In considering the second inquiry above, we find from the preceding distribution of pupils that 58.1 per cent (boys--61.4, girls--55.8) of all pupils that graduate have failed in one or more subjects one or more times. This percentage varies from 34 per cent to 73 per cent by schools, but in only two instances does the percentage fall below 50 per cent, and in one of these two it is almost 50 per cent. We may now ask, when do the failing and the non-failing non-graduates drop out of school? Of the total number of non-graduates (4,205), there are 2,448 who drop out after failing one or more times, and 1,757 who drop out without failing. The cumulative percentages of the non-graduates in reference to dropping out are here given. CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGES OF THE FAILING NON-GRADUATES AS THEY ARE LOST BY SEMESTERS LOST BY END OF SEMESTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Per Cent 14.1 33.9 46.4 64.9 72.9 85.2 91.9 97.6 99.1 CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGES OF NON-FAILING NON-GRADUATES AS THEY ARE LOST BY SEMESTERS LOST BY END OF SEMESTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Per Cent 61.1 78.0 85.9 92.1 94.5 98.4 99.5 .. .. Briefly stated, the above percentages assert that more than three fourths of those who neither fail nor graduate have left school by the end of the first year, while only 33.9 per cent of those non-graduates who fail have left so early. More than 50 per cent of the failing non-graduates continue in school to near the end of the second year. By that time about 90 per cent of the non-failing non-graduates have been lost from school. By a combination of the above groups we get the percentages of all non-graduates lost by successive semesters. CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGES OF ALL NON-GRADUATES LOST BY SUCCESSIVE SEMESTERS LOST BY END OF SEMESTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Per Cent 33.7 53.4 62.6 76.2 81.9 90.7 94.0 98.6 These percentages of non-graduates indicate that more than 50 per cent of those who do not graduate are gone by the end of the first year, but that there are a few who continue beyond four years without graduating. 2. THE LATER DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS BY SEMESTERS Consideration is here given to the number of the total entrants remaining in school for each successive semester, and then to the accompanying percentages of failure for each group. The following figures show the rapid decline in numbers. THE PERSISTENCE OF PUPILS IN SCHOOL, BY SEMESTERS END OF SEMESTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 Graduate 6,141 (Total) 4,723 3,893 3,508 2,935 2,697 2,234 1,936 Percentages 76.9 63.4 57.1 47.8 43.9 36.4 31.5