A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

144 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

the greater ability of the pupils now in Grades II and III we predict
practically no lag behind American achievements when they reach
Grades V, VI, and VII. The pupils of Malolos are only one-third
of a year behind American median achievements in Grade VII. Malolos seventh-grade graduates have reading ability equal to that of
American sixth-graders and actually in excess of three-fourths of the
fourth-year Filipino high-school' graduates. Such an achievement under
the hampering language conditions of the Philippines is important and
should be studied very carefully by the Bureau of Education.
The success of municipalities in Laguna tends to equal the work of
Bulacan. The pupils of Pagsanjan, for example, in Grades II, IV,
and V rank within a year of American children in corresponding
grades. If the pupils of Malolos, Polo, or Pagsanjan, merely illustrative of the point under discussion, leave school at the end of the fourth
grade, the probability of their being able to use English permanently
is much greater than it is for the great mass of primary graduates in the
Philippine schools.
Why Are Some Schools Succeeding While the Majority Are Failing in
Reading?
There are four possible causes: 1. The teachers may be better; 2.
The intelligence of the pupils may be higher; 3. The pupils may be
more skilled in taking tests; 4. The method of reading instruction may
be superior. We have evidence concerning these four causes. Charts
I to IV and Chart XII suggest that better teachers and higher intelligence do not account for the superiority of Bulacan pupils. At the
right of each chart are shown the attainments of teachers in the various
tests in 11 municipalities. Compare Iloilo and Bulacan, for example,
on each of these charts. The teachers of Iloilo are in every test superior
to those of Bulacan. Yet in every test the pupils of Bulacan excel those
of Iloilo. Now from American studies we know that there is a distinct
correlation between teaching ability and general educational attainment.
Precisely what the correlation is, we do not know. It is the judgment
of the Commission, however, that, although the teachers of Bulacan are
very carefully selected, their educational attainments account for little
of the unusual success of their pupils.
Chart XII shows definitely that the intellectual capacity of these
pupils is not superior to many of those whose reading attainments are
distinctly lower. The chart gives the records of success on the nonlanguage mental-ability tests. No reading or writing was involved.
Oral directions were reduced to a minimum. The pupils of certain
Manila schools, and of San Pablo, of Capiz and Silay, are in some