| 4,815 | 9,827
8 | 4,496 | 4,407 | 8,903
9 | 4,268 | 4,103 | 8,371
10 | 4,093 | 3,951 | 8,044
| | |
11 | 3,747 | 3,593 | 7,340
12 | 3,700 | 3,646 | 7,346
13 | 3,676 | 3,631 | 7,307
14 | 3,445 | 3,271 | 6,716
15 | 2,358 | 2,291 | 4,649
| | |
16 | 1,190 | 1,163 | 2,353
17 | 672 | 680 | 1,352
18 | 403 | 358 | 761
19 | 135 | 156 | 291
20 | 41 | 52 | 93
| | |
Over 20 | ... | 22 | 22
-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------
Total | 41,491 | 40,319 | 81,810
-------------------------------------------------

An attempt was made to follow up the cases of all the children who had
left one public elementary school during the period of one year
preceding the study. The work was done by the case method and the
homes of the children were visited. The total number of cases studied
was 117, of whom 89 were girls. It was found that one-third of these
children had graduated and gone on to high school. Another third had
gone to work, and of these, 40 per cent had done so without
graduating. The children constituting the remaining third were staying
at home, and among these a majority had dropped out without
graduating.

Of the eighth grade graduates one-half were found to be illegally
employed, as they were less than 16 years of age. Among those who
dropped out and went to work before completing the course 80 per cent
were illegally employed.

The fact that many girls drop out without graduating and before the
end of the legal attendance period and remain at home indicates that
most of them do not leave on account of financial necessity. This
conclusion is substantiated by the testimony of the girls and their
parents, many of whom say that the girls left simply because they grew
tired of attending and did not see the value of remaining.

These facts point to the necessity for much more effective work in
enforcing the compulsory attendance laws, for far better inspection of
shops and factories to detect violations of the child labor laws, and
above all to such a reform of the schooling opportuniti