The Band-Aid Approach- Not the Best Solution

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The Band-Aid Approach- Not the Best Solution

The band-aid approach has been the most common solution to working with students at risk. The name for this approach comes from the purpose of a band-aid; to cover up a problem but not fix it. A problem with this resolution is only having half-day sessions focusing on one topic for these students. This is not helping in the end because for the other half of the day, when they are in their regular classroom settings, this type of attention and teaching is not practiced (Finn, 1998). Thus, this is considered a band-aid approach because it only temporarily conceals the problem without fixing it.

Furthermore, children have an understanding of what they are missing by being in a large sized class. When second graders were asked what would be different if they were in smaller classes, they answered that they would be able to talk more often, ask more questions, and get to be “Star of the Week” for a longer period of time (Handley, 2002). The mere fact that these young students are realizing that they could get more attention is not only astounding but also surreal.

Project STAR: One of the 1st Large-Scale Studies on the Effects of Reduced Class Size

Between the years of 1985 and 1989, seventy nine elementary schools in Tennessee participated in the only large-scale, controlled study of the effects of reduced class size, Project STAR (Finn, 1998). Children that entered kindergarten were randomly assigned to either a class of thirteen to seventeen pupils, twenty two to twenty six, or twenty two to twenty six with a teacher’s assistant. The students remained in these settings for the next four years. What this study produced were results that confirmed benefits of small classes in primary grades. Smaller classes outperformed the larger classes in all instances, including word study skills, reading, basic skills reading, math, basic skills math, motivation and self concept (Finn, 1998). Since the most noteworthy occasions deal with substantial reductions, minorities seem to thrive on smaller classes. Minorities, most of which are used to extremely large class sizes, are the best example to show what a substantial reduction can generate, and with these particular students improving, the achievement gap is therefore reduced (Finn, 1998).

The Follow Up to the Project STAR Study: Lasting Benefits Study

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