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Show . Davis Classes Wow Average 27.96 Students Elementary school classes in Davis School District average aver-age 27. students this year, according to Utah Education Association Research Director Direc-tor Don Ulmer. The district's average elementary class size last year was 26.50 students, he said. THE UEA surveyed every elementary class in the state Oct. 1, 1981 to determine the number of students enrolled. Ulmer said the statewide average aver-age class size for elementary classes this year is 27.29 students stu-dents up from last year's average av-erage of 26.97 students. "At least part of the blame for this increase in class size is due to back-sliding on the part of the Utah State Legislature after that body made an earlier commitment to reducing the size of classes in Utah," Ulmer said. THE LEGISLATURE, after placing a law on the books which set a goal of 24 students per class in the kindergarten through third grades, lessened the state's dedication this year to smaller classes, he added. "The lawmakers did this by removing the mandate for reducing re-ducing class sizes and forcing the program to compete with others for funding funding that was reduced by one-third," one-third," Ulmer said. "FOR YEARS, Utah schools have had the largest class sizes in the entire nation," na-tion," he said, adding that smaller classes in the kindergarten kinder-garten through third grade 'are critically important to boys and girls who are learning to read, to work arithmetic problems prob-lems and to write. Each one needs plenty of attention from the teacher." Davis School District's average av-erage 1981-82 class size breakdown break-down by grades is kindergarten, kindergar-ten, 25.73 students; first grade, 23.22 students; second grade, 26.66 students; third grade, 27.92 students; fourth grade, 30.93 students; fifth grade, 31.92 students and sixth grade, 31.91 students. |