PROOF, small class size equals life long increases in learning

Our ANTI friends are fond of saying that more money for schools does not equal a better outcome. They say it is 'just throwing money at the problem' which they see as public schools and public school teachers. We now have evidence from a recent study that spending more money on school increases test scores and life long learning.

We have already seen recent studies which have shown that public school students do as well or better than private and charter school students. Our public students achieve as much or more even though public schools must take everyone that comes whereas non-public schools 'cherry pick' their admissions. If we could also cherry pick only students that 'fit' our special criteria as the charter and private schools do, just think how high our scores would be. But even with that unfair advantage, charter and private schools cannot out score our students.
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In the latest research highlighted in this post today, we have evidence for spending money to reduce class size in the first few grades of school. Increased expenditures for class size reduction promotes greater life time learning for all students and better test scores for all. Low performing students scores and learning are particularly helped.

Our VUSD teachers all gave up a FULL DAY of pay this year to maintain class size reduction in our K-3 classes here in VUSD. We knew it helped our students and we put our money where our beliefs were. We were right. Our ANTIs will never give us credit for this, but we should feel proud of ourselves.

The new ground breaking research on class size reduction was published in the American Journal of Education by a University of Michigan researcher, Spyros Konstantopoulos, who is "a member of a committee for the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences that will make official recommendations on class size to the states."

This new research is not based on a small study of a few dozen students. No, it is based on the data from a colossal research study called Project Star that looked at over 11,000 students elementary and middle school students in Tennessee.

We can now definitely say that spending more money on schools makes a huge difference when that money is spent to reduce class size.

Read more below:
http://news.msu.edu/story/6948/

MSU research: Small classes have long-term benefit for all students

Contact: Andy Henion, University Relations, Office:
Published: Oct. 09, 2009

Spyros Konstantopoulos, associate professor of education, says several consecutive years of small classes in early elementary school benefit students of all achievement levels.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Providing small classes for at least several consecutive grades starting in early elementary school gives students the best chance to succeed in later grades, according to groundbreaking new research from a Michigan State University scholar.

The research by Spyros Konstantopoulos, associate professor of education, is the first to examine the effects of class size over a sustained period and for all levels of students – from low- to high-achievers. The study appears in the American Journal of Education.

Konstantopoulos also is a member of a committee for the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences that will make official recommendations on class size to the states. He said the recommendations will mirror his research: that the best plan of attack is to provide small classes (13 to 17 students) for at least several years starting in kindergarten or first grade.

“For a long time states thought they could just do it in kindergarten or first grade for one year and get the benefits,” Konstantopoulos said. “I don’t believe that. I think you need at least a few years consecutively where all students, and especially low-achievers, receive the treatment, and then you see the benefits later.”

His research used data from the massive Project Star study in Tennessee that analyzed the effects of class size on more than 11,000 students in elementary and middle school. Konstantopoulos found that students who had been in small classes from kindergarten through third grade had substantially higher test scores in grades four through eight than students who had been in larger classes early on.

Students from all achievement levels benefited from small classes, the research found. But low-achievers benefited the most, which narrowed the achievement gap with high-achievers in science, reading and math, Konstantopoulos said.

Although the study didn’t evaluate classroom practices, Konstantopoulos said the reason for the narrowing gap likely is due to low-achieving students receiving more attention from teachers.

“This is especially important in poorer schools because teacher effectiveness matters more in schools with higher proportions of disadvantaged and low-performing students,” he said.
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.