Small Classes Give Extra Boost To Low-achieving Students

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014122045.htm

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Small classes in early grades improve test scores in later grades for students of all achievement levels, but low achievers get an extra boost. That's the finding of a study on the long-term effects of class size in the November issue of the American Journal of Education.

The study suggests that reducing class size in early grades provides a dual benefit: It raises achievement for all students through middle school, while also closing the persistently large gap between high- and low-achievers, say authors Spyros Konstantopoulos from Michigan State University and Vicki Chung from Northwestern University.

According to the study, small classes—13 to 17 students—are most effective when they are consistent from kindergarten through third grade. Students in consistently small early classes had substantially higher test scores in grades four through eight than students who had been in larger classes. Students at all achievement levels benefited, but low achievers showed stronger benefits in reading and science.

Exposure to a small class in third grade alone also had some long-term benefits, the study found. But those benefits were smaller, and about equal for high and low achievers.

"One year of exposure in small classes is not enough [to influence the achievement gap]," Konstantopoulos said. "It appears that class size reduction is most effective for all students and low achievers in particular, if it is implemented early in elementary grades and for multiple years."