7 units, with 3 units being the most common. These figures could probably be duplicated, or approximated, in many school systems. particularly in those with 16- or 17-unit minimums. COMPARISON OF TOTAL UNIT REQUIREMENTS OF Two-thirds of the city school systems in the sample do not exceed the total unit requirements set by their respective States. Seventeen of the 50 cities, located in 12 States, do however have requirements 1⁄2 to 5 units higher than their States' minimums, as shown in table 5. Table 5.-Comparison of unit requirements of 17 cities with those of their respective States, 1958-59 For grades 10-12. The total would be 19 if the 51⁄2 units required in ninth grade were included. SUBJECTS REQUIRED OF ALL PUPILS, GRADES 9 THROUGH 12 Number of years of instruction prescribed. Subjects required of all high school pupils regardless of the curriculum or school in which they enroll are shown in table 6. In all cities, the requirements are stated for grades 9 through 12, but because ninth-grade subject requirements were not always reported in Carnegie units, the listing is in terms of number of years of instruction rather than number of units. In summary, each of the 50 city school systems requires at least 3 years of English and 32 require 4 years. All city systems require at least 1 year of social studies and half require 3 to 4 years. All except four of the systems have a requirement in science, and all except three have a requirement in mathematics. Nearly one-third of the cities specify 2 years of mathematics and nearly one-third 2 years of science. All cities but one require at least 1 year of physical education; nearly two-thirds require 4 years. As a general rule, except for the area of social studies, the subjects for fields of study are either not specified or a choice is given from among several. City school systems usually do name the particular social studies for which pupils must enroll. As shown in table 7, onethird of the school systems allow pupils at least a limited choice from Table 6.-Number of years of study required in subject areas for all pupils in grades 9 through 12, by 50 city school systems, 1958-59 Table 6.-Number of years of study required in subject areas for all pupils in grades 9 through 12, by 50 city school systems, 1958-59 Continued 1 When two numbers are reported for a city, the first refers to health as a separate subject. One year of practical arts, art, or music. Girls. The third unit may be waived if the pupil takes the second year of a foreign language. • Boys. Table 7.-Average number of units of social studies subjects required by school systems in cities of 50,000 and above in population, 1958-59 among the social studies courses offered. It may be that the choice must be a history course, or the choice may be between world history and modern problems. There may be a choice for general-education 580411-61 students but not for college-preparatory students, or the required subject may differ by curriculums. United States history is required in every city school system studied. If the sample is representative, it is a required subject in every city of 50,000 and above in population. Another common requirement is at least one-half unit of government separate from the 1-year history course. This may be either ninth-grade civics or citizenship which is frequently the social studies subject at that level, or advanced civics often found in the twelfth grade. World history, reported as a constant by a third of the large cities, is the only other subject required by a sizable number of city school systems. MAJOR AND MINOR SEQUENCES In his 1928 study, Jessen wrote that the system of requiring major and minor sequences has always been inherent in differentiated curriculum organization. "More recently," he continued, "it has repeatedly issued forth as an independent principle, sometimes added to curriculums, frequently free of affiliation with them. In schools which use the major-minor plan, practice is almost universal that a major represent 3 years' and a minor 2 years' work in one department." Approximately a third of the large city school systems in 1958-59 require major and minor sequences. The most frequently recurring pattern is one major or two minors. In contrast is the 1928 finding that 70 percent of the schools reporting majors and minors specified one major and two minors, exclusive of English. The seeming decrease in the number of sequences required may be related to the tendency of school systems to increase the basic number of units all pupils must earn in the various fields of study. This is particularly true in the field of social studies. In many cities, social studies has become a 2- or 3-year sequence for all pupils. Required sequences then are in fields other than English or social studies. Illustrative is Chicago's practice of requiring, in addition to the 4-year sequence in English and the 3-year sequence in social studies, one 3-year or two 2-year sequences. San Francisco requires 30 semester periods (3 units) in a special interest field "except in the field of social studies where 40 semester periods shall be required and English where 45 are required. The pattern of subject matter comprising a special interest field must meet with the approval of the Office of the Superintendent." COMPARISON OF STATE AND CITY REQUIREMENTS IN FOUR MAJOR SUBJECT AREAS In 35 of the 50 cities in the sample, unit requirements for the four areas of English, social studies, mathematics, and science combined exceed similar requirements of their respective State departments of education. Sixteen of these 35 cities are in States that either make no requirement in the four subject areas named (Rhode Island and Wisconsin), or have only the legal requirement of 1 or 2 units in social studies (California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey). The remaining 19 cities, located in 12 States, exceed their State requirements by 1 to 6 units in the four subject areas. They require a total of 1761⁄2 units; their States require a total of 136%. Broken down into subject areas, unit requirements are as follows: 5 City school systems tend to exceed the requirements set by the States. The following statement from the Florida State Department of Education is pertinent: "In 1957-58, more than 97 percent of all pupils in grades 9-12 in Florida were enrolled in schools where local requirements must be met for graduation which exceed those set by the State Board of Education." The State Board has set a total of 20 units for graduation, of which 10 for girls and 9 for boys are in specified subjects. COMPARISON OF REQUIREMENTS IN MAJOR SUBJECT AREAS OF SOME SELECTED CITIES NOW AND 30 YEARS AGO Among the 12 cities included in the 1928 study are 8 which are a part of the present study. Table 8 lists the requirements for these cities as reported in 1928 and in 1959. With two exceptions, every change in the 30-year period in the number of units required in any of the subject fields has represented an increase. REQUIREMENTS OF THE COLLEGE-PREPARATORY CURRICULUM Among the 50 cities surveyed, 26 have adopted a single constantswith-variables curriculum and 24 provide for multiple-type curriculums in their schools. That is, the schools set up a pattern of required subjects (including of course those subjects required of all pupils), frequently accompanied by a suggested list of electives, for each of several curriculums. The most common curriculums found in the schools are the general, college preparatory, business education, Florida School Facts. Florida School Bulletin, December 1958. p. 38. |