February 2002 | Volume 59 | Number 5

Class Size, School Size

Why Think Small?

Marge Scherer

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Small Classes, Small Schools: The Time Is Now

Patricia A. Wasley

Several factors have led to the resurgence of class size and school size issues, including the standards movement, the belief that all students can learn, and the desire to create schools and classrooms in which students are known well by caring adults. In fact, large schools are a fairly recent phenomenon in U.S. education. Research seems to indicate that small classes and schools promote learning for all students. The author’s own experience has convinced her that smaller, more personal learning communities enable teachers to individualize the learning experience for students.

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Small Class Size and Its Effects

Bruce J. Biddle and David C. Berliner

With so many studies on the effects of small class size, why are there so many disagreements about these studies’ results? In this condensation of a research synthesis sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of its series, In Pursuit of Better Schools: What Research Says, the authors carefully examine and evaluate the findings and limitations of early research studies and subsequent programs in Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and California. They suggest that although the results of individual studies are always limited, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests several conclusions in favor of small classes, including that small classes in the early grades generate substantial gains for students in a variety of academic disciplines, that students retain these gains in later years, and that gains are greater for students who have traditionally been disadvantaged in education. The authors explore two theories for why small classes have positive effects and suggest several conditions that have held back reform efforts despite the available evidence. They conclude that the issue is not whether small classes work but whether citizens value a quality public education for all students.

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Measuring Class Size: Let Me Count the Ways

Charles M. Achilles, Jeremy D. Finn and Helen Pate-Bain

Pupil-teacher ratio and class size are not the same thing, and using the terms interchangeably confounds how people think about class size and accomplish class-size reduction. Class size involves organizing groups of students for the delivery of instruction, whereas pupil-teacher ratio is an administrative statistic that helps to account for the distribution of resources. Research indicates that such pupil-teacher ratio interventions as the use of specialized teachers, aides, and pullout programs are essentially ineffective in improving student achievement. By contrast, a growing body of research indicates that reducing class size may lead to positive student (and teacher) outcomes. Researchers have determined that class-size reduction programs that begin in the primary grades, that last for several years, and that keep students in small classes all day every day are most effective.

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The Downside to Small Class Policies

Kirk A. Johnson

Class size reduction initiatives are popular with politicians and the public, but hiring the additional teachers necessary to reduce class sizes is very expensive. California’s broad-reaching class size reduction program has so far produced mixed results. Some researchers have questioned studies that found significant differences in achievement between students in classes of 15 students per teacher and those in large classes. A study of the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment indicated that the differences in reading achievement between students in smaller classes and their peers in large classes were statistically insignificant. The author concludes that in terms of raising achievement, reducing class size does not guarantee success. Given the inconclusiveness of evidence on the impact of class size reduction on student achievement, the author suggests that policymakers and educators avoid committing themselves in haste to costly, unproven initiatives.

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The Bear Den: An Elementary Teaching Team

Gail McGoogan

Growing enrollments, limited funding, and the necessity of using existing buildings often make it difficult or even impossible for school districts to create and maintain small schools. Yet educators recognize that smaller learning units can provide the continuity and sense of community that larger schools may lack. The author of this article describes how the benefits of the small school setting were achieved by a vertical teaching team encompassing grades 1 through 5. Challenges included getting administrative approval, setting up a workable space, determining curriculum content, and coordinating instruction across the grades. Functioning as a school-within-a school, the vertical teaching team enables the author and her colleagues to provide a more coherent curriculum, smooth transitions from grade to grade, and flexible grouping to meet students’ individual needs. The results have been positive in terms of both student attitudes and student achievement.

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Every Classroom Teacher's Dream

Patricia Handley

A teacher recounts how her year with a class of fifteen 2nd graders resulted in academic and social growth unparalleled in any of her larger classes. According to the author, a smaller class leads to a connected classroom community, where children are recognized for their contributions and are invested in daily learning activities. Children respect their peers and help maintain order. They have more time for collaborative, hands-on work and can make their own predictions, formulate their own findings, and draw their own conclusions. Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teachers can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students' academic achievement.

