Overview
Efforts to reduce class size, particularly in the primary grades, have been at the forefront of discussions about education for over two decades. In recent years talk has turned to action as at least 21 states and the federal government have initiated class-size-reduction (CSR) initiatives. For the 2000-2001 school year, the federal government has allocated $1.3 billion to CSR in grades K-3, up from $1.2 billion the previous year. States are contributing even more money; the annual cost of California's CSR initiative alone is now over $1.5 billion.
Thousands of schools across the country suddenly have smaller classes, and now school boards and administrators face a new challenge: making sure the enormous investment in CSR pays off in higher student achievement. Should school officials rest content in the hope that achievement gains will be an automatic byproduct of smaller classes? Or should they proactively initiate strategies to capitalize on CSR?
This Digest explores several topics that are prominent in school districts' efforts to derive the greatest benefit from smaller classes.
What Teaching Strategies Are Most Effective in Small Classes
Research does not yet give a clear answer to this question. As a consortium of researchers that is evaluating the progress of CSR in California points out, "This issue is largely unexplored, and the designers of professional development programs are largely without guidance. Not surprisingly, districts seem unaware of how they might better support teachers in small classes in terms of practice" (Bohrnstedt and Stecher 1999).
Research consistently has found that teachers do not significantly change their teaching practices when they move from larger to smaller classes. This is the case in California, where researchers found that teachers' content coverage, grouping practices, and pedagogical strategies did not substantially change under CSR. The teachers in smaller classes did spend a little less time disciplining students and somewhat more time with poor readers (Bohrnstedt and Stecher).
Achilles (1999) contends that, because classroom management is easier with fewer students, teachers do not need to change their instructional practices to achieve the benefit from CSR. That benefit comes automatically, he reasons, because teachers have more time to use strategies that are effective in any setting, such as instruction guided by a preplanned curriculum, clear and focused instruction, close monitoring of learning progress, repetition until children understand the content, positive personal interactions, and appropriate use of instructional groups.
Tennessee's Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project teachers reported that smaller classes increased their ability to monitor student behavior and learning, give more immediate and more individualized reteaching, offer more enrichment, achieve a better match between their instruction and each child's ability, gain more detailed knowledge of each child's needs as a learner, and use a variety of instructional approaches to meet learners' needs (Bain and Achilles 1986). Other teachers have cited the use of "participation in establishing classroom rules, learning centers, field trips, and peer tutors" as further tools that promote success in the smaller classroom (Achilles 1999).
Finally, Ornstein (1995) points to Benjamin Bloom's 1984 synthesis of research on teaching and instruction as an enduring guide to effective classroom practices. According to Bloom, the five variables having the greatest effect on student achievement are tutorial instruction (1:1 ratio), instructional reinforcement, feedback and correction, cues and explanations, and student class participation. Other effective variables are improved reading and studying skills, cooperative learning, graded homework, classroom morale, and initial cognitive prerequisites.
Why is Professional Development Essential?
High-quality instruction is crucial to the success of CSR; without an adequate supply of trained, competent instructors to fill the new classrooms, CSR may actually do a disservice to students. An evaluation of CSR in California found that the number of teachers without full credentials-meaning that they were hired with emergency permits, waivers, or internship credentials-rose from 1 percent to over 12 percent statewide (Bohrnstedt and Stecher 1999).
Another recent study (Shields and others 1999) found that more than 1 million of California's 5.7 million students are enrolled in schools staffed by such a large percentage of underqualified teachers that the schools are effectively "dysfunctional." These numbers illustrate how serious the issue of underqualified teachers can become. School districts can combat this "dysfunction" by offering professional development for all teachers.
Teacher training in Success Starts Small, an observational study of teaching behaviors in small classes during 1993-94, offers an example of successful professional development. During the first year of CSR in Tennessee, teachers spent twenty hours studying strategies to promote active learning in first-grade students. The seminars included "thematic planning, language approaches, seminar discussions, using blocks, manipulatives, and computer-assisted learning." After the seminars ended, teachers visited small classes in another district and participated in weekly, grade-level collaboration (Achilles and others 1995).
Joan McRobbie (1996) emphasizes that staff development should be "on-going, school-based and geared to create a professional community where teachers find out together what works for their particular students." This approach to teacher training allows teachers and administrators optimum flexibility. Along with teamwork, many studies have pointed to mentoring as a tool for education of novice teachers.
Where Can Schools Find the Facilities for New Classrooms?
CSR, on top of growing enrollments in many areas, has created a nationwide need for new classrooms. The most common source of extra classroom space is portables. Portables generally house one fully functional classroom and are able to fit on extra school property like field areas, playgrounds, and parking lots. The approximate cost of a portable is between $28,000 and $54,000.
Some school districts have chosen to reconfigure present facilities, sometimes sacrificing other programs. Schools have remodeled libraries, art classrooms, science labs, gyms, computer labs, music rooms, and faculty lounges into classrooms.
Upon exhausting all onsite resources, Oakland schools sought facility donations from churches and other nonprofit organizations (McRobbie 1996). Some districts have chosen to reopen closed schools and enter into joint-use agreements with local public entities. These agreements allow schools to share the use of libraries, parks, auditoriums, and recreation facilities with the public (Joint Legislative Audit Committee 1999).
When it is not possible to add classroom space (or even hire new teachers), schools may try to obtain the benefits of small class size by creating smaller instructional groups through team teaching or creative scheduling. The goal is to assign a qualified teacher to a smaller group of students for at least part of a day, focusing on high-priority topics such as reading and math.
