Class-Size Policy

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.

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

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.

PROBLEM: According to Catherine Rampell’s article found in the New York Times in 2009, the average classroom size of American primary schools is 23.1 students while the average classroom size of American secondary schools is 24.3 students. However, there has been an upward trend in the average class size of American schools as seen in the National Center for Education Statistics’ School and Staff Survey from the 2011 to 2012 school year. This statistic shows that the average classroom size of an American school is nearing thirty students. This statistic is and will continue to increase if a law is not enacted soon.

In “Connecting in Class? College Class Size and Inequality in Academic Social Capital”, a paper by Irenee R. Beattie Megan Thiele they study how students reacted in the larger class sizes compared to the smaller classrooms. They discuss how “A student enrolled in an average class size of 60 students had a 76% probability of discussing course-related ideas with other students, while one in an average class size of 150 students had only a 60% probability of doing so,” this shows how the larger class sizes can have a negative impact on a student. If students feel uncomfortable asking questions they are less likely to be able to fix errors before they are made, leading to lower test score. In Ryan Bosworth paper Class size, class composition, and the distribution of student achievement talks about how just one student less can have an impact on classroom scores. He discusses this saying “The largest estimated class size effect from Table 4 suggests that a one-student decrease in class size is associated with a 0.0052 standard deviation increase in tests scores,” showing that even if it’s a small impact every extra student added to a class can lower the overall test score of

This research brief reviews the details and findings of research done on the California class-size reduction law in 1996. It reviews the effects of the reduction in class-size on teacher quality and student Achievement. The brief was written and published by the Public Policy Institute of California, which is a nonprofit organization who is dedicated to independent, objective and nonpartisan research. This paper will be used to show that even with adverse circumstances class-size reduction is successful in raising student achievement. It will also help support the idea that class-size reduction is the first step in improving overall student achievement not the end all solution.

Larger classes takes away the opportunity to work with each student in need of assistance to make their work more accurate. Having a smaller class requires students to be more engaged in their work. Students will be more helpful to their fellow classmates with a small class with a mixture of higher quality students. It has been proven in different states that class size plays a big role in a student’s education. Smaller classes are particularly effective at raising achievement levels of low-income and minors. Attending a small class increases the rate of attendance, Students get more individualization and achievement in a smaller class. A large class can cause a lot of chaos and if there is too much chaos and loud distractions in a learning environment the students would get stressed out. The amount of noise and this can also cause a lot of stress among teachers. When there is too many people around you it can cause you to become more distracted and you will be most likely lose focus. In a large classroom students often blend into the crowd in order to be noticed they have to either be brilliant or a trouble maker. Teachers who have less students can give each student more attention and one on one instruction. A student

By and large, this article on the long-term effects of small classes presented relevant information in a comprehensive manner in contrast to the first article regarding youth violence. Although the results were confounding to me due to the statistical information, I appreciate how each section was arranged, particularly the literature review, titled, Research on the Effects of Class Size (Nye, Hedges, & Konstantopoulos, 2001). In addition, the article clearly stated the conclusions with providing possible hypotheses explaining the reason why smaller classes obtained higher achievement and particularly in minority students. As we learned in the class PowerPoints, theories should be falsifiable and even provide future research possibilities as

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

Parents and politicians alike have fixated on class size ever since the beginnings of modern education. Conventional wisdom holds that smaller classes lead to better educational outcomes – after all, fewer students imply greater one-on-one instructional time, and disciplining overcrowded classrooms is arguably more difficult. Still, hiring more teachers is far from cheap, so policymakers have a vested interest in determining the effectiveness of smaller classes.

A small class most often is less than 20 kids in elementary school however in high school the number is a little larger (“Why Class”). Small class sizes prove vital for American public school students because these classes can promote individualized learning, provide students with one-on-one contact with their teacher, and improve students’ academic performance; a class reduction will promote overall success. Being successful in grade school can prepare students for future opportunities such as college and future jobs. Success will also help students achieve their life goals and will allow them to grow to meet their full potential. Small classes would also be an area for effective learning and help learners be the best student they can be. Students will be able to come out of their comfort zone and build healthy relationships with the instructors and other students. While in school, many students develop a unique study method that will help them excel in their education and throughout life.

According to Malcolm Gladwell in Chapter Two of David and Goliath, 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), at Northwestern University has contradicted Gladwell’s assertion that smaller classroom sizes were not an academic advantage. Schanzenbach reviewed research through Tennessee’s Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and found many deficiencies with the research Hoxby’s uncover, leading to her conclusion that classroom sizes did not affect academic learning. There has been a considerable amount of research and much of it has concluded with: the children who were placed in a classroom with fewer 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 that their educational needs are exceeded while they are young and still able to grasp. Why did Gladwell agree with Hoxby research? Granted there has been a larger amount of other research projects that conclude with smaller classroom size do make an academic difference. Not only are students better off learning in smaller classrooms sizes, but in fact research has shown that these