Well, another place anyway. In Massachusetts, a high school is being placed on probation because of its propensity to allow too many oversized classes. If the school doesn't fix the situation, it could lose its accreditation.
This is because a pattern has been detected, demonstrating that the district has repeatedly permitted classes of more than 30 students.
Here, class size has been contractually set at 34, and a great deal of classes have 34, if not more (loopholes being what they are). I followed the CFE case for years, hoping and believing this situation would change substantively. However, the final ruling left little or no oversight over Mayor Bloomberg and Tweed, and the mayor, who often talks about accountability, was openly delighted there was none for him.
The last deal, much-ballyhooed by the UFT patronage mill, had more holes in it than most Swiss cheese. I sarcastically (but correctly) predicted this would result in class-size reductions of fewer than one student per class.
It was obvious from the wording of the agreement. But our leadership is either so blatantly incompetent it doesn't understand basic English (I'm no lawyer, but this was not written in legal jargon), or it has no qualms about making unsatisfactory agreements and pretending they're otherwise.
Either way, it does not bode well for New York City students or teachers.
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