All classes of schools are subject to state regulations and inspection. Certain definite requirements must be met before a private school may even begin to operate, and still higher standards must be maintained in order for the work to be accredited by the state. Standards of excellence are naturally set by state schools and the requirements fixed by the state inhibit the starting of inferior schools under the pretense of offering something "just as good." During recent years some of the private schools--those well-known and respected because of the nature of work and high standards of excellence maintained--have been given special recognition by the state, and a few of them receive annuities. When advancement in nature or improvement in quality of school work is rewarded by increase in patronage from the state, zest is furnished in the contest for first recognition.
Though the history of the rise, development and influence of the private schools of Norway, together with a discussion of their present status and worth, might furnish an interesting chapter, it becomes necessary to let this slight mention suffice and to confine this work to a treatise of the schools instituted and directed by the state. It may be added, however, that the work of the accredited private schools equals in quality and receives the same recognition as that done in state schools. For example, all graduates from the private gymnasia pass the same examinations for _artium_ as those who complete the work of the state gymnasia and enter the university on exactly the same footing.
The compulsory school laws which operate in Norway determine the age (seven years) at which children shall enter school and the regularity of their attendance. With this in mind, it is readily understood that as a rule each class marches steadily forward, one grade each year, until the completion of the school life. As a consequence there is but little variation in the ages of pupils doing the work of any certain grade, and the proportion of pupils of normal age in the several grades is very large. In order to illustrate definitely, a concrete situation is presented in Table III, which shows the exact conditions existing at a certain time in one of their representative cities.