Today Governor Gregoire released her supplemental budget recommendations for the 2008 legislative session. Of interest to principals is the policy level changes related to the WASL.
There is over $1.6 million for translation assistance for six of the most frequently occurring languages for math and science assessments. Enhanced accommodations for students in special education will be developed, such as improved Braille forms of the test and read-aloud CDs for students with dyslexia. The earliest these new services would be available would be 2009. All students will still take the reading and writing WASL exams in English.
At grades 3, 5, 6 and 8 the WASL exams would be shorted in reading, writing and math so that they could be completed in two days rather than three. In addition OSPI would be asked to develop tests that teachers can use in their classrooms to identify student learning needs. These test will give more immediate and targeted information to teachers anytime during the school year.
No funds are included in the supplemental budget for test administration expenses but I believe that topic will be addressed prior to 2009 when the tests in math and science exams could be available in six additional languages.
Proposed 2008 budget and policy highlights along with recommendation summaries are available here.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Collection of Evidence by the Numbers
Yesterday at the State Board of Education meeting, Dr. Lesley Klenk of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction presented a report on the results of the 2006-07 school year Collections of Evidence (COE). A collection of evidence is an "alternative option" to meeting proficiency on the state standards and earning a Certificate of Academic Achievement. It is a classroom-centered collection of student work that features examples of assignments that align with the state standards.
With approximately 28,000 students in the Class of 2008 that did not pass at least one part of the WASL, the numbers that submitted COE's and met standard were surprisingly low.
There was a potential of over 27,000 students who could have submitted a COE because they had not met the math standard. However, there were 727 COE's received by OSPI and of those only 332 met standard (46%). In other words, less than 3% of the potential math COE's were submitted to OSPI.
In writing just over 9100 seniors could have submitted a COE and only 31 were sent to OSPI. That is less than 1/3 of 1% of those that need to demonstrate there writing skills in order to graduate next spring. Of the 31 produced in the entire state, 7 met standard (23%).
Even fewer were submitted in reading, 18, and of those 15 met standard (83%). Again there were 9100 students who could have participated in the reading COE.
It will be interesting to see if the COE and the other alternatives become more used this year by students or whether only another 776 collection of evidences will be submitted statewide. With graduation on the line for many students, you would think the use of the COE would increase significantly this year.
With approximately 28,000 students in the Class of 2008 that did not pass at least one part of the WASL, the numbers that submitted COE's and met standard were surprisingly low.
There was a potential of over 27,000 students who could have submitted a COE because they had not met the math standard. However, there were 727 COE's received by OSPI and of those only 332 met standard (46%). In other words, less than 3% of the potential math COE's were submitted to OSPI.
In writing just over 9100 seniors could have submitted a COE and only 31 were sent to OSPI. That is less than 1/3 of 1% of those that need to demonstrate there writing skills in order to graduate next spring. Of the 31 produced in the entire state, 7 met standard (23%).
Even fewer were submitted in reading, 18, and of those 15 met standard (83%). Again there were 9100 students who could have participated in the reading COE.
It will be interesting to see if the COE and the other alternatives become more used this year by students or whether only another 776 collection of evidences will be submitted statewide. With graduation on the line for many students, you would think the use of the COE would increase significantly this year.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Dropout Factories
In today's Seattle Times there is a story about the 22 high schools in Washington where 40 percent of the students enrolled as freshman don't make it to their senior year. Nationally there are over 2000 schools that have the same demographics Quoted in the article is Phil Brockman, principal of Ballard High School in Seattle, who is also the Washington Association of Secondary School Principals President-elect.
In July Phil along with nine other principal from Washington joined other administrators from around the country in Washington DC for National Association of Elementary School Principals/National Association of Secondary School Principals National Leaders Conference. It was at one of the sessions we heard for the first time the term "dropout factory" and I remember discussing the implication of such a term amongst ourselves then. "Failing school" has a negative connotation but "dropout factory" takes that to a whole new level.
In July Phil along with nine other principal from Washington joined other administrators from around the country in Washington DC for National Association of Elementary School Principals/National Association of Secondary School Principals National Leaders Conference. It was at one of the sessions we heard for the first time the term "dropout factory" and I remember discussing the implication of such a term amongst ourselves then. "Failing school" has a negative connotation but "dropout factory" takes that to a whole new level.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Why the Job of a Principal is Harder Today
The Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force met on Oct. 22 to examine the work done in the past to deal with a new funding structure for basic education in Washington. During the seven hours of meetings, some of the issues that directly impact principals were addressed.
