Small class sizes produce long-term benefits

NEA Today, Sep 1999

A 14-year study shows that students who enjoyed small K-3 class sizes still excelled when they hit high school.

Tennessee's Student-- Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project reported in 1997 that students placed in classes of 13 to 17 children throughout their K-3 years outperformed students in standard classes of 22 to 25.

The students in this 14-year, $12 million study now are entering adulthood, and the latest results point to a possible lifetime of benefits from small class sizes.

What happened to these students when they left their smaller classes?

Project STAR researchers tracked 11,600 students in 79 Tennessee schools and found that students who attended small classes in grades K-3 continued to outperform their peers even after they returned to regular-size classes in fourth grade.

These youngsters were six to 14 months ahead of their regular-class peers in math, reading, and science when they reached fourth, sixth, and eighth grades (see chart).

Students needed at least three years in a small class to sustain the advantage through later grades.

How about when these students reached high school^

Bigger advantages showed up as students got older.

The newest data. culled from records of 3,000 participants. show that those enrolled in small classes as youngsters were more likely to:

Graduate on time-72 percent of students. versus 66 percent from regular classes and 65 percent from classes with a paraprofessional.

Complete more advanced math and English courses.

Complete high school-19 percent dropped out. versus 23 percent from regular classes and 26 percent from classes with a paraprofessional.

Graduate with honors.

Don't smaller classes mean increased spending?

Dr. Helen Pate-Bain. the lead researcher on this project. found that small classes could actually save at least $3.5 million per year in Tennessee school costs. with fewer children having to repeat grades.

The increased earning power of the additional high school graduates could bring another $2 million annually into the economy. Social service expenditures could also decline. because high school graduates are more likely to work and less likely to need welfare.

How does small class size affect minority achievement?

Princeton University researchers tracked down more than 9,000 STAR students in the class of 1998 and found that 40.2 percent of Black students from the small classes took the SAT or ACT. In contrast, 31.7 percent of Black students from regular-size classes and 34 percent from classes with a paraprofessional took one of the exams.

The percentages of white students from all three types of classes who took an exam did not differ by more than 2.1 percent.

Small classes narrowed the gap between the number of Black and white students taking the ACT or SAT by 54 percent.

"Early on, we showed that minority boys in small classes made the greatest gains of any youngsters," says Pate-Bain, a former NEA president. "The new data show the gains have lasted. The gap we closed is staying that way."

What does the study tell us about teacher effectiveness?

Researchers studied 50 Project STAR teachers whose students ranked in the top 15 percent in gains made on standardized reading and math tests.

Love for children was cited as a critical element in the effectiveness of teaching. "If you don't like children. for God's sake get out of teaching," says Pate-Bain.

Other qualities common to teachers of high-performing classes were:

Promoting creative writing. handson experience. learning centers, and manipulatives.

Being a good listener, giving immediate feedback. and having high student expectations.

Preparing instruction in advance. reteaching material when needed. and encouraging peer tutoring.

Showing enthusiasm. flexibility, patience. assertiveness. and a sense of humor.

Communicating effectively with parents.

Making home visits to students.

But Pate-Bain cautions: "I don't care how effective your teacher is. If you give her too many kids. she can't be effective."

What does the future hold for small class size?

NEA supports an optimum class size of 15 students, with smaller numbers in programs for students with exceptional needs.

Some 20 states have initiated or at least considered reducing class size. But finding enough certified teachers and sufficient classroom space are critical problems.

Congress has okayed spending $1.2 billion for a Clinton Administration program to hire 30,000 new teachers in fiscal year 1999. President Clinton proposes to continue the program over the next seven years. hiring a total of 100.000 new teachers. But his proposal for a S1.4 billion appropriation to hire 8,000 teachers for this next year must be approved by October.

Want to help win that approval?

Check the NEA Web page at www.nea.org for the latest update on what you can do to convince Congress to support smaller classes.

Need More Information?

For more on Project STAR and class size issues. visit the Web at www.telalink. net/~heros or contact layne BoydZaharias. director, Health and Research Operative Services. Inc.. P.O. Box 1271 Lebanon. TN 37088-1271. 615/4497904. E-mail: heros@telalink.net