Development of Mathematics in Secondary Schools of the United States
Prior to the latter part of the nineteenth century the energies of those interested in public education had been primarily directed toward the completion of the educational ladder. Elementary, secondary, and higher education had been placed under public control and to a large extent was financed by public taxation. In 1893 the Committee of Ten reported to the National Educational Association in favor of enriching the course of study in grades below the high school through the introduction of various subjects such as algebra, geometry, foreign languages, and natural sciences but their recommendations made no provisions for adapting these subjects to the abilities and needs of the children of the lower grades. During the early stages this movement for reorganization centered around the approximate equal division of time devoted to elementary and secondary education. The idea of dividing the six-year secondary school into junior and senior departments did not become a prominent one until the latter part of the first decade of the twentieth century.