until a decided improvement in the structure of many of our common English words prevails.

Best Methods of Teaching Spelling Still in Doubt. - On the method side, the results have not been so satisfactory. There is plenty of evidence to show that there exists a decided disagreement over methods of teaching spelling. Students of spelling are divided mainly into two camps, those who believe in rationalizing the spelling process by means of rules, and those who consider spelling, in the main, an ideo-motor performance, subject to the same laws as writing and the mechanics of reading. The marvelous results of drill secured in the Cleveland schools by Hicks; the findings of Wallin, Cook, and others; the uncertainty of rules by good spellers; and the general tendency to revert to the old-time spelling match, growing out of a consciousness of the inefficiency of our spelling-all tend to corroborate the belief that spelling should be reduced to the lower nerve-centers, so to speak, and that an abundance of highly intensified drills are essential to secure this result.

APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF HABIT FORMATION TO THE TEACHING OF SPELLING

Proper focalization in spelling in the first stages means rationalization. It means an understanding of the content of the words found in a familiar context. In the case of words of many syllables, it implies marked attention to these syllables; in the case of homonyms, it means the mastery of one and a sharp comparison of the second with the first. It signifies everything that gives the child a clearer visual, auditory, and muscular percept of the word to be learned. Here as in writing it consists of more than the intellectual process. There must be enthusiasm, de

termination, and a passion for winning. As in writing, a play upon the instincts, if rightly conducted, will bring excellent results. It is in this stage of the process that good teaching is easiest distinguished from poor. Many a race is lost in sight of the goal. This is especially true of the spelling race. Persistent and attentive repetition is an earmark of good method in teaching spelling also. It is the factor that distinguished the spelling of a generation ago. It is an essential factor yet. The teaching of spelling incidentally does not meet the requirements of the third factor in habit formation.

Frequent testing by means of standardized tests will stimulate the pupils to greater concentration and will guarantee a higher degree of success. It is an important factor in preventing exceptions, also, and should therefore aid materially in the growth of spelling ability.

CHAPTER XIV

STANDARDS FOR MEASURING RESULTS OF TEACHING

General Meaning of Efficiency.

Even

At present our pedagogical literature bristles with the term "efficiency." writers of ability use it extravagantly. The term itself seems to satisfy. It suggests the shop, the factory, and the salesroom where performances are judged in terms of the concrete and where definite standards are blocked out in open competition. It apparently pacifies the longing for scientific accuracy and generates a feeling of confidence in him who sets it up for his goal.

Unfortunately the teaching profession in the main has adopted efficiency as its slogan without making adequate provision for determining when it is attained. Until the spokesmen for the profession can in a very simple and in a very practical way point out the meaning of efficiency as it relates to specific attainment and can give explicit directions for obtaining a high degree of efficiency by this or that sort of teaching, the term "efficiency" must remain more or less platitudinous.

Measurement of Efficiency in the Industries. In the industries the ability of the performer is easily measured, since the products of his labor are objective, concrete, and readily subjected to comparative tests. The efficiency of the blacksmith is measured by the length of time the shoe

clings to the hoof and by the degree of comfort it gives the horse. The efficiency of a dentist is measured by the length of time the filling remains in order or by the permanence and comfort of the bridge he has made. The efficiency of a gardener is determined by the number and quality of vegetables produced per unit of area. In any case when the result is better than that ordinarily produced the performer is thought of as having superior ability, and consequently he is considered relatively efficient.

Subjectively considered, efficiency is the ability to produce superlative results consistently. The median or average of all the abilities in a select group is a desirable standard to use in an endeavor to determine the merit of individual performances. In the industrial and scientific fields such standards are well known. In the teaching profession we have just begun to use them advantageously. Legal Aspect of Standards. With the single exception of the minimum knowledge requirement, which is generally provided by law, there is no other legally accepted standard for judging teaching efficiency. The wide and varied use of standards employed in determining the ability of teachers is notorious.

The far-reaching significance of the conditions resulting from the application of dissimilar standards is beyond the comprehension of those who evaluate the teaching process in terms of local and personal standards. There is not a little evidence to substantiate the opinion that subnormality, retardation, disinterestedness, disobedience, and withdrawals from school are the direct result of the inadequate standards held by administrators and teachers. Until some of the standards now employed in measuring the results of the teaching process are discarded and others

are materially modified, the proportion of abnormalities occurring in the schools will not be changed materially.

CLASSIFICATION OF STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENT

There are two distinct classes of standards now employed in determining the merit of teaching. These may well be called subjective standards and objective standards. The former are notions of the relative merit of a performance. These notions may be imitated; they may be implicit deductions from insufficient and poorly evaluated individual experiences; or they may be a priori in origin. It is certain that no two persons have the same subjective standard. The latter consists of the median or average accomplishment expressed in accepted units, such as per cent, of a widely distributed yet carefully selected group.

SUBJECTIVE STANDARDS

This class of standards is in the main the outgrowth of an attempt on the part of teachers, administrators, and patrons to judge the results of teaching in terms of opinion or in terms of data highly colored by opinion and personal prejudices.

Many subjective standards were generally introduced in the early stages of educational development and are still employed by persons unfamiliar with the science of measuring the results of teaching. The value of some of these standards has been confirmed by educational experts. The importance of these standards consists mainly in stimulating an analysis of the process and in giving valuable direction to teaching. They are not valuable as standards of merit.