must conduct school for 9 months each year (180 days),3 in consolidated districts, the range is from 107 days in Marshall County to 180 days in several counties, the average being 168 days.* Teachers' qualifications.—In rural districts in 1920, 43 teachers held life diplomas; 245, state certificates; 7, vocational certificates; 7, primary certificates; 1101, first-grade certificates; 2523 second-grade certificates; 720 third-grade certificates: a total of 4642 issued by the state superintendent of public instruction. Three hundred eight teachers held certificates issued by the county superintendents, of which 24 were first class; 1066, second class; and 178, third class.5 In independent districts, of 1475 teachers employed in the grades 71 held life diplomas; 456, state certificates; 14, vocational certificates; 56, primary certificates; 485, first-grade; 182 secondgrade; and 176 third-grade certificates issued by the state superintendent; while there were 23 holding first class, 10 second class, and 2 third class certificates issued by the county superintendents. In consolidated districts, of 288 teachers employed in the grades, 11 held life diplomas; 67, state certificates; 3, vocational certificates, 10, primary certificates; 104, firstgrade certificates; 78, second-grade certificates; and II, third-grade certificates, issued by the state department; while 3 held first class certificates and I a second class certificate issued by county superintendents." This shows a great advantage in qualifications of teachers in independent and consolidated districts over those of the teachers in rural districts. Table XIX, which follows, presents in tabular form these facts concerning teachers' certificates. Enrollment, school year, salaries, and expenditures.-For the purpose of showing inequalities in educational opportunity in each class of district, rural, independent, and consolidated, and among the three classes of districts, the counties ranking lowest and highest in the particular item being studied have been chosen in each case, with intervening counties representing as nearly as possible equal graduations in variation. Table XX and Figures 4, 5, and 6, show the variations with respect to enrollment, length of school year, yearly salaries of women teachers doing elementary work, and the average expenditures per child enrolled. COUNTY INEQUALITIES IN LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR 180 150 102 SOUTH DAKOTA High- Med Low High Med Low- Independent Figure 4 High Med- Low- Particular attention is called to the fact that Table XX and Figures 4, 5, and 6, present county averages, which are practically the only figures available from reports. This table is read as follows: In the rural districts of Faulk County the total number of pupils enrolled was 103 per cent of the total number of children of school age in the rural districts of the county. In the rural districts of Brule, Clark, and Jones counties, the total number of children enrolled was 79 per cent of the total number of children of school age in the rural districts of the county, etc. Among rural districts, Faulk County ranked first in percentage of enrollment; Brule, Clark, and Jones ranked eighteenth, etc. TABLE XX INEQUALITIES OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AMONG COUNTIES IN I. INEQUALITIES AS TO A CHILD'S CHANCE OF BEING IN SCHOOL CONSOLIDATED DISTRICTS® III. INEQUALITIES IN YEARLY SALARY OF WOMEN TEACHERS IN IV. INEQUALITIES IN AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER CHILD ENROLLED INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS CONSOLIDATED DISTRICTS a Rank computed from figures given in Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920. b Computed from figures for census and enrollment given on pages 155-56, Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920. c Computed from figures for census and enrollment given on pages 196, 197, 202, 203, 210, 211, Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920. d Computed from figures for census and enrollment given on pages 239, 242, 246, Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920. Data not available for one county having consolidated schools. e Ibid., pp. 161, 162. f 1 Ibid., pp. 194-95. g Ibid., p. 238. No data available for three counties having consolidated schools. h Ibid., pp. 151-52. 1 Ibid., p. 240. 1 Ibid., pp. 200-201. No data available for three counties having consolidated schools. * Computed from figures for enrollment Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920, pp. 157-58, and total expenditures given on pp. 183-84, but subtracting amounts paid for schoolhouses, sites, new furniture, new apparatus, and new fixtures as given on pp. 179, 180 of Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920. 1 Computed from figures for enrollment, pp. 202, 203, 210, 211, and total expenditures given on pp. 232, 233, Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, 1920, but subtracting amounts paid for schoolhouses, sites, new furniture, apparatus, and fixtures as given on pp. 228-31, ibid. m From figures for enrollment, pp. 242, 246, ibid., and total expenditures on p. 257, ibid., but subtracting amounts paid for new schoolhouses, sites, new apparatus, furniture and fixtures as given on pp. 255, 256. Data unavailable for one county having consolidated school. "How an enrollment may be larger than the census may be explained in independent and consolidated districts by the fact that many children enumerated in rural districts attend school in these independent and consolidated districts. I am at a loss to explain the over-enrollment in the rural districts of Faulk County, especially when the enrollment in the independent district of Faulk County is also so high, unless this is due to an error in the reports. Another cause might possibly be a large number moving into the districts after the census had been taken. • Sixty-seven counties have rural; 59. independent; and 39, consolidated districts. |