Byron Moore of the Senate Ways and Means Committee reported that over the last 30 years, there have been increases in actual staffing ratios for all types of K-12 staff, except administrators. Since the ratio of staff to 1,000 students had increased from 43.2 teacher to 55.3 teachers, an increase of 27%. Classified staff have increased 60% from 23.5 to 37.7 staff members per 1,000 students. Educational staff associates, including counselors and librarians, has jumped from 6 per 1,000 students to 7.3 or an increase of 22%. On the other hand, the administrator ratio has declined from 4.8 per 1,000 students to 4.1.
In other words, the number of students has remained the same and the number of adults working with students has increased significantly, except for principals. As a result, the workload for principals has increased dramaticly without appropriate financial recognition of the important role they play in the success of students and the efficient operation of a school.
Moore also had a slide in his presentation noting that, "In the 2008-9 school year, 207 school districts will receive higher allocations for administrators than the other school districts. The highest allocation is to four school districts at $83,070. The lowest allocation is $57,097. The represents a 46 percent difference between highest and lowest. Prior to this biennium, the difference was 67 percent."
With that allocation difference in mind, David Stolier, assistant attorney general for the task force, reviewed the Northshore School District v. Kinnear case. It dealt in part with Article 9, section 2 of the Constitution which demands the "legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools." The courts decided in 1974 the a general and uniform system is one in which (a) Every child has free access to certain minimum and reasonably standardized educational and instruction facilities and opportunities; (b) A child could transfer from one district to another without substantial loss of credit or standing: Variation in size and taxable property among districts does not demonstrate that the system is neither general nor uniform. If the allocation for administrator salaries is nearly 50%, the funding structure required is clearly not uniform.
Jennifer Priddy of OSPI reviewed the Picus and Odden report of 2006 and that principals' salary allocations should have been $84,819 in 2004-5 to be adequate. During that time the administrative salary allocations were between $30,583 and $74, 541. In examining the report, Priddy felt that it lacked appropriate salary allocations for administrators.
Finally, Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48) provided an overview of the K-12 Advisory Committee's recommendations, which included the following language:
Byron Moore of the Senate Ways and Means Committee reported that over the last 30 years, there have been increases in actual staffing ratios for all types of K-12 staff, except administrators. Since the ratio of staff to 1,000 students had increased from 43.2 teacher to 55.3 teachers, an increase of 27%. Classified staff have increased 60% from 23.5 to 37.7 staff members per 1,000 students. Educational staff associates, including counselors and librarians, has jumped from 6 per 1,000 students to 7.3 or an increase of 22%. On the other hand, the administrator ratio has declined from 4.8 per 1,000 students to 4.1.
In other words, the number of students has remained the same and the number of adults working with students has increased significantly, except for principals. As a result, the workload for principals has increased dramaticly without appropriate financial recognition of the important role they play in the success of students and the efficient operation of a school.
Moore also had a slide in his presentation noting that, "In the 2008-9 school year, 207 school districts will receive higher allocations for administrators than the other school districts. The highest allocation is to four school districts at $83,070. The lowest allocation is $57,097. The represents a 46 percent difference between highest and lowest. Prior to this biennium, the difference was 67 percent."
With that allocation difference in mind, David Stolier, assistant attorney general for the task force, reviewed the Northshore School District v. Kinnear case. It dealt in part with Article 9, section 2 of the Constitution which demands the "legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools." The courts decided in 1974 the a general and uniform system is one in which (a) Every child has free access to certain minimum and reasonably standardized educational and instruction facilities and opportunities; (b) A child could transfer from one district to another without substantial loss of credit or standing: Variation in size and taxable property among districts does not demonstrate that the system is neither general nor uniform. If the allocation for administrator salaries is nearly 50%, the funding structure required is clearly not uniform.
Jennifer Priddy of OSPI reviewed the Picus and Odden report of 2006 and that principals' salary allocations should have been $84,819 in 2004-5 to be adequate. During that time the administrative salary allocations were between $30,583 and $74, 541. In examining the report, Priddy felt that it lacked appropriate salary allocations for administrators.
