The Committee was assisted in its work by a temporary staff of specialists in education, public administration, and economics. The major function of this staff was to collect, analyze, and interpret available data bearing upon the problems under consideration by the Committee. Time did not permit any extensive amount of original research, and original research was not attempted except in areas where the existing information seemed entirely inadequate. The work of the staff did result, however, in a number of studies which present in convenient form a large amount of information bearing upon the status and problems of education in the United States. The present volume is one of the studies prepared by the research staff. The statements and conclusions contained in it are those of the authors, and do not necessarily conform to those of the Committee. The findings of this study were considered by the Committee, however, in formulating the conclusions and recommendations that appear in its own. report. Dr. Newton Edwards, the senior author of this study, is Professor of Education, The University of Chicago. He has made extensive investigations of the legal basis of school organization and administration and of the educational problems of a changing population. This study grows out of previous investigations of the economic and social bases of the national interest in education. Dr. Herman G. Richey, the co-author, is Assistant Professor of Education, The University of Chicago. He assumed major responsibility for the gathering of the data employed in this investigation and for AUTHORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are indebted to Professor Eugene S. Lawler, of Northwestern University, for assistance in securing unpublished data from State departments of education and to members of the staff of the Advisory Committee on Education for numerous helpful suggestions. It is understood, of course, that the authors assume full responsibility for the interpretations of the data presented in the study. CONTENTS III. RELATIONSHIP AMONG MEASURES OF RELATIVE NEED- The Distribution of the Burden of Education and Plane of Living, Burden of Child Support, Ability to Support |