Smaller Class Sizes

Summer 2000 (v4#2)

The first year of class size reduction in NYC schools
Smaller is Better: Results and Recommendations

By Leonie Haimson

In April, the Educational Priorities Panel released its study on the first year of early grade class size reduction in New York City public schools, entitled Smaller is Better. Based on interviews with principals and teachers from throughout the city who have implemented the class size reduction program in their schools, the study reports on the remarkable, if largely unheralded, results of this program so far. Even those of us who were advocates for smaller classes were a bit stunned as to the overwhelming enthusiasm expressed by these educators, many of whom responded that class size reduction was the best thing that had ever happened to their schools.

Typical responses included the following: A teacher in Queens: "It's ideal." From a principal in Brooklyn: "It's been incredible. Just phenomenal." A teacher in East Harlem: "It's been invaluable." A principal in central Harlem: "Finally the children in a public school have a fair chance to succeed. The government is investing in our schools the right way, providing the resources the children really need."

More specifically, principals and teachers noted the following benefits resulting from the introduction of smaller classes in their schools this year:

• Students placed in smaller classes appear to be learning faster this year compared to the year before, though many of those interviewed stressed that it was still too early to make definitive judgments. Principal Ivy Buckery of PS 138 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, whose school has had smaller classes in kindergarten and first grade for the last three years (because of a district class size reduction initiative), noted that her students' test scores have risen sharply as a result of the program. While only 48 percent of the first graders at PS 138 were meeting or exceeding their grade level on the California Achievement Test two years ago, last year this number had grown to 69 percent.
• The quality and quantity of teaching have been fundamentally enhanced, because smaller classes have allowed teachers to give more individualized attention to their students and utilize small group instruction more effectively. According to Maryann Wainstock, a kindergarten teacher at PS 198 in District 2, this is especially crucial in the early grades: "Children come into school at so many different levels. There are huge gaps in their abilities at this age. You have to teach each child individually or teach them in small groups, and the more children you have, the harder it is to reach all of them. Particularly in kindergarten, they come in with fewer skills. We have to touch each child to show them how to hold a pencil properly, how to write. We need them close by. There's no way to do that with a large group."
• Smaller classes have allowed teachers to do more frequent student evaluation and follow-up. Some teachers have added an extra midyear ECLAS (Early Childhood Literacy Assessment System) to their annual routine. As teachers track the progress of their students more closely, they have been able to target those with learning problems earlier, and deal with these problems more effectively.
• .There is a heightened level of classroom participation this year which has led to improvements in students' language and communication skills. According to Nancy Napoli, a third grade teacher at PS 280 in the Bronx, her students "aren't so quiet and shy anymore. They've come out of their shells, they're raising their hands, and eager to show me they know the answer - and that's because they're in a smaller class." The improvement in these students' ability to communicate verbally, in turn, has led to their enhanced ability to read and write.
• Students appear to display a greater enthusiasm for reading this year, in part also due to their being placed in smaller and more appropriate reading groups. According to Verlethia Cisse, a teacher at PS 185 in Harlem, for her second graders this year, "reading [has] become tremendously gratifying and exciting to them - before it was not exciting. I see them doing more independent reading. They show greater initiative. They even attempt harder books because they feel successful instead of defeated."
• There has been a noticeable decline in the number of disciplinary referrals among students placed in smaller classes at many schools. Principal Gloria Buckery of PS 198 in District 2, which borders East Harlem, reported that suspensions at her school are down 60 percent from last year, which she specifically attributed to the class size reduction program at her school.
• .There is an upsurge in teacher morale this year that many of the principals and teachers interviewed predict will lead to significant decreases in staff turnover. Teacher turnover is a chronic problem in New York City. According to the United Federation of Teachers, 55 percent of teachers leave after only five years - double the national average.

  As Norma Genao, principal of PS 185 in Harlem, pointed out, "In this school, the staff turnover used to be tremendous. It was in part because they had so many kids, they were doomed to failure and no one wants to fail. Now my teachers are happy. They are enjoying the art of teaching again. Now we can feel satisfaction, because we have results and can accomplish our goals."

  Lisa Goldstein, a teacher at PS 198 in District 2, noted that she would not remain teaching in the New York City public school system if the class size reduction program is allowed to lapse: "Now that I've seen the difference a small class makes, I don't want to go back to being a policeman. If the program disappeared, I'd go elsewhere - I wouldn't keep teaching a city public school, I'd teach where classes are smaller. Whatever money I was offered, it's just not worth it."