Finally, Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48) provided an overview of the K-12 Advisory Committee's recommendations, which included the following language:
"This subgroup recommends to the funding subgroup that an administrator compensation system be created that reflects the actual needs of the districts, including achieving state and federal mandates."The next task force meeting will be Nov. 19-20 in the Senate Conference Room in Olympia. Hopefully, the mismatch between what is expected of principals and the state's support of that work will be addressed then.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
State Board of Educations Needs Your Input
Late Monday afternoon in Vancouver Kathe Taylor, Policy Director at the Washington State Board of Education met with a half dozen principals and representatives of the Association of Washington School Principals to discuss new high school graduation requirements. The meeting was a candid conversation about the impact of changes to the state minimum graduation requirements on not only school operations, but also on student achievement and graduation rates.
Hopefully the meeting was a precursor the community meetings held in the evening in seven locations across the state. The Board wants to hear from citizens on questions such as:
Hopefully the meeting was a precursor the community meetings held in the evening in seven locations across the state. The Board wants to hear from citizens on questions such as:
- What academic skills should students have when they graduate from high school?
- What life skills should students possess when they graduate?
- What kinds of post-high school opportunities should a K-12 education prepare students for?
- Should high school graduation requirements necessarily align with vocational/technical, 2-year community colleges or 4-year college entry requriements?
- What should the content be for required third year maths?
The community meetings are going to held in the following locations:
- Bremerton, October 30
- Bethel/Tacoma, November 5
- Everett, November 14
- Yakima, November 27
- Vancouver, November 29
- Spokane, December 3
- Seattle area, December 4
Clearly the SBE needs to hear from principals, especially high school principals, as the Board defines the purpose of the high school diploma and how a students meets those standards. To find the specific details of when and where the meetings will be held, click here.
A second round of community meetings will be held in the spring of 20078 where the public will can provide feedback on the draft recommendations before they are finalized.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Simple Majority Ad Breaks
The first of the Simple Majority television ads began airing this morning in the Seattle market. The market goes from the Canadian boarder down to Lewis County and reaches 74% of the registered voters in the state. The plan includes rolling the ad out in other parts of the state later on. The second ad is being finalized now and should be out within a couple of weeks. To see the ad that broke today, click here.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Battle Lines Defined
This morning, at the Washington State Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee meeting, State Board of Education Chair Mary Jean Ryan reported on the board's work on meaningful high school diplomas. One of the preliminary recommendations from the board is to have "alignment with post secondary education minimum entry requirements." When questioned by Senator Steve Hobbs, D - 44th Distirct, Mary Jean explained that the post secondary education requirement would look at all options after a student graduates from high school. Besides the option of attending a four-year institution, some of the other possibilities included: apprenticeships, two-year colleges and military service. However, at the SBE meeting last week in Wenatchee, board member Eric Liu strongly argued that the post secondary education minimum requirements really meant the Higher Education Coordinating Board entry requirements. Those requirements include:
- Four years of English
- Three years of math
- Two years of science including two lab sciences
- Three years of social studies
- Two years of world language
- One year of art
This one recommendation has huge implications for all schools and school districts in Washington about what all students need to know in order to graduate from high school. For example, the area of world language has a number of implementation issues, not the least of which is finding an adequate number of teachers. The SBE expects to have a schedule out within the next week of places in the state where they will take public comments about high school requirements. Schedules will be posted on the SBE Web site. Click here to go to the SBE home page to find the dates of the public hearings and also see a PowerPoint presentation shown at the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee meeting.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Shift Happens
This morning, the Washington State Legislature Information Technology Work Group met to deal with the $664.4 million in funding for IT investment in Washington state agencies for the 2007-9 biennium. Co-chairing the work group is Rep. Larry Crouse and Sen. Dan Swecker. While sitting in that meeting, I found myself thinking about the State Board of Education (SBE) meeting on Sept. 19 where the board was focusing on the Meaningful High School Diploma project.
