The Commissioner of Education presents facts relating to State reports, recess or no recess, school legislation; statistics of correspondents of the Bureau; growth of education in the United States; school ages, summary of statistics of State systems; summary of the statistics of the last ten years; school population, enrollment, and average attendance; comparative view of school attendance in the more densely populated States; defective administration of common schools; status of the teaching force; supervision of country schools; graded course of study; compulsory attendance. Also presented are the summary of the educational condition of the Union; education of the colored race; statistics of institutions for the education of the colored race; teachers for colored schools; illiteracy in the South; industrial training for colored youth; the Peabody fund; the John F. Slater fund; summary of statistics of city systems; table of average expenses per capita for city schools, school population, enrollment, and attendance in cities. Also included are reports on examinations; an experiment in discipline; supervision; free text books and stationery; gymnastics; tenure of office of teachers; administration, the teaching of vocal music in public schools; statistics relating to city superintendents; summary of statistics of normal schools; appropriations for normal schools; character of normal training; information concerning particular schools; teachers' institutes, etc.; summary of statistics of commercial and business colleges; summary of statistics of kindergarten; general statistical summary of pupils receiving secondary instruction; summary of statistics of institutions for secondary instruction; summary of statistics of preparatory schools; public high schools; measures for improving secondary instruction; overwork in secondary schools; statistical summary of students in classical and scientific preparatory courses; statistical summary of students in institutions for superior instruction; summary of statistics of institutions for the superior instruction of women; summary of statistics of universities and colleges; distinction between colleges and universities; movements in certain colleges, graduate departments; the university of the nineteenth century; colleges whose main work is in the undergraduate department; catalogues of American colleges; statistics of alumni of colleges and universities; summary of statistics of schools of science; classification of scientific students in a number of institutions; meaning of the expression, "industrial education," the Workingman's School, New York; experiments in connection with city public schools; exercises of universal application; exhibitions of industrial work by school children; industrial training in normal schools, in the South; special schools; instruction in cookery; summary of statistics of schools of theology; summary of statistics of schools of law; summary of statistics of schools of medicine, etc.; statistical summary of all degrees conferred; summary of statistics of training schools for nurses; education of the deaf and dumb; summary of statistics of institutions for the deaf and dumb; education of the blind; summary of statistics of schools for the blind; education of the feeble-minded; summary of statistics of schools for feeble minded youth; statistical summary of benefactions; list of historical societies in the United States; education in foreign countries, recommendations, and appropriations needed. Abstracts and an index are included.