Whats the Difference Between the Student-Teacher Ratio and the Average Class Size?
The student-teacher ratio is the number of students at a school divided by the number of teachers, staff and and/or adults at the site. Different states define student-teacher ratio in different ways (for example, teachers only, all certified staff, all certified and non-certified staff). The student-teacher ratio often includes specialist teachers such as music, art, physical education and special education teachers, while the average class size generally only includes regular classroom teachers. The average class size is the number of all students in each teacher’s class divided by the number of regular teachers for specific classes (for example, the number of second-graders divided by the number of second-grade teachers). In the United States, the average difference between class size and student-teacher ratio is about 10 students in public elementary schools. For example, an elementary school with a student-teacher ratio of 14 in K-3 would have an average class size of 24 students.
