Does Class Size Actually Matter? Essay

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.

According to Malcolm Gladwell chapter two, economist Caroline Hoxby did some research and found there wasn’t any significant data indicating smaller classrooms had a greater effect on a child academic learning skills. Gladwell made it a point in his story to notion details contending smaller classroom sizes are not necessarily the best learning environment.

There are heavy debates on this issue, Berliner and Glass make an argument for smaller class sizes based on the result of teacher’s workload, “The more students a teacher is responsible for, the greater the demand on the teacher’s time in school, and this inevitable impacts his or her life outside of work. Designing an educational policy resulting in more work for the same pay has consequences.” (2014, p.90) When there is more work with no raise in pay, teachers will begin to resent the late nights and the busier days. There is a higher risk of teacher turnover and other potential situations that can interrupt a school

In The New York Times “Tight Budgets Mean Squeeze in Classrooms” author Sam Dillon discusses that due to budget cuts and lack of funds, schools are being forced to put a large number of kids in one classroom ultimately damaging their learning. Everyday kids walk into class ready to learn only to find that that might not be the case. With class sizes busting out at the seams many kids are suffering and being left out. Back in the day there were very aggressive laws in place to protect class size in schools. The laws restricted how many kids there could be per teacher.

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.

With the lack of high-quality research related to the effects of class size on student achievement, there is not a valid argument for decreasing class size in our schools. Additionally, taking on the extra 1-2 students in each class will only help with master scheduling issues and course offerings. If we continue to reduce class size, our students are the ones who will be negatively impacted as we will be unable to provide certain courses for all students. There are instances when a teacher may have one to two sections of a given class, and if we are a few students over, those students cannot take the course they want, or possibly need. This is not an issue we want to face, nor do we want to deny our students a proper education that fits their own individual needs. The flexibility of being able to include up to 36 students in any one class ensures that there is enough space for more of our students. In an effort to convince the Teachers Association to concede to this change, it is appropriate to offer them something in return. In this instance, it may be fitting to offer to keep elementary class size pupil-teacher ratio to 1:28, making it clear that we will not ask to increase their class size if they agree to the 4-12 growth. Increasing class size is vital for the district as we are forging ahead into uncertain times with the closing of our primary source of revenue, Diablo Canyon. We have to be

The issue of class is a predominant topic in the world’s social discourse because in every society, there must be the rich and the poor. It is estimated that in this country, there are 38 million people living in absolute poverty. This has created a very huge disparity in the manner in which people live in the society; their lifestyles and general well being. To compound the situation further, the general norm regarding class is that the rich often get richer as days go by while the poor consistently become poorer (Mathews 13). Bell Hooks in her book “Where we stand: Class Matters,” sought to give an insight on the general concept of class as it is today. In this book, the author propagates three main ideas. To start with, Bell argues that the question of class cuts across all other dimensions of life including gender, race, religion and sexuality. Secondly, she posits that religion is has been a very instrumental tool in bridging the gap between classes. Finally, Bell observes that the proclamation that we live in a classless society is flawed in every sense of the world. This paper seeks to make an incisive elucidation of the three observations that Bell makes in her book.

Legislators, teachers and parents produce many groups in America 's society that are most interested in improving primary education. These actors recognize the importance of improving primary education to create a more stable, knowledgeable and successful society for all of the country. One highly debated issue in education reform is the student to teacher ratio in classrooms. Many parents and teachers want to see a decrease in class sizes so that students receive more individualized education and become more socially developed. Conversely, a large sum of Americans, mainly government officials, are not convinced that reducing class sizes will lead to the outcome that activists and parents are imagining. Student education at a primary level affects all of society, either directly or indirectly. America is highly concerned with education reform, and decreasing the amount of students per class in grades K through three is a logical solution to better the education provided to American students. Class size reductions cause for many positive effects such as more individualized learning, better developed social skills and a more educated youth leading to a more successful society in the future. Education reform can best be achieved through decreasing the number of students in classes, especially at the primary level.

In recent years, the topic of class size reduction has come to light in the United States. "There is little doubt that reducing class size can boost student achievement in some circumstances," Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institution Brown Center says. Class size reduction is becoming more and more demanded to help meet the needs of todays society and education. According to the Center For Public Education, 'student achievement in grades K-3 increased when the class size dropped'. Class size reduction has been debated about for years in the US and is now being extensively studied. Class size reduction continues to have positive affects on school districts and is now more commonly practiced in the United States because of the high

One reason why elementary schools should have smaller class sizes is because students are able to receive more one on one time with their teacher. Students are allowed to enhance their learning by being able to concentrate fully and receive the proper engagement with their teacher. According to Garrett Delavan, 12 students per class is more beneficial. He proclaims that, “Common sense and research suggest that there is an optimal grouping size range where peer and adult interaction mutually benefit one another” (94). While agreeing with Delavan, students should be given the chance to be more familiar with their peers and teacher. Allowing 12 students per class, provides students the chance to interact with each other regularly. This is beneficial to both the student and the teacher’s by allowing them to build a stronger relationship. Teachers can easily split these 12 students into groups and have more time to recognize each student. Students are also allowed to focus

teachers over the next seven years to help reduce class sizes to reach the national

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 discussions of class sizes, one controversial issue has been the number of students in one class matter to how the students learn. On one hand, some students argue that they learn better in large classes. On the other hand, the majority student body can’t focus in large classes; they prefer small classes. Other even maintain number of students in classes for the size really matters. My own view is large classes are too noise and distracting, therefore, there needs to be smaller classes.When it comes to the topic of how are the statistics on passing students in larger classes compared to the statistics in small classes, most of us will readily agree that students should be passing no matter how big or small the classes are. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what are the statistics between the two. Where as some are convinced that students should be able to understand and get the knowledge to pass the class, others maintain that students struggle with the concept of learning, which makes it difficult to get assignment done. In conclusion, then, as I suggested earlier, defenders of class sizes can’t have it both ways. Their assertion that class sizes shouldn’t matter is contradicted by their claim that students will learn better and easier with more peers around them and not a lot of one- on- one with the teacher.

A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly

As captain of her high school hockey team, leader of the art club, and the lead in the school play my close friend was very involved in high school. Of course, this is a lot of achievements, but she also did not have a lot of competition coming from a school with a graduating class of one hundred and fifty. Given more involvement smaller schools seem to be fantastic, but do larger schools send more graduates to college? With this I researched the question if high school size has an effect on college enrollment. While compiling all my data, I also focused directly on four specific Minnesota colleges in 2014.