Essay On Class Size

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Jaclyn Spani Maraveller English 4/3/14 Conflicting Class Sizes? Class sizes in America have been on a constant rise for years now, with little help from a budget, and almost no recovery from a slumping economy, which brings to light the age-old discussion; does class size really matter? With class sizes rising at a constant rate there is also no relief for students. There are many students who tend to struggle in certain subjects, and a smaller class could mean more individual time with a teacher and that could help improve their knowledge and comprehension of the subject. Our students are in classes day in and day out that are simply too big for even the finest teachers to handle, which impairs each individual’s learning. Therefore if teachers had fewer students this would enable them to give more individual teaching time to each student. Class size is important, and it has a large impact on our student’s education and that is why class size should be cut, specifically in Pre-K to third grade classes or classes which serve the most “at-risk” students. From the time students begin schooling in Pre-K to the time they are eight years old in the third grade, they are very moldable and the research has proven that this is a good focus point for class size reduction. The Steps to Achieving Resilience (STAR) was based around second and third graders, some were placed randomly in smaller classes and at the end of the year they all took the same standardized test. The students in the smaller classes had scores that were notably higher than those in normal classes (Adams). This allowed the students in the smaller classes to have more one-on-one time which could have contributed to their heightened scores. The more one-on-one time a stude... ... middle of paper ... ...pic is very thorough, and even the small town people, who seem so far away, share many of the same ideals as many of our own “big-city” parents and teachers. We should allow high schools to retain a larger class size load, which will open up a budget for more elementary teachers. This would allow us to accommodate a class reduction for Pre-K to third grade, dropping them to 18 students per class. This will allow them the one -on-one time they need, and can greatly benefit from the results of a better understanding of the basics of their education. Furthermore, the passion that could present itself due to smaller classes for learning could carry on with these students to adulthood. This could produce a more passion driven generation to come into our work force. When we have such a crammed budget, what is a person to do but to take the facts and put them into action?

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