When a 30:1 student teacher ratio seems normal, have we reached an extreme? | OregonLive.com:

When a 30:1 student teacher ratio seems normal, have we reached an extreme?

Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:22 AM

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

View full sizeFaith Cathcart/The OregonianThis math class at Happy Valley Middle School included more than 40 students. Big classes will be the norm this fall after districts cut lots of teaching positions to balance budget. Oregon is far from the national mainstream in this regard.

As I read my colleague Wendy Owen's article about yet another school district planning to staff many of its schools with one teacher for every 30 students next fall, I had to wonder: How strange is this?

Basic math suggests we are, indeed, far, far outside the mainstream. (Dividing the number of students in a state by the number of teachers yields a pupil-teacher ratio, similar to the staffing ratios that local districts are spelling out in their budget plans.)

The most current state-by-state statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics are from 2009-10. That was before Oregon school districts contemplated their latest round of deep teacher cuts.

Even back then, they show, our pupil-teacher ratios were sky-high compared to most states. Only Utah and Arizona piled on more students per teacher.

If Oregon had staffed its schools during 2009-10 at the national average of one teacher for every 15.4 students, schools would have had to hire an