More than 20 states and the federal government have initiated efforts to reduce class size. Class-size-reduction (CSR) initiatives enjoy enormous public support and appeal to the common sense of parents and educators alike.
Until recently, class size in U.S. public schools averaged about 25 students. This is too large, some say, for teachers to give students the individualized attention they need to succeed. Initiatives at the state and federal levels have sought to lower the average class size to 15 to 18 pupils.
The Clinton Administration’s Class Size Reduction Program is helping school districts hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes in the elementary grades to a nationwide average of 18 students. Congress raised the program’s funding from $1.2 billion this school year to $1.3 billion in the 2000-01 school year, and the Department of Education estimates that 29,000 teachers have already been hired through the program.
States are spending an additional $2.3 billion on their own CSR initiatives during the 1999-00 school year, and several states plan to spend more on CSR in the future.
Why the sudden interest in class size? The issue’s political appeal is certainly one reason, but many states have turned to CSR as one strand of their efforts to raise standards for student achievement. Research has found that smaller classes in the early grades promote effective teaching and learning.
While initiatives to reduce class size have been praised by many, others remain skeptical. Some policymakers and researchers believe the costs of reduction are prohibitively high and the money would be better spent to support other proven types of school reform. If districts hire the most qualified teachers and support them with ongoing professional development, class size becomes an irrelevant issue, say skeptics of the push toward smaller classes.
Other questions relate to how CSR initiatives are implemented, how to deal with shortages of qualified teachers and classroom space, what teachers must do to take advantage of smaller classes, and what student outcomes can be expected from the reform.
Policy and fiscal issues aside, in many states the debate is no longer over whether class-size reduction makes a difference, but how and under what circumstances (Perez 1998, McRobbie 1998). How can your state or district best design a successful CSR policy?