As part of that meeting, a video was shown entitled, Shift Happens. (Click here to watch the video). The six-minute video presents a number of statistics about the technological changes taking place in the world. For example, the One Laptop Per Child project is expecting to ship between 50 to 100 million laptops a year to children in underdeveloped countries. The video has been viewed by the SBE as well Governor Gregoire's policy advisers.
Technology has a dramatic impact not only on state government, but also on the school buildings principals lead. With the shift that is taking place in Washington and the world, having a working knowledge of current technology is now a required skill of all principals.
As part of that meeting, a video was shown entitled, Shift Happens. (Click here to watch the video). The six-minute video presents a number of statistics about the technological changes taking place in the world. For example, the One Laptop Per Child project is expecting to ship between 50 to 100 million laptops a year to children in underdeveloped countries. The video has been viewed by the SBE as well Governor Gregoire's policy advisers.
Technology has a dramatic impact not only on state government, but also on the school buildings principals lead. With the shift that is taking place in Washington and the world, having a working knowledge of current technology is now a required skill of all principals.
Monday, September 17, 2007
P-20 Council - Possibilities and Challenges
What would happen if all of the education players met in the room to attack the problems of education in Washington State? We are about to find out. The P-20 Council is chaired by Governor Gregoire and has 13 other members, including representatives of early learning, K-12 education, community colleges and four year colleges and universities. This group will attempt to put address the "seamless" portion of "world-class, learner focused, seamless education," the tag line of Washington Learns. The council is to make sure the ten-year goals of Washington Learns are accomplished. Five of those goals tie directly to the work of principals of the Evergreen State. Goals, member information and meeting times and agendas can be found here.
THREE CHALLENGES
One challenge for this group will be to have the frank conversations that need to happen to address issues in an open forum. It is hard to imagine colleges and universities representatives being pushed on the number of math, science, special education and ELL teachers their institutions are producing each year in a public meeting and reporting back how they are going to address the issue by the next meeting.
That leads to another challenge the committee will have in providing timely responses to the issues that are raised. The performance review process the P-20 Council is modeled after Government Management Accountability and Performance, GMAP calls for agencies to accountable for results quickly. The example used dealt with the response time of DSHS in responding to calls about child abuse and neglect. All regions in the state dramatically improved the 24 hour response rate from just over 73% to over 94 % in less than two years. In education to increase the number of math teachers will take years, not quarters to accomplish.
The final challenge and one the governor spoke to was getting the measurements right. In fact, she said that measurement of the success of the education system is the big question that has to be addressed before anything else can be done. A draft list of 18 proposed indicators included at least 6 related directly to K-12 education. They are:
THREE CHALLENGES
One challenge for this group will be to have the frank conversations that need to happen to address issues in an open forum. It is hard to imagine colleges and universities representatives being pushed on the number of math, science, special education and ELL teachers their institutions are producing each year in a public meeting and reporting back how they are going to address the issue by the next meeting.
That leads to another challenge the committee will have in providing timely responses to the issues that are raised. The performance review process the P-20 Council is modeled after Government Management Accountability and Performance, GMAP calls for agencies to accountable for results quickly. The example used dealt with the response time of DSHS in responding to calls about child abuse and neglect. All regions in the state dramatically improved the 24 hour response rate from just over 73% to over 94 % in less than two years. In education to increase the number of math teachers will take years, not quarters to accomplish.
The final challenge and one the governor spoke to was getting the measurements right. In fact, she said that measurement of the success of the education system is the big question that has to be addressed before anything else can be done. A draft list of 18 proposed indicators included at least 6 related directly to K-12 education. They are:
- 3rd graders reading at 3rd grade level
- 8th graders participating in Navigation 101-type programs
- 10th grade WASL results
- High school graduation rates
- College attendance within 1, 2, and 3 years(s) of high school graduation
- Rate of remedial course-taking by college students
A major focus of the first meeting, as well as the next meeting, December 21, was English Language Learners. As part of her report to the council, Judy Hartmann, K-12 policy advisor to the governor made reference to AWSP's involvement in the ELL task force. Gary Kipp, executive director of the principals association served as a part of that group. She also made highlighted the leadership camp for Hispanic students sponsored by AWSP.
Whether the P-20 Council creates a seamless education system in Washington state will be determined over time, but AWSP will continue to follow this new work of some of the education leaders in Washington.
What? A Legislative Score Card Based on Kids?
