Although parents, teachers, and the public generally support reduced class sizes, the controversy over class size is still present among researchers. To contribute to this discussion, data was taken from European Expert Network on Economics of Education, The Tennessee Class Size Experiment, The National Educational Longitudinal Study datasets and used to direct different question: First, is class size important for academic achievement? Second, is there an effect of class size on academic performance? Third, are there factors influencing the relationship between class size and academic performance? However, the estimates suggest that the conjunction between class size and academic performance is obscure and unpredictable. Several researchers have examined at the problem, but no clear connection between class size and student results has been found. These results suggest that the impact of class size on student and school performance may be related to the family background of students, class, school, instructor, and location. We conclude that student’s achievements depend on multiple mentioned factors as well as their age differences.
See Full PDF See Full PDFED323643 - The Relationship of Class Size to Student Achievement: What the Research Says. Occasional Paper Series No. 3.
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International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE)
The class size debate is still ongoing among researchers, even though smaller class sizes are widely supported by parents, teachers, and the public. To contribute to this discussion, data was taken from the North Carolina (NC) School Report Cards (SRC) datasets and used to address two questions: First, is there a relationship between an elementary school’s performance score and average class size? Second, is there a relationship between a middle school’s performance score and average class size? Using the results from a linear regression and ordered logit, we find that average class size significantly predicts both NC elementary and middle school performance. However, the estimates suggest that higher average class size is negatively related to elementary school performance, but positively related to middle school performance. These results suggest that the impact of class size on student and school performance may depend on the grade levels in question, for example, elementary or middle school. We conclude that policymakers should act carefully when manipulating class sizes, since the effect may depend on the grade levels.
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ABSTRACT The relationship between class size and academic performance has been a perplexing one for educators. Although, several scholars have proposed various factors responsible for the poor performance of students, few research have been dedicated to the correlation between class size and academic achievement of students. This study therefore examines the relationship between class size and academic performance of students using some selected secondary schools in Agege Local Government area of Lagos State as case study. Four null hypotheses were raised and analysed using the simple percentage statistical analysis. Based on the findings, it was discovered that large class size negatively affects students’ academic performance. The study recommends that a national policy on teacher-student ratio should be implemented. More qualified teachers should be employed and workshops should be organized for already employed ones. More classrooms should be built with up-to-date facilities and improve on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) that would aid teaching-learning process.
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The Manchester School
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Executive Summary Class size is one of the small number of variables in American K-12 education that are both thought to influence student learning and are subject to legislative action. Legislative mandates on maximum class size have been very popular at the state level. In recent decades, at least 24 states have mandated or incentivized class-size reduction (CSR). The current fiscal environment has forced states and districts to rethink their CSR policies given the high cost of maintaining small classes. For example, 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 equivalent to the outlays of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal government's largest single K-12 education program. The substantial expenditures required to sustain smaller classes are justified by the belief that smaller classes increase student learning. We examine " what the research says " about whether class-size reduction has a positive impact on student learning and, if it does, by how much, for whom, and under what circumstances. Despite there being a large literature on class-size effects on academic achievement, only a few studies are of high enough quality and sufficiently relevant to be given credence as a basis for legislative action. The most influential and credible study of CSR is the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio, or STAR, study which was conducted in Tennessee during the late 1980s. In this 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. Studies of class size in Texas and Israel also found benefits of smaller classes, although the gains associated with smaller classes were smaller in magnitude than those in the Tennessee STAR study. Other rigorous studies have found mixed effects in California and in other countries, and no effects in Florida and Connecticut. Because the pool of credible studies is small and the individual studies differ in the setting, method, grades, and magnitude of class size variation that is studied,
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Journal of the European Economic Association
