November 16,1998
MEMORANDUM
To: Members of the Board of Education
From: Paul L. Vance, Superintendent of Schools
Subject: Official Class Size Reports - 1998
Attached are reports that reflect the status of class sizes throughout Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) as of October 31, 1998. Efforts taken last spring by the Board of Education to reduce class sizes have brought about a substantial decline in the number of oversized classes. In summary those FY 1999 initiatives are as follows:
It is important to note that these improvements occurred while the actual enrollment exceeded the projections by more than 800 students in Grades 1-12. The reduction in the number of oversized classes would have been much greater if the actual enrollment had been closer to projections.
The following chart provides a summary of the number and percent of classes over the Board of Education maximum size guidelines for the past three years.
Number/Percent of Classes Over Board of Education Maximum Class Size Guidelines
1996 1997 1998
Grade/Subject % Over % Over % Over
10/31/96 10/31/97 10/31/98 Maximum Maximum Maximum
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten (Over 30) 0 0 0 0 % 0 % 0 %
Grades 1-3 (Over 28) 36 50 32 3 % 4 % 3 %
Grades 4-6 (Over 30) 34 23 21 4 % 3 % 3 %
Middle Schools
English (Over 28) 155 160 110 16 % 15 % 10 %
Other Academic (Over 32) 198 189 176 5 % 5 % 4 %
Senior High Schools
English (Over 28) 214 233 170 18 % 19 % 13 %
Other Academic (Over 32) 545 561 393 11 % 11 % 7 %
Several items have been added to the 1998 report, reflecting recommendations made by the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 97-5 - A Review of Montgomery County Public Schools'Class Size Data. The County Council formally released OLO Report 97-5 on January 27, 1998, with the following recommendations for class size reporting by MCPS:
Response: Recommendation #1 reflects reports previously provided with the addition of graphical representation of the data, which is included in this year's report (Attachment 1).
Response: Recommendation #2 will be provided in the publication Schools at a Glance. It would be a natural fit to include a ratio of students to all instructional staff in this document, which is published annually.
Response: Recommendation #3 requires some data that cannot currently be captured from our mainframe. The Office of School Administration (OSA) is collaborating with the Department of Educational Accountability (DEA) to collect reading class size data for each elementary school that was selected to receive additional reading support staffing. At this time, I have included Dr. Seleznow's memorandum to Mr. Bowers, summarizing the status of Grades 1 and 2 class sizes for reading instruction. The OSA survey reflects an average class size for reading in Grades 1 and 2 of 12.3 students (Attachment 2). In addition, Dr. Hartzman's memorandum to Mr. Bowers summarizes the benefits to class size of the additional 1.0 mathematics position for each middle school and the high school efforts to lower ninth grade algebra class sizes (Attachment 3).
The next class size report will be submitted in early March reflecting the status of class sizes for the second semester. If you have any questions, please contact me, Mr. Bowers, or Dr. Hartzman.
PLV:jft
Attachments
Copy to: Mr. Bowers Dr. Seleznow
Aftachment 1
Rockville, Maryland
STATISTICS ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY CLASS SIZE
AS OF OCTOBER 31,1998
Department of Educational Accountability November, 1998 Policy and Records Unit
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Rockville, Maryland
STATISTICS ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY CLASS SIZE AS OF
October 31, 1998
INTRODUCTION
Average class size is only one of the criteria for evaluating staffing of schools for instructional purposes. The elementary classroom teacher is provided with the support of specialists in physical education, music, art, reading, and/or library services. This kind of support is not reflected in class size figures. In some instances, teachers are assisted by aides who perform services so teachers may devote a greater portion of their time to professional responsibilities. Elementary school class sizes are summarized by grade. Pie charts illustrating the distribution of class sizes in kindergarten, grades 1-3 and grades 4-6 also are provided. Statistics on secondary class size are reported by academic subjects and are summarized by middle and high school level. Average elementary and secondary class sizes from 1990 through the current school year also are shown for comparison.
