Jenkins

Natalie Jenkins
Mr. Campopiano
Government 1
2 November 2015
Quality Education for All
From kindergarten to twelfth grade, students spend a majority of their waking hours in a
classroom or in several classrooms where their job is to learn language arts, math, sciences and
social sciences, analytical and reasoning skills. It doesnt take a statistician to know that the more
students in a class, the less time a teacher has to give to each individual their own attention. A
classroom packed with students makes it difficult for them to learn and for a teacher to maintain
control over the class and to provide personal time or attention to students in need. With
decreased state education funding and increased student and classroom population, school
districts are laying off teachers and placing students in already impacted classrooms. Congress
should provide funding for more teachers in schools nationwide to reduce class sizes so that
students can be more engaged and successful while receiving more support from their teachers,
and to provide more jobs for educators.
The question of class size is not new, but the state of public education funding has the potential
to greatly affect how many students are in a class, and therefore their success. Smaller classes
open pathways for instruction and learning. California has the highest average in the nation of
students per classrooms at 31, while most other states have an average of 17 to 23 ("Schools and
Staffing Survey). With only 16 or 18 students instead of the 30-plus, there would be less
distraction in the room, which leads to more constructive instruction, discussion and
collaboration. The Center for Public Education has taken a strong position in researching the

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issue of class size reduction and benefits to students and schools. The Center has published a
wealth of information, and states that to increase student achievement is an approach that has
been tried, debated, and analyzed for several decades. The premise seems logical: with fewer
students to teach, teachers can coax better performance from each of them. But what does the
research show? ("Class Size and Student Achievement: Research Review"). The Centers
findings show clear benefits. According to findings, most of the research shows that when class
size reduction programs are well-designed and implemented in the primary grades (K-3), student
achievement rises as class size drops ("Class Size and Student Achievement: Research
Review"). In fact, researchers looked at 19 studies that that met the groups standards, with
most of these addressing reduced class size programs in grades K-3. Indeed, most programs in
the past 20 years have targeted these early grades, in part because earlier research suggested that
these are the optimal years for such programs ("Class Size and Student Achievement: Research
Review"). In another report, a study done in Texas tracked an elementary class of 22 students.
The school took seven of these students out of the class and randomly placed them in other
impacted classes, leaving just fifteen students in the original class. After a only few weeks, these
fifteen students were excelling more quickly in math and reading than the other students who
were placed in larger academic settings (Chingos). The success of this smaller class size is due to
the distraction-free environment which leads to more individualized learning for students and for
the students being able to be more focused on their education.
With less students in the classroom, teachers can direct more of their attention to each of their
fewer students rather than spending less time with lots of students. This has been found
beneficial because it is easier for students to learn when they have more opportunities to ask
questions receive one-on-one help. Based on a survey taken in Seattle, Washington, students in

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smaller class settings feel more confident with asking teachers and peers for help when needed
and feel more comfortable with working in collaboration (Brewer). With this growing
educational relationship, the goal is for the students to feel more comfortable with asking for
help when needed and to not feel so academically challenged by other students. Small classes
give teachers a chance to form better relationships with each student and they can have more of a
chance to not only work with each student more closely, but to make sure that their teaching
styles will be effective for the students (Small Class Sizes). It is primarily in high school
where specific students will monopolize the teachers time or office hours, leaving no
opportunity for others to seek assistance. It should be the duty of the state education
governments, with support from a national education plan, to make sure that students are spread
out among teachers so they have an equal opportunity to ask questions and get help. However, in
order for all students to benefit from smaller class sizes, the government needs to provide more
education funding for districts to hire more teachers.
An additional benefit of small class sizes is that schools will hire more teachers for each
school district, providing jobs and career paths for educators nationwide. According to an article
titled Upgrading Schools and Putting Teachers Back to Work, too many credentialed teachers
are being laid off while they could be teaching and helping form the future of America
(Upgrading Schools and Putting Teachers Back to Work). Due to the teacher layoffs, students
get placed into classes to fill the maximum amount allowed; this is where the problem of
oversized class sizes begins. Creating more employment options for existing and future teachers
will help deflate the number of students in each classroom and will improve the quality of
learning. It will also bolster the teaching profession and the future of education. One study called
the Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR), conducted an educational experiment to find a