The Children's Alliance has published its first score card based on votes taken by state legislators on 13 bills that passed during the 2007 legislative session. Although the score card does not take into account many of the bills affecting K-12 education, the votes are instructive to see how your state elected officials vote on issues affecting your students. A sample of the bills appearing on this year's list include: Health coverage for all children, children's mental health, after school programs, and the 2007-9 operating budget. The scoring guide is based on the percentage of votes cast. Children with five stars equals a perfect score and one star represents 0-39 percent yes votes.
There are 53 members of the House of Representatives and 26 senators who had perfect scores. One of those is Representative Pat Sullivan who will be attending the AWSP Legislative Committee Meeting on Oct. 3rd. At the other end of the scale there are 29 representatives and 12 senators who scores less than 60 percent and earning themselves two stars or less. To see the complete report and how your elected official voted, click here.
There are 53 members of the House of Representatives and 26 senators who had perfect scores. One of those is Representative Pat Sullivan who will be attending the AWSP Legislative Committee Meeting on Oct. 3rd. At the other end of the scale there are 29 representatives and 12 senators who scores less than 60 percent and earning themselves two stars or less. To see the complete report and how your elected official voted, click here.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Stakeholders Want the Work Done Now
On Monday morning, the Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance held its first public hearing. The 14 members heard testimony from the whole education family about the need for them to complete their work within the timeline set forth by the Legislature. (E2SSB 5627) AWSP,WASA,WEA, WSSDA, and PSE presented a joint letter to the committee expressing their united concerns that funding needs to be addressed here and now.
Throughout the public comment, person after person expressed hope that this would be the funding task force that will provide stable and adequate funding for schools that align with the basic education provision in current law. Many of those who testified, as well as some of those on the committee, are frustrated because Washington Learns was supposed to address the funding issue, but they did not.
The thorniest issue the task force will address is instructional staff compensation. Among other elements that are required to look at are: pay for performance, knowledge and skill, cost-of-living issues, recognition of difficult assignments, recognition of professional level certificate.
To follow the work of the task force, bookmark: http://www.leg.wa.gov/Joint/Committees/BEF/
The first report is due by the end of 2007. There will be four meetings between now and then which should prove to be interesting.
Throughout the public comment, person after person expressed hope that this would be the funding task force that will provide stable and adequate funding for schools that align with the basic education provision in current law. Many of those who testified, as well as some of those on the committee, are frustrated because Washington Learns was supposed to address the funding issue, but they did not.
The thorniest issue the task force will address is instructional staff compensation. Among other elements that are required to look at are: pay for performance, knowledge and skill, cost-of-living issues, recognition of difficult assignments, recognition of professional level certificate.
To follow the work of the task force, bookmark: http://www.leg.wa.gov/Joint/Committees/BEF/
The first report is due by the end of 2007. There will be four meetings between now and then which should prove to be interesting.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Articles Miss Key Point
On Thursday, August 30th, OSPI Superintendent Terry Bergeson presented the results of student success on the Spring 2007 WASL. Virtually all of the major papers in the state reported not only the state findings, but also the scores of their local schools. Lost in the reporting was the result of a four-district sample of over 5,000 students of the class of 2008 and their readiness to graduate from high school in the spring.
Many have focused on the students who have enough credits to graduate in 2008 but have not passed the WASL. There has not been the same concern for students who have passed the WASL but have not earned enough credits to be on track for graduation as they enter their senior year. Yet, there are over four times as many students who will not graduate because they have not earned credits (22.6%) compared to those who have not passed the WASL but are on track earning credits (4.3%). Click here to view that chart used at the press conference to illustrate that results of the survey completed during the summer.
This year's seniors are more likely not to graduate because they are behind in credits rather than not having passed the WASL. That point needs to be understood not only by principals, teachers and students, but also the policy makers at the district level, Olympia and beyond.
Many have focused on the students who have enough credits to graduate in 2008 but have not passed the WASL. There has not been the same concern for students who have passed the WASL but have not earned enough credits to be on track for graduation as they enter their senior year. Yet, there are over four times as many students who will not graduate because they have not earned credits (22.6%) compared to those who have not passed the WASL but are on track earning credits (4.3%). Click here to view that chart used at the press conference to illustrate that results of the survey completed during the summer.
