E.—lb

1888. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: REPORTS OF INSPECTORS OF SCHOOLS. [In continuation of E.-1b, 1887.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

[It has not been thought necessary in all cases to print the tables and those portions of the reports that relate only to particular schools.] AUCKLAND. 1. Mb. Fidleb's Eepoet. Sie, — Auckland, 15th February, 1888. I have the honour to submit my report on the work of the schools in the central district for the year 1887. Owing to illness I did not begin work till the Ist April. Nineteen of the schools in this district were examined by Mr. Heriot—whose skill and experience will have made his visits very serviceable. The rest of the schools —forty-six, including the town schools —were examined by me. The majority of the schools of this district have been inspected. I submit the following summary of results for central district, Auckland, as required by the department :—■

On the whole, I consider the work done to be fair. In about half the schools the work ranged from satisfactory to excellent; in a third it was uneven, or, though not bad, showed a want of thoroughness ; in the rest —eleven—it was so unsatisfactory as to be the subject of special report. The above table shows that the greatest percentage (38) of failures was in Standard V., the next greatest (34) in Standard IV., and. that the percentages in Standards 111., VI., 11., and I. were 32, 24, 13, and 9 respectively. The reading, all things considered, was fair, though hardly enough attention is paid to the meanings of the parts read. The writing, too, was fair, though a number of the papers sent in lacked neatness. I have in a number of cases had to refer to the bad spelling, in some cases in strong terms. Much more attention to this subject is needed. The excellent method of correcting dictation by causing the scholars to open the books when the piece of dictation has been read, and causing them to correct their own errors, is now being neglected. Where this method is adhered to the teacher should select slates here and there to see that the corrections are being properly made. The method very frequently adopted now of allowing children to mark their neighbours' errors is strongly condemned in the Board's Instructions for the Guidance of Teachers. More care should be taken to see that the errors marked by the teachers in the home-work I—E. Ib.

Standard Classes. Presented. Absent. Excopted. Failed. Passed. Average Age of those that passed. Yrs. mos. S7 S6 S5 S4 S3 S 2 S 1 P. 47 219 582 1,151 1,612 1,752 1,524 4,205 4 37 69 93 91 81 3 37 72 155 149 83 52 197 346 449 206 125 160 311 664 915 1,306 1,235 14 8 13 8 12 9 11 5 10 3 9 4 Totals 11,092 375 499 1,3.75 4,591 * Mean of a' rerage age 12 years.