Strapped Schools May Boost Class Sizes

But a group that intimate is unusual. Arizona State University professor Alex Molnar, one of the study's authors, said there's not a clear definition of when a class becomes too big. "People say, 'What's the magic number?' " Molnar said. "Every child added or subtracted has a measurable effect on achievement. It's a little bit like saying: 'Is this the straw that will break the camel's back? Is this the straw? Can you take just one more straw?' "

Douglas D. Ready, assistant professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, said small classes alone aren't enough. Schools must consider teacher quality, curriculum choices, instructional techniques and resources for students with special needs, he said.

Laura Douglas, whose daughter Cassidy is a third-grader at Fairfax's Gunston Elementary School, said she understands that the tight budget will force difficult choices. Still, she worries that if classes grow too large, attention from teachers and time for lessons will decrease.

"Teachers work very hard with positive reinforcement, and to do that, it takes time and keeping an eye on the kids. When you increase class size, you tend to let things like that fall through the cracks," Douglas said. "It's going to take longer for them to take bathroom breaks. It's going to take longer to get in line and learn the instructions. There's less time to do things. I feel like we would harvest out a whole bunch more average kids or just-getting-by kids instead of pushing them."

Last school year, average elementary class size was 19.3 students in Prince George's, 19.5 in Montgomery, 20.7 in Fairfax and 21.2 in Loudoun, according to the Washington Area Boards of Education. In the District, the contract with the Washington Teachers' Union calls for no more than 25 students per elementary class, but that target is not always met.

Prince William school officials plan to ask state lawmakers to relax Virginia's class-size rules, which stipulate that in first, second and third grades, each class should typically have 24 students but no more than 30.

Former Prince George's superintendent John E. Deasy, who has moved to an education post with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said the system might be better off raising class size slightly if that frees money to preserve special programs, including those for struggling students and bright students. "You are going to have trade-offs," he said. "In a situation of this magnitude everything is going to have to be looked at, and class size is one of them."

School leaders nationwide are considering similar moves. Los Angeles officials are proposing to raise the limit on class size from kindergarten through third grade by five students, to 25 a class. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) is urging state officials to give schools flexibility about class-size rules.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said last month that anxiety is rising among educators -- "the fear that budget cutbacks will increase class sizes to unmanageable levels, put the brakes on initiatives that are improving their schools."

Theresa West, principal of McNair Elementary in Herndon, said the school, which has 89 teachers, could lose as many as 10 staff members, including six teachers, instructional assistants and an assistant principal. Having fewer teachers not only means larger class sizes, she said, but it also means fewer opportunities to gather groups of teachers to plan lessons.

"I'm going to be asking the teachers to do more with less. You're not going to be able to plan together. You might have a few more students in your class," West said. "Whatever we do we will make it work, but it has huge repercussions."

Staff writers Daniel de Vise and Bill Turque contributed to this report.