55 kids in a class? Typical at some Oregon online schools
Classes at Oregon's two huge online public schools, Oregon Connections Academy and Oregon Virtual Academy, routinely include 55 students or more, the state reported Thursday.
No brick-and-mortar schools packed that many students into any math, English or science class last year, and few if any had a core course with 45 students, the state report and check-ins with principals indicate.
The new data constituted Oregon's most detailed look ever at how class sizes vary statewide. They make it possible to see which schools have not merely above average classroom rosters, but the very biggest in the state.
The two virtual schools, which receive roughly the same $7,000 per student of state and local taxes as other public schools, hire far fewer teachers in proportion to the number of students they serve. They rely on technology and on parents to help teachers motivate, teach, monitor and grade 50 or more students per online course.
Courses in online schools are run in a variety of ways that can differ by grade level, school and course design. Teachers generally offer some real-time instruction to the whole class delivered via web cam to students in their homes all over Oregon. But students also read textbooks and watch recorded online lessons on their own. Some quizzes and tests are graded by computer. The teacher is responsible for monitoring progress, answering questions, grading assignments and issuing course grades for every student in the class.
At Oregon Virtual Academy, which enrolled more than 1,600 students last year, the median class had 48 students and one teacher. A total of 24 core academic classes contained more than 55 students apiece.
Oregon Connections Academy, which enrolled nearly 4,000 students, had 54 core classes that included more than 55 students, including 15 science classes and 12 each of math and social studies, the state said. The online school provided incomplete information to the state, making it impossible to accurately determine its typical class size.
Statewide, the typical Oregon school had elementary classes averaging 25 students. In middle and high schools, the typical core academic course had 24 to 26 students, the state reported.
How online schools differ
Maintaining very large classes, as the online schools did, can drive down 55 kids in a class? Typical at some Oregon online schools | OregonLive.com:
