Kristin Erickson’s fifth-grade class at Jefferson Elementary School was distributed around the room in seven small groups of three or four Wednesday afternoon.

Though a student in each group was reading out loud, the noise level in the classroom was at a low murmur.

Erickson made her way around the room, checking in with each group, answering questions and listening to the children read.

With 23 students in her class this year — compared with 32 last year — Erickson said that the improvement in reading comprehension is noticeable.

Students are divided into groups with others who read at the same level, and Erickson has the time to frequently check on each student’s progress. That was much more difficult in the past, when she taught classes of up to 34 students.

“There’s no way in a class of 34 kids you could have them in small groups like that and reading out loud without it being really, really loud,” Erickson said. “I didn’t do it as often (then) ... It was louder. I had to urge the kids to quiet down.”

Erickson’s involved, engaged reading group exemplifies one of the many ways that smaller class sizes have affected teaching and learning in the Corvallis school district.

With about $4.4 million more in state funding than it had last year — and an estimated $3.8 million from a successful local option levy passed in 2006 — the Corvallis School District was able to hire 95 new teachers and reduce average class sizes by about three to six students across the district.

Not every class has seen a dramatic reduction the way Erickson’s has but many have, and teachers are relieved.

Adams Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Peggy Thomson has 24 students in her class this year, seven fewer than last year. She is happy for the chance to give kids more individualized attention.

“I felt like what I spent most my time doing was paperwork,” Thomson said. “Checking homework, organizing materials ... the kids were getting short-changed in teacher time.”

With 24 years of teaching experience — all in the Corvallis School District — Thomson has seen her class sizes increase from 22 students to what had seemed unthinkable when she started teaching: a student-to-teacher ratio of 33-to-1.

Early in her teaching career, the prospect of teaching classes with 28 or 29 students prompted the principal at Wilson Elementary school to hire another teacher, Thomson said. Over the years, the school district’s budget was repeatedly cut. Some schools were closed, and class sizes grew.

Corvallis classrooms have had some of the highest student rosters in the state in recent years. The average class size for Corvallis elementary schools was 27 students and was 32 students at middle and high schools. That’s significant because Oregon ranks fourth among the states with the highest class sizes, and has ranked among the top five for more than a decade.

With larger class sizes, teachers often are forced to prioritize struggling or difficult students, teachers say.

“Who needs my attention most right now,” Erickson recalls thinking. “It’s not the best thing for the children, and it gets hard on the teacher ... The smaller class size makes it possible to give higher-quality educational experiences to each child.”

Kids weigh in

Students from Kristin Erickson’s fifth-grade class at Jefferson Elementary School had a lot to say about their smaller class size this year.

“You do more stuff. Sometimes in the bigger classes you’d plan something but you never got to it.”

— Katelyn Beilby, 11

“It seems like we have funner activities ... today we played charades with spelling words.”

— Jamie Dailey, 10

“It seems like you can just be friends with the whole class.”

— Ele Adams, 10

“Our teacher is a lot less stressed.”

— Isabella Chaney, 10