Class Size 2002-03
Introduction
Chapter
256D established the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program. The program was initially established
through House File 743 in 1999 to fund class size reduction for Iowa public
schools for early elementary grades. The program’s goal was the reduction of
average class size in basic skills instruction for kindergarten through third
grade to 17 students per teacher. In addition, the program's goals were to
provide direction and resources for early intervention efforts by school
districts to achieve a higher level of student success in the basic skills,
especially reading skills, and increase communication and accountability
regarding student performance. Program
funding for each of the last four years is as follows:
· $10 million in FY 2000
· $20 million in FY 2001
· $30 million in FY 2002
· $30 million in FY 2003
House
File 759 as enacted in the 2001 Second Extraordinary Session (November 2001)
provided that districts could use funds received for the Iowa Early
Intervention Block Grant Program for any general fund purpose. The expanded use of these funds was limited
to the 2001-02 year. Approximately
one million dollars were moved from the class size reduction funds to general
fund purposes. Thirty-three districts
made such adjustments to their expenditures.
Districts
also have been able to reduce class size through the receipt of federal
funds. Iowa districts received from the
U.S. Department of Education through the Class Size Reduction Program the
following amounts:
· $9.4 million in FY 2000
· $10.2 million in FY 2001
· $12.8 million in FY 2002
· $12.8 million in FY 2003
Methodology
Iowa
public school districts report class size data on the Iowa Department of
Education’s Basic Educational Data Survey (BEDS) each fall. The BEDS Class Size
report collects data for kindergarten, first, second, and third grade
classrooms for all Iowa public school districts. Districts also report data for
nontraditional classrooms, and classrooms which combine students from different
grades, for example K-5 classrooms. For each homeroom classroom, districts
reported the number of students, teachers and aides. Special education, Title 1 and other pull-out classrooms were
excluded. Special education, art, music, physical education and other specialty
teachers were excluded from the total number of teachers.
Average
class size was calculated by dividing the number of students by the number of
classrooms for each grade level kindergarten through third grade. Students in
combination classrooms were excluded from average class size calculations. For
example, students in a second-third grade combination classroom were not
included in the average class size for a second or third grade.
Limitations
According to HF 743, funds received under the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program could be used to:
· hire additional licensed instructional staff;
· provide additional support for students, including before and after school programs, tutoring, and intensive summer programs;
· acquire and administer diagnostic reading assessments;
· implement research-based instructional intervention programs for students needing additional support;
· implement all-day, everyday kindergarten programs; and
· provide classroom teachers with intensive training programs to improve reading instruction and professional development in best practices, including, but not limited to, training programs related to instruction to increase students' phonemic awareness, reading abilities and comprehension skills.
The
data provided in this report is a one-time snapshot of the classroom.
Additional teachers and aides hired, or classroom sections added during the
second semester were not included in the report.
Findings
A
comparison of average class size by grade for the past five school years is
provided in Table 1 and Figure 1. Average class size increased slightly from
2001-2002 to 2002-2003 for kindergarten through second grade and remained the
same for third grade. This was the first increase in the five years under
review. Grades one and two increased to their 2000-2001 average. All grades
remain below their 1998-1999 level.
Table 1
Iowa
Public School District
Average Class
Sizes for Grades K – 3
1998-1999 to 2002-2003
|
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2001 |
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kindergarten |
19.7 |
19.0 |
18.6 |
18.6 |
18.9 |
|
1 |
20.1 |
19.4 |
18.8 |
18.5 |
18.8 |
|
2 |
20.7 |
20.1 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
19.7 |
|
3 |
21.7 |
20.8 |
20.6 |
20.4 |
20.4 |
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
Figure 1
Iowa Public School District
Average Class Sizes for Grades K-3
1998-1999 to 2002-2003
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
The
variation in change to average class size is more apparent when examined by
enrollment category. Tables 2-6 show average class size by enrollment category.
The smallest enrollment category, less than 250 students, had the smallest
average class size in 2002-2003 for all grade levels reviewed, continuing the
trend seen in 1998-1999. Although average class size increased for some
enrollment categories and grade levels from 2001-2002 to 2002-2003, the 2002-2003
averages remained below their 1998-1999 levels. As in past years, average class
size tended to increase as enrollment increased in 2002-2003. For example,
average class size for kindergarten in the 7500+ enrollment category (20.3) was
78.1 percent greater than the average class size for kindergarten in the under
250 category (11.4). The difference from largest to smallest enrollment
category was 82.9 percent for first grade, 82.1 percent for second grade, and
65.7 percent for third grade.
Table 2
Average
Class Size Comparison for Iowa Public School Districts
by
Enrollment Category
Kindergarten
|
Enrollment |
Year |
||||
|
Category |
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2001 |
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
|
<
250 |
12.4 |
12.8 |
10.5 |
10.6 |
11.4 |
|
250 –
399 |
17.6 |
16.7 |
16.9 |
16.7 |
16.2 |
|
400 –
599 |
17.5 |
16.6 |
16.0 |
16.4 |
16.5 |
|
600 –
999 |
18.2 |
18.0 |
17.3 |
17.3 |
17.7 |
|
1000
– 2499 |
19.8 |
19.3 |
18.9 |
18.7 |
18.4 |
|
2500
– 7499 |
21.5 |
20.8 |
20.5 |
20.8 |
20.6 |
|
7500
+ |
20.7 |
19.5 |
19.4 |
19.4 |
20.3 |
|
State |
19.7 |
19.0 |
18.6 |
18.6 |
18.9 |
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
Table 3
Average
Class Size Comparison for Iowa Public School Districts
by
Enrollment Category
First Grade
|
Enrollment |
Year |
||||
|
Category |
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2001 |
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
|
<
250 |
12.8 |
12.4 |
12.0 |
11.2 |
11.1 |
|
250 –
399 |
18.4 |
17.3 |
16.5 |
17.1 |
16.7 |
|
400 –
599 |
16.9 |
17.1 |
16.7 |
16.1 |
16.5 |
|
600 –
999 |
19.0 |
17.9 |
17.8 |
17.9 |
17.8 |
|
1000
– 2499 |
20.3 |
19.3 |
18.7 |
18.2 |
18.7 |
|
2500
– 7499 |
21.6 |
20.8 |
20.2 |
19.9 |
19.8 |
|
7500
+ |
21.1 |
20.9 |
20.0 |
19.8 |
20.3 |
|
State |
20.1 |
19.4 |
18.8 |
18.5 |
18.8 |
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
Table 4
Average
Class Size Comparison for Iowa Public School Districts
by
Enrollment Category
Second
Grade
|
Enrollment |
Year |
||||
|
Category |
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2001 |
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
|
<
250 |
12.8 |
12.9 |
11.8 |
12.1 |
11.7 |
|
250 –
399 |
17.7 |
18.1 |
17.7 |
17.7 |
17.0 |
|
400 –
599 |
18.0 |
17.1 |
17.3 |
17.5 |
17.3 |
|
600 –
999 |
19.6 |
19.1 |
18.1 |
18.1 |
18.3 |
|
1000
– 2499 |
21.3 |
20.6 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
19.8 |
|
2500
– 7499 |
22.0 |
21.2 |
21.3 |
20.6 |
21.3 |
|
7500
+ |
21.7 |
21.4 |
21.2 |
20.6 |
21.3 |
|
State |
20.7 |
20.1 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
19.7 |
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
Table 5
Average Class
Size Comparison for Iowa Public School Districts
by
Enrollment Category
Third Grade
|
Enroll |