Stephanie Robinson srobinson11@gmail.com 3/31/2014
Big Spending for Small Classes: Is It Worth It? – Literature Review
Introduction
There is much debate surrounding the topic of class sizes as they relate to student achievement. While advocates posit that smaller class sizes will allow teachers to provide more individualized attention to each student, critics believe that the funding needed to hire more teachers is not worth the meager gains students make in smaller classes
Although reducing class size is an expensive measure, Americans overwhelmingly support it. Dee and West (2011) report that, according to a study by Howell, West, and Peterson, “77% of American adults would prefer to see new educational dollars spent on reducing class sizes rather than on increasing teacher salaries” (p. 23). Americans value small class sizes, and , in an economy in which every dollar counts, the debate over class sizes takes greater priority as opposing sides push to spend funds on different policy initiatives.
The purpose of this literature review is to determine whether allocating funds to hire more teachers to have smaller class sizes is a valid use of school district funding. This review includes perspectives on the benefits for teaching, student behavior, and student academic achievement. This review presents arguments in favor of smaller class sizes because, based on the research and evidence, it is clear that smaller class sizes positively influence teacher practice, student behavior and motivation, and, most importantly, student achievement.
Teaching Benefits
Small class sizes positively influence teachers’ teaching. When Blatchford, Bassett, Goldstein, and Martin (2003) analyzed the effects of class sizes on teacher pract...
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...l academic program. The Tennessee STAR Project was the only study to have a control group and so was the only truly scientific study, allowing researchers to compare groups of students; the other studies were based on existing classes and did not offer a valid comparison.
Despite the evidence showing that small class sizes are better, many public schools have average class sizes of at least 30 students in each class. This situation is not working; President Obama has set a goal for the country to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, but the U.S. is steadily falling behind other industrialized countries. In order to increase student achievement and help reach President Obama’s 2020 goal, school districts should consider reallocating funds from other educational initiatives to programs to hire more teachers to reduce class sizes.
The latest amendment to the Florida constitution reduces the average class size in schools around the state. Although many people believe that smaller class size will help students learn by giving them more time individually with their teacher, studies prove that class size has little or no effect on student achievement. The class-size amendment is a waste of non-existent money, and in the long run, it will only hurt Florida’s economy and the education program.
Frank Johnson, a writer for the National Center for Education Statics, “Disparities in Public School Spending.” Reported in 1995, public education expenditures per student are higher in the nation's smallest districts whereas students receive an average fully adjusted expenditure of $4,862 versus $4,216 in the largest district’s 10,000 students and above. (Johnson 4)
AAA, for example, is a small school (“About the Academy”). The currently enrolled student body is made up of about 400 students, making the student to teacher ratio 15:1 (Best College Comparison). Another example is SAIC which is a medium sized school (“Compare Colleges”). SAIC has an average of 3,000-4,000 students enrolled a year. According to “SAIC”, about 83% of the classes at the school are small with less than 20 students. About 15% of the classes are medium with 20-49 students, and the final 1% of the classes have 50 or more. With classes this size, SAIC has an average student to teacher ratio of 9:1 (Best College Comparison). The final example is Columbia which happens to be a medium sized school. Columbia has an average of 9,000 students enrolled a year. According to “Columbia College Chicago”, the average class size at columbia is fewer than 20 students, making the student to teacher ratio 13:1. The school and classes are big enough to be able to work and learn from other students, but still be able to get one-on-one time with instructors. While class size is an important aspect of the decision making process, the cost of college is likely one of the biggest deciding
But the truth is that smaller classes and better teachers do improve student achievement. Members of our government claim that giving more money to schools will not make a difference, but the government funding for schools needs to be used effectively to see a change in student performance. (Connell)
In the 21st century, teachers experience many behavioral issues with students in the classroom and face challenges that are very difficult to resolve. School districts have different expectations about how students must behave during school and teachers have their own expectations about how students must behave in their classroom. Every educator has different classroom expectations and students must follow specific standards; therefore, the responsibility of the teacher is to discuss the standards with all students and make sure those expectations are clear. According to Jones and Jones (2016), teachers whose students made greater achievement gains were observed establishing rules and procedures, and carefully monitoring student’s work. In
Proper school funding is one of the keys to having a successful school. Americans believe that funding is the biggest problem in public schools. School improvements revolve around funding. There needs to be funding not only in the successful schools but also the schools that aren’t doing as well. In documentary, Waiting for Superman, it talks about how smaller class sizes will help students. Funding is what will help the smaller class sizes. State funding mechanisms are subject to intense political and economic scrutiny (Leonard). Studies have shown that funding is inversely related to accreditation levels (Leonard). School funding needs to be increased, but there must be accountability as well.
