Alberta government to keep close watch on class sizes
Edmonton... Alberta Learning is going back to school this fall to ensure classes around the province continue to be of a manageable size for students and teachers.
"Class size is a concern that comes up over and over again when I talk to parents," said Learning Minister Dr. Lyle Oberg. "They know we have great teachers, great schools, and a great curriculum, and they know our students outperform most students around the world. But they hear talk of overcrowded classrooms and they worry that their child won't get the attention he or she needs. As a parent myself, I don't blame them.
"Fortunately, we have information I can show them that provides a more accurate picture to help allay their concerns. This information shows that class sizes, on average, are much lower than most expect and that they actually went down last year from the year before," Oberg added.
"I am confident that schools will continue to be able to keep classes at a manageable size - notwithstanding the challenges some will be facing - and we will be checking the numbers again this fall to keep on top of it."
The department's most recent survey of class sizes, conducted during the 2002-03 school year, found that kindergarten classes had an average of 19.5 students while Grade 1 to 6 classes had an average of 23.2 students - down from 19.7 per kindergarten class and 23.6 per Grade 1 to 6 class the year before.
The 2002-03 survey also found that Grade 7 to 9 math, language arts, social studies and science classes averaged 25.5 students. The previous year's survey did not include numbers from these grades.
Alberta Learning began conducting comprehensive class-size surveys during the 2001-02 school year. Information for the survey is collected from school boards each fall. Ninety-eight per cent of the approximately 1,450 schools in the province - all public, separate and charter and kindergarten to Grade 9 schools in the province - responded to the survey.
In addition to collecting information on the overall number of students, data is also collected on the number of teacher assistants and students with special needs to help provide a more complete picture of the composition of classrooms and available resources.
Other findings of the 2002-03 survey include:
- 95 per cent of K-6 classes had fewer than 30 students, while 62 per cent had fewer than 25 students, and 22 per cent had fewer than 20 students.
- 79 per cent of Grades 7 to 9 classes had fewer than 30 students, while 35 per cent had fewer than 25.
- Less than one per cent of all K-9 classes had more than 35 students.
The survey also found that there were a total of 6,515 teacher assistants providing support to these classrooms around the province, an average of 5.1 per school. Of these, 5,222 (or 4.1 per school) were specifically assigned to students with special needs, while 1,293 (or 1.0 per school), were assigned other support duties. The number of teacher assistants was not taken into account in calculating class size.
Alberta has the highest per capita and per student education operating spending in Canada. Total investment in the K-12 system in 2003-04 is $3.8 billion, an increase of $191 million over the previous year. That investment translates into $20 million spent on K-12 education each and every day that students are in class. Since 1995-96, overall basic education spending has increased by almost $1.4 billion, or 58 per cent. Enrolment growth during the same period has been about 7.5 per cent.
On top of this, the Ministry of Infrastructure will spend $450 million for school capital projects and $373 million for post-secondary campuses over the next three years to expand, upgrade and build new educational facilities.
Backgrounder
2002-03 Elementary/Junior High Class Size Survey Findings
Note: Information regarding the results for individual jurisdictions is available on Alberta Learning's website at www.education.gov.ab.ca.
Class Size
- A total of 98 per cent of the approximately 1,450 schools surveyed responded, representing more than 29,000 classes
- The average provincial ECS (kindergarten) class size is 19.5 (19.7 in fall 2001)
- The average provincial class size in Grades 1 to 6 is 23.2 (23.6 in fall 2001)
- The average provincial class size in Grades 7 to 9 is 25.5 (classes surveyed were Math, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science)
- 95 per cent of K-6 classes had less than 30 students in them, up from 94 per cent in fall 2001
- 79 per cent of Grades 7 to 9 classes had less than 30 students in them.
Provincial Perspective
- The metro urban school boards (Calgary and Edmonton) have class size averages of:
- 20.0 for ECS (20.1 in fall 2001)
- 24.2 for Grades 1 to 6 (24.6 in fall 2001)
- 27.5 for Grades 7 to 9
- The urban school boards have class size averages of:
- 20.1 for ECS (20.2 in fall 2001)
- 23.1 for Grades 1 to 6 (23.1 in fall 2001)
- 26.4 for Grades 7 to 9
- The rural school boards have class size averages of:
- 19.0 for ECS (19.4 in fall 2001)
- 22.6 for Grades 1 to 6 (22.7 in fall 2001)
- 23.8 for Grades 7 to 9
- The francophone school boards have class size averages of:
- 14.6 for ECS
- 17.9 for Grades 1 to 6
- 18.7 for Grades 7 to 9
- The charter schools have class size averages of:
- 20.8 for ECS
- 20.1 for Grades 1 to 6
- 19.9 for Grades 7 to 9
Teacher Assistant Staff
- A total of 6,515 teacher assistants were reported at the school level, an average of 5.1 per school (4.5 in fall 2001 for K-6 schools)
- 5,222 of those teacher assistants, an average of 4.1 per school, were specifically assigned to students with special needs
- 1,293 of those teacher assistants, an average of 1.0 per school provided support to other students
- The metro urban (Calgary and Edmonton) school boards reported an average of 3.3 teacher assistants per school
- The urban (Lethbridge, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray) school boards reported an average of 8.7 teacher assistants per school
- The rural school boards reported an average of 6.1 teacher assistants per school
- The francophone school boards reported an average of 2.5 teacher assistants per school
- The Charter schools reported an average of 2.3 teacher assistants per school
Special Needs
- Of the 29,281 classes reported in the survey:
- 78 per cent of the classes were reported to have students with special needs. The average size of these classes was 24.6. On average, 3.3 of the students in a class had mild/moderate special needs, 0.6 had severe special needs.
- 22 per cent of the classes had no students with special needs. The average size of these classes was 23.8.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Statistics
- Of the 29,281 classes reported in the survey:
- 31 per cent of the classes had ESL students. The average size of these classes was 25.6. On average, 3.4 of the students in a class were learning English as a second language.
- 69 per cent of the classes had no ESL students. The average size of these classes was 23.9.
