It may well have been more cost effective to use that money to reduce class sizes instead.īut that doesn’t necessarily mean that New York’s class size cap is the right approach. (Gates is a funder of Chalkbeat.) Researchers later found it had little if any impact on student outcomes. That comparison implies that there is a straightforward and less costly way to improve teacher quality, but it’s not clear that’s the case.įor instance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several school districts pumped $575 million into a teacher evaluation and quality effort several years ago. Schools should focus on getting and keeping better teachers, not simply adding teachers, with the resources they have, they argue. Some argue that putting resources into reducing class sizes - which requires more teachers and often additional classroom space - is misguided. Lowering class sizes comes with tradeoffs ![]() Overall, the changes “increased achievement in the early grades for all demographic groups,” one set of researchers wrote, finding no evidence of a long-lasting decline in teacher quality. In California, multiple studies have suggested lowering class sizes ultimately improved learning. In both those cases, the dip in teacher quality appeared temporary, though. That means the benefits from lower class size may be partially counteracted by reductions in teacher quality, which has been shown in studies from California and New York City. Substantially reducing class size generally requires schools to go on a hiring binge in order to staff the new classes - and those new teachers are often less experienced and effective than their peers. Smaller classes mean hiring lots of teachers, which is complicated “Most studies find at least some evidence of positive effects of smaller classes, but the size of these benefits is inconsistent,” wrote Urban Institute researcher Matt Chingos. ![]() There are also a few instances where smaller classes didn’t seem to improve test scores at all, including in studies in Connecticut and Florida. In Minnesota, for instance, 10 fewer kids in class translated into a tiny increase in test scores. In some research, the impact of small classes is more modest than the large gains seen in Tennessee. These studies do not agree on how much improvement schools can expect from smaller class sizes. It’s not clear how big those benefits are, though In Tennessee, researchers later found that students in smaller classes in early grades were also more likely to attend and graduate from college. Other studies in California, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin have shown lower class sizes boost test scores, too.Ī few studies have also found other benefits, with smaller classes leading to greater classroom engagement and higher attendance. Test scores in the classes of 13 to 17 students quickly surpassed scores in the larger classes of 22 to 25. The most famous and rigorous study of class size reduction took place in Tennessee beginning in 1985, when some kindergarten students were randomly assigned to unusually small classes through third grade. ![]() But there’s no agreement on exactly how much better, and it remains an open question whether or not class size reduction is a particularly good use of funds that could go elsewhere.Īll told, “the impact of smaller classes would depend on many factors,” said Northwestern University economist Diane Schanzenbach, “including whether funds are reduced for other student supports, the quality of the newly hired teachers needed to staff the smaller classes, and adequate availability of classroom space.” Smaller does seem better when it comes to class size The key takeaways: Students often do better in smaller classes. So does class size matter? And is it really the best use of finite educational dollars?Ĭhalkbeat revisited the research on these questions. It’s also likely that schools across the country are undergoing a quiet experiment in class size reduction, as enrollment has dropped while the number of teachers employed has barely changed. ![]() This long-running debate is back in the news as New York City, the country’s largest school district, will likely be required by state lawmakers to set new caps on class sizes.
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