The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., January 01, 1925, Page 12, Image 12

JANUARY 1925
THE UNITED AMERICAN
Page Twelve
New York’s Literacy Test of Voters Is Pronounced a Success
By WILLIAM J. O’SHEA, City Superintendent of New York’s Public Schools
HE EYES of the nation were turned
toward New York State on the 4th
•of last November for at least one reason
which had very little to do with the
Democratic or Republican capture of her
forty-five votes in the Electoral College.
Educators, legislators and civic and
political leaders were critically attentive
to see how the only State in the Union
with a test for voters prepared and ad­
ministered by its educational authorities
would fare during the first Presidential
election in the history of its experiment.
Other States have, so-called literacy
tests for voters. We 'have had such a
provision in our own State constitution
since 1921. But not until the legislation
of January, 1922, in New York State
had any of these State tests been other
than a vague requirement to be able to
read and write or to understand a sec­
tion of the constitution in such a fashion
as to satisfy the boards of election. By
giving the State Department of Educa­
tion power to prepare actual educational
tests and hold examinations based on
them, the Legislature of New York State
enacted a literacy test law with teeth
in it.
It was generally agreed that if such a
law could be successfully administered
in New York State it would be prac­
ticable elsewhere, and that New York
City held the key to success or failure.
Many difficult problems, of course,
exist, in connection with its ad­
ministration throughout the State, but
we, with our enormous electorate and
our high precentage of foreign-born
naturalized voters, were considered its
real testing ground. Moreover, our ex­
perience, with the law the previous year
had not been so fortunate. In the midst
of the week set aside for examination
a question was raised regarding the
constitutionality of the provision of the
law which gives the educational authori­
ties sole control of the test. While a
judicial decision clearly establishing our
responsibility in the matter was rendered
before registration week was over, never­
theless the board of election in many
cases accepted evidence of literacy on
their own responsibility. There was
inevitable confusion pending the final
legal decision .
* * *
I am convinced that the result of our
recent experience are so satisfactory
that other States will rapidly follow our
lead. Detailed reports from the evening
school principals in charge of these ex­
aminations have been coming into our
office during the past month. We now
have an accurate and comprehensive
picture of what took place.
The annual crop of new voters in New
York City is about 60,000. In 1923
during the ten days in which the schools
were open for the test 53,286 new voters
presented themselves for certificates of
literacy. Such a percentage is astonish­
ing. It puts to shame the efforts to
“get out the vote” from the general
electorate, for the entire percentage of
T
eligible voters appearing at the polls
was only a little over 50. Many of this
53,000, it is true, were men and women
who had failed to register the previous
year and therefore did not come from
the current 60,000. But offsetting this
is the fact that many persons got certifi­
cates of literacy by going directly to the
boards of election with a diploma from
the eigth elementary grade or one of
higher rank and did not go to the schools
at all.
Thus a first broad conclucion from- the
results of the last election seems en­
tirely warranted, namely: that the chal­
lenge of the test, together with the con­
certed publicity given to it, “got out the
vote” from this group more successfully
than from the electorate at large. Cer­
tainly the fears of those who thought
that this additional trouble would keep
many new voters from registering were
not realized.
Ten thousand two hundred and seventy-
four people failed to pass the examina­
tions, and were thereby declared in­
eligible to vote. Of the 44,941 who ac­
tually took the examination (8,345 re­
ceived certificates without taking the
examination, on presentation of au­
thentic evidence of literacy from either
day or evening schools) 23 per cent,
therefore, were unable to read and write
English as well as a child in the fourth
elementary grade, for it was on such a
scholastic standard that the tests were
based. This high percentage alone, it
seems to me, demonstrates the value
of an educational tesc administered by
educational authorities. No one knows
what percentage of new voters was
turned down as illiterate by the boards
of election prior to the conduct of the
examination by the schools, nor is there
any such record in other States. Yet
I have no hesitancy in venturing that
it was no such percentage as this. On
the other hand, if we are to have a test
at all, is there any one who believes
that the ability to read and write
English that is required from a child in
the fourth grade is too high a standard ?
* * *
It is estimated that 80 per cent of
those who took the test were naturalized
citizens of foreign birth. Every one of
the failures came from this group. That
illiteracy among foreign-born adults is
much greater than among the native-
born is well known and, in view of our
compulsory school laws for children,
easily understood. But the foreign-born
men and women who took this test al­
ready had passed successfully the
citizenship examination given by the
courts and the Bureau of Naturalization.
One of their requirements also is ability
to read and write English. We are
forced to conclude, therefore, that there
is a great discrepancy between the court
standards for citizenship and those for
voting as established by this State.
Despite the usually large number of
people applying for certificates — three
times as many as in 1923 — complaints
from those who took the test have been
surprisingly few. Usually when these
are run down we find little justifica­
tion.
Altogether, eighty schools in
different parts of the city were opened
for the test on eight different nights,
while on Saturday, Oet. 11, the last day
of registration, the centers were open
all day. One hundred and seventy-nine
teachers were responsible as paid ex­
aminers, but these were given fine as­
sistance by 528 volunteers- from social
and civic organizations all over the city,
with an actual time service of 1,106
hours. The cost of administering the
test to each individual applicant was
exactly 7 cents, surely not an unwar­
ranted expenditure to guarantee a lit­
erate electorate for our city.
Of course there were difficuliies. De­
spite the splendid co-operation of the
press and social and civic agencies, many
•people misunderstood the real purpose
of the test. At one school the Principal
noticed a girl, well dressed and ap­
parently well educated, leaving the room
with an exceedingly disgusted look on
her face. He questined her and learned
that she had failed. On investigation
he found that she had endeavored to
answer the questions without reading
the paragraphs at the top, on which
the questions were based, and a para­
phrase of which was the only thing
necessary. Many people similarly ex­
pected the examination to be a test of
comprehension rather than simply of
their ability to read, write and under­
stand English, and had spent weary
hours in studying history, civics and i
our governmental institul ions. One man j
answered all questions by writing Con­
gressman LaGuardia’s name ten times,
confident, apparently, that .this would I
convince the examiner that he possessed I
all the information necessary to cast I
an intelligent and discriminating ballot. I
Another sort of misconception was!
typical of the many “highbrows” who, I
having left college diplomas in some!
forgotten comer of ¡the world, were]
chagrined at being forced to prove their I
ability to read and write a simple story I
about a cow or the invention of the!
steamboat. A woman who after read-1
ing the test paper tore it up as an insultl
to her intelligence ' is typical of the ■
attitude, while the story of a very!
famous opera singer, voting in New!
York State for the. first time, constitutes!
a most human document. This lady, on!
the first day of registration, rushed into!
the election booth demanding to be enl
rolled at once. Questioning on the part of
an election official brought out that she I
was casting her first vote in New York I
State. He informed her that she would I
have to take the literacy test. Righteous I
indignation ensued. “Go to a public I
school and mingle with my servants!«
Never! The country could go — ” well«
almost anywhere. The election official«
tried to point out that going to a public«
school was after all little more common«
than casting her ballot in a public booth,«