December Preliminary Class Size Summary and analysis

2 The DOE has released reports showing preliminary class size information for the school year. These reports provide more and clearer detail than reports in the past, in order to give parents and policy makers a clearer view of class size in New York City schools These preliminary reports show measurable progress toward class size reduction goals, both across the City and in the schools targeted for coaching this year The reports are based on preliminary registers: a report on class size based on the official school registers will be available in February, and a report based on end-of-year registers will be available in July Executive Summary

3 More detailed information on class size, including information on total register at each grade, the number of classes counted, and the largest and smallest class at each grade level. A different and more intuitive definition of HS class size, focused on the size of core courses A variety of reports, including two school level reports, summary tables by both borough and district, and charts showing the distribution of class size. DOE Class Size Reporting DOE’s Class Size Reporting: The attached materials are the preliminary class size report for School Year, based on preliminary unaudited registers in schools as of 12/07/2007. Updated class size statistics will be published in February, based on the official school registers that reflect the register cleaning and auditing processes that takes place in December and January. In addition, a report will be published at the end of the year Improvements in Reporting: This report includes several improvements that make class size information more transparent.

4 The following reports are available on the DOE website: Aggregate School Data: showing average class size for each school by grade span (K- 3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12) and service type (General Education, Collaborative Team Teaching, Self-Contained Special Education, Gifted and Talented) Detailed School Data: showing average class size data by grade for each school District, Borough, and Citywide Summaries: showing both summary information and the distribution of class sizes Detailed explanation of methodology Glossary of key terminology used in the class size report Reports Available On-Line Core definitions of class size: ES and MS class size: based on the “official class” in which a student is registered. Typically, this is the student’s homeroom. However, the student may be in different classes, with different sizes, through the course of the day. HS Class size: records the average class size by course necessary for graduation, and does not include electives (i.e. English 9). This definition is a change consistent with outside input the DOE received, made in order to more clearly define high school class-size. This changed definition makes direct comparison to last years data difficult, since last year’s data focused on the number of students in a given grade level, included electives, and, in the case of the Contract for Excellence Target, was calculated from an end-of-year register.

5 Preliminary Class Size – Summary Data Preliminary Average Class Size (12/7/2007) K ** *Excludes self-contained special education classes **Includes 9 th grades residing in Jr. High Schools (i.e. 6-9 schools) Social Studies English Science Math GECTT G&T All* Special Class :1:1 12:1 12:1:1 8:1: :19.8 K-8 Grades 9-12 Social Studies English Science Math

6 Issues of Note in Analyzing Data Middle School Class Size Metric Middle school class size is based on the “official class” of students, which is typically their homeroom. This information therefore may not reflect the actual academic experience of students, who in many middle schools are reorganized from their homerooms when they go to academic classes, and are divided into sections of different size and composition DOE is pursuing system improvements that will allow us to track academic class sizes in middle school. IssueNext Steps Oversized Classes The contract with the UFT subjects all DOE classes to maximum sizes. This report includes classes that seem to exceed those contractual limits. Some are already in discussion with the UFT. In a sampling, it was clear many of these data reflect coding issues, not student experience. For instance, sampling showed some homerooms that were divided for academic classes, and another case where many students were grouped together in an independent study. DOE and UFT are cross checking classes that exceed the maximum, to establish which are already in arbitration. Sampling will continue to identify data errors, and coding changes Register Fluctuation The number of students enrolled in NYC schools changes throughout the year, as students move into and out of the system mid-year. Even the official register as of a particular day - such as 10/31 - changes depending on when the data is viewed, because the effective day of a student discharge is several months earlier than when that action is recorded in the system. Publish class size reports based on official register in February and end-of-year register in July, in order to track impact on class size through the year

