20 MARYLAND MANUAL.
expended on schools approximately $7,787,000 for current expenses and
$1,533,000, or 31.8 per cent, was received by the twenty-three counties
from the State of Maryland and the Federal vocational fund. Baltimore
City received nearly $1,000,000 from State and Federal school funds.
White high school enrollment and attendance in the counties in-
creased last year 7 and 9 per cent, respectively, necessitating sixty ad
ditions to the teaching staff. The larger amount of State aid provided
annually merely takes care of this necessary and normal increase re-
quired by greater enrollment.
There were 9,277 graduates from county white elementary schools
and 2,993 from county white high schools in 1928. Of the white girl
graduates from county high schools, 15.2 per cent entered the Towson,
Frostburg and Salisbury Normal Schools. These normal schools had
an enrollment for 1927-28 of over 1,000 students. This enrollment in-
cludes 315 from Baltimore City at Towson.
Not quite one-half of the high school graduates of 1927 continued
their education beyond high school in colleges, universities, normal
schools, hospitals, commercial schools, etc., in 1928-29.
Towson, Frostburg and Salisbury Normal Schools gave diplomas in
1928 to 441 young men and women, of whom 97 were from Baltimore
City. Of the county normal school graduates, 63.8 per cent went out to
teach in one and two-teacher schools in the fall of 1028. Over 63 per
cent of the county graduates returned to teach in their home counties.
In October, 1928, 92 per cent of the white elementary teachers held first
grade certificates, 6 per cent second grade certificates, and only 2 per
cent third grade certificates. In 1920 one-third of the teachers held first
grade certificates, one-third second grade certificates, and one-third held
third grade certificates. In the financially poorer counties, which cannot
carry the minimum requirements of the State program on the county
school tax rate of 67 cents, the State provides the additional amount
necessary through an Equalization Fund. This fund will grow until all
county teaching positions are filled by professionally trained men and
women.
During the school year ending in June, 1928, there was at least one
supervising or helping teacher in every county in Maryland. This is the
sixth year that this satisfactory situation has existed. "The State pays
two-thirds of the salaries of the county supervising and helping teachers
and of county superintendents. The improvement in the results of the
tests in reading and arithmetic is one evidence of effective supervision.
Supervision or improving instruction is accomplishing the following
results in the elementary schools:
1. There is organization of what to teach and when it should
be taught where formerly there was chaos. The goals in the
various subjects published by the State Department of Edu-
cation after criticism of supervisors and teachers are help-
ing in course of study making.
2. Higher standards of teaching have been set up and main-
tained in place of the low standards which formerly pre-
vailed. Demonstration lessons by supervisors and by su-
perior teachers in teachers' meetings are one means of ac-
complishing this.
3. Definite standards for the progress of children are held up
and reached where formerly there was no guide. State-wide
standardized tests in the "Three R's" are given at inter-
vals; State-wide tests in history and geography have been
recently given; and informal tests in all the school subjects
are given in each county. (See 1.)
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