The course of study in the high schools is usually arranged with a view to presenting to the pupil front one to four different groups of subjects, any one of which he is at liberty to choose. The first of these groups constitutes the old classical course, hut inchks, besides Greek and Latin, modern languages or English. or both, algebra, geometry. and some history and natural seience. \\ hat is eommonly called the literary course drops the Creek and substitutes therefor more English, modern languages. or history. The scientitie course drops Creek and sometimes Latin. laying stress on the seiences and ma thematics instead. In some cases the classical languages are abandoned for the sake of English. history, civics, political economy. etc. Another emirs°, which emphasize: preparation for busi ne•s• and gives instruction in book-keeping. stenography. typewriting, eonimereial arithmetic., and law and business methods, is frequently found. The tendeney is, however, to hand over such 8 course to a comuend:tl high school or business college. It is a favorite line of work for evening high schools. Practically. all emirses embrace algebra, Lteomet ry, 01%10,, English, I 'nit ed States history, and physies. The seienees inught in the scientific course include chemistry and often botany and zoology. Courses in solid geometry, higher algebra, and trigonometry are often offered in high schools.
Besides the ordinary and the commercial high schools, there have grown up numerous schools of the high school grade. offering instruction in mechanical and industrial lines, and extensive practice in manual training. They represent a demand that existed at the time of the establish ment of the high sellouts. and is to-day extensive and growing. It is that secondary education should be an immediate preparation for life instead of merely for college. The 'accrediting' system, which prevails in and Califor nia, and by wide') high schools desiring lo pass students without examination into the colleges are inspected by the faculties of the State uni versities, has been criticised for tending to reduce the high schools to mere 'feeders' for the univer sities. on the other hand, it must be said that the colleges have very extensively modified and enlarged the currienlum of the old days of purely classical so that each of the courses offered in high schools. except perhaps the com mercial one, prepares for some line of collegiate work. _Moreover, the 'accrediting' system has been the only system of effective inspection to which the high schools have been subjeeted, if we do not regard the college entrance examinations as attaining this end. The method of judging school work by the examination of pupils is, however, sometimes used even in elementary schools, where examinations for promotion or graduation are given by county authorities for all the schools of the county.
No effective system of pensioning teachers exists in the United States, although some laws ha c been passed aiming at this. They have relied lin the contributions of teachers, who may join in or not as they choose, and consequently they have never amounted to anything of im portance. On the other hand. the salaries of
teachers in the elementary school: compare favor ably with those abroad. averaging $58.59 a month for men and $50.9•2 for women in the West, where they are highest, and $35.99 per month for men and $31.43 for women in the South, where they are lowest.
Thirty of the `totes have compulsory education laws. common period during which some instruction must be given is from the eighth to the fourteenth year. These laws, though not rigidly enforced. are nevertheless fairly effective, and attendance for at least part of the year is rly unncu,al fur C1111111'1'11 of school age.
The evolution and present status of higher education in the United States, the most notable features of which have been the development of the State universities and the transformation of the colleges into universities, are dealt with in the article on l':xivEas ITV. For a treatment of the American elementary schools, see the article on CONI MON SCHOOLS.
n1111.106 \ PH y. (;esehieltg der Er. zichung (Berlin, 1902) : Harris, "Elementary Education," iu Butler. Eduention in the linited Still" : meat secondaire aux Etats-rnis ( Pa ris. g96) : Report of the States Micron of Educa tion Sir( teRman's Blackman, History of Fed,ral and State Aid to Maher Education in the United Slates (Wa.Abington, IS00 ) ; Barnard, American Pedagogy (Hartford, 1876) ; Boone, Education in the United `'totes (New York, 1890) ; Winship, Great American Educators( Chi cago. 1900) ; Adams, History of the Elementary :?chool Contest in England (Loinlon, 1882) ; ronstein, Englische Ntudien ; Balfour, Edueutiona/ ,':)/st(ins of Great Britain and Ire land (Oxford. 1898) ; Report of the Committer of Council on Education ( England and Wales, 1872 91, 92): Hamilton, "Popular Education in Eng land and Wales since 1882," in t-;tatistieal Nociety of London Journal (1890); Ilaslitt, School Books, and Sehool-maAters(London, 1888) : Mackenzie. Treatise on the Elementary EducaDon Acts (ib., 1892) ; Klemm, "Brief State ment of the School System of Prussia," in Unitcd ,stateR Educntion Bureau, Deport of the Commis sioner ( ) ; Parsons, Prussian Schools Through American Eyes (Syracuse, 1891) ; Paul sen, Veber die geyenweirtiye Lage des 1161111'01 Nehuhresens in Preussen ( Perlin, 1893) ; Tows, Die prcus.s.isehe 1 'olkssch u lc (Bielefeld, 1S89); ;41alistisehes Jahrbuch der hYhercn Schulen Deutschlands; 0-n1'ra/bluff f iir die yesamte Un terrich ts rerical t ung in Preuss? n II is toire critique de doetrines de en Ironer depuis le sei7ii sieele (Paris, 1885) ; Grilard, La bgislution de l'instruction pri maire en France deimis 1789 (ib., : einzig, Die Schuler Frankreichs( Leipzig, IS93 ) ; Levasseur, "Statistique de l'enseignement pub lique primaire au NiNe siecle," in Institut de France (Paris, 1900) ; Mey, Frankreichs Sr-11111ot (Leipzig, 1901) ; Annuaire de l'instruction pub lique et des