college, or university, or, in lieu of this two-year course, have had four years of successful teaching experience. These certificates are renewable for three-year periods, or they may be made permanent by showing successful teaching experience. The State board of education also has authority to issue what are known as normal-training teachers' certificates. These certificates are the result of a law passed by the State legislature in 1909, which provides an annual State subsidy of not more than $500 to each high school approved by the State board of education to give a normal-training course. Each normal-training high school may also secure an additional sum not exceeding $500 by instituting courses in the elements of agriculture and domestic science. The total amount appropriated annually by the State for these purposes is $135,000. According to the provisions of a law passed in the last session of the legislature, accredited high schools which secure these subsidies for normal-training courses shall have in regular attendance during the fourth year in the normal-training courses at least four students each semester, and the following-named subjects are required for the fourth year high-school course: American history one year, and psychology, methods and management, arithmetic, reading, grammar, and geography, each, one-half year. The State board of education has also prescribed 84 of the 12 units required in the first three years of the normal-training course of study in the high schools. No practice teaching is required or expected, but each normal-training student is required to make at least 12 observational visits to elementary schools each semester. Graduates from the normal-training course of study who pass State examinations in psychology, methods, management, arithmetic, geography, grammar, and reading are given teachers' certificates good for two years in the elementary schools. These certificates may be renewed for two-year periods by showing successful teaching experience and the completion of 8 semester hours of residence work at a standard normal school, college, or university. Holders of normal-training certificates which have been renewed one or more times may secure permanent normal-training certificates, provided they have taught continuously and successfully for four years. A year's attendance at normal school, college, or university may be substituted for one of these four years. A third class of certificates to teach in the elementary schools of Kansas is issued by the three State normal schools. According to the law, the normal schools may issue one-year certificates to graduates of their teacher-training high schools or to persons who have finished eight hours of residence work; three-year certificates to persons who complete the freshman course prescribed by the faculty and approved by the State board of administration; and life certificates to persons who complete two years of work above the high school. These life certificates are good for teaching not only in the elementary schools, but also in junior-high schools and two-year high schools. These courses of study must also be approved by the board of administration. The normal schools may also issue special certificates to teach manual training, domestic science, agriculture, commercial subjects, drawing, music, or other occupational subjects upon the completion of two-year courses of study prescribed by the respective institutions and approved by the State board of administration. Finally, it should be remembered that the first and second-class cities in the State, which practically have full charge of their own schools, certificate elementary school teachers according to their own standards and requirements, which may or may not follow closely those established by the State board of education and by the normal school. The State board of education has been given exclusive authority to establish standards relating to administration, course of study and instruction in the high schools, and to accredit high schools in accordance with these standards. All persons who teach in four-year accredited high schools anywhere in the State are required to hold high-school teachers' certificates issued either by the State board of education or by one of the normal schools. Accordingly, for this purpose, the State board of education issues to the graduates of accredited colleges who have completed 18 hours of professional work in education a three-year certificate which after two years of successful teaching is renewable for life. In accepting the provisions of the Federal Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, the State legislature authorized the State board of education to supervise the vocational work in agriculture, home economics, and trades and industries in Kansas. The following institutions have accordingly been approved for the preparation of vocational teachers: Kansas State Agricultural College, teachers of agriculture and home economics; University of Kansas, teachers of home economics; State Manual Training Normal School, trades and industries. Students who complete the vocational courses of study at these institutions are certified to teach in the Smith-Hughes schools. The bachelor of science in education diploma conferred by the normal schools is a life diploma to teach in any of the public schools, including both elementary and secondary schools. Also, as has already been stated, the normal schools have the right to issue special certificates to teach manual training, domestic science, agriculture, commercial subjects, drawing, music, or other occupational subjects upon the completion of courses of study approved by the State board of administration. All the normal schools have established two-year curricula for this purpose. The certificates are valid for three years in any high school. The relative importance of the several kinds of State certificates issued to teachers may be seen from the following table which, it should be noted, does not include county certificates or certificates issued by the normal schools. The table applies to the biennium 1918-1920: Certificates issued by the State board of education. Life certificates, renewal of the three-year certificates renewable for life.... Three-year certificates renewable for life, requiring the completion of at least a four-year college course...... 