13.—1b

8

one Inspector is required to work the district. The inspection reports were written in duplicate, one copy being sent to the Committee and teacher interested, and one to the Board. Examination in Standakds.—Of the eighty-seven schools in operation at the end of the year, all open for twelve months, or eighty-four, were duly examined in standards. Of the remaining three, —Eata, Waituna, and Midland Road, —the first was opened in the third quarter, and the remaining twd in the fourth quarter, of the year. The four new schools were Whakamara, Maugawhero, Linton, and Ktzherbert. Between the 20th March and 11th June twenty-four schools were examined, but this period was largely taken up with inspection visits, and with the preparation of examination papers for pupil-teachers, scholarship candidates, and standards. From 20th July, immediately after the returns of the pupil-teachers' examination had been made up, to 15th December I was engaged with the standard examinations on almost every school day, sixty schools being taken. x\lso, I was obliged to examine some schools on Saturdays. Only one school—one in which there were no upper standards—occupied me less than a day, while the examination of the largest school stretched over five days. The usual examination hours were from 9 a.m. to 5.30 or 6 p.m. The reports were written in duplicate, and were posted to the Committees and the Board within from a day to a week of the examinations. On the days appointed for the examination's there were 7,633 pupils (3,955 boys and 3,678 girls) on the school-rolls, of whom 4,726, or 61-9 per cent., were presented for promotion in the six standards, 2,866 were in the preparatory class, and 41 had already passed Standard VI. Of the 4,726 presented, 4,443 or 94 per cent. (1-6 lower than in 1889) attended and were examined, 283 were absent, 270 were excepted (that is, failed, but, not having made more than half the possible attendances during the three quarters preceding that quarter in which the examination was held, they were not counted against the school), 772 failed, and 3,401 passed the requirements and were promoted. The percentage of failures was 18-5 : that is, the percentage of passes on the number examined in standards, omitting exceptions, was 81-5. The following are the customary tables. In Table A will be found a condensed summary of the examination results for the past two years; and in Table B the results in each standard, together with the average age of the children. Table C, by means of which the simple-looking totals in Tables A and B are obtained, is necessarily a very bulky one, the keeping of which involves a large amount of time and trouble. It gives all the information under the headings in the following tables, but with regard to each school, and it can be seen in manuscript only in the Board's office, for the printing of it would entail too much expense.

Table A.

Table B.

1889. 1890. 1. Presented in Standards I. to VI. inclusive 2. Preparatory class ... 3. Class above Standard VI. 4,413 2,644 32 4,726 2,866 41 4. Number on rolls on days of examination 7,089 7,633 5. Percentage of roll-number presented in Standards I. to VI. inclusive 6. Examined in Standards I. to VI. inclusive 7. Absent „ „ 8. Excepted „ „ 9. Failed .0. Passed „ „ 62-2 4,211 202 296 997 2,918 614,443 283 270 772 3,401 .1. Percentage of passes, calculated on roll-number (4) .2. Percentage of failures „ .3. Percentage of passes on number examined in standards (6) A. Percentage of passes on number examined in standards, omitting exceptions 41-1 25-4 69-2 74-5 44'5 18-5 76-5 81-5

Number of Schools examined in each Standard. Classes. Presented. Absent.; ce p|£a Failed. Percentage of Passes on j «_______, Percentage Number 7—.S Passed. of examined in : ..,„?,. S.„. ! Failures. Standards, : th°s^3 omitting Ex- , Perceptions. 18 45 70 77 78 SO 82 Above Stand. VI. ! 41 Standard VI. ... 174 V. ... 404 IV. ... 821 III. ... [ 1,154 II. ...1,1,117 I. ... 1,056 7 15 67 73 67 54 "'7 23 51 80 61 48 35 91 215 200 123 108 125 275 488 801 866 846 21-9 24-9 30-6 20-0 12-4 11-3 78-1 75-1 69-4 80-0 87-6 88-7 Yrs. mos. 14 3 13 6 12 8 11 8 10 5 9 4 4,767 283 I 270 772 * Number of schools examined in one standard or more, 84. 3,401 18-5 81-5 t t« >an; 11 years 11 months,