The crisis in NYC class sizes & threat to student privacy

Presentation to Community Education Council District 26

February 26, 2013

Karen Sprowal, Class Size Matters

Why is class size important?• Class size reduction one of 4 reforms proven to work through

rigorous evidence, acc. to Inst. Education Sciences, research arm of US Ed Dept. *

• Benefits esp large for disadvantaged & minority students, very effective at narrowing the achievement gap.

• NYC schools have largest class sizes in state;

• 2003, NY’s highest court said students denied constitutional right to adequate education in part due to excessive class sizes (Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision).

• 86% of NYC principals say cannot provide a quality education because of excessive class sizes.

• Smaller classes top priority of parents on DOE learning environment surveys every year.

• *Other three K-12 evidence-based reforms, are one-on-one tutoring by qualified tutors for at-risk readers in grades 1-3, Life-Skills training for junior high students, and instruction for early readers in phonemic awareness and phonics.

Stagnant achievement in NYC schools under Bloomberg

• NYC students have fallen further behind their peers in other large cities, according to national assessments (NAEPs), coming in 2nd to last in progress since 2003;

• NYC also only large district where non-poor students have lower NAEP average scores than in 2003.

•  Only 21% of NYC HS grads are considered “college ready”; 13 – 15% of Black and Hispanic students;

• Students needing triple remediation* at CUNY have doubled in last 5 years.

* Triple remediation means make-up classes in reading, writing & math.

Contracts for Excellence

• In April 2007, NY State settled the Campaign for Fiscal decision by passing the Contracts for Excellence (C4E) law.

• State agreed to send billions in additional aid to NYC & other high needs school districts; to spend in six approved areas, including class size reduction.*

• In addition, NYC had to submit a plan to reduce class size in all grades.

• In 2007, the state approved DOE’s plan to reduce class sizes on average to 20 students per class in K-3; 23 in grades 4-8 and 25 in core HS classes.

• In return, NYC has received more than $2.5 billion in cumulative state C4E funds since 2007.

*other allowed programs include Time on Task; Teacher & Principal Quality; Middle & HS Restructuring; Full-Day Pre-K; & Model Programs for English Language Learners

City’s class sizes have risen sharply in all grades since 2007…esp. in K-3; now largest in 14 yrs!

This year’s class size data is available at http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/data/classsize/classsize.htm *All class size figures calculated averaging Gen.Ed, CTT and G&T November reporting.

Baseli

ne

2007

-8

2008

-9

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

2120.7

20.520.3

20.119.9 19.9

20.95 21

21.7

22.2

23.3

24

25.2

D26 K-3 class sizes over time

C4E goals

Citywide actual

D26

What happened in D26?

2007

-8

2008

-9

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

5400

5600

5800

6000

6200

6400

6600

6800

7000

260

265

270

275

280

285

290

5984

6214

6321

6465

6553

6813

285286

285

277

273

270

No. of K-3 students up sharply in D26, while no. sections/teachers fall

Total Students

Total Sections

No

. stu

de

nts

Also in grades 4-8, class sizes have increased

Baseli

ne

2007

-8

2008

-9

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

25.6

24.8 24.6

23.823.3

22.9 22.9

25.625.1 25.3

25.826.3

26.6 26.7

30.42

28.9 2928.5 28.7

2929.4

D 26 4th-8th class sizes much greater than citywide actual and C4E goals

C4E target

Citywide actual

D26

Axis Title

Also in HS: average city-wide class sizes have risen

2007

-08

2008

-09

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

23.0

23.5

24.0

24.5

25.0

25.5

26.0

26.5

27.0

27.5

26.1

26.626.8 26.9 27.0 27.0

26 25.7

25.2

24.8

24.5 24.5

26.126.2

26.626.5

26.426.2822235421829

High School Class Sizes vs CFE Goals (DOE High School data inconsistent and unreliable)

Nov. Class Sizes*

C4E goals

Feb. Class Sizes

*There is no November reporting for the 2007-08 year, data used is from Feb. report

Ways that DOE has worked AGAINST reducing class size

• Since 2007, DOE has cut school budgets 14%– contradicting C4E prohibition against supplanting

• In 2010, DOE eliminated Early grade class size funding– despite promise in C4E plan to keep it.

