CFT NATIONAL SURVEY

In order to get an idea of what class size and composition look like across the country, CTF recently conducted a national survey of nearly 3,800 teachers representing 9,894 classes in English and French schools. The sample teacher pool was drawn from 12 participating CTF member organizations. These are among the survey findings; average class size is 21.3 students, ranging from 22.1 students for grades 4-8 to 19 students for junior kindergarten or kindergarten (JK-K). English schools (including immersion) have an average class size of nearly 22 students, while French as a first language schools have a slightly smaller average class size of just over 19 students. Average class size data of course only provides a piece of the overall picture. Our analysis of the distribution of class size by grade level reveals that: over a third of the classes for all grade levels combined contained 25 students or more (8.3% contained 30 students or more). For grades 4-8, nearly 39% of classes contained 25 students or more (6.5% contained 30 or more). For grades 9 and over, 40.3% of classes contained 25 students or more (13.5% – over 1 in 7 classrooms – contained 30 or more students). While the numbers were smaller at the primary level as expected (due in part to class size reduction initiatives in some jurisdictions), there were still significant numbers of classes exceeding 25 students; for grades 1-3, just over 14% of classes contained 25 students or more and for junior kindergarten to kindergarten nearly 12% of classes contained 25 students or more.