.... Having such high numbers of students in my classes did have negative effects on my learning. Without having teachers who knew me as an individual, I was left with a very impersonal learning environment. With having so many students in each of my classes, I had a very hard time having all of my questions answered by my teachers. The hardest part of having so many students in my classes was that I was often not the smartest one in there, and when I gave a wrong answer I was laughed at. It is not fair to feel intimidated by the amount of students in your classroom. No one should be afraid to learn for the fear of embarrassment. Students should not have the opportunity not to learn because the teacher can not relate to them, or because the teacher does not have the time to answer all their questions, or because their teacher only gives attention to the smarter students.
Now smart students should choose what class to go to, because they can be at a higher grade level learning , while the others ones still learning their grade and they can get bettter and be like the other smart kids. No, the class size don't affect the class , but a little bit becaus ewhen other and more students come in they won't have no seat and they'll have to seat on the floor. We also have bad computers that barely can work that's why we got chrome books which are better than the old broken torn down
Districts have to think about if it is worth the money to reduce class sizes, and if there is enough proof that students are academically better off in smaller class size rather than larger classes. According to Matthew Chingos and Grover Whitehurt authors of Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy, “Increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary cost alone” (Chingos, Whitehurt). Why would districts want to pay for the creation of smaller classes when they could save more by just adding more students to a class? This goes to show that there should not be a price tag on someone’s education. Why put more on a teacher’s plate just to save money? With the result from the Student Teacher Ratio, it is hard for districts to say that having smaller class sizes is not the way to spend money. If the districts spent the money on the class size reduction, they would not have to worry about an annual cost, because once small classes are set in place, the districts do not have to continue to pay. According to the National Education Association (NEA), having class size reductions do not only involve money but also create “improved health, less Medicaid coverage, lower crime rates, and fewer welfare recipients” (Class Size Reduction: A Proven Strategy). So, the districts should also look at this before being concerned to where their money goes. The district’s money, according to the NEA, is going into these students who will live a better life later on when they are out of school and into the real
Reducing class sizes is the key option, especially in California, because there are benefits when class sizes decrease. According to Northwestern University Associate Professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, “Class size is an important determinant of student outcomes… increasing class sizes will harm student outcomes” (Schanzenbach 3), class sizes determine the student’s success in class, and what will happen to students in small or large
All throughout the United States for the past several years, states are “hurting because of falling state revenues,” (Emeagwali), and schools are trying to cope with tremendous budget cuts that are resulting in less funds provided for educational services. These cuts are putting pressure on everyone invested in the education system, including students, teachers and any other administration within them (qtd. in Johnson 2), and the reduced budget is not solely affecting any particular level of schooling either. All levels of education, ranging from primary learning to advanced, have been affected (Emeagwali). Additionally, it is not just one or two states having to adjust their budgets; by 2002, “at least 40 states [had] been forced to consider budget cuts,” and these cuts have taken their toll on the amount of funding designated towards educational opportunities (Feldman). As pressures hit hard on state governments, a rise in educational budget cuts has resulted in deleterious effects on the level of education provided to students. As a result, researchers and infuriated teachers and parents have begun supporting education as it is ignored by government administration.
... Class size reduction is another area that would enable our school system to move forward. In a smaller size classroom, educational quality will be improved. Teachers have greater amount of time to build a solid ground for the students to flourish. Though changes need to take place in our current school system, I am thankful to be in a country where my children have the right to be educated.
If class sizes where smaller, teachers would be able to do more hands on activities and there would be less chance for distractions. Even through, teachers would be able to do more hands on activities and there would be less chance for distraction. Teachers could do more hands-on activities in a science class likesuch as experiments in class instead of homework outside of class. In smaller class sizes there would be less chance for distractions, more time to review for a big test, there would be more interaction with the teacher.. “In elementary schools, class sizes generally hovered around 20 in 2008, rising to 25 to 30 in many cases this year.” (Giuliani, 1)There would be more time to review for a big test in a smaller class. There would be more interaction with the teacher in a smaller class size. According to Scott Thill “The proposal by billionaire Bill Gates to increase cl...
Class size makes a huge impact on how the student learns. Along with many other things, there is more to the amount of kids in class than most people think. The quality one on one time is affected. Along with that, important questions that the students needs clarity on from the teacher might not be able to be answered because so many other students are in the room asking their own question. Students learn in their own ways. Teachers have to be flexible to how their students learn and in order to do that they need to know their students on a personal level. When class sizes are large, it effects students in negative ways in their learning.
Second, end overcrowded classes, as population grows the demand of building more schools grow with it. In average, we should have six-hundred to eight-hundred students in each school. Nevertheless, some schools now have over one-thousand students, which make it very difficult inside the class room. In a big city like Raleigh the number of students is very large, and that leads to so many problems like making around year school, which have a negative impact on the students. Students will be able to understand more when there are fewer numbers inside the class room.