Smaller classes in Austria: Is the education system really better?

Smaller classes in Austria: Is the education system really better?

From the 2018/19 school year, Austria introduced a fundamental change in the school system: the class student high numbers were abolished. According to vienna.at was previously allowed in most classes. Despite this new regulation, each school management has had the opportunity to determine the class size itself, although on average per federal state, no more than 25 students are allowed to sit per class.

An analysis of Statistics Austria were reduced. Before the change in the law, the earlier maximum numbers were rarely exceeded, but the current statistics suggest that the developments vary greatly from class to class.

Current class sizes and developments

According to the report "Education in numbers 2023/24", the class sizes have developed differently. In the AHS subsequences, 46 % of the students recently sat in classes with more than 25 students, while at the AHS upper levels every fourth student had over 30 fellow students. At BMS and BHS, this proportion was even four out of ten students. Overall, there is a downward trend for class sizes on the AHS with falling average numbers from 23.4 to 23.1 students per class.

A look at the elementary schools shows that the average class size in the 2017/18 school year was 18.7 students and has recently risen to 18.9. In middle schools, the number increased from 20.1 to 20.4 students. The differences between the federal states are also significant: the number of students between 16.9 in Burgenland and 21.8 in Vienna fluctuate in elementary schools.

an international comparison

In international comparison, Austria ranks on average of the 22 EU countries recorded in class sizes. The childcare relationship in Austria is corresponding to the average of the EU-22 of 10.9 students per teacher in the elementary schools, while only 8.6 students per teacher are supervised in the AHS sub-level and middle school, which indicates better personal support in these school forms.

Educational statistics play an essential role in the further development and quality assurance of the education system, such as the Education Ministry . With publications such as the "Statistical Paperback - School and Adult Education", an overview of the essential statistical key data is provided. Access to current and historical data about the Austrian schools is guaranteed via various platforms.