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Report shows progress on class sizes
Ministry of Education
Vancouver - The first-ever report on class sizes in B.C. public schools shows that nearly nine out of 10 classrooms have 30 or fewer students, and that more than half of all classrooms have 26 or fewer students, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
"This report confirms that the vast majority of our classes are of a reasonable size, and that many of them are small," said Bond. "In fact, almost 15,000 classes - or more than one out of every five - have 20 or fewer students."
The report is the most comprehensive information on class size and composition ever in B.C. and fulfils an election commitment to report annually on class size. For the first time, parents and students in every school in all 60 B.C. school districts have easy access to class-size information about their school. Data on more than 67,000 classes are included in the report.
The report shows that, on a provincial level, there is an average of 17.7 students in kindergarten; 20.8 students in grades 1 through 3; 26.3 students in grades 4 through 7; and 25 students in grades 8 through 12.
"This report confirms that the vast majority of our classes are of a reasonable size, and that many of them are small," said Bond. "In fact, almost 15,000 classes - or more than one out of every five - have 20 or fewer students."
The report is the most comprehensive information on class size and composition ever in B.C. and fulfils an election commitment to report annually on class size. For the first time, parents and students in every school in all 60 B.C. school districts have easy access to class-size information about their school. Data on more than 67,000 classes are included in the report.
The report shows that, on a provincial level, there is an average of 17.7 students in kindergarten; 20.8 students in grades 1 through 3; 26.3 students in grades 4 through 7; and 25 students in grades 8 through 12.
The report further shows:
• Eighty-six per cent of all classes have 30 or fewer students.
• Fifty-six per cent of all classes have 26 or fewer students.
• Twenty-two per cent of all classes have 20 or fewer students.
• One-third of classes have no students with special needs; only five
per cent of classes have five or more students with special needs, and
the vast majority of those have additional classroom supports.
• More than half of all classes have no ESL students; only 10 per cent
have five or more ESL students.
The class-size data also determined that 15 school districts were not in compliance with provincial average class-size legislation in at least one category.
"School boards must be held accountable for class sizes in their schools," said Bond. "It is unacceptable that 15 districts are in violation of the provincial average class-size legislation, and I will be requiring each of those boards to report immediately on how they intend to meet the legislated class-size limits."
Bond further noted that the Province will be pursuing an enforcement mechanism in legislation that will include sanctions for boards that don't comply. This will be done in conjunction with mediator Vince Ready, who will discuss this issue with the parties and recommend an appropriate mechanism for overnment's consideration.
The Province has also launched a pilot review process in the Langley school district to look at how classes are structured, who is involved in decision-making, how teachers are involved and how well the system is working, for use in other districts in the future.
This year, the Province increased funding to school districts by $150 million. The Province provided an additional $20 million to address class size and composition, as recommended by mediator Ready and agreed to by the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers' Federation. Public schools and school districts also received $56 million from savings realized due to the teachers' dispute.
"This additional funding is going directly into classrooms for priorities like lower class sizes, students with special needs, textbooks and learning resources," said Bond.
The Learning Roundtable reviewed and approved the accuracy of the class-size report. The roundtable includes representatives from the provincial government and education groups representing teachers, parents, school trustees, superintendents and principals.
"This information will ensure that we have an informed debate on class size as we move forward with teachers, parents and administrators through the Learning Roundtable," said Bond, who is also co-chair of the roundtable. "It will provide a baseline as we work together to address issues about class size and composition, and for developing workable solutions."
All 60 school districts provided information, resulting in more than 13,800 pages of data. Class-size information for each school is now available on the AchieveBC website, under the school profile tool. The figures are current as of Sept. 30 and have been verified by school districts. Information on class size and composition will continue to be collected and reported annually.
• Eighty-six per cent of all classes have 30 or fewer students.
• Fifty-six per cent of all classes have 26 or fewer students.
• Twenty-two per cent of all classes have 20 or fewer students.
