DEALS WITH THE ECONOMICS OF COMMERCIAL CARPETING INSTALLATIONS IN SCHOOLS. SHAKER HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK WAS THE FIRST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL TO BE CARPETED. THE INDUSTRIAL SANITATION COUNSELORS OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, WAS SELECTED TO CONDUCT MAINTENANCE STUDIES WHICH INCLUDED METHODS, CLEANING COSTS, AND LEVELS OF CLEANLINESS QUALITY. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE OVER A YEAR'S USE, WHICH TYPE OF FLOORING WAS MORE ECONOMICAL TO MAINTAIN. ON A POINT BASIS OF 100 AS PERFECTION, THE CLEANLINESS LEVEL OF THE CARPETED AREA RATED 92 WHILE THE ASPHALT AREAS RATED AT A LOW 65. TIME REQUIRED TO CLEAN EACH 1000 SQUARE FEET OF CARPET AVERAGED 34 MINUTES A DAY. TIME TO CLEAN THE SAME SIZE AREA OF ASPHALT TILE AVERAGED 64.5 MINUTES A DAY. AVERAGE TOTAL COST OF CARPET, INCLUDING UNDERPAD AND LABOR RUNS TWO-THIRDS MORE THAN THE AVERAGE TOTAL COST OF TILE AND INSTALLATION. IN FIGURING THE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AT LESS THAN HALF THE COST OF MAINTAINING ASPHALT TILE OR SIMILAR HARD SURFACES, CARPET WAS FOUND TO BE THE BETTER BUY. ITS HIGH APPEARANCE AND CLEANLINESS LEVEL, ITS ACOUSTICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS, AND ITS COMPARATIVE PRICE ADVANTAGE OVER HARD SURFACES MAKE IT THE BIGGEST MAJOR ADVANCE IN EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT ARE SCHEMATICS AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF VARIOUS INSTALLATIONS. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE OCTOBER, 1963 ISSUE OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL. COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED BY WRITING THE EDITOR, AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL, BRUCE PUBLISHING CO., 400 NORTH BROADWAY, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. (RK)