Elmhurst Class Sizes Bigger Than Decade Ago

ELMHURST, IL – Class sizes in Elmhurst School District 205 are larger than they were a decade ago and those in comparable districts, state figures show.

In increasing the district's tax hike last week, board members gave several reasons. They said they have made investments in improving education.

Among other things, member Kara Caforio said, class sizes have fallen over the last decade or so. Except they haven't, according to state figures.

As of last school year, District 205's average class size was 24.2. Over the last dozen years, the average size has increased. It was 23.4 in 2012-13. In all but one year, Elmhurst's average class size was bigger than the state's.

Elmhurst's average class size of 24.2 was more than the sizes in three comparable districts – Barrington District 220 (21.3 students), Wheaton District 200 (22.5) and Naperville School District 203 (22.6), according to the Illinois Report Card website.

According to the website, research shows that students in lower grades demonstrate the potential for higher achievement scores when they are enrolled in smaller classes.

Over the last dozen years, District 205's average class sizes in kindergarten and second grade edged up slightly, while first grade dropped by a hair.

Third grade, however, saw a significant reduction in average class size to 20.8, from 24.

Here are the average class sizes in Elmhurst School District 205 and the state:

2012-13
Elmhurst 23.4
State 21.2

2013-14
Elmhurst 22.9
State 21.4

2014-15
Elmhurst 22.2
State 21.2

2015-16
Elmhurst 23.9
State 21.1

2016-17
Elmhurst 18.9
State 20.2

2017-18
Elmhurst 22
State 20

2018-19
Elmhurst 24.1
State 21.9

2019-20
Elmhurst 24.5
State 21.7

2020-21
Elmhurst 24.5
State 20.3

2021-22
Elmhurst 23.6
State 20.9

2022-23
Elmhurst 24.5
State 20.8

2023-24
Elmhurst 24.2
State 20.8

Source: Illinois Report Card