COUNTY TOTALS
GRADE TOTAL NUMBER AVERAGE DISTRIBUTION OF NUMBER AND- PERCENT OF PUPILS IN CLASSES OF THE SIZE INDICATED,
OF PUPILS CLASS AND OF NUMBER AND PERCENT OF CLASSES IN EACH SIZE CATEGORY
AND CLASSES SIZE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BELOW OVER CLASSES BROUGHT
16 16-20 21-26 27-28 29-30 30 UNDER MAXIMUM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BY .5 TEACHERS
N % N % N % N % N % N % N % N %
1 PUPILS 9612 23.6 903 9.4 7094 73.8 1501 15.6 87 .9 27 .3
CLASSES 408 47 11.5 302 74.0 55 13.5 3 .7 1 .2
1-2 COMB. PUPILS 455 22.8 74 16.3 354 77.8 27 5.9
CLASSES 20 4 20.0 15 75.0 1 5.0
2 PUPILS 9634 24.3 541 5.6 6916 71.8 2001 20. 8 176 1.8
CLASSES 397 28 7.1 290 73.0 73 18.4 6 1.5
2-3 COMB. PUPILS 303 23.3 20 6.6 283 93.4
CLASSES 13 1 7.7 12 92.3
3 PUPILS 9807 24.9 486 5.0 6283 64.1 2357 24.0 619 6.3 62 .6
CLASSES 394 25 6.3 260 66.0 86 21.8 21 5.3 2 .5
3-4 COMB. PUPILS 341 24.4 287 84.2 54 15.8
CLASSES 14 12 85.7 2 14.3
4 PUPILS 9602 25.5 119 1.2 5782 60.2 2608 27.2 905 9.4 188 2.0
CLASSES 376 6 1.6 238 63.3 95 25.3 31 8.2 6 1.6
4-5-COMB. PUPILS 395 24.7 283 71.6 83 21.0 29 7.3
CLASSES 16 12 75.0 3 18.8 1 6.3
5 PUPILS 9447 25.5 217 2.3 5491 58.1 1979 20.9 1292 13.7 468 5.0
CLASSES 370 12 3.2 227 61.4 72 19.5 44 11.9 15 4.1
6 PUPILS 472 22.5 72 15.3 400 84.7
CLASSES 21 4 19.0 17 81.0
NOT PUPILS 184 15.3 52 28.3 76 41.3 27 14.7 29 15.8
SECTION CLASSES 12 7 58.3 3 25.0 1 8.3 1 8.3
TOTAL 1-6 PUPILS 50068 24.7 2432 4.9 33173 66.3 10610 21.2 3108 6.2 718 1.4 27 .1
& COMB. CLASSES 2029 127 6.3 1385 68.3 387 19.1 106 5.2 23 1.1 1
KINDER- PUPILS 8766 21.0 238 2.7 3004 34.3 5224 59.6 300 3.4
GARTEN CLASSES 418 17 4.1 161 38.5 229 54.8 11 2.6
TOTAL K-6 PUPILS 58834 24.0 238 .4 5436 9.2 38397 65.3 10910 18.5 3108 5.3 718 1.2 27
& COMB. CLASSES 2447 17 .7 288 11.8 1614 66.0 398 16.3 106 4.3 23 .9 1
SPEC. ED. PUPILS 2753 8.2 2549 92.6 204 7.4
CLASSES 334 322 96.4 12 3.6
HEADSTART PUPILS 2106 16.6 502 23.8 1604 76.2
CLASSES 127 37 29.1 90 70.9
GRAND PUPILS 63877
TOTAL CLASSES 2920
Distribution of Kindergarten
Class Size Data
1998-1999
LESS THAN 21-26 27-28 MORE THAN
21 STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS 28STUDENTS TOTAL
No. of Kindergarten 178 229 11 0 418
Classes
Percent of 42.6% 54.8% 2.6% 0% 100%
Kindergarten Classes
Distribution of Grades 1-3
Class Size Data
1998-1999
LESS THAN 21-26 27-28 MORETHAN
21 STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS 28 STUDENTS TOTAL
No. of Grades 1-3 105 879 216 32 1232
Percent of Grades 1 - 3 8.5% 71.4% 17.5% 2.6% 100%
Distribution of Grades 4-6
Class Size Data
1998-1999
LESS THAN 21-28 29-30 MORE THAN 30 TOTAL
21 STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS
No. of Grades 4 - 6 22 678 76 21 797
Percent of Grades 4 - 7 2.8% 85.1% 9.5% 2.6% 100%
MCPS SECONDARY CLASS SIZE FOR SCHOOL YEAR 1998-1999 REPORT NEWLS
CLASS SIZE DISTRIBUTION: SUMMARY BY LEVEL
BASED ON REPORT CARD ADMINISTRATIVE EXTRACT OF 10/30/98
LEVEL SUBJECT TOTAL AVG. CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES
