E.—l

XIII

larger than that of the previous year, which was 4577 per cent. The proportion of the scholars not considered ready to begin preparation for Standard I. is a good deal larger than it was the previous year. The proportion judged to be beyond Standard IV. has increased during the year from B*B2 to 974 per cent. The corresponding proportions in 1880 were 7-42 per cent., and 677 in 1879, thus showing an increase each year. The number of scholars on the school rolls in the last quarter of 1882 and the three previous years that had passed Standard VI. was as follows: In 1882 there were 7b2 scholars, or o'B9 per cent, of the whole; in 1881 there were 591, or 071 per cent. ;in 1880 there were 439, or 0-53 per cent.; and in 1879 there were 036 per cent. The following table compiled from returns furnished by the Inspectors shows the number of scholars that were presented, and the number that passed the several standards, during the year in each of the Board districts :—

TABLE N.—Numbers and Proportion of Passes in Standards.

Table M shows that 46,668 out of the 87,179 scholars on the rolls in the last quarter of the year, or 5853 per cent, are classified by their teachers as having passed either Standard I. or some higher standard, while it appears from Table N that only -12,388 of these, or 486 per cent, of the roll-number, presented themselves for examination by the Inspectors. This difference (4,280) may be explained to some extent by the fact that the roll was larger at the end of the .year, when the teachers' classifications were made, than at any other time during its currency, while the examinations were held at various times throughout the year; but it is to be feared that a good many children are permitted to absent themselves from the Inspectors' examinations without sufficient reason. Messrs. Edge and Gumming, North Canterbury, report as follows: "We have taken some trouble to find out the cause of so many children being absent on the examination days, and fear that it is attributable to the fact that in these schools the backward children are not only not encouraged, but, in some cases, actually forbidden, to be present. In a few instances the attendance was lowered by the state of the weather." In the report of Mr. Smith, Westland, the following passage occurs : " The absence of scholars on examination day, if passed over without notice, might open the door to a serious abuse. . . . Some endeavour should be made to arrest the progress of this evil, and one method of doing so would be to consider all absentees as having failed, unless good and sufficient reason could be given for such absence. In connection with this I may remark that when the teacher's owji children are kept away from the examination he can hardly expect other parents to be scrupulous on the subject. Yet this has been done to my knowledge in several instances." Mr. Lee, Wellington, states that " owing to the prevalence of measles the number present at examination did not so nearly approach the total number on the books as it has done in past years,"

Passed Standards Education Districts. Eoll (Dee., 188;!). Presented. Passed. I. II. III. IT. V. VI. Total. All 87,179 \ 486 p.c. of roll number 72-3 p.c of number presented I 106 9-4 Per ceni 7-3 ;. of Boll 46 Number. 2-3 1 351 Auckland Taranaki Wanganui Wellington ... Hawke's Bay Marlborough Nelson North Canterbury South Canterbury Westland Otago Southland 16,101 1,985 5,004 6,271 3,363 1,414 4.213 16,907 3,853 2,923 19,665 5,480 7,574 874, 2.640 3,511 1,827 678 1,962 7,724 1,941 1,370 10.274 2,013 4,998 533 1,921 2,864 1,314 534 1,457 5,758 1,460 946 7,473 1,381 30,639 31,248 Per 77 9 58'7 811 93 76 86-1 87-4 -92 87-1 76 94 84-2 cent, of 636 72-1 79-8 93 67-4 76-8 72'7 85 84-6 65 76 72'7 Numbei 565 561 59-9 74 78-8 83'9 71-5 60 77-1 60 62 611 ■ present* 656 50-7 67-8 73 653 75 68-9 56 55-5 69-4 56 53-5 ed in each Stand? 61:1 52-9 611 91-7 69-4 778 67 65 60'4 84 62 80 681 708 50 64 57'8 44-2 76-2 93 62 83 39-1 54-5 ird. 65-9 61 728 81-6 71-9 78-8 74-3 74 75-2 69 73 68-6 Totals Totals for 1881 87,179 83,587 42,388 42,635 86-3 82-1 761 77-9 63-6 64-5 61-5 64-3 61-2 721 68-6 74-7 72'3 73-4