The educational attainment literature has brought back interest in early American primary schools, and much current research views those schools as superior to their European peers in the education offered to youth. Its emphasis, though, on using school enrollment as the prime indicator of attainment conflicts with the revisionist view of a…

Discusses the development and uses of various aptitude tests in higher education from the 1920s through the early 1960s. Although seen as a gateway to educational attainment for returning World War II veterans, intelligence testing faced criticism in the early 1960s as a restrictive practice. (MJP)

Utilizes evidence from the 1860 federal census to determine rates of school attendance in Chicago (Illinois). Employs multivariate statistical techniques to establish the correlates of those rates. Considers the impact of the Irish immigration and the role of the Catholic Church. Includes eight tables of statistical data. (MJP)