What is the average classroom size in the us

Woessman and West, taking advantage of differences in average class size between the 7 th and 8 th grades within schools, examined class-size effects on performance on international examinations in 11 countries around the world.

Interestingly, the countries in which they find educationally meaningful positive effects of smaller classes are those with low salary levels for teachers and lower than average performance on international exams.

A low average salary level for teachers suggests that a country is drawing its teaching population from a relatively low level of the overall capability distribution of all its employees. In this regard it is worth noting that the East Asian nations that perform at higher levels than the U.

Dee and West used a nationally representative database of students to compare the outcomes of the same eighth-grade students who had attended different size classes in different subjects. They find no overall impact of class size on test scores, i. There was, however, a small positive effect on test scores in urban schools, and modest overall positive effects on non-cognitive skills such as student attentiveness and attitudes about learning.

Arrayed against these positive and mixed findings for CSR are two credible studies that find no positive effects. Hoxby examined natural class size variation in Connecticut that was caused when natural population variation triggered a change in the number of classes in a grade in a school. For example, a small school that has 15 first-grade students in one year and 18 the next year would have a larger class during the second year. Additionally, a school that has set a class-size limit of 25 would have one second-grade class of 25 if there were 25 second-grade students but two classes of 13 if there were 26 students.

Hoxby finds no relationship between class size and achievement in fourth and sixth grade which should reflect class size in all previous grades. Hoxby does not even find class-size effects at schools that serve disproportionately large shares of disadvantaged or minority students.

Beginning with the school year, the maximum number of students in each core class would be: 18 students through grade 3; 22 students in grades 4 through 8; and 25 students in grades 9 through In , the Florida Legislature enacted a law that implemented the amendment by first requiring, from to , districts to reduce their average class sizes either to the maximum for each grade grouping or by at least two students per year until they reached the maximum.

Beginning in , compliance was measured at the school level, with schools facing the same rules for their average class size that districts faced previously. Beginning in , compliance was measured at the classroom level. Taking advantage of the staggered introduction of class-size reductions over time at the district and school level, Chingos utilized a sophisticated before-and-after analysis to examine the effects of the policy on student achievement between and He finds no evidence that the Florida policy had any impact on test scores in grades 3 through 8 state-wide assessments in math and reading were not administered in the earlier grades.

Because the pool of credible studies is small; the individual studies differ in the setting, method, grades, and magnitude of class size variation that is studied; and no study is without issues, including those reviewed here, conclusions have to be tentative.

It appears that very large class-size reductions, on the order of magnitude of fewer students per class, can have meaningful long-term effects on student achievement and perhaps on non-cognitive outcomes.

The academic effects seem to be largest when introduced in the earliest grades, and for students from less advantaged family backgrounds. They may also be largest in classrooms of teachers who are less well prepared and effective in the classroom.

The Tennessee STAR experiment generates the largest estimate of the payoffs of a big decrease in class size. In other words, it paid its way. All other studies of CSR generate either smaller estimates of the effects of variation in class size or find no effects at all. Getting a decent sense of the size of the effect that can be expected from reducing class size is obviously important to evaluating its benefits.

One way to roughly estimate the size of class-size effects that is consistent with the existing literature would be to assume that the effects are linear, i. The largest estimates of the magnitude of class-size effects are those produced by Krueger , who found that the students in classes that were 7 to 8 students smaller on average than regular-sized classes performed about 0. This means that students performed about 3 percent of a standard deviation better for every 1 student less in the class.

These effects were generated largely by class-size reductions in kindergarten. If we take the effect by 5 th grade to be half the size of the kindergarten effect, then a reduction in 1 student per class would generate approximately 1. This means that on a statewide assessment such as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills TAKS , which has a mean of about and a standard deviation of about at 5th grade for mathematics, a reduction in class size by one student would generate an improvement of 1.

Thus a statewide mean of on TAKS would become a statewide mean of Alternatively, an increase of class size by one student would lead to a statewide mean of At grade three the effect would be about 2 points up or down assuming an effect size for a 1 student reduction of 2. To put a one or two point change in student performance as a result of class size in context, the difference between the average scale scores of whites and blacks on TAKS at 5 th grade is 65 points. Estimates that averaged together effect sizes for all the studies we have reviewed, including the two that found no effects at all Hoxby; Chingos , would obviously be considerably smaller.

Will a dollar spent on class-size reduction generate as much return as a dollar spent on: raising teacher salaries, implementing better curriculum, strengthening early childhood programs, providing more frequent assessment results to teachers to help guide instruction, investments in educational technology, etc.?

