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Inspector's Annual Report.

To the Board of Public School Trustees of the City of

Toronto:

GENTLEMEN,

In accordance with a resolution of your honourable Board, I respectfully submit the Seventeenth Annual Report of the Schools under your charge.

Appended to the Report will be found Statistical Tables which give in detail all important particulars relating to teachers, pupils, attendance, absenteeism, tardiness, studies pursued, cost of maintenance, &c.

ATTENDANCE.

The total number of Pupils registered during the year was 9,667. The average daily attendance was 5,386.

794 pupils attended school less than 20 days.

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These numbers, although not by any means all that could be desired, show a very decided improvement over last year's statistics. Last year, 1.216 pupils were reported as attending less than 20 days, this year only 794 attended for so short a period. Only 2,122 pupils were present less than 50 days this year, instead of 3,236 last year. On the other hand 3,432 pupils were present more than 150 days this year, and only 2,575 last year; and 889 were at school more than 200 days this year, while only 654 obtained so good a record last year, The large number attending less than 50 days is partly accounted for by the fact that 515 new scholars were admitted during the last quarter of the year, some of them during the last week, who had not attended any of our Public Schools previously, during the year.

The Census, which was so carefully taken during the year, shows that there are in the City, 16059 children between the ages of five and sixteen. Of these there were actually registered during the year, at the Public Schools

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.9,636

2659

489

266

241

1,775

15,066

It will thus be seen that 94 per cent. of the whole school population attended some school for a part of the year. The 991 who did not do so are accounted for to a great extent by the fact, that a large number of parents regard it as unwise to send their children to school at the age of five years.

The number registered in our Public Schools has been constantly increasing month by month, but it is more cheering to notice that the average attendance has increased still more rapidly.

The most correct idea of the relation of the Average to the

Registered attendance is obtained by comparing the average of Monthly Averages with the average of Monthly Registered Numbers.

The average of Monthly Registered Numbers was 6,477. This shows an increase when compared with last year of 553. Table A.)

(See

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The average of Monthly Average Numbers was 5,397. shows an increase of 606, when compared with the corresponding number of last year. (Sce Table B.)

The average of Monthly Averages was 83.4 per cent. of the average of Monthly Registered Numbers. It was 80.8 last

year.

The best average for any month of the year was 86.7, the average for December.

The worst average was 75.6, the average for February.

In our highest three grades of pupils the attendance was very good, reaching very nearly 90 per cent.

The low averages in the Junior Divisions is to be attributed partly to the inability of the little folks to "face all weathers;" but mainly to their overcrowded condition. Each teacher has charge of so many, that she cannot properly keep track of them, and with three times as many present as she should have, she has generally little inducement to look after absentees. The average attendance is considerably affected by the fact that our school year really ends in June, while our Report covers from January to January. As our most important Examinations are held, and all our Prizes distributed in June, it naturally follows that at that period, most of our advanced scholars close their school career. Those who do so, however regular they may have been, can of course only be returned as present one-half the year, and their names go to increase the number of those whose attendance is discreditable, as they have necessarily been present, less than 150 days.

Until this year it has always been the custom in our schools to

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