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Explaining
the ratio
To the editor: Much has been made of the relatively low pupil-teacher ratio in Rappahannock schools by the County Supervisors, and it has been “suggested” to the Superintendent that he would be wise to “find a way” to schedule larger classes — that is, get by with fewer teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio mentioned — derived be dividing the total number of pupils by the number of instructional personnel — is not a very meaningful figure. Still, the fact is that Rappahannock youngsters do enjoy relatively small classes.
At the high school, the averages range from 20 pupils per teacher in Social Studies and Art to 12 in Home Ec and 11 in Industrial Arts. The ratio averages 17 to 1 in English, French, Business and Science, and 16 to 1 in Math and Music.
These low ratios — meaning as they do a relatively generous helping of individual attention to each student — could go a long way toward explaining how Rappahannock students have done as well as they have in standard tests with one of the very lowest-paid teaching staffs in a state not known for overspending.
However, it needs to be understood that these low ratios are not the consequence of local choice. They are the result of student credit requirements and State mandates imposed on a relative-small rural school district. Flexibility in class scheduling in small districts is limited at best. But superimpose state standards on top of that and then upgrade those standards year after year, and see what you get! Example: For the HS class of ’86, a “regular” diploma required 2 years of Lab Science and 2 of Math, along with 5 years of English, 3 of Social Studies and PhysEd, and 7 years of electives. But for Classes of ’88 and beyond, the requirement will be all of that plus a third year of Science and, in addition an extra year of Science or Math or an approved sequence of Vocational-Ed courses.
For the “advanced studies” diploma designed for the collegebound, students must be given 5 years of English, 4 each of Lab Science and Math, and 3 each of Social Studies, Foreign Languages and Phys-Ed — plus 5 electives.
Other inflexibilities: In a small
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