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Big Schools: The Way We Are

Rick Allen

Large schools are a fact of American life. Although school size and its link to academic achievement and social and emotional well-being have been debated insistently in the current wave of school reform, the arguments are taking place in an education landscape of big schools that is unlikely to change soon. Researchers say that large schools are a result of Americans’ penchants for efficiency, economies of scale, and curricular choice, and their belief that it’s cheaper to educate more students in one building than in several. The article looks at several large high schools and examines school stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of bigness in student achievement and its influence on school programs, successes, and failures.

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Do Communities Want Small Schools?

Jean Johnson

Although they tend to associate smaller schools with small class sizes, a strong sense of community, teachers who take a personal interest in students, low dropout rates, and high parental involvement, few parents or teachers have given the idea of reducing school size much serious consideration. In a survey of parents and teachers of high school students conducted by Public Agenda, respondents suggested that other issues—specifically, small class size, stronger discipline, and even improved teacher pay—are more critical. The research also indicates that proposals to break up large high schools could prompt considerable local debate. School and district leaders intent on reducing school sizes should actively engage the community in the process and ensure stakeholders that reducing school size won’t inadvertently swell class sizes.

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The Policy Environments of Small Schools and Schools-Within-Schools

Mary Anne Raywid

School downsizing has become a growing movement, not only in large cities but also in other types of communities across the nation. In this article, author Mary Anne Raywid describes the ways that current education policies and structures act as barriers to school downsizing. Raywid describes seven models of school downsizing that have been implemented in schools and districts, varying from a superintendent’s districtwide mandate to a grassroots initiative created by parents and teachers in one school. She discusses why school districts must meet the challenges of school downsizing by creating new and different policies to govern new schools instead of dealing with conflicts by creating waivers and exceptions to existing policy.

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The Case for Small High Schools

Tom Vander Ark

High schools have lagged behind in education reform efforts, and too many students—particularly students of color—are suffering the consequences, as indicated by low achievement levels and high dropout rates. The large size of many high schools appears to be a critical factor, and a growing number of educators are designing small schools as a remedy. Researchers have linked small high schools with positive effects in student achievement, safety, student involvement, cost-effectiveness, and professional community. Examples in urban and rural areas support their findings. Smallness doesn’t ensure success, however. Good small schools display strong leadership at all levels, and they need autonomy to deal with curriculum, budget, and staffing. With the necessary elements in place, small schools provide a personalized learning environment that can help all students achieve.

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Beyond Size: The Challenge of High School Reform

Pedro A. Noguera

Public high schools present the greatest challenge for school reform. Reducing the size of a high school is a necessary but insufficient step toward improving school quality. Beyond size, all schools must have a clear mission that teachers, students, and parents understand and find meaningful; empowered educators who can bring a sense of passion to creating new schools; clear criteria for accountability; and the determination to provide a high-quality education to all students.

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How Smaller Schools Prevent School Violence

Michael Klonsky

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Small Schools: The Benefits of Sharing

Joe Nathan

Throughout the United States, educators, parents, and community groups are creating small schools and sharing facilities. The results of these innovative schools and collaborations are encouraging: improved student achievement, higher graduation rates, and better faculty morale. The author summarizes the research on small schools and then provides examples of small schools that have had significant success, including the El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice in New York City, a suburban schools-within-a-school at South Grand Prairie High School near Dallas, and the Minnesota New Country School, a rural cooperative school in Minnesota. The author argues that these innovations are desirable, cost-effective, and doable.

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Just Let Us Be: The Genesis of a Small Public School

Deborah Meier

Designing and implementing a new, small, public school of choice is a daunting challenge. The author describes her experiences developing small elementary and secondary schools in New York City and a pilot elementary school in Boston. She concludes that there are some challenges that these schools face no matter how much support they receive from community and district leaders. At the same time, she notes that those small schools that have conquered challenges, survived, and thrived share certain characteristics, including a commonly held vision of the school’s purpose, a collegial culture, shared decision making, strong ties to students’ families, teachers who feel appreciated for their devotion to the school, and at least one strong supporter among the district’s leaders.

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Themes for Educational Leadership 2002–2003

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Do Smaller Classes Change Instruction?

John H. Holloway

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Quit Obsessing!

Steven C. Schlozman

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Dear Firefighters

David Gonzalez

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ASCD in Action

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Web Wonders

Carolyn R. Pool

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EL Extra

Carolyn Pool

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