• Norma Genao, principal of PS 185, observed that it was much easier to fill the numerous teaching openings she had at her school this year, because she could promise applicants smaller classes. As a result of this highly attractive incentive, she was able to draw more qualified candidates to her school, including many with master's degrees and a greater experience level. All in all, our interviews revealed that providing smaller classes may be one of the most effective ways to bring qualified and experienced professionals into the NYC public schools, and ensure they remain teaching longer once they have entered the system.
• Parent-teacher relationships have improved in some schools this year, leading to an overall increase in parental involvement. Iris Pellot, a first grade teacher at PS 139 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, explained that with a smaller class, "It seems easier to communicate with parents. I have more time to engage parents in what's going on in the classroom."
• Smaller classes have proved especially valuable as a reform that gives all children the opportunity to succeed in the first place rather than fail, eliminating the need for remediation programs. Many teachers noted that it was likely that fewer children would be referred to expensive and often ineffective special education programs as a result. As Maryann Wainstock, a kindergarten teacher at PS 198 in Manhattan concluded, "For years, I've been saying that the largest problem with the public schools was overly large classes. For me that is the most important thing - smaller classes are better than having push-in teachers or special programs. With a smaller class, you can get to the children who need it, particularly in early childhood."

Recommendations for Implementation
No more than two classes per floating teacher

EPP observed ways in which class size reduction implementation could be improved at certain schools. The first of our recommendations relates to the floating teacher program, which was designed for those schools that were too overcrowded to create new classes to reduce class size. Additional teachers were hired with federal funds to go into regular classrooms on a daily basis to provide small group instruction in literacy and math. In some schools, the program seemed to be working well, but in others, the floating teacher was a new hire who had been assigned to work in too many classrooms without enough time and training to be able to do the job properly.

EPP concluded that floating teachers should have time built into their schedules so that they can coordinate their activities with the regular classroom teachers and be provided with enough professional development to enable them to reach the often quite challenging group of students they are supposed to instruct. Most importantly, floating teachers should not be spread thinly among too many classrooms. If floating teachers are assigned to no more than two classrooms, this would help ensure that they be able to get to know their students well, have time to coordinate their respective responsibilities with the regular classroom teachers and be able to attend parent-teacher conferences on a periodic basis.

Reduce Grade Levels Consistently

Another problem we noted was an inconsistency across schools as to which grade level classes were reduced. Research shows that the greatest and most lasting benefits result from providing smaller classes to kindergartners and first graders and then making sure that these students remain in smaller classes for at least three years.

Indeed, the instructions from the chancellor's office were explicit that schools should reduce class size first for their kindergarten students, then first graders, etc. Yet, in some of the schools we visited that did not have the space or the funds to reduce class sizes in all of their early grades, smaller classes had been provided for second and third graders before younger students, even though research is at best equivocal as to whether there are benefits for students who are placed in smaller classes for only one year and starting as late as the second or third grade.

Reduced Class Sizes for All Early Grade Students

EPP also noted that in some schools, smaller classes were provided for only the most at-risk children, even though class size reduction has been proven to be most effective as a strategy eliminating the need for remediation. Unfortunately, under the combined pressures of limited resources and higher standards, many schools will continue to make the Hobson's choice of providing smaller classes to only their most underachieving and most at-risk children, rather than helping to ensure that all children succeed in the first place.

All this underscores the need to make sure that the financial support for this program is maintained and expanded as originally planned. Otherwise, with the limited and uncertain funding stream that now exists, some schools will continue to give smaller classes to children in the kindergarten and first grade, others to their second and third graders, and still others to only their lowest-achieving students, with little chance to create the sustained benefits that only three years in a smaller class can provide.

As questions were being raised in Albany this spring regarding the implementation of the class size reduction initiative, EPP was able to provide Smaller is Better to state legislators before budget negotiations were finalized. We were gratified when the leaders of the Assembly and the Senate agreed to fund the LADDER program at the previously agreed-upon level, despite the opposition of the governor, including $140 million for class size reduction, $88 million of which is expected to flow to New York City. This amount is in addition to the federal funds for class size reduction that President Clinton wrested from a reluctant Congress, of which $66 million are expected to come to New York City next fall.

Create Additional Classrooms for Fall 2000

EPP is concerned that there may not be enough classroom space in the city's chronically overcrowded school system to fully utilize the total estimated $154 million in state and federal funds provided next fall to hire new teachers for class size reduction. Thus, the Panel asked Mayor Giuliani, Speaker Vallone and Chancellor Levy to create additional classroom capacity through leasing, so that as many New York City children as possible are able to gain the myriad benefits from smaller classes delineated in our report (see pg. 9). To this end, EPP recommended that an increase be made in the Board of Education Expense Budget, earmarked to provide additional room for class size reduction starting next fall, in the amount of $20.5 million for fiscal year 2000-01, and $49.1 million for FY 2001-2. In June, the council approved a $24 million addition to the BOE facilities plan, but none of this is earmarked for leasing or the creation of more classroom space.