730 ..... 1, 202 Three-year certificates renewable for three-year periods, requiring the comple- Three-year certificates renewable for three-year periods, requiring the comple- 218 136 513 Special certificates, requiring two years of college training or an acceptable equivalent...... 499 High-school life certificates, issued under the provisions of the laws of 1915 and laws of 1919...... 38 Temporary certificates, requiring two years of college training or an acceptable equivalent.. 624 Elementary certificates, requiring four-year high-school course, a first grade Permanent certificates valid in elementary schools..... Total........ 433 181 ... 2, 660 7,234 THE PREPARATION OF TEACHERS IN KANSAS. Some idea of the effect of the Kansas laws regarding the certification of teachers may be had by referring to the accompanying tables, which show the preparation of the elementary and highschool teachers, respectively, for the three years 1919, 1920, and 1921. In 1920, out of a total of 7,624 teachers in one-room schools, only 176, or 2 per cent, were graduates of normal schools; 5,337, or 70 per cent, were graduates of high schools; 769, or 10 per cent, had attended high school from one to three years, and the training of 342, or 18 per cent, was not recorded. Some statistics gathered by the Kansas State Normal School for the year 1921-22 confirm the data for the previous years. According to these figures there were in the one-room schools no college graduates; 290 (3.6 per cent) normal school graduates; 4,961 (62.2 per cent) high-school graduates; and 2,730 (34.2 per cent) who were not high school graduates. Of these teachers, 2,994, or 39 per cent, were without previous teaching experience. The figures for 1919, 1920, and 1921 were as follows: Preparation of elementary and grade teachers. Rural school 1919 1920 1921 1919 1920 1921 1919 1920 1921 1919 1920 1921 1919 1920 1921 1919 1920 1921 teachers... Grade teachers, two or more teacherschools 1.. 160 95 86 304 287 101 211 260 139 268 339 321 1,147 1, 556 1, 169 Grade teachers, sec- 550 608 576 118 136 139 243 340 441 118 150 160 359 339 420 390 298 332 1 Schools under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent of schools. 1 Schools under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent; there are duplications in the figures for the year 1920. Let us compare this situation with the preparation of grade teachers in cities of the first and second class. In 1921 there were 3,191 such grade teachers. Of this number, 246, or 8 per cent, were graduates of college or university; 853, or 27 per cent, were graduates of normal schools; 419, or 13 per cent, had completed one or more years in college or university; 765, or 24 per cent, one or more years in normal schools; and 908, or 28 per cent, were graduates of high schools. Of the total number, 72 per cent had received one year or more of training beyond the high school. In the first and second class cities and in the county high schools there were in 1921, 1,631 high-school teachers. Of this number 1,107, or 68 per cent, were graduates of college or university; 291, or 18 per cent, were graduates of normal schools; 200, or 12 per cent, had attended one or more years in college, and 33 were graduates of high schools. These statistics show very clearly that the one-teacher schools in Kansas are being taught by teachers with only high-school preparation; that in the two-teacher schools the grade work is being taught by teachers only one-third of whom have had one or more years beyond high-school graduation. Approximately one-half of them are merely high-school graduates. In the high schools of the State, on the other hand, more than two-thirds of the teachers are graduates of colleges and universities. The preparation of the elementary school teachers is also indicated by the character of the certificates which they held. The following table for the years 1919 and 1920 makes this clear: Grades of certificates held by teachers employed. The statistics of the State department of education for 1920 also show that of the 7,624 one-teacher schools, 2,294, or 30 per cent, were taught by persons with no previous teaching experience. The commission has of course not been asked to pass on the effectiveness of the teacher training outside of the five higher institutions. In a general way, however, it feels called upon to state that in its. opinion the turning over of the training of rural school teachers so completely to the high schools is quite unfortunate. Without attempting to evaluate normal training in the high schools of Kansas, it may be said from the experience of other States that this method of training teachers in no way compares with the effectiveness of one or two years of normal training built on high-school graduation. Furthermore, it even acts as a permanent handicap to the normal schools to develop fully the training of teachers for the elementary school field. In this connection it may be interesting to point out that, according to the statistics for high schools issued by the Bureau of Education for 1917-18 (the latest statistics for high schools issued by the bureau), Kansas had 4,210 high-school students enrolled in normal training courses. This number is far in excess of any other State |