Student Achievement Is Affected By Class Size

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.

Having to experience larger classroom sizes while in grade school, and knowing the effects it had on me; I was curious to know how the research was conducted and why in this story there wasn’t any significant data to prove or disprove the outcome.

The other articles we have read were based off the education system also. Many of the articles were against the system, just as Dave Barry is. The other articles we read were more persuasive and informative, than an argument. They contained more evidence and facts. Davy Barry did not have facts in his article, but opinions.

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.

Living in today’s society it is extremely hard to imagine growing up in a house that is occupied by eight other families. However, this was the case for all children living in seventeenth century Huronia. Due to the fact that the seventeenth century was so far in the past, that it is difficult to fathom what life must have been like growing up in these circumstances, as the inhabitants of this time are not around anymore. With the help of archaeology we are able to distinguish many aspects of seventeenth century Huron life. Using applied archaeology, replicas of the longhouses can be made to represent the true size of these buildings. There are evident soil burns, which show hearths within a long house, implying the amount of families that occupied the building. Although this archaeology paints a general picture of their civilization, to get a truer representation of seventeenth century life, analysis of actual Jesuit missionary accounts should be conducted.

Williams is illogical in his presentation of facts and figures, which does not aid his argument. The University of North Caroline presents a handout on statistics which helps writers know the proper use for them in a paper and has the following questions to ask yourself about the research: “What is the data’s background? Does your evidence come from reliable sources? Are all data reported? Have the data been interpreted correctly?” Williams fails to answer these questions, for example, “The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs commissioned a civic education poll among public school students. A surprising 77% didn't know that George Washington was the first President; couldn't name Thomas Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence; and only 2.8% of the students actually passed the citizenship test. Along similar lines, the Goldwater Institute of Phoenix did the same survey and only 3.5% of

He does this by inserting counterarguments and effectively refuting them with evidence. The use of statistics from academic research and anecdotes from scholars on the given subject give his argument legitimacy. Williams also provides a hidden assumption in his argument that makes readers think critically about his implicit statement and its relevance to his argument. However, there are weakness to his argument and that is his use of non-academic language that dissuades readers from believing his article can stand as an academic

Although some statistical evidence given is not backed with proper citations, the reader can find that the evidence given is effective in proving her point.

On top of this anecdotal evidence, there is also research showing curricula play a larger role on student achievement than state/federal standards and that when curricula is substandard, intervention can have the same impact as replacing a poorly performing teacher with one who is high

Author Lee Ventola used statistical data to provide evidence to prove his opinion about childhood vaccinations in almost every paragraph of his academic journal. One example being, “It has been estimated

Student achievement for children is dependent upon the mental processes that are developed and nurtured through educators, culture, and society. Society plays a major role in cognitive human growth and development. It is important for educators to understand that children need opportunities to develop and expand their cognitive abilities. Vygotsky’s theory about mental tools suggest that every child has the ability to develop skills that will enable them to think in complex ways.

However, the fact that the study only focused on a small group (a specific university students), a specific race (whites), one specific social class (middle class), and one gender (female) makes the credibility of the findings questionable because we cannot use them to develop a general conclusion to represent all the teachers. The researcher also acknowledged this by stating that the findings from the study can be used to inform other groups, but is not meant to be representative of all teacher researcher groups (Vetter,

Identify and analyze the possible claims that Julie has against her employer. Identify and evaluate the legal basis for the claim, the potential recovery, and the likelihood of prevailing against her employer. (Points : 30)

a field of social science data” (p.86). He is not “persuasive, consistent or suggestive” (Patton. 2002, p.162) and simply gives the accounts an equal weight in the debate. His synthesis of the evidence does address the research question, but

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