The pie charts compare four groups of class sizes in primary schools in four Australian states in 2010.
Overall, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) had the largest percentage of classes with 26-30 students, while South Australia’s biggest group was 20 students or fewer, and Western Australia’s was 21-25 students. Classes with 31 students or more were the smallest proportion in all states.
Classes with 26-30 students accounted for the highest proportion in New South Wales (36%) and the ACT (51%), while Western Australia’s largest group was 21-25 students (42%). The percentage of classes with 20 students or fewer was 38% in the ACT, with the corresponding figures for New South Wales and Western Australia at approximately 27% and 26% respectively.
In addition, South Australia and Western Australia had similar proportions of 21-25 student classes (33% and 26% respectively). The ACT had a much lower share (10%), about a third compared to New South Wales (33%). In all states, the percentage of classes with 31 students or more was the smallest, with the ACT’s figure being only 1%.