Thus, estimates of effects and costs from different education investments have to be extrapolated and estimated from different studies, and this process is necessarily inexact.

Nevertheless, Harris finds short-term rates of return for computer-aided instruction, cross-age tutoring, early childhood programs, and increases in instructional time that are all greater than those for CSR.

The popularity of class-size reduction may make it politically difficult for policymakers to increase class size in order to sustain other investments in education, even in a time of budget austerity. In that context, state policymakers might consider targeting the reductions at students who have been shown to benefit the most: disadvantaged students in the early grades, or providing a certain amount of funding for CSR but leaving it up to local school leaders on how to distribute it.

Much smaller classes for inexperienced teachers who need support in developing skills or for teachers who are responsible for struggling students may make more sense than across the board reductions.

The tradeoff between class size and teacher salaries needs to be very carefully considered. Effects on student achievement related to differences in teacher quality are very large.

The same data from the Tennessee STAR study that demonstrates long-term effects for class-size reduction produces estimates of much larger effects for variation in teacher quality within schools.

Thus, for example, while differences between large and small classes in early elementary school had no long-term effects on the earning power of adults, differences in classroom quality did. It means that funds that might be devoted to raising teacher salaries across the board or selectively in hard to fill positions or for highly effective teachers will be limited.

By one estimate, an increase in average class size by 5 students would result in an across the board increase of 34 percent in teacher salaries if all the savings were devoted to that purpose. Many states and districts are contemplating cuts in funding that will require schools to make hard choices.

So although the research literature has focused on the effect of reducing class size, the current policy debate concerns the other side of the coin—the consequences of increasing the size of classes. The potential for negative consequences of larger classes clearly needs to be weighed against the fallout from cutting other programs in order to preserve smaller classes—both academic programs and non-academic offerings such as athletics and the arts.

Another important point is that the effect of any increase in class size will depend on how such an increase is implemented. Many school districts and states across the nation are considering reductions in the teacher workforce on this order of magnitude. But if schools choose the least effective teachers to let go, then the effect of increased teacher quality could make up for some or all of any negative effect of increasing class size. With an average of 25 students in each class, Minnesota comes in at No.

The state has one of the highest elementary school class sizes of The No. The state is deserving of this rank as it has one of the highest elementary school class sizes of With those kinds of numbers, it may be better to play it safe through remote learning.

With both elementary and secondary class sizes ranking for seventh-highest in the country, Washington comes in at No. Since Arizona had a higher elementary school class size, Washington was bumped to this spot. Fortunately, this means Washington school districts may have better luck when it comes to finding 6-feet of space for each class of With an average of With an average class size of Parents all across the country are wondering what this school year could potentially look like.

Each state and sometimes even district has been left on its own to tackle a new, complex problem. Some administrators and teachers feel keeping students 6 ft apart is physically impossible with their buildings and current class sizes.

Additional staff, altered schedules, and creative solutions are being rolled out to ease the burden in some areas. Vote count:. No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post. Amanda Postma. Amanda Postma is a writer for the Zippia Career Advice blog with a focus on creating entertaining content to help you through your job search. Topics: Study. By Amanda Postma - Jul. Are you looking for job opportunities?

Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there. In , for example, Florida made an amendment to its state constitution setting a clear limit on students per class: 22 students for elementary schools and 25 for high schools.

To put those classrooms in context, INSIDER also looked at data on how much each state spends on child education, their overall student to teacher ratios, and the average high school graduation rates. Continue scrolling below to find out the average class sizes for elementary schools and high school in all 50 states.

All class sizes listed reflect statistics unless otherwise noted. Sources: Hawaii. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation.

Mack DeGeurin. More students are graduating from high school in the United States than ever before. Increased student enrollment and lackluster public school funding have led to overcrowding in classrooms across the country. Alabama averaged In Alaska, there were An average Arizona elementary school averaged Arkansas averaged The average for high school classrooms was even higher, at California had an average elementary class size of 25 kids per room and an average high school class size of 35 students per room.

Colorado averaged The average Connecticut elementary classroom had The average high school class size was 22 students per room. Delaware's average elementary class size was The high school class size was Florida lacks data on average class sizes, but overcrowded schools have historically been such an issue that legislators passed an amendment to the Florida constitution limiting elementary class sizes to 22 students. The amendment also limits high school classrooms to 25 students. The average Georgia elementary classroom had 21 kids in it.

The average high school classroom was slightly more crowded, with