Class Sizes in Ontario schools, 2007

pdf 351 kb Published 2007

People for Education, 2007.

Using data from the Annual School Survey, this report examines the effects of provincial class-size policy on Ontario’s elementary and secondary schools.

The research shows that in 2007/08:

  • 76% of Kindergarten to Grade 8 classes had 25 students or fewer, compared to 51% in 1997/98;
  • 20% of classes had 26 to 30 students, compared to 36% in 1997/98
  • 4% of classes had 31 or more students, compared to 13% in 1997/98;
  • province-wide, the percentage of classes with 3 or more grades has risen
    from 5% in 2006, to 8%; and
  • In northern schools, which are on average much smaller than schools in
    the rest of the province, the percentage of split classes with 3 or more
    grades has nearly doubled – from 12% in 2006, to 23% .