The irregular attendance of children at the schools in rural districts of Minnesota is commented upon as follows:[46]
Irregular attendance is an evil beyond calculation, and we have much of it in the open country school. Many schools last year showed an average daily attendance of less than 60 per cent--children in school only one half or two thirds of the time.
The loss of time in the consolidated school is only two thirds of that lost in the other rural schools.
During the fall of the year farm hands are very scarce, and many of the older children have to be kept out of school to assist with the farm work. On account of deep snow and cold many children have to stay out of school during winter. Transportation in winter would help improve attendance in winter.
The per cent of attendance for the entire state of North Dakota was, for the year ending June 30, 1914, 87 per cent, and for the following, 88 per cent.[47] County superintendents in the state sent in the following reports for 1916.
McIntosh County, which is largely populated by Germans:
An investigation showed that hundreds of children of school age were either not attending school at all or were lamentably irregular in their attendance, for no legal or otherwise good excuse. In order to set an example, several cases were prosecuted, and this seemed to have a good moral effect all over the county.
[Illustration: IMMEDIATE RETURNS FROM CHILD LABOR DO NOT MAKE UP FOR LOSS OF SCHOOLING]
About half our county is consolidated. I find that we have 1,750 pupils enrolled in our graded and consolidated schools, the average daily attendance of which is 75.4 per cent. There are only 993 pupils enrolled in the one-room schools, and their per cent of attendance is 59.4 per cent.
In South Dakota the actual attendance of those enrolled in the country schools is less than 60 per cent.[48] From Campbell County it was reported as follows:
Most of our people are German-Russians and do not favor long terms of school, as they want the labor of their children. For this reason it is hard, even impossible, to secure regular attendance. Their schools must not begin earlier than October, and close by April 1st.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction of Nebraska reports for 1916 as follows: