Thrust For Educational Leadership

Class Size Reduction: Is it working?

Teaching supply and teaching quality: 1996-97

• Number of teachers hired for CSR: 18,400 -- a 115 percent increase in the elementary teacher demand.
  
  
• Percentage of CSR-hired teachers on emergency permits: 21.
  
  
• Most troubling finding to date: Desperation hiring has brought in new teachers who are less experienced, less qualified and less skilled, on average, than those of previous years. The teachers on emergency permits have bachelor's degrees and passed the minimum competency test, but most have no teaching experience or preparation. CSU's Institute for Education Reform has sounded an alarm on the "state of emergency in the state of emergency teachers," raising pointed questions such as: Do parents know that their children's teachers may not meet minimum standards? What does this mean for CSR's success?
  
  
• Impact on teacher preparation: "Preservice" and "inservice" are becoming interchangeable terms as many newly-hired teachers prepare on the job. New collaborations have mushroomed between K-12 and higher education, particularly around internships. Internal reforms at CSU, previously under way, are on fast-forward.
  
  
• Staff development: Most districts appear to be offering some training mandated by CSR, but content leans more toward reading and math instruction, per the Reading Initiative. Focus on effective smaller-class teaching strategies seems blurred by lack of clarity about successful techniques and/or materials.
  
  Staff development time varies, but for experienced teachers it's generally three to four days; for novices, two or three more plus mentoring. CSR's drain on the substitute pool -- one in four new hires had been subs -- has translated to fewer student-free days. Instead, teachers get inservice after school and on weekends, which raises collective bargaining issues. For staff development, as for preservice, creative new teams are emerging. County offices in particular are notable for their leadership.
  
  
• Recruitment needs: Between CSR, the nation's fastest growing student enrollment, attrition and an aging teacher work force, estimates are that California will need to hire as many as 250,000 teachers over the next 10 years -- more than the current total on the job.
  
  A statewide task force has urgently called for a cohesive approach to recruitment and outlined a multi-faceted strategy that includes paying teachers more and highlighting the crisis rather than sweeping it under the rug. The need for urban teachers is especially acute and growing. Ditto for teachers of limited-English-proficient students and special education.
  
  
• Most encouraging sign: Initiatives like the state's nine-year-old Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program are paying off in a dramatic fall in attrition for new, credentialed teachers, which in turn should help reduce the number of emergency hires.
  
  

 

Teacher supply/teaching quality: 1997-98 and beyond

• Outlook for expansion: Full four-grade implementation would require hiring another 16,500 teachers, assuming the current class size average of 19. How much expansion will occur this school year is unknown.
  
  

 

Facilities: 1996-97

• Total added classes: 18,000
  
  
• State funding allocation: $200 million.
  
  
• Estimated actual cost: $406 million (Illig, 1997).
  
  
• Overall impact on state's facilities: An already serious situation is now worse. Even before CSR, the state faced an estimated need to build 12 new classrooms every day over the next eight years. New classrooms added last year for CSR would equal 400 new elementary schools -- an investment of nearly $3 billion, says School Services of California, Inc.
  
  It noted that the state opted instead for "bargain basement solutions." Space "scrounged" from other programs most commonly affected computer labs, child care centers, libraries, music rooms, multi-purpose rooms, administrators' quarters, teachers' lounges and special day classes.
  
  
• Most painful finding: Districts that implemented with the most enthusiasm, i.e., in three grades, were not those with the most room to spare, reports School Services. Instead, the high implementers suffered the most pain from sacrifices made to find space. This suggests that CSR decisions are being driven by reasons other than adequate resources.
  
  
• Most predictable finding: Districts shied away from making room by switching to multi-track, year-round scheduling because it takes months to implement and is often unpopular with parents and school staff.

What the Law Says by Joan McRobbie hanges in the CSR law stemming from the 1997 budget process are still tentative as of this writing, but the updated picture should look like this: Almost $1.5 billion will be allocated for K-3 class size reduction, and $150 million left over from last year can be used this year for facilities. CSR is part of the schools' ongoing funding base guaranteed by Prop. 98. The law specifies $800 per student to schools that reduce class size to 20 students in grades K-3. Schools must reduce first grade first, then second; they can then reduce either kindergarten, third grade or both. Schools reducing class size for half the day receive half the per-student amount. Annual increases for inflation are stipulated. Districts thwarted by a lack of facilities can apply the unused portion of their allotment to ease facility pressures. That funding will be treated as a one-time, forgivable loan for purchasing portable classrooms. Districts must provide participating teachers with staff development, focused on individualized instruction and effective smaller-class teaching. Schools can get full-year CSR funding even if their plans call for a mid-year start-up, but teachers must be in place by November. Teachers must complete a level of staff development prior to program start-up, which must occur by Feb. 16. If a classroom's teacher-to-student ratio rises above 20:1, the penalty is loss of funding for that class. Evaluation is mandated in 2002 (no appropriation yet). Other probable new provisions include: The option to have 40 students in one room with two teachers will be extended for one more year; the allotment for purchase of a portable classroom will increase to $40,000; and each year, schools must apply for CSR funding within 90 days of passage of the state budget.