subjects. For
all too long a time we have held a boy in grade four until he mastered
what we have called his grade four arithmetic, spelling, geography,
grammar, history, etc. As a matter of fact, many a boy who is a
fourth-grader in grammar may be only a second-grader in arithmetic--a
girl, for whom fourth grade arithmetic is an impossibility, because of
her special liking for reading, may be seventh grade in her capacity in
that subject. In the specific subjects, individual differences have been
found to be most marked. Surely it is unfair to ask a boy "born short"
in history to keep up to the pace of a comrade "born long" in that
subject; so, too, it is unfair to ask a girl "born long" in geography to
hold back to the pace of one "born short" in that subject. The results
of these observations are leading to developments that are full of
promise for the educational interests of the future.

In order that we may more fully appreciate the reality of these
observations let us set down the concrete results of a few experiments.

The first three tests are quoted from Thorndike:

In a test in addition, all pupils being allowed the same time,

1 pupil did 3 examples correctly
2 pupils did 4 examples correctly
1 pupil did 5 examples correctly
5 pupils did 6 examples correctly
2 pupils did 7 examples correctly
4 pupils did 8 examples correctly
6 pupils did 9 examples correctly
14 pupils did 10 examples correctly
8 pupils did 11 examples correctly
7 pupils did 12 examples correctly
8 pupils did 13 examples correctly
5 pupils did 14 examples correctly
5 pupils did 15 examples correctly
6 pupils did 16 examples correctly
1 pupil did 17 examples correctly
5 pupils did 18 examples correctly
1 pupil did 19 examples correctly
2 pupils did 20 examples correctly

The rapidity of movement of ten-year-old girls, as measured by the
number of crosses made in a fixed time:

6 or 7 by 1 girl
8 or 9 by 0 girl
10 or 11 by 4 girls
12 or 13 by 3 girls
14 or 15 by 21 girls
16 or 17 by 29 girls
18 or 19 by 33 girls
20 or 21 by 13 girls
22 or 23 by 15 girls
24 or 25 by 11 girls
26 or 27 by 5 girls
28 or 29 by 2 girls
30 or 31 by 5 girls
32 or 33 by 3 girls
34 or 35 by 5 girls
36 or 37 by 0 girl
38 or 49 by 4 girls