Class sizes increase in New York City

Class sizes rose at nearly every grade level across New York City last year, according to a report released by the city’s Education Department on Tuesday, the largest increases since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took over the school system in 2002. School officials called the increase unfortunate and blamed it on the economy. The largest growth was in the third grade, where the average moved to 21.8 students per class, compared with 20.9 students last year.