During a 2012 U.S. presidential debate, the topic of class size came up within the context of global competitiveness. Although the candidates debated the benefits of small classes in K-12 education, the issue deserves attention within higher education. With the growth of online classes, including massive online courses, and with the slow upward in class size, budget issues brought many subjects to worry. It brings the question, does size of classes matter? Do the teaching methods, the learning objectives, teaching standards, and workload expectations vary depending on the class size? Researchers studies on the class size have differed. Some have found no significant impact; others have discovered that student achievement declines slightly as class size increases. More recently, others have found that students in a smaller class learn more because of the size and one-on-one time. Medium classes have …show more content…
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.
The evidence suggests that increasing class size will not only harm children’s test scores in the short-run, but also in their long-run human capital formation. Money is saved from increasing class size will be more substantial social and educational costs in the future. In addition to high costs, reducing class size have unintended consequences. When California lowered class sizes in 1996, they realized that they did not have enough teachers to meet the challenge. Schools were forced to hire new teachers and add portable classmates to accommodate the state
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
What is considered a small class size verses a large one? Different research teams displayed different terms for class sizes. This detail can make an enormous difference in the researcher’s outcome. Project STAR defined small classroom sizes into two categories: 13 to 17 students, one teacher, and 22 to 26 taught by a teacher and teacher aide. A larger
Class size is a very popular topic that is greatly research through out educational settings. Class size deals with how many students are in the classroom at once. Class size can vary greatly. It can depended on the location of the school, where the more rural areas have only one high school while in a city environment there could be twenty-three high schools in one area. Location also depends on the amount of population in that area. Class size also can depend on the level of schooling. Such as in a major university there could be two hundred students in one class, while in a local elementary school there is only eighteen students in one class. Class size can depend on what kind of class is being taught. In
At overcrowded schools, material issues resulting from greater class sizes directly impact the classroom. Quantified into state spending per student, resources grow increasingly strained with each additional student. A 10-minute online activity becomes a 20-minute activity in a class where there are not enough Chromebooks, requiring students
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.
Smaller schools are associated with more individualized learning in which there are less students to each professor, whereas, larger schools are thought to have much larger classes. However,
Legislators, teachers and parents produce many groups in America 's society that are most interested in improving primary education. These actors recognize the importance of improving primary education to create a more stable, knowledgeable and successful society for all of the country. One highly debated issue in education reform is the student to teacher ratio in classrooms. Many parents and teachers want to see a decrease in class sizes so that students receive more individualized education and become more socially developed. Conversely, a large sum of Americans, mainly government officials, are not convinced that reducing class sizes will lead to the outcome that activists and parents are imagining. Student education at a primary level affects all of society, either directly or indirectly. America is highly concerned with education reform, and decreasing the amount of students per class in grades K through three is a logical solution to better the education provided to American students. Class size reductions cause for many positive effects such as more individualized learning, better developed social skills and a more educated youth leading to a more successful society in the future. Education reform can best be achieved through decreasing the number of students in classes, especially at the primary level.
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
In 2008, a study was done by Zahorik and a few of his colleagues, and they found that in smaller classes, the discipline was actually worried about less than in bigger classes, thus proving that students have better behavior in smaller classes because of the student and teacher ratio and the desire to be less distracting. Students with learning or behavioral disabilities also will get the chance to have more individualized plans and more one on one teacher time.
With the lack of high-quality research related to the effects of class size on student achievement, there is not a valid argument for decreasing class size in our schools. Additionally, taking on the extra 1-2 students in each class will only help with master scheduling issues and course offerings. If we continue to reduce class size, our students are the ones who will be negatively impacted as we will be unable to provide certain courses for all students. There are instances when a teacher may have one to two sections of a given class, and if we are a few students over, those students cannot take the course they want, or possibly need. This is not an issue we want to face, nor do we want to deny our students a proper education that fits their own individual needs. The flexibility of being able to include up to 36 students in any one class ensures that there is enough space for more of our students. In an effort to convince the Teachers Association to concede to this change, it is appropriate to offer them something in return. In this instance, it may be fitting to offer to keep elementary class size pupil-teacher ratio to 1:28, making it clear that we will not ask to increase their class size if they agree to the 4-12 growth. Increasing class size is vital for the district as we are forging ahead into uncertain times with the closing of our primary source of revenue, Diablo Canyon. We have to be
The classes more discussion-oriented and students are expected to be ready to discuss reading and assignments each class. Most college students feel more comfortable asking for help in smaller class size. In addition, the teacher better understands student strengths and weaknesses. Also, teachers are more apt to help students and it is easier to class become a group of friends. However, in large college, the quality of understanding with professor is not as good and attendance is less likely to count toward your grade. Nonetheless, some people think it is more important to learn from famous professors than to have a small class. According to Stephen Pemberton, class size can make a difference in your education. (“The importance of class size, Match 09, 2009). Conversely, according to Mark Montgomery, educational consultant, smaller classes are taught by the least effective teachers.
While placed in a big classroom can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. According to the text, Does Class Size Matter? Teachers, parents of students, and the principal of New York’s Forest Hills High School, believes that big classrooms
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.
teachers over the next seven years to help reduce class sizes to reach the national