FCPS -- report on average class sizes.

[Anonymous]

http://www.fcps.edu/Reporting/va_standards_quality/pdfs/ElmClassSizeAvg2010.pdf

FYI: I know there have been threads about "what is your kindergarten class size?" The above report shows average class sizes for all elementary schools. Based on my knowlege, it is accurate for the 1st grade at my child's school, but I don't know how they got the average for the kindergarten class the year before b/c it is 25 and I know my child's class had 27-28 kids the entire year.... maybe some classes have fewer kids if they have special needs(?) ... I don't know. But this is what the report says.

As an aside, my friend's kids go to PG county public schools and they have two rooms with 34 (yes, that's 34) kids in each class an NO assistant! I have to say that sounds irresponsible and dangerous and I cannot see how that teacher is going to teach anything. So, even with 27 in a class (with an assistant) we are better off than some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.fcps.edu/Reporting/va_standards_quality/pdfs/ElmClassSizeAvg2010.pdf

FYI: I know there have been threads about "what is your kindergarten class size?" The above report shows average class sizes for all elementary schools. Based on my knowlege, it is accurate for the 1st grade at my child's school, but I don't know how they got the average for the kindergarten class the year before b/c it is 25 and I know my child's class had 27-28 kids the entire year.... maybe some classes have fewer kids if they have special needs(?) ... I don't know. But this is what the report says.

As an aside, my friend's kids go to PG county public schools and they have two rooms with 34 (yes, that's 34) kids in each class an NO assistant! I have to say that sounds irresponsible and dangerous and I cannot see how that teacher is going to teach anything. So, even with 27 in a class (with an assistant) we are better off than some.

Thanks - this is a great find. Is there one for 2011 or for previous years? It would be good to get a sense how things are changing and which schools have stable class sizes.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the previous page gives class sizes for prior years. You might have to change the year on the link.

I think 2010 is last year. It wouldn't be possible to get one for 2011 b/c the school year hasn't started yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.fcps.edu/Reporting/va_standards_quality/pdfs/ElmClassSizeAvg2010.pdf

FYI: I know there have been threads about "what is your kindergarten class size?" The above report shows average class sizes for all elementary schools. Based on my knowlege, it is accurate for the 1st grade at my child's school, but I don't know how they got the average for the kindergarten class the year before b/c it is 25 and I know my child's class had 27-28 kids the entire year.... maybe some classes have fewer kids if they have special needs(?) ... I don't know. But this is what the report says.

As an aside, my friend's kids go to PG county public schools and they have two rooms with 34 (yes, that's 34) kids in each class an NO assistant! I have to say that sounds irresponsible and dangerous and I cannot see how that teacher is going to teach anything. So, even with 27 in a class (with an assistant) we are better off than some.

That report is average which is different than actual. Note the use of the word "actual" in this old document:
http://www.fcps.edu/supt/bcac/min9-25-01.htm

Another key tidbit in the document is the ? on principal's discretion in assigning allocated staff.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is AVERAGE... but that involves using the actual numbers. So, for kindergarteners, it is the average for kindergarten classes in that school. Individual kindergarten classes will have slightly more or less. Same is true for 1st-3rd and 4th-6th grades. That's why I stated that for my child's school the shown "average" for 1st-3rd grade was accurate based on my child's first grade class last year. The average for her kindergarten class the year before was 2-3 kids LESS than her actual kindergarten class size, so I can only assume that a couple of the kindergarten classes must have had fewer kids than my child's class (in order to make the average 25 when her actual class size was 27-28).

[Anonymous]

wow, there's a huge range. 28 vs 18 is a huge difference for the same school system.

[Anonymous]

True that PG may be worse off, but that is widely known for other reasons besides class size. The maximum class size in Montgomery County compared to Fairfax though is at least 3 students less in most grades and I believe Montgomery County also requires a greater space allocated per child within the classroom (and this is classroom specific verses how much space for the entire school). I think there is an issue in Fairfax County both with teacher work overload due to such a large number of students and students with special needs and an issue of actual classroom space capacity. It definitely makes for an uncomfortable year if all the children feel cramped in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

I think averaging by a range of grades (ie. 1-3) is very deceiving. My son was at Crossfield last year in a class of 29 in 3rd grade, and all of the 3rd grades had that many, or even 30. Significantly higher than the 23.1 average indicated for grades 1-3 listed. I feel for these teachers. The rooms are packed to the gills, and it makes differentation very difficult.