NUMBER SIZE LT 21 21-25 26-28 29-32 GT 32
LEVEL N % N % N % N % N % N %
MID RQD ENG. PUPILS 26383 23.3 4288 16.3 9983 37.8 8794 33.3 3051 11.6 267 1.0
CLASSES 1134 269 23.7 430 37.9 325 28.7 102 9.0 8 .7
OTHR ENG PUPILS 10655 21.3 2456 23.1 3792 35.6 3022 28.4 1319 12.4 66 .6
CLASSES 501 180 35.9 163 32.5 112 22.4 44 8.8 2 .4
FORGN LANG PUPILS 13031 25.8 1425 10.9 3384 26.0 2541 19.5 4026 30.9 1655 12.7
CLASSES 506 84 16.6 147 29.1 94 18.6 132 26.1 49 9.7
SOCIAL STUDY PUPILS 26941 25.6 2710 10.1 6543 24.3 6693 24.8 9051 33.6 1944 7.2
CLASSES 1053 168 16.0 282 26.8 247 23.5 298 28.3 58 5.5
MATH PUPILS 27349 22.6 6657 24.3 9297 34.0 5223 19.1 5166 18.9 1006 3.7
CLASSES 1208 410 33.9 404 33.4 194 16.1 170 14.1 30 2.5
SCIENCE PUPILS 28482 26.1 2163 7.6 6969 24.5 712O 25.0 10981 38.6 1249 4.4
CLASSES 1093 135 12.4 298 27.3 263 24.1 360 32.9 37 3.4
TOTAL ACAD* PUPILS 132841 24.2 19699 14.8 39968 30.1 33393 25.1 33594 25.3 6187 4.7
CLASSES 5495 1246 22.7 1724 31.4 1235 22.5 1106 20.1 184 3.3
ESOL PUPILS 1374 11.1 1281 93.2 67 4.9 26 1.9 0 0.0 0 0.0
CLASSES 124 120 96.8 3 2.4 1 .8 0 0.0 0 0.0
NON-ACAD PUPILS 56097 29.5 3028 5.4 7132 12.7 7731 13.8 16056 28.6 22150 39.5
CLASSES 1903 216 11.4 304 16.0 286 15.0 527 27.7 570 30.0
INCLUDES REQUIRED ENGLISH AND OTHER ENGLISH (EXCLUDING ESOL),
SOCIAL STUDIES, MATH, SCIENCE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES.
MCPS SECONDARY CLASS SIZE FOR SCHOOL YEAR 1998-1999 REPORT NEWIS
CLASS SIZE DISTRIBUTION: SUMMARY BY LEVEL
BASED ON REPORT CARD ADMINISTRATIVE EXTRACT OF 10/30/98
LEVEL SUBJECT TOTAL AVG. CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES
NUMBER SIZE LT 21 21-25 26-28 29-32 GT 32
LEVEL N % N % N % N % N %
SNR ROD ENG. PUPILS 31827 24.8 3108 9.8 10022 31.5 13626 42.8 4870 15.3 201 .6
CLASSES 1281 181 14.1 428 33.4 502 39.2 164 12.8 6 .5
OTHR ENG PUPILS 3687 20.7 1163 31.5 598 16.2 405 11.0 880 23.9 641 17.4
CLASSES 178 92 51.7 26 14.6 15 8.4 29 16.3 16 9.0
FORGN LANG PUPILS 22158 25.6 2888 13.0 4837 21.8 4521' 20.4 7845 35.4 2067 9.3
CLASSES 864 170 19.7 209 24.2 167 19.3 257 29.7 61 7.1
SOCIAL STUDY PUPILS 34903 26.6 2999 8.6 5465 15.7 6979 20.0 15526 44.5 3934 11.3
CLASSES 1311 195 14.9 234 17.8 258 19.7 507 38.7 117 8.9
MATH PUPILS 35980 24.8 7323 20.4 7544 21.0 5497 15.3 12310 34.2 3306 9.2
CLASSES 1449 419 28.9 328 22.6 203 14.0 401 27.7 98 6.8
SCIENCE PUPILS 41496 26.6 3176 7.7 7674 18.5 9294 22.4 17888 43.1 3464 8.3
CLASSES 1559 200 12.8 329 21.1 342 21.9 587 37.7 101 6.5
TOTAL ACAD* PUPILS 170051 25.6 20657 12.1 36140 21.3 40322 23.7 59319 34.9 13613 8.0
CLASSES 6642 1257 18.9 1554 23.4 1487 22.4 1945 29.3 399 6.0
ESOL PUPILS 2593 12.9 2374 91.6 135 5.2 26 1.0 58 2.2 0 0.0
CLASSES 201 192 95.5 6 3.0 1 .5 2 1.0 0 0.0
NON-ACAD PUPILS 55552 27.3 5025 9.0 8488 15.3 8773 15.8 19748 35.5 13518 24.3
CLASSES 2033 343 16.9 363 17.9 323 15.9 646 31.8 358 17.6
INCLUDES REQUIRED ENGLISH AND OTHER ENGLISH (EXCLUDING ESOL),
SOCIAL STUDIES, MATH, SCIENCE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES.
