Class Size Affecting Academic Achievement

Overcrowded schools are one of the many reasons why America is falling backwards. With high birth rates and continuous immigration flow the classroom has become overcrowded. The best way a student can learn is if the attention is not so divided. With large classrooms having over 30 students, it makes it almost impossible for a teacher to attend to each student equally. “Slavin (1989) reviewed those studies that lasted a minimum of 1 year and had 20 students or fewer. He concluded that substantial reductions in class size have a small positive effect on students” (Synopsis of Class Size Literature). Classrooms should be small enough for a teacher to perform well without divided attention. In smaller classrooms, students are recognized for their contribution and participation. Students can respect the work of their peers individually and learn from them and help maintain order. They have more time to be collaborative, work creatively, think critically and draw their own predictions. In “Every Classroom Teacher’s Dream”, Patricia Handley states that “Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teacher can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students’ academic achievement” (6). There is ample evidence on how a small classroom can improve so much.

Smaller class sizes are a pivotal reason as to why parents should send their children to private school. Private schools have smaller class sizes, which allow for more individualized instruction on various subject matters, and they improve student-teacher relationships. For instance, “Small classes allow teachers to give students more individual attention and lighten the teacher’s workload, and therefore are generally considered desirable” (Choy 14). Subsequently, by having a smaller class size, a student

According to Malcolm Gladwell chapter two of “David and Goliaths” economist Caroline Hoxby found that there was not any significant data indicating smaller classroom sizes had a greater effect on a child’s academic achievement. However; Diana Whitmore Schanzenbach from National Education Policy Center (NEPC), Northwestern University has contradicted Gladwell’s assertion that smaller classroom sizes were not an academic advantage. Schanzenbach review research done by Tennessee’s Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and found many flaws that had been considered in Hoxby research that conflicted with much of the research that has already been concluded. There has been a considerable amount of research and much of it has concluded with: the children who were placed in a classroom with less students from kindergarten to third grade, scored higher during academic testing, and were more likely to continue to achieve higher grades throughout their school years. Because education is an important stepping stone for children, it is crucial their educational needs are exceeded while they are young and still able to grasp.

According to Malcolm Gladwell chapter two, economist Caroline Hoxby did some research and found there wasn’t any significant data indicating smaller classrooms had a greater effect on a child academic learning skills. Gladwell made it a point in his story to notion details contending smaller classroom sizes are not necessarily the best learning environment.

In 2003, Finn co-authored a paper that identified a gaping hole in the puzzle: “Despite the many studies that show positive effects, research has yet to come up with a consistent, integrated explanation for the gains attributable to reduced class size,” according to the paper, published in the journal. Review of Educational Research.

A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly

Throughout the book, his carefully selected stories seem either almost deceptive in nature or overly simplified. At first, Gladwell’s analysis of the popular religious parable of David and Goliath seems apt for the topic of the book and similarly the story of Vivek Ranadivé’s basketball team follows what seems to be an appropriate trajectory for the topic of Gladwell’s book, however, it almost seems as if he has begun to run out of proper examples following the basketball story. The first of many questionable moves by Gladwell comes in his choice to look at Shepaug Valley Middle School and the effects of classroom size on student success. Based on the limited data he presents, Gladwell concludes that, “the evidence suggests that the thing we are convinced is such a big advantage might not be such an advantage at all”(Gladwell 28). However, in his conclusion that class size does not matter in predicting child success he neglects to look at how the idea of success is measured following graduation and how the difference in class size may very well change across racial divides and along the divide between private academies and public schools.

Reduced class sizes can show better behavior in students and earlier improvement of grades.In smaller classes, teachers have a better chance to get to know the student more, so there are less chances that the student will feel like need to act and lash out. Since the teacher and pupil will get to know each other better, the teacher can take the time to discover what areas the student needs help in and can make more of an effort to help the student fix those needs in a smaller, less crowded environment. (Rios, Robert J).According to a survey done by Mitchell and Mitchell in 1999, students in grades K-3 that were placed in smaller classes scored better on achievement tests in reading and mathematics than students in large classes did. Having smaller classes in kindergarten through third grade creates the most academic improvement in students. Reading and Mathematics are the subjects that the most information is retained in that sticks with students in older years. Also, students of minority

"Smack". Do you hear that sound ? If you said the sound of kids throwing pencils, paper and etc. You are correct. This is what happens in a class that has to many kids. That’s exactly why kids should be in smaller classes. There are 3 main reasons I think this. Reason 1 is because kids will have enough time for individual attention to themselves unlike in bigger classes. Reason number 2 The kids will understand more without distractions like in a bigger class.

School achievement outcomes are also life impacting. Often the only way out of poverty is an education that can provide them with a job which can meet their income needs. If a child’s school achievement is affected by poverty, they have a higher chance of dropping out and continuing poverty in their generation. Effects of school achievement are measured by if the child has repeated a grade, suspended or expelled, and/or dropped out before graduating. A large amount of children that live in poverty will repeat a grade due to limit educational tools to provide them with practice at home. If the child has behavior problem, then they may be expelled for acting out or misbehaving, this affects their learning as they are not in class learning. The percentage of children living poverty that are affected by school achievement outcomes are 2-3 times greater than children not living in in this state of being. Emotional or behavior outcomes are measured by tantrums, outbursts and aggression, this usually persist beyond the normal age range expected. Poor children suffer from emotional and/or behavior outcomes more often than children living in non-poverty. These effects are displayed at school and at home, occasionally in public places such as the mall, and causes disturbances such as violence. Emotional problems also include internal problems such as anxiety and depression, which can cause the child to disassociate themselves from social opportunities. These children are often

The restrictions placed on teachers in regards to class size, specific standards they must meet, and material censorship are all forms in which can severely limit a teachers ability to get to know each student and learn what their strengths and weaknesses may be. Ideally, teachers would be able to have small classrooms sizes and be allowed enough time to get to know each student and learn what each student seeks from school, whether it be a person they could look up to, possible some subjects that they may feel like they’re struggling with but otherwise wouldn’t feel comfortable asking with a bigger class, and if the child may be developing unfavorably such as in the book,

If there were smaller classrooms then it would be easier to teach in a smaller room because there are less students. Grades are being affected something must be done.

Some people may argue that studies done regarding how student achievement is affected by class size have a lack of evidence to support the given claim. An opposing view might claim that this makes the claim irrelevant and potentially just a gimmick to misinform both legislators and guardians of children. The authors of Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy are Matthew M. Chingos and Grover J. Whitehurst whom both have a PhD credential. The authors use real life data of subjects to convey their overall point of how there is a lack of evidence to prove that students achievements are affected by class size. The following quote mentions the premise of how the work is laid out, “Despite there being a large literature

It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.

Starting with the obvious, it is evident that working 20+ hours a week impacts a student’s grades. Upon finding out those results, a comparison was made to find out if working 15 hours a week has an effect on academic performance, and the same results occurred. Although there isn’t a major change in global R-Score, the change is still there. The average R-Score is 27.285 while the working R-Score of 20+ hours a week is 26.875.