ABSTRACT
During the 1880s and 1890s, the colleges and universities adopting the certificate system found that it helped them cope with additional problems emerging in the area of admissions. Supporters of the certificate system believed that its success depended on an effective inspection system in which the work of the schools rather than that of the students would be examined. The ultimate success of the newer disciplines in finding their way into college curricula led to further demands for inclusion in the list of college entrance requirements. The Illinois certificate system, begun in 1876, was similar to Michigan's, including initial reliance on the faculty to act as inspectors. By the 1890s a new generation of secondary schoolmasters, fearful of academic inroads into their spheres of responsibility and jealous of their autonomy and status, made sure that their voices would be heard.
