Class Size

A current debate in schools and curriculum is about the size of classes. Smaller class sizes are believed to be more beneficial for students and that those students will perform better in the classroom. There have been several studies that have supported this belief. One study that was conducted in Tennessee was a large experiment from 1985 to 1989 and was called the Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR). The experiment compared 10,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students. The classes in this study were reduced from 22-26 students to 13-17 students. Significant long term improvement in reading and math was found for those students who were in the small class size for the early grades. This study also showed that students in small classes perform better with test scores, receive better grades, and even have better attendance.
Another benefit of having a small class size is that the students who improve and benefit the most from being in small classrooms are the low-income minority students. In Wisconsin from 1996-1997, a study called the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) received the same results as the Tennessee study (STAR) but also included low-income minority students and found that the impact of small class size was greatest for this population. This also helps to lower the achievement gap. However, even though low-income minority students benefit the most from small class sizes, these students are more likely to be placed in larger class sizes.
A third benefit of small class size is lower drop-out rates. High school students who had been in classrooms with a small class size were less likely to drop out. Low-income minority students who had been in a small classroom also had double the graduation rate as those students who had been in regular classrooms.
In the classroom, having smaller class sizes allows teachers to give more individual attention to each student, more flexibility in using different instructional techniques and technologies, and less discipline problems in the class so the teacher has more time to devote to teaching.
On the other hand, reducing class size can be costly. Having these smaller classes may require the schools to hire more teachers for their district and/or to build additional classrooms in the building to accommodate more classes. In 2002, California spent $1.6 billion for class size reduction.
Another drawback to having a small class size is that it could lead to a shortage of qualified teachers. When California sanctioned class-size reduction in 1996, some school districts had to hire teachers who did not have credentials so that they could have enough teachers for their classrooms.
A third drawback to small class size is that the research is inconclusive on the issue of the lasting effects of students being in a smaller classroom. Some studies have found that the high test scores of students in the small class sizes are not sustained in the later grades or throughout the duration of a child’s education.
While there are advantages to reducing class size that include better academic performance for students especially those who are low-income, there are some benefits that should be taken into consideration when determining if a small class size is best for a school district to implement.