This year's seniors are more likely not to graduate because they are behind in credits rather than not having passed the WASL. That point needs to be understood not only by principals, teachers and students, but also the policy makers at the district level, Olympia and beyond.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
AWSP Members Visit the "Other" Washington - D.C.
Ten practicing principals from Washington state participated in the NASSP/NAESP National Leaders' Conference in Washington D.C., July 25 - July 28. The 10 principals are leaders of the Association of Washington School Principal's component groups. July is not necessarily the ideal time to be in the District of Columbia, but these veteran principals made the best of the humidity and heat when visiting senators and representatives at the Nation's capital. They met as a group with Senator Maria Cantwell and Senator Patty Murray's education aide, Kathryn Young. Individually, they met with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers, Congressman Dave Reichert, Congressman Brian Baird, Congressman "Doc" Hasting and a staff member of Jim McDermott's.
The message they took to their elected officials dealt with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act also known as "No Child Left Behind." The call to change to a continuous growth model of measurement and to provide relief for special education students and English language learners was well received by Washington's elected officials.
The AWSP members representing over 2,500 principals in Washington D.C. were:
The message they took to their elected officials dealt with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act also known as "No Child Left Behind." The call to change to a continuous growth model of measurement and to provide relief for special education students and English language learners was well received by Washington's elected officials.
The AWSP members representing over 2,500 principals in Washington D.C. were:
- Rick Nebeker - Principal at Prospect Point Elementary School in Walla Walla
- Dwight Cooper - Principal at Reardan Elementary School in Reardan
- Kathleen Morrison - Principal at Island Park Elementary School in Mercer Island
- Kathi Wight - Principal at Nisqually Middle School in Lacey
- Karen Owen - Principal at Nisqually Middle School in Lacey
- Thomas Schend - Vice principal at West Valley Junior High in Yakima
- Ken Schutz - Principal at Odessa High School in Odessa
- Philip Brockman - Principal at Ballard High School in Seattle
- Boyd Keyser - Principal at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School in Cle Elum
- David Montague - Principal at Washington Elementary in Kennewick
On a personal note, the highlight of the trip for me was seeing a graduate of Centralia High School, Nicole Brener-Schmitz, working as an executive assistant for Congressman Brian Baird. She graduated from CHS in 2002 and I was her principal during her years as a "Tiger" at CHS.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Benefits and Costs of K-12 Education Policies
This morning the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/, presented their findings about the benefits and costs of K-12 education policies to the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. Senator McAuliffe presided at the work session and ask most of the questions. The results of the review of 38 statistically-sound studies indicate class size reductions:
(1) Boost test scores in the K through second grade
(2) Raise scores but less so in grades 3 through 6
(3) Have little or no impact at the middle and high school levels
(4) Benefit low-income students
My personal take on these findings are two fold. First, the study didn't come to the conclusion about the ideal class size but only the impact of how changing the class size by one student per class changes test scores. That begs the larger question, "What is the ideal class size to get the most student growth?" Second, as a high school principal I have seen the same class taught by the same teacher where, because of a scheduling quirk, one class had less than 15 students while the other classes were over 25. Class size did not make any difference in student success when the instruction was the same in large and small classes. I believe class size can make a difference in student achievement only when instruction is more personalized because of fewer students to teach.
The economics of reducing the class size across the state by one student per class would be over $200 million. There must be a better way to get more bang for the buck than by reducing any class by one!
(1) Boost test scores in the K through second grade
(2) Raise scores but less so in grades 3 through 6
(3) Have little or no impact at the middle and high school levels
(4) Benefit low-income students
My personal take on these findings are two fold. First, the study didn't come to the conclusion about the ideal class size but only the impact of how changing the class size by one student per class changes test scores. That begs the larger question, "What is the ideal class size to get the most student growth?" Second, as a high school principal I have seen the same class taught by the same teacher where, because of a scheduling quirk, one class had less than 15 students while the other classes were over 25. Class size did not make any difference in student success when the instruction was the same in large and small classes. I believe class size can make a difference in student achievement only when instruction is more personalized because of fewer students to teach.
The economics of reducing the class size across the state by one student per class would be over $200 million. There must be a better way to get more bang for the buck than by reducing any class by one!
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