• In 2011, DOE decided no longer to cap class sizes in 1st-3rd grades at 28, leading to tripling of class sizes 30 or more in these grades.

• In 2012, DOE instructed principals to accommodate special needs students up to contractual class size maximum.

• DOE has never aligned either “Blue Book” formula or capital plan to goals in class size plan, as required by sate law.

CFE funding also flat-lined; but even when increased; city’s class sizes grew !

2006

-07

2007

-08

2008

-09

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

$0

$258

$645 $645

$531 $531

21 20.9

21.4

22.1

22.9

23.9

24.5

21

20.720.5

20.320.1

19.9 19.9

C4E spend-ing (in mil-lions)

K-3 av-erage class sizes

C4E class size goals

do

llars

(in

mill

ion

s)

Cla

ss

Siz

e A

vg

s.

Loss of teachers while DOE had other priorities

• Number of pedagogues (mostly teachers) has been cut by more than 5,000 since 2007, despite rising enrollment. *

• Smallest # pedagogues in 2011 employed by DOE since 2003.

• Largest # non-pedagogues in 2011 employed since at least 1980.

• Highest % of non-pedagogues to pedagogues since 1993.  

• Spending on testing, contracts, consultants, and more bureaucrats have all risen sharply.

(*Data source: Office of Management Budget headcounts, through IBO)

But can we afford to reduce class size?

• In 2009, DOE estimated that it would cost $358 million per year to achieve average C4E class size goals across the city;

• DOE estimated it would cost $448 million per year in staffing to achieve class size goals in ALL schools; plus more in capital costs for school construction.

• This year, NYC received more than $530 million in C4E funds.

Other questions re city’s C4E plan

• Why did the city not centrally devote ANY C4E funds to class size reduction, given its legal obligation to lower class size?

• DOE finally posted C4E plan for this year only in Feb., and holding hearings now, though funds mostly spent, making mockery of public feedback and process required in law.

• Is DOE’s C4E plan for last year (2011-12) yet approved by the state ? If so, where is it posted?

NYS & NYC also violating student privacy and parental rights

• 9 states/districts including NYS sharing confidential student and teacher data with inBloom Inc., private corporation funded by Gates Foundation.

• Data includes student names, grades, test scores, disciplinary & attendance records, race /ethnicity, economic status, disability and health issues..

• Data will be stored in a massive electronic data bank, built by Wireless Generation, run by Joel Klein & owned by Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation.

• NewsCorp found to illegally spy and/or violate privacy in UK and US.

 

Then what?• inBloom, Inc. plans to put this sensitive data on a cloud run by

Amazon.com and transmit it to for-profit companies to help them develop and market their “learning products.”

• In recent survey, 86% of IT experts say they do not trust clouds to hold their organization’s sensitive data.

• In its security policy, inBloom Inc. states they “cannot guarantee the security of the information stored in inBloom or that the information will not be intercepted when it is being transmitted.’

• All this is happening without parental notification or consent.

Sample data to be shared with inBloom, Inc.

What can CEC’s do?• Pass resolutions on class size and privacy; we have samples for yr.

consideration.

• Write a letter to Commissioner King, to protest the botched C4E process & DOE’s failure to reduce class size at jking@mail.nysed.gov

• Send comments to contractsforexcellence@schools.nyc.gov; deadline March 18.

• Collect information about class sizes in your district’s schools, including violations of union contract & building code.

• Re privacy: send opt out letter to King re demanding your child’s info NOT be shared; see our fact sheet for a sample letter.

• Questions or to join newsletter list, email us at info@classsizematters.org