Class Size

A big debate that happens in many schools is that debate about the sizes of classes and the amount of children that each class should contain. School districts typically have limits on the amount of children that they usually place in their classrooms. Some school districts try to make their classes quite small while others try to make classes as big as possible for a number of different reasons. From an economical standpoint, school districts would have bigger classes to reduce the number of teachers that they would need to hire, therefore saving money. Some feel that large classes, however, are not in the best interest of the students involved. Dr. Eric Handshek of the Hoover Institute has conducted a series of literature reviews that support the conclusion that increased spending in schools and smaller class sizes do not systematically lead to improved student achievement. Critics of large classes say that the larger that classes get the more difficult it is for teachers to individualize lessons and give the students that attention that they need in order to be successful.
Many critics of small class size argue that the cost of lowering class size is too high and that the money should be spent on other things like curriculum. Another criticism is that if class sizes are reduced, districts would need to hire more teachers who may be less qualified in order to just fill classrooms with teachers. By doing this, our students would receive a reduced quality of education purely to lessen class size.
Not everyone feels that smaller class sizes are a bad thing though. Some argue that small groups are more easily manageable so in the long run it will save school districts money because less time will have to be spent on discipline and also retention of students. In addition, when a class is smaller it allows the teacher to get to know each student better and know their strengths and weakness in order to tailor a lesson toward their individual needs. Another positive of small class size is that it allows the teacher to know each child’s parents and hopefully they can work with them so the parents can work with the children at home too. Alan Krueger (Princeton University) maintains that smaller class sizes can improve students’ performance and future earnings prospects because of the attention that they will receive. Studies show that significant effects of class size reduction on student achievement appear when the class is reduced to a point between 15 to 20 kids and it continues to increase as class size approaches 1-1 ratio.
The STAR experiment (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio) of 1985 is the major reason for the influx of schools trying to reduce class size. Students in this study were placed in classrooms of 13-17 students as opposed to 23-26 students. The results showed that the students who were placed in the smaller classes did significantly better in math and reading than the students in the larger classes.
Although as an upfront issue, reducing the size of classes in the schools may be quite costly for the school district, in the long run the benefits for our children outweigh the costs. Students who have been educated in smaller classes have better grades and research has shown that when they get jobs they are typically making much more than those who were educated in larger classes. Also, students typically have a lower dropout rate when educated in smaller classes. Since the students get a more individualized learning experience less students have to be retained and this also saves the schools money on not having to reeducate children. Small class size greatly benefits our children, and overall the benefit for the children should be the most important thing for school districts to think of.