Average Class Size

Class size remains among the key factors influencing the quality of student learning. The lower the number of students in the class, the higher the relative access of pupils to teachers and the more teachers can support students with individual attention. The indicator assesses the average number of students per class in a given school and/or grade level.

Calculate the indicator’s value by dividing the total number of students enrolled in the given school by the number of classes.

1) According to INEE, the recommended maximum class size for primary grades is 40 children per teacher.

2) If there are big differences between student populations in different grade levels, you might need to calculate it separately for different grades (e.g. average class size for first cycle: grade 1-5 and for second cycle: grade 6-9) to get a more accurate picture.

3) If a school suffers from low attendance rates, then the indicator should be calculated based on the number of attending students (instead of enrolled ones).

4) Teacher to pupil ratio (TPR) is frequently used to serve the same purpose as average class size. Using an average class size instead of TPR makes for a more straightforward calculation and avoids having to deal with issues of part-time teaching, school-shifts, multi-grade classes and other practices. (As the number of part-time teachers should be converted to ‘full-time equivalent’ teachers; a double-shift teacher is to be counted twice, etc.).