• One-third of classes have no students with special needs; only five
per cent of classes have five or more students with special needs, and
the vast majority of those have additional classroom supports.
• More than half of all classes have no ESL students; only 10 per cent
have five or more ESL students.
The class-size data also determined that 15 school districts were not in compliance with provincial average class-size legislation in at least one category.
"School boards must be held accountable for class sizes in their schools," said Bond. "It is unacceptable that 15 districts are in violation of the provincial average class-size legislation, and I will be requiring each of those boards to report immediately on how they intend to meet the legislated class-size limits."
Bond further noted that the Province will be pursuing an enforcement mechanism in legislation that will include sanctions for boards that don't comply. This will be done in conjunction with mediator Vince Ready, who will discuss this issue with the parties and recommend an appropriate mechanism for overnment's consideration.
The Province has also launched a pilot review process in the Langley school district to look at how classes are structured, who is involved in decision-making, how teachers are involved and how well the system is working, for use in other districts in the future.
This year, the Province increased funding to school districts by $150 million. The Province provided an additional $20 million to address class size and composition, as recommended by mediator Ready and agreed to by the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers' Federation. Public schools and school districts also received $56 million from savings realized due to the teachers' dispute.
"This additional funding is going directly into classrooms for priorities like lower class sizes, students with special needs, textbooks and learning resources," said Bond.
The Learning Roundtable reviewed and approved the accuracy of the class-size report. The roundtable includes representatives from the provincial government and education groups representing teachers, parents, school trustees, superintendents and principals.
"This information will ensure that we have an informed debate on class size as we move forward with teachers, parents and administrators through the Learning Roundtable," said Bond, who is also co-chair of the roundtable. "It will provide a baseline as we work together to address issues about class size and composition, and for developing workable solutions."
All 60 school districts provided information, resulting in more than 13,800 pages of data. Class-size information for each school is now available on the AchieveBC website, under the school profile tool. The figures are current as of Sept. 30 and have been verified by school districts. Information on class size and composition will continue to be collected and reported annually.
DATA COLLECTED FOR EVERY CLASS
In 2005, the provincial government made an election commitment to require public schools to report annually on their class sizes. Education Minister Shirley Bond announced on Sept. 28, 2005 that public schools would be required to report annually on their class sizes. At the first meeting of the Learning Roundtable on Oct. 17, Premier Gordon Campbell committed to providing detailed class-size information to the roundtable members. Ministry of Education staff immediately began the process of collecting data on class size and composition as of Sept. 30 - the first time ever that the ministry has collected data at the classroom level from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Data Collected:
The report includes a count of all students in 1,476 K-12 public schools in each division or class, in ESL programs and by special education category. It also includes the number of teachers' assistants in each class and unassigned teachers' assistants in each school.
Data Not Included:
The data do not include independent schools and some public schools and programs. Excluded schools and programs include: adults in continuing education programs, distance education, distance or district electronic learning programs, provincial resource programs, alternate, work study or work experience programs, classes operated exclusively for students with special needs and second semester classes not in session as of Sept. 30.
Collection Process:
To collect the data, ministry staff developed electronic spreadsheets that went to superintendents to distribute to all principals within their district. Schools and districts e-mailed the data files to a team of ministry staff who acknowledged receipt of the information, checked the files and sent the files to the education data warehouse for processing. Obvious errors in data were returned to schools for correction. The ministry sent districts a draft copy of their data reports to confirm that the information was accurate before providing it to the Learning Roundtable. The data are current as of Sept. 30 and have been verified by school districts. Information will be updated as needed.
Students with Special Needs:
The data include all students in all of the ministry's special education categories. This includes students with the most severe and least common disabilities, such as those who are physically dependent, deaf/blind, and have moderate-to-profound intellectual disabilities. It also includes students with more common disabilities such as physical disabilities, chronic health impairments, visual impairments and learning disabilities. Gifted students are reported separately.
