Last weekend the National Invitational Conference of the Early Childhood Research Collaborative was held at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis. The Bank and the U of M Center for Early Education and Development were joint sponsors.

A discussion of class size was led by Jeremy D. Finn at the University at Buffalo - SUNY. He concluded that smaller class sizes at the earliest grades had substantial benefits especially for minority students.

His paper (co-authored by Allison Suriani & Charles M. Achilles) was titled “Small Classes in the Early Grades: One Policy - Multiple Outcomes”. He began by refuting a widely held opinion that lower pupil-teacher ratios showed little benefit. He argued that pupil-teacher ratios ignore the actual setting in which teachers are teaching and students are learning. He said that “it is not surprising that the relationship of PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio) with student achievement is weak at best” partly because studies have alternated between class size and pupil-teacher ratio, with no reference to the actual teaching or learning process in the classroom. (…)

Short-term findings were that small classes have academic benefits in every grade and in every subject tested in K-3. Benefits equated to 1/2 to 5-1/2 months of schooling. Starting early and continuing in small classes for multiple years also helped - “in general, the more the better.” (…)

Graduation rates were significantly impacted by small class participation. “For all students combined, the effects of attending small classes for 4 years increased the odds of graduation by about 80%.” The rates for low-income students with 3 or more years of small class participation were as high as those of higher-income students. (…)

In looking at why small classes affect student performance, systematic interview and classroom observations don’t support the hypothesis that smaller classes provide more individualized instruction. Studies do affirm that teachers of small classes spend more time on instruction and less on classroom management or matters of discipline, and have more time to “listen to children, to get to know their personal lives and concerns.” The most visible changes are not in teacher’s behavior, but in students’ behavior…more engaged in learning, and better behaved.

Other findings: In small classes all students feel pressure to participate, and the teacher can’t “easily ignore” any particular student. Students have a “sense of belonging” being more cohesive with splinter groups rare and benefiting from a “psychological sense of community”. (…)

Source: Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/8547