Crowded? Compare Class Sizes at Santa Cruz High Schools

Average class sizes at Santa Cruz high schools exceed the California norm, according to data from the 2011-12 school year released earlier this month.

Harbor High School reported an average class sizes of 26.9 students, the area school closest to the state average of 23.6 students, according to the statistics published on the Ed-Data website.

Santa Cruz High and Soquel High schools averaged 27.5 and 28.3 students per class, respectively

All three schools also had higher pupil-to-teacher ratios than the state average of 22.7.

Compare Santa Cruz's high schools here or pick other schools for comparisons on the Ed-Data website:

The statistics are published by the the Ed-Data website, a partnership between the California Department of Education (CDE), EdSource, and the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team to provide data about K-12 education.

There's a longstanding debate surrounding the importance of class size. A report issued two years ago by the Brookings Institute indicated significant class size reduction—along the lines of seven to 10 students—had the biggest impact on student achievement, but this was much more pronounced in younger students than at the high school level.

Do you think average class sizes at our high schools are too high? How does this impact students' learning? Tell us in the comment section below.