10 Findings about Class Size

Every teacher knows it: Smaller classes are better for students.

We can interact with each student more. They can interact with each other more. They are more engaged, more interested, and less distracted. The class as a whole is more easily managed, preserving precious class time. We can give more individualized feedback on their work. We can especially help them with writing in a way that is simply physically impossible with larger classes.

But research usually speaks louder than teachers. Last week, I wrote a paper about class size and came across the following nuggets:

1. Students in smaller classes are more engaged and have a more positive attitude toward learning (NEA, 2008).
2. Smaller classes reduce delinquent behavior and pregnancy rates (Jerkins, 2015).
3. Students from smaller classes are more likely to take the SAT or ACT (NEA, 2008).
4. Small class sizes increase the rate of college attendance (Dynarski, Hyman, & Schanzenbach, 2011).
5. Minority and low-income students especially benefit (Mosteller, 1995).
6. Students from smaller classes earn more as adults (Fredriksson, Öckert, & Oosterbeek, 2013).
7. Students from smaller classes are more likely to own a home and a 401K as adults (Chetty, Friedman, Hilger, Saez, Schanzenbach, & Yagan, 2011).
8. Since students from small classes are more likely to attend college, they generate more income, and thus pay more income tax throughout their lives, making smaller classes much more cost effective to society (Muennig & Woolf, 2007).
9. Since students from small classes are more likely to attend college, they get better jobs, have better health care, and ultimately rely less on Medicare and Medicaid (Muennig & Woolf, 2007).
10. Reducing class size is more cost-effective to improving society’s general health than most public health interventions (Muennig & Woolf, 2007).

Why, then, do we have a nation of 26 or more students packed in a room? It’s a short-term solution, and we are already living with the detrimental results. The cost of hiring effective teachers is small change compared to the benefits of a more educated, more motivated, higher-earning, healthier populace.

References

Chetty, R., Friedman, J.N., Hilger, N., Saez, E., Schanzenbach, D. W., & Yagan, D. (2011). How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from project star. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(4). Retrieved from http://www.classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Chetty-et-al-2011.pdf

Dynarski, S., Hyman, J., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2011). Experimental evidence on the effect of childhood investment on postsecondary attainment and degree completion. Retrieved from http://www.classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dynarski-120426.pdf

Fredriksson, P., Öckert, B. & Oosterbeek, H. (2013). Long-term effects of class size. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128 (1). Retrieved from http://www.classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SSRN-id1906182.pdf

Jerkins, M. (2015). Too many kids. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/too-many-kids/397451/

Muennig, P., & Woolf, S. H. (2007). Health and economic benefits of reducing the number of students per classroom in US primary schools. American Journal of Public Health. 97(11). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2040354/

Mosteller, F. (1995). The Tennessee study of class size in the early school grades. Critical Issues for Children and Youths. 5(2). pp. 113-127.

NEA. (2008). Class size reduction: A proven reform strategy. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/PB08_ClassSize08.pdf