BENEFITS OF CLASS SIZE REDUCTION

Studies have shown that if there is a "magic bullet" in raising the educational achievement of students, it is in reducing class size, particularly in the early grades. As Alex Molnar of the University of Wisconsin has recently concluded, "There is no longer any argument about whether or not reducing class size in the primary grades increases student achievement. The evidence is quite clear: It does." Why are smaller classes so effective in helping children to learn?

• Reducing class size makes sure that increased expenditures get to the classroom, where they belong.
• Controlled studies from Tennessee, Milwaukee and elsewhere show that children who are in smaller classes jump ahead in their reading and math scores. The Tennessee class-size study, called STAR, demonstrated that children in every socio-economic group benefit from spending time in smaller classes. The research also shows that these educational gains have lasted for years, even after students returned to larger classes.
• As schools move towards standards-based education, smaller classes are increasingly critical. Marc Tucker, the President of the National Center on Education and the Economy, considered the "guru" of standards-based education, calls for reducing the size of classes in grades K-2. Reduced class sizes are also important as teaching methods increasingly emphasize hands-on and individualized learning, rather than rote memorization.
• Smaller classes especially benefit children from low-income backgrounds who need more support. Results from Wisconsin reveal that low-income first graders in small classes score significantly higher in reading and math than similar students in larger classes. African-American males made the largest gains, with test scores 40% above the control group. In the Tennessee program, a 12% gap between white and black students in passing a first grade skills test was reduced to only 1% for those who were in smaller classes.
• Smaller classes enable teachers to focus more on instruction and less on classroom discipline. Suspensions in three suburban Sacramento school district are down 19 percent since the state of California lowered class sizes in grades K- 3.
• • Reduced class size saves money, because it prevents many unnecessary referrals into expensive special education programs. Teachers can identify children with special learning problems early and give them effective help in the regular classroom. In the same three California districts, referrals of students to special education have dropped 16 percent.
• In California, reduced class sizes have caused parents to return to the public school system, after having earlier sent their children to private schools. Smaller class sizes will also keep more middle class families in New York City rather than move to the suburbs, causing them to remain on the city’s tax rolls.
• Reducing class sizes throughout the New York state will also help recruit highly qualified teachers to urban settings, rather than suburban schools where smaller classes are the norm. Smaller classes will also lead teachers to stay teaching longer, because they won’t burn out as easily.

It is for these and other reasons that more than 20 states have moved towards or are in the process of reducing class size. Surveys in states like California that have achieved smaller classes reveal that parents, teachers and principals are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the result and convinced that the process was well worth the extra effort and expenditure involved.