Average Class Sizes 1990-91 to 1998-99
90-91 91-92 92-93 93-941 94-951 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99
Elementary
Kindergarten 21.8 21.6 21.7 21.7 21.7 22.0 21.5 21.3 21.0
Grade 1 23.3 23.2 22.7 23.5 23.4 24.0 23.7 23.8 23.6
1-2 Combination 22.4 23.8 23.1 22.8 24.0 23.5 22.7 22.8 22.8
Grade 2 24.0 23.6 23.8 23.9 24.2 24.6 24.5 24.5 24.3
2-3 Combination 22.9 23.0 24.2 23.8 23.5 24.0 23.4 24.0 23.3
Grade 3 24.2 24.3 24.0 24.7 24.3 25.4 24.9 25.3 24.9
3-4 Combination 22.8 24.5 24.3 24.4 24.3 24.5 24.4 24.2 24.4
Grade 4 24.4 24.3 24.6 24.9 25.2 25.7 25.5 25.6 25.5
4-5 Combination 24.9 25.2 24.5 25.1 25.1 24.8 25.4 25.6 24.7
Grade 5 25.5 25.4 24.7 25.4 25.1 26.0 26.3 25.3 25.5
5-6 Combination 24.6 25.5 25.6 25.3 27.0 28.0 24.0 24.0 N/A
Grade 6 24.7 24.9 25.0 25.0 25.1 26.3 24.8 24.0 22.5
Total 1-6 24.1 24.1 24.0 24.51 24.4 25.1 24.9 24.8 24.7
Middle
English 23.5 23.6 23.7 23.9 23.6 23.9 24.2 24.1 23.3
Other Academic 24.6 24.7 24.5 24.8 24.3 25.0 25.5 25.4 24.4
High
English 24.1 24.1 24.4 24.41 24.4 25.11 25.0 25.4 24.8
Other Academic 25.0 25.0 25.2 25.41 25.7 26.21 26.71 26.81 25.8
Attachment 2
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
One Central Plaza, Suite 501-A
11300 Rockville Pike
Rockville, Maryland 20852
November 9,1998
MEMORANDUM
To: Mr. Larry A. Bowers, Acting Deputy Superintendent
From: Steven G. Seleznow, Associate Superintendent for School Administration
Subject: Reading Class. Size in Grades 1 and 2 in Reading Initiative Schools
The Office of School Administration has collected initial information regarding the number of students in reading classes in grades 1 and 2 in reading initiative schools. I am pleased to report that over 90% of the grade 1 and 2 reading classes in these schools contain 15 students or less. This was accomplished in spite of the fact that elementary enrollment has exceeded the projected enrollment on which staff were allocated. The. table below summarizes the information for all 54 schools.
Number of Students Per Grade 1 and 2 Reading Class
54 Reading Initiative Schools
Fall 1998
Number of Students per Class
8 or 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 or Total
less more
# of 52 39 77 115 155 107 98 91 35 24 10 803
Classes
% of 6.5 4.9 9.6 14.3 .3 13.3 12.2 11.3 4.4 3.0 1.2 100%
Classes
SGS:nwd
Copy to:
Dr. Smith
Directors of School Administration
Mr. Abrunzo
Ms. Summers
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Rockville, Maryland
November 16, 1998
MEMORANDUM
To: Mr. Larry Bowers Deputy Superintendent of Schools
From: Marlene Hartzman, Director
Subject: Reductions in Class Size of High School Algebra I Classes and Seventh Grade Math Classes
Policy initiatives to reduce class size for algebra I classes in high schools and seventh grade math classes in middle schools produced significant reductions in those class sizes, particularly in the high school algebra I classes. The addition of 16.6 teacher positions among the high schools brought the average size of algebra I classes down to 20.4 in the Fall semester of 1998 compared to an average size of 28.0 in the Fall semester of 1997. The addition of 1.0 math teacher per middle school brought the average seventh grade math class size down to 21.4 in the Fall semester of 1998 compared to an average size of 25.0 in the Fall semester of 1997.
The reductions in algebra class size were achieved despite a 5.9 percent expansion in the number of algebra I students. As a result of the policy initiative, the number of algebra I classes expanded by 45 percent, from 224 in FY98 to the current 325. About three-fourths of, all algebra I students are ninth graders, and the policy initiative produced a larger benefit for those ninth graders than for the algebra I students above ninth grade. For example, the reduction in size among algebra I classes attended by ninth grade students averaged 8.3 students (down from 28.7 in FY98 to the current average of 20.4.) Among algebra I classes attended by tenth graders, the average class size dropped 5.8 students to the current average of 22.3.
Among seventh grade math classes, although the total enrollments changed since last year by less than one percent, the number of math classes serving those students expanded by 17 percent from 362 in FY98 to the current 424 math classes.
The effects on student performance as a result of the reductions in class sizes will be examined after the end of the current school year.
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