How does class size impact the success of an individual student?
By: Jessica maciuch
Public education is a system centered around providing the general public with opportunities to receive a standardized learning experience. However, the focus of education as a system to teach the masses often leaves the needs of the individual ignored or left with inadequate resources for personal success. This impersonal tendency of public education can be seen in the issue of class size, as an overpopulated classroom often leaves students without an adequate amount of attention from teachers and other important staff members. When considering the effect on an individual student, two factors compose the largest measurable data of student outcome: student achievement scores (standardized tests/grades) and the classroom environment. Conclusive quantitative data that class size affects student achievement has been widely collected and debated, but interviews with teachers and other testimonies show the undeniable effect of class size on the classroom environment surrounding an individual student.
Class size and academic achievement
The effect of class size on student achievement has been widely investigated, resulting in hundreds of studies showing an inconsistent trend in results. The variety of credible studies show a fairly even distribution of findings that support the positive, negative, and neutral effects of a small class size on student achievement.
The Tennessee 1999 Student Teacher Achievement Ratio project, one of the most widely referenced studies done on this topic, shows a very clear correlation between class size and student achievement, with students in a class with an average of 15 students scoring 0.22 standard deviations higher than classes with an average of 22 students (Chingos, Whitehurst 1). In the context of the Tennessee STAR study, 0.22 standard deviations were the equivalent of 3 months of schooling, showing that students in smaller classes tended to cover more material and had a more solid understanding of a standard curriculum. A similar study done by Lee and Loeb shows that students in smaller classes scored up to 0.35 standard deviations higher in a mathematics class than students in a larger class, data that can largely be attributed to the individualized attention given to students in smaller classes (17).
"Students in the smaller classes having received [the equivalent of] about 3 months more schooling than the students in the regular classes," (Chingos, Whitehurst 1).
However, two credible studies contradict the findings of the Tennessee STAR project and the Lee and Loeb study, arguing that reducing class size does not produce a tangible improvement in student achievement. A study done by Dee and West found that "the same students did not perform better in the subjects in which they had smaller classes," showing that student achievement is as much a factor of student attitude towards education as it is a factor of class size (Chingos, Whitehurst 1). Another study done by Chingos, in response to a policy passed by Florida legislature to reduce average class size, found "no evidence that the Florida policy had any impact on [mathematics and reading] test scores in grades 3 through 8," showing that the immense gap in achievement trends shown by the Tennessee STAR project were not prevalent in other states (Chingos, Whitehurst 1).
Class Size and Classroom Environment
According to an interview with Ms. Jennifer Harned, a high school history teacher with teaching experience in multiple Chicago public schools, classroom management proved to be the biggest obstacle in an overpopulated classroom. In the interview, Harned describes a need to "establish a culture in which all the students are buying into a [...] clear presence and purpose as a teacher." Asserting authority over a classroom allows the teacher to maintain control of the curriculum pace and effectiveness. However, a larger class means that the teacher must assert control over a larger group, risking more challenges to authority and more students to manage. Classroom management becomes a more demanding issue as class size increases, often leading to teachers spending more time on managing many students than teaching the students. A simple lecture is difficult to accomplish in a large as “teachers struggle to […] give instructions above the din of 40 plus kids,” and each student is denied the opportunity to focus on the curriculum (Preble 1).
With a larger classroom, individual students are often left without the guidance of a teacher when the teacher is forced to provide attention to every student in the class. Ms. Jennifer Harned asserts that "with larger class sizes, [focus is on] the middle of the class," meaning that the needs of the individual student are sacrificed for the needs of the majority of the class. Curriculum adjustments, made to benefit the average student in the class, often prove to be overwhelming for students with trouble in the subject, and not challenging enough for students that are doing very well in the subject. Teachers face the additional problem of trying not to "punish the [higher level students] for moving faster and processing things more quickly" by giving the higher level students extra classwork to keep them engaged. The demand to balance the needs of every student in an overcrowded classroom produces extreme amounts of stress on the teacher lead to "stressful working conditions for teachers and [...] higher teacher absenteeism," which often translates into an off-schedule curriculum and gaps in understanding for the student ("Impact of Inadequate School Facilities on Student Learning" 1).
With a larger classroom, individual students are often left without the guidance of a teacher when the teacher is forced to provide attention to every student in the class. Ms. Jennifer Harned asserts that "with larger class sizes, [focus is on] the middle of the class," meaning that the needs of the individual student are sacrificed for the needs of the majority of the class. Curriculum adjustments, made to benefit the average student in the class, often prove to be overwhelming for students with trouble in the subject, and not challenging enough for students that are doing very well in the subject. Teachers face the additional problem of trying not to "punish the [higher level students] for moving faster and processing things more quickly" by giving the higher level students extra classwork to keep them engaged. The demand to balance the needs of every student in an overcrowded classroom produces extreme amounts of stress on the teacher lead to "stressful working conditions for teachers and [...] higher teacher absenteeism," which often translates into an off-schedule curriculum and gaps in understanding for the student ("Impact of Inadequate School Facilities on Student Learning" 1).
tackling the issue
As class size increases, the stability and effectiveness of the classroom environment decreases. Therefore, efforts to relieve the stress of overcrowded class sizes must be refocused on the individual classroom, not the general and impersonal outcome of students as determined by test scores. Advancements must be made to help each teacher give each student the attention they deserve, while maintaining control of the classroom as a whole. The very state of unequal class size presents varying classroom environments that deny all students the right to an equal and fair opportunity in education. If every student is to achieve, every student must be presented with an education that takes into account all aspects of the learning process, with classroom environment taking its rightful place as a significant factor in student academic achievement.
Works Cited
Chingos, Matthew, and Grover Whitehurst. "Class Size: What Research Says and What it Means for State Policy." The Brookings Institution, 11 May 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2011/05/11-class-size-whitehurst-chingos>
Harned, Jennifer. Interview by Elexis Mitchell. Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2014.
"Impact of Inadequate School Facilities on Student Learning." Archived Information. United States Department of Education, 3 Apr. 2000. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OESE/archives/inits/construction/impact2.html>.
Lee, Valerie , and Susanna Loeb. "School Size in Chicago Elementary Schools: Effects on Teachers' Attitudes and Students' Achievement." American Educational Research Journal 37.1 (2000): 17. Jstor. Web. 27 Feb. 2014 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1163470>.
Preble, Laura. "Teach Hub." Classroom Overcrowding: It's Not Just a Number's Game. Teach Hub, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.teachhub.com/classroom- overcrowding>.
Harned, Jennifer. Interview by Elexis Mitchell. Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2014.
"Impact of Inadequate School Facilities on Student Learning." Archived Information. United States Department of Education, 3 Apr. 2000. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OESE/archives/inits/construction/impact2.html>.
Lee, Valerie , and Susanna Loeb. "School Size in Chicago Elementary Schools: Effects on Teachers' Attitudes and Students' Achievement." American Educational Research Journal 37.1 (2000): 17. Jstor. Web. 27 Feb. 2014 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1163470>.
Preble, Laura. "Teach Hub." Classroom Overcrowding: It's Not Just a Number's Game. Teach Hub, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.teachhub.com/classroom- overcrowding>.