Average class size in private schools, by school level, class type, and selected school characteristics: 2017

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National Teacher and Principal Survey

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Average class size in private schools, by school level, class type, and selected school characteristics: 2017–18


	Elementary schools		Secondary schools		Combined schools
Selected school characteristic	Average class size for teachers in self-contained classes	Average class size for teachers in departmentalized instruction	Average class size for teachers in self-contained classes	Average class size for teachers in departmentalized instruction	Average class size for teachers in self-contained classes	Average class size for teachers in departmentalized instruction
All private schools	16.7	17.6	17.8	17.7	‡	‡

School classification
Catholic	18.4	19.6	21.3	20.2	‡	‡
Other religious	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡
Nonsectarian	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡

Community type
City	17.7	19.5	19.3	18.8	‡	‡
Suburban	17.6	17.0	18.9	17.5	‡	‡
Town	14.8	16.4	11.9	15.5	‡	‡
Rural	12.2	13.0	14.7	14.7	‡	‡

Student enrollment
Less than 100	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡
100–199	16.4	16.0	17.6	14.7	‡	‡
200–499	19.8	20.5	19.5	17.2	‡	‡
500–749	23.0	23.2	19.7	19.6	‡	‡
750 or more	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡
‡ Reporting standards not met. The response rate is below 50 percent.
NOTE: Self-contained classes are defined as instruction to the same group of students all or most of the day in multiple subjects, and departmentalized instruction is defined as instruction to several classes of different students most or all of the day in one or more subjects. Among all private school teachers, 16 percent teach self-contained classes in elementary schools, 3 percent in secondary schools, and 9 percent in combined schools; 12 percent teach departmentalized classes in elementary schools, 19 percent in secondary schools, and 23 percent in combined schools; 10 percent teach other types of classes, such as elementary subject specialist classes, team-taught classes, and "pull-out" or "push-in" classes in elementary schools, 3 percent in middle schools, and 6 percent in combined schools.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Private School Teacher Data File,” 2017–18.

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