English as a Second Language Students:
The data define English as a Second Language or English as a Second Dialect (ESL/ESD) students as those who are in a program provided to students whose primary languages are not English, and who may require additional services.
Teacher Assistants:
The data include any teacher assistants who provide support in the classroom, such as learning assistance, special education, resource room or Aboriginal education support staff as long as they provide temporary or continuous classroom support. Teacher assistants providing support for non-classroom services such as recess, lunchtime, transportation or library support were excluded.
In 2005, the provincial government made an election commitment to require public schools to report annually on their class sizes. Education Minister Shirley Bond announced on Sept. 28, 2005 that public schools would be required to report annually on their class sizes. At the first meeting of the Learning Roundtable on Oct. 17, Premier Gordon Campbell committed to providing detailed class-size information to the roundtable members. Ministry of Education staff immediately began the process of collecting data on class size and composition as of Sept. 30 - the first time ever that the ministry has collected data at the classroom level from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Data Collected:
The report includes a count of all students in 1,476 K-12 public schools in each division or class, in ESL programs and by special education category. It also includes the number of teachers' assistants in each class and unassigned teachers' assistants in each school.
Data Not Included:
The data do not include independent schools and some public schools and programs. Excluded schools and programs include: adults in continuing education programs, distance education, distance or district electronic learning programs, provincial resource programs, alternate, work study or work experience programs, classes operated exclusively for students with special needs and second semester classes not in session as of Sept. 30.
Collection Process:
To collect the data, ministry staff developed electronic spreadsheets that went to superintendents to distribute to all principals within their district. Schools and districts e-mailed the data files to a team of ministry staff who acknowledged receipt of the information, checked the files and sent the files to the education data warehouse for processing. Obvious errors in data were returned to schools for correction. The ministry sent districts a draft copy of their data reports to confirm that the information was accurate before providing it to the Learning Roundtable. The data are current as of Sept. 30 and have been verified by school districts. Information will be updated as needed.
Students with Special Needs:
The data include all students in all of the ministry's special education categories. This includes students with the most severe and least common disabilities, such as those who are physically dependent, deaf/blind, and have moderate-to-profound intellectual disabilities. It also includes students with more common disabilities such as physical disabilities, chronic health impairments, visual impairments and learning disabilities. Gifted students are reported separately.
English as a Second Language Students:
The data define English as a Second Language or English as a Second Dialect (ESL/ESD) students as those who are in a program provided to students whose primary languages are not English, and who may require additional services.
Teacher Assistants:
The data include any teacher assistants who provide support in the classroom, such as learning assistance, special education, resource room or Aboriginal education support staff as long as they provide temporary or continuous classroom support. Teacher assistants providing support for non-classroom services such as recess, lunchtime, transportation or library support were excluded.
FACTS ABOUT B.C. CLASSES
Class Size
• Total number of classes in report: 67,499
• Classes with 20 or fewer students: 14,853 - 22 per cent of all classes
• Classes with 30 or fewer students: 58,246 - 86 per cent of all classes
• Classes with 32 or fewer students: 64,590 - 96 per cent of all classes
• Fifty-nine of 60 districts have an average Grade 8-12 class size of
fewer than 27 students.
Special Education
• Classes with no students with special needs: 22,534 - 33 per cent of
all classes
• Classes with five or fewer students with special needs: 63,901 - 95
per cent of all classes
• District with the most classes with more than five students with
special needs: SD 39 Vancouver, with 370 classes
• District with the most classes with no students with special needs: SD
39 Vancouver, with 2,978 classes
Students with English as a Second Language/Dialect
• Classes with no students with English as a second language: 37,139 -
55 per cent of all classes
• Classes with five or fewer students with English as a second language:
60,878 - 90 per cent of all classes
• District with the most classes with more than five ESL students: SD 39
Vancouver, with 1,750 classes
• District with the most classes with no ESL students: SD 39 Vancouver,
with 3,024 classes
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