Comments on: How to Lower Class Size Without Lowering Class Size

By: What to do about math « Joanne Jacobs

What to do about math « Joanne Jacobs — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:52:14 +0000

[...] advanced statistical hokum, by the way, Gotham Schools explains how New York City counts class sizes: If one teacher is teaching 37 students in the same room at the same time, pretend they’re in [...]

By: Arthur Goldstein

Arthur Goldstein — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:04:14 +0000

I’m amused by the latest commercials showing Thompson opposing the millionaire’s tax in which he’s labeled a flip-flopper. This from the man who said the notion of reversing terms limits was “disgusting” until it became in his interest to do so.

By: Leonie Haimson

Leonie Haimson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:55:30 +0000

This post points out some of the many problems with the DOE’s reporting of class size data. DOE continues to report all CTT classes in HS as two separate classes; each at about half the actual size. They say they then “adjust” the data, by subtracting a certain number of reported classes and students to make up for this problem after the fact, but there’s no way to know whether they have done that correctly. Also, if two sections of a class like Hebrew 1 and 2meet in the same room at the same time with the same teacher, as Arthur reports above, that is reported as two separate classes as well. All this brings down their reported average class sizes. FYI, only core academic classes are supposed to be counted in terms of their five year class size reduction plan, so those are averaged out separately. They like to use as their “official data” the second class size reporting period, esp. for HS, so that all the students who have been discharged and and or have dropped out by December have been taken off the rolls.
In addition, most middle school reported class sizes are not actual class sizes, but homerooms or advisories, which in many schools are kept smaller than actual classes. I could go and on, but the DOE has made little or no effort to really report actual class size data which would easy for them to do if they really cared about this, which they dont!

By: sad teach

sad teach — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:42:18 +0000

they just dont care about successful schools….when we fail they will just break is ip into one of those lousy charter schools…how sad….ill retire before ill see my school of many many years get ruined

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:30:29 +0000

I’m glad the arbitrators can see through the fuzzy math.

By: pissedoffteacher

pissedoffteacher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:27:01 +0000

I teach my stat class that statistics can be made to show whatever you want them to show and the DOE just did that.