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he knows it is for him to attend to larger issues. Similarly, in general, no Principal of a large school should give up more than, say, one-quarter of his time to form-work. 3. There should be periodic conferences with the whole staff or a section thereof for the purpose of general discussion. It is well to interest all teachers—especially the juniors—in the work of the school as a whole, and to let each one understand clearly the part he is expected to play in the complete scheme. In order that these meetings should not result in aimless talk, a special subject of discussion might well be announced for each occasion. 4. The New South Wales regulations prescribe that in each high school there of departments," each " head " having the oversight of a subject or group of allied subjects. This system appears an excellent one, and is, indeed, virtually in use in some of our own schools. Each " head " should submit to the Principal at the commencement of the year a scheme of work throughout the school for each term ; should advise as to text-books, and suggest an apportionment of the work among the subordinate teachers ; should supervise the carrying-out of that work ; should have occasional periods free for the purpose of observing other forms than his own ; and should make a periodical report on the teaching-methods of each teacher of his special subject. 5. The Principal or " head " should frequently take, charge of a junior teacher's olass for the purpose of testing its progress or exhibiting the best teaching methods in the subject. 6. Every teacher should have definite oversight of a group of pupils, and. should be expected to know a good deal about them individually, and to report somewhat fully on their general conduct, diligence, and progress ; to assist him in this he should bo in charge of the group for a substantial part of his time- at least eight or ten periods per week. (This system is already in operation in most, but not in all, schools.) 7. The most skilful teachers should not necessarily spend the greater part of their time with the highest forms, whoso work is naturally the most interesting, but not necessarily the most exacting or tho most important. It is quite likely that a young graduate fresh from the University College may bo occasionally quite an acceptable teacher of an upper form which is doing work approximately of pass-degreo standard, but tho same teacher is very often not at all a good person to take charge of a lower form, where pupils' habits of work are being formed, and where a knowledge of teaching technique is of supreme importance. The Accrediting System. There appears to be a general feeling that the time is ripe for the adoption of some form of accrediting as a means of entrance to the University. It seems probable that the, innovation would to a certain extent be a real benefit to the secondary schools, for an examination syllabus inevitably has a cramping effect on the work of good teachers. This appears to be the case particularly in science, where a broad knowledge of fundamentals is acknowledged, to be a more valuable preparation for university work than the detailed study of a somewhat restricted field. It is also notorious that written examinations do not invariably result in the, selection of the candidates who are best qualified. Again, the system of compensating marks does not always work well in actual practice : the candidate of average qualifications has often a better chance of success than a candidate of more brilliant parts who has a decided weakness in one, subject. The accrediting system would enable the principal of a school, the person who is really able to judge between individual pupils, to have a voice in the decision as to which, of them are ready for University work. We suggest that in the case of perhaps half the candidates for matriculation the written examination is not only unnecessary, but is even to a certain extent harmful. Further, it seems possible that "accrediting" may be used as a lever to encourage pupils to take a full four-years secondary course, instead of attempting to scrape through matriculation at the end of the third year, and may thus discourage the entrant;*' of the immature student upon a university course,, and have a definite effect in raising the general standard of university work. Where the accrediting system has been tried it seems generally to have found favour. " The University of Michigan arranged a system of accrediting the schools that were known to do good work, and of accepting their graduates, without examination. The custom soon became almost universal, and has had a tremendous influence in stimulating young people to seek a higher education." (" The Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools," Bulletin No. 2, 1917, Bureau of Education, Washington.) We, believe, the Board of Studies has this matter under consideration, and we strongly recommend the adoption of a tentative form, of accrediting, which may later be extended widely if found suitable to our secondary system. Conclusion. The last annual report contained a good deal of detailed criticism of the methods generally adopted in the teaching of various subjects. Our inspection reports, copies of which were forwarded to the various governing bodies and to all Principals, embodied in all cases a full exposition of our ideas on teaching methods, and we do not feel it necessary to cover that ground again. In conclusion, we may say that Principals have in all cases shown a gratifying readiness to discuss debatable points with us, and that our attempts to get into touch with individual teachers seem not to have been altogether unsuccessful or unprofitable, in every profession there are some to whom their work is a necessary but unpleasant means of earning a livelihood. There are, however, in the teaching profession a vastly larger number who, in spite of many discouragements, take a lively interest in their work, and give freely of their best in the service of the youth of the Dominion. We have, etc., T. R. Cresswell, I Inspectors of Secondary The Director of Education, Wellington. E. J. Park, j Sohools.