Class Size 2003-04
Introduction
Funding
for class size reduction in the early elementary grades was initially
established in 1999 through the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program
(House File 743). The class size
reduction program promoted the goal of the reduction of average class size for
kindergarten through third grade to 17 students per teacher for Iowa public
schools. The program also allocated resources for early intervention efforts by
school districts to achieve a higher level of student success in the basic
skills and increase accountability regarding student performance. House File 743 allocated program funding
through FY 2003. The Iowa legislature reauthorized funding for one year for FY
2004. Allocations for the last five years included:
· $10 million in FY 2000
· $20 million in FY 2001
· $30 million in FY 2002
· $30 million in FY 2003
· $30 million in FY 2004
The
U.S. Department of Education allocated federal funds to school districts for
class size reduction through the Class Size Reduction Program. The goal of the
Federal Class Size Reduction initiative is the reduction of early elementary
grades to no more than 18 children per class and the promotion of professional
development for teachers. Iowa public school districts received the following
amounts:
· $9.4 million in FY 2000
· $10.2 million in FY 2001
· $12.8 million in FY 2002
· $20.7 million in FY 2003
· $20.7 million in FY 2004
Methodology
The
Iowa Department of Education collects class size data from public school
districts through the Basic Educational Data Survey (BEDS). Public school
districts provide data on the number of kindergarten, first, second and third
grade classrooms each fall. The number of students, teachers and aides are
reported for each kindergarten through third grade homeroom classroom as well
as combination classrooms. Combination classrooms include children from
different grade levels in the same classroom, for example grades K-3 or grades
1-2. Average class size is calculated
for each for grade, kindergarten through third grade, and equals the number of
students divided by the number of classrooms.
Average Class Size = Number of
Students / Number of Classrooms
Special
education classrooms and teachers were excluded from the average class size
calculation, as were specialty teachers such as art, music, and physical
education. Average class size for combination classrooms was not included in
this report.
Limitations
Average
class size is determined by the number of classroom sections for a particular
grade level not the number of teachers in that grade level. Additional teachers
in a classroom section will not lower the average class size for that grade
level. For example a district with one 2nd grade classroom with 20
students and 1 teacher has the same average class size as a district with one 2nd
grade classroom with 20 students and 2 teachers.
Funds received under the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program may be spent on efforts other than hiring additional teachers. Funds may also be used to:
· 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.
Findings
Average
class size increased slightly for all grade levels in 2003-2004 and reached its
highest point in the past four years (see Table 1 and Figure 1). This was the
second annual increase in the six years under review. First grade experienced the largest increase from 2002-2003 to
2003-2004 at 1.6 percent. Kindergarten and 2nd grade showed the
smallest increase at 0.5 percent each from 2002-2003 to 2003-2004. All grades
remained below their 1998-1999 level.
Table 1
Iowa
Public School District
Average
Class Sizes for Grades K – 3
1998-1999 to 2003-2004
|
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2001 |
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
2003-2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kindergarten |
19.7 |
19.0 |
18.6 |
18.6 |
18.9 |
19.0 |
|
1 |
20.1 |
19.4 |
18.8 |
18.5 |
18.8 |
19.1 |
|
2 |
20.7 |
20.1 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
19.7 |
19.8 |
|
3 |
21.7 |
20.8 |
20.6 |
20.4 |
20.4 |
20.6 |
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 2003-2004
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Class Size Survey File
As
in previous years, school districts in the smallest enrollment category (<
250 students) showed the lowest average class size for all grade levels, 10.8
in kindergarten, 12.2 in 1st grade, 11.6 in 2nd grade,
and 12.8 in 3rd grade. The
< 250 students enrollment category showed declines in average class size for
all grades from 2002-2003 to 2003-2004 except 1st grade which
increased from 11.1 to 12.2. In the 2003-2004 school year, there were 30
districts in the <250 students enrollment category.
As
in previous years, average class size increased as enrollment category
increased for 2003-2004. The 7,500+ enrollment category experienced the largest
average class size for 1st and 3rd grade and the
2,500-7,499 enrollment category experienced the largest average class size for
kindergarten and 2nd grade.
The
gap between the largest and smallest districts increased for all grades from
1998-1999 to 2003-2004. For example, in the 1998-1999 school year the average
class size for kindergarten was 66.9 percent larger for the 7,500+ enrollment
category than the <250 category. By the 2003-2004 school year the gap for
kindergarten increased to 88.0 percent.
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 |
2003-2004 |
|
<
250 |
12.4 |
12.8 |
10.5 |
10.6 |
11.4 |
10.8 |
|
250
– 399 |
17.6 |
16.7 |
16.9 |
16.7 |
16.2 |
16.4 |
|
400
– 599 |
17.5 |
16.6 |
16.0 |
16.4 |
16.5 |
16.8 |
|
600
– 999 |
18.2 |
18.0 |
17.3 |
17.3 |
17.7 |
17.5 |
|
1,000
– 2,499 |
19.8 |
19.3 |
18.9 |
18.7 |
18.4 |
19.0 |
|
2,500
– 7,499 |
21.5 |
20.8 |
20.5 |
20.8 |
20.6 |
20.6 |
|
7,500
+ |
20.7 |
19.5 |
19.4 |
19.4 |
20.3 |
20.3 |
|
State |
19.7 |
19.0 |
18.6 |
18.6 |
18.9 |
19.0 |
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 |
2003-2004 |
|
<
250 |
12.8 |
12.4 |
12.0 |
11.2 |
11.1 |
12.2 |
|
250
– 399 |
18.4 |
17.3 |
16.5 |
17.1 |
16.7 |
16.0 |
|
400
– 599 |
16.9 |
17.1 |
16.7 |
16.1 |
16.5 |
16.7 |
|
600
– 999 |
19.0 |
17.9 |
17.8 |
17.9 |
17.8 |
17.5 |
|
1,000
– 2,499 |
20.3 |
19.3 |
18.7 |
18.2 |
18.7 |
18.9 |
|
2,500
– 7,499 |
21.6 |
20.8 |
20.2 |
19.9 |
19.8 |
20.6 |
|
7,500
+ |
21.1 |
20.9 |
20.0 |
19.8 |
20.3 |
21.0 |
|
State |
20.1 |
19.4 |
18.8 |
18.5 |
18.8 |
19.1 |
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 |
2003-2004 |
|
<
250 |
12.8 |
12.9 |
11.8 |
12.1 |
11.7 |
11.6 |
|
250
– 399 |
17.7 |
18.1 |
17.7 |
17.7 |
17.0 |
16.8 |
|
400
– 599 |
18.0 |
17.1 |
17.3 |
17.5 |
17.3 |
17.0 |
|
600
– 999 |
19.6 |
19.1 |
18.1 |
18.1 |
18.3 |
18.5 |
|
1,000
– 2,499 |
21.3 |
20.6 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
19.8 |
19.8 |
|
2,500
– 7,499 |
22.0 |
21.2 |
21.3 |
20.6 |
21.3 |
|