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 16 9 3 0 .. 29 G. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 13 10 3 1 .. 30 59 Summary B. 0 22 440 1464 2271 2085 1328 520 156 18 1 43 8348 G. 1 26 487 1742 2633 2365 1563 547 182 26 1 39 9612 17,960