7 NYC DOE 5-year Class Size Reduction Plan Increased school resources 50% of this year’s Contract for Excellence, and at least 25% of future C4E funds, will be devoted to class size reduction. As of 10/31 schools had hired approximately 1300 additional teachers. Policy Adjustments The DOE last year restructured both enrollment and facilities policies, to protect schools that invested resources in class size reduction New construction The City has scheduled construction of 105 new school buildings citywide under the current capital plan, which is expected to result in new classroom capacity in the immediate vicinity of 90% of the currently over-utilized buildings in the system. Guidance and coaching Over the summer, the DOE identified 78 schools for targeted coaching to reduce class size. 50 schools will be added to this program each year Reporting and Tracking The DOE committed to clarify and standardize class size reporting. The current publication reflects our progress toward that goal Empower and enable individual schools to invest in class size reduction, consistent with the school’s overall plan to improve student achievement

8 Class Size Reduction Targets K ** *Excludes self-contained special education classes ** Includes 9 th grades residing in Jr. High Schools (i.e. 6-9 schools) Preliminary 07-08* Preliminary Change Adjustments to the high school methodology make the baseline/target from last year not directly comparable to preliminary results from this year. DOE’s end of year target in high school is a 0.6 reduction in class size. However, using last year’s high school methodology, schools are showing an average reduction of 0.2 students/class between last years audited class size and this years preliminary class size. See the following slide for this data. Baseline 06-07* Preliminary class size shows measurable and substantial progress toward goals established in Class Size Plan Register cleaning in December/January, and ongoing register reductions that occur every school year between December and June, may produce lower class sizes in the official and the end of year reports C4E Target*

9 High School Class Size, Using Last Years Methodology, Also Demonstrates Reductions average change: -0.2 average % change: -0.8% FY2007 based on official audited register FY2008 is based on 11/20/07 active register

10 Source: FY FY2007 Mayor’s Management Report (MMR) and 2008 Preliminary Class Size Report. MMR data is based on audited registers. Average class size above do not include CTT or Self-Contained classes. Class Size K-8 has dropped consistently HS data not comparable, so not included

11 Class Size Reduction is Focused in Schools That Started with the Largest Class Size Grade LevelAnalysisTop 25% (Largest class sizes) Middle 50%Bottom 25% (Smallest class sizes) K Avg. Class Size Avg. Class Size Absolute Change Percent Change-2.5%-1%2.8% Avg. Class Size Avg. Class Size Absolute Change Percent Change-4%-1.6%0.5%

12 Coaching Program is Demonstrating Substantial Impact with Targeted Schools 64* Coaching Schools with ES/MS Grades – Target First Year Reduction of 5% K- 8 Preliminary Average Class Size: 27.1 >1-Yr Change: -1.2 students/class >1-Yr Percent Change: -4.4% 53 Schools reduced K-8 ACS >Avg. Reduction: -6.2% >Largest Reduction: -20.5%** 11 Schools increased K-8 ACS >Avg. Increase: 3.3% >Largest Increase: 9.9% * 64 schools excludes 7 coaching schools with HS grades (4 HS and 3 MSHS) where FY07 and FY08 class size methodologies are not comparable, as well as one school whose class size is not accurately captured in our methodology due to a high number of bridge classes. ** This is a MS that reported “split sections” in ATS. Most middle schools do not report this way, although there are others in the coaching sample who are splitting sections but only reporting official classes. -9 of 11 are middle schools that are doing targeted CSR- These reductions do not show up in DOE data system, which only tracks official classes (i.e. homerooms). -1 of 11 is implementing an approved alternative plan to improve student achievement -1 of 11 is targeting students performing at L1 and L2 by placing them in smaller official classes on their grade level

13 Next Steps in Class Size Reporting Class Size Reporting: >Publish final class size information in February based on official and final register >Publish end-of-year Class Size information in July for Contract for Excellence comparison >Continue to improve course coding and data collection, particularly at the Middle School level >Plan for CSR Coaching Program, and refinement of DOE 5-year Class Size Reduction Plan