Start with the numbers
A combined class usually exists because enrolments do not divide evenly. A state education department's data notes list uneven enrolments and small schools as the usual reasons, alongside schools that choose mixed ages on purpose, and a university newsroom piece puts composite classes at about a quarter of the state's government school classes. With 36 in one year and 24 in the next, three classes of 20 means one class of Year 4s, one class of Year 5s and a 4/5 that takes the 16 Year 4s and 4 Year 5s left over. The sources are listed below with the date they were read.
Who goes into the split
Schools often reach for the most independent students, reasoning that they cope best with two curricula in one room. The cost is a split class that holds most of the grade's strong readers and none of its support needs, and two single year classes that hold the rest. The research summaries cited here point the other way: academic results in combined classes are mixed, social benefits are consistent, and the teaching matters more than the mix. A balanced split is a class that looks like the others.
In the class builder, give each class the grades it takes ("4", "5", or "4, 5" for the split) and each student a grade level. Grade levels are a hard rule: a Year 5 student is never placed in the Year 4 class. Everything else is balanced across all three classes at once.
Worked example: a 4/5 class from 60 students
For this example the sample grade's 60 invented students are marked as 36 Year 4 and 24 Year 5, and the classes are a Year 4 class, a 4/5 class and a Year 5 class, each with a cap of 20. The builder places them with every keep-apart pair apart and the twins together:
| Class | Year 4 | Year 5 | Girls, boys | Average reading band | Support | Behaviour | Friend met |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4R, Ms Lindqvist | 20 | 0 | 10, 10 | 2.7 | 3 | 2 | 17 of 18 |
| 4/5, Mr Osei | 16 | 4 | 10, 9 | 2.6 | 3 | 3 | 17 of 17 |
| 5R, Ms Varga | 0 | 20 | 10, 9 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 15 of 19 |
The 4/5 class takes 16 Year 4 and 4 Year 5 students and ends up with the same reading average as its neighbours, give or take a tenth of a band, with its share of support and behaviour needs. 5 friend requests could not be met (3 for balance, 2 for teacher or grade rule). Because the year labels in this example were given out without regard to who is friends with whom, some students named friends in the other year level, and only 4 Year 5 seats are open in the 4/5 class. A typical line from the requests not met sheet:
Kenji Larsen asked for Liam Ali, Daniel Ortiz and Hugo Costa, but the teacher requests or grade levels for Kenji Larsen and Liam Ali do not allow the same class.
Common mistakes
- Filling the split with the most independent students. It leaves the other classes with every support need in the grade.
- Deciding the split last. The combined class changes who is left for every other class. Balance all the classes together.
- Forgetting friend requests across year levels. Collect them, and expect a few to go unmet.
- Keeping the same students in the split every year. Families notice. Keep last year's lists to check.