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healthy student-teacher ration that would be beneficial for both parties, teachers and learners.
The STAR study, which proves that a fifteen-to-one student teacher ratio is ideal, is the evidence
that supports the need to bring back previously eliminated teaching positions (Chingos). If
schools across the nation worked to meet a 15:1 students-to-teacher requirement, or even 20:1,
thousands of educators would be hired for all grade levels and subjects. This will not only
improve education rates, but it will also improve employment rates. Furthermore, smaller classes
can improve a teachers effectiveness, job satisfaction and retention in the classroom and the
profession. Classrooms with fewer students are easier to manage, and teachers can give more
personal attention to their students. Discipline problems are less frequent, and fewer students
mean fewer papers to grade (Jepsen). The report continues that teachers satisfied with their
teaching environment might consider that a non-monetary benefit because it might appear selfserving for teachers to push for higher salaries compared with smaller classes (Jepsen). That
could factor into salary negotiations and save school districts compensation costs.
Those who oppose reducing teacher-to-student ratios cite the cost and effectiveness of smaller
classes. Opponents say that that hiring more teachers and finding the space and material for
additional classes is very expensive and can take a lot of planning ("2012-2013 Average Starting
Teacher Salaries by State). The question really should not be can we afford to reduce class sizes,
but can we afford not to? A pillar in the research supporting small class sizes comes from a
comprehensive study that is now 37 years old. A 1978 study by Glass and Smith strongly
endorsed reduced class size as a reform likely to produce improvements in academic
achievement. The researchers reviewed 80 research reports on the relationship between class
size and achievement, obtaining more than 100 comparisons from well-documented studies of
smaller and larger classes using rigorous statistical analyses ("Class Size and Student

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Achievement: Research Review). In citing that study, the Center for Public Education also adds
more modern research using Tennessee, Wisconsin and California as examples. In Tennessees
Project STAR, randomly selected control and experimental groups of students allowed
researchers to compare students with four years of reduced class sizes to students who had none.
They found that students in smaller classes did better than those in larger classes throughout the
K-3 grades, that minority and inner-city children gained the most from smaller classes; and
that the more years spent in reduced classes, the longer lasting the benefits (Center?) Evaluation
of Wisconsins policy of reducing class size in the early grades. According to the Center Public
for Education, Molnar et al (1999) found that participation in any one of the four types of
SAGE (class reduction) classrooms was a predictor for student achievement and that students
in grades 1-3 in SAGE classrooms scored significantly higher on the Comprehensive Test of
Basic Skills in reading, language arts, mathematics, and in total scores, than students in
traditional classrooms (Center). However, these improvements were not just for elementary
students. In 1999, analysts Mitchell and Mitchell assessed the impact of the California Class Size
Reduction program after two years of implementation. They analyzed test data from the
Stanford Achievement Tests 9th edition reading, language, and mathematics subtests as well as
more than 30 variables related to student demographics, schools, classrooms, and teachers from
more than 80 schools across eight school districts in Southern California ("Class Size and
Student Achievement: Research Review"). Additionally, the length of time in smaller classes also
benefited students. Fidler (2001) looked at the impact of smaller classes over time within the
California CSR program. The study examined the Stanford Achievement Test reading, language,
and mathematics subtest scores of students in grades 4 to 6 who had completed at least one year
of the CSR program in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The analysis found that the

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longer students participated in CSR, the greater their achievement gains. Specifically, students
who participated in CSR for three years or longer had greater gains than students who
participated for just one year. Cost and finding is part of budgeting; if the states departments of
education properly allocate the yearly state budget and national funding, there will be many ways
to pay for teachers and materials by cutting unnecessary expenses. The article The Federal Role
in Education states, State Education Departments rely on tax payers money and dont have the
proper amount of money allocated for each school (The Federal Role in Education). Using
this tax money as well as the current budget and national resources, the education officials can
make a new plan of allocation with the idea of hiring more teachers and supporting student
learning.
Lowering class sizes nationwide will benefit students of all grade levels, and it will bolster the
quality of learning and teaching. School experiences serve as beneficial for the students, giving
them fond childhood experiences to look back on. It is the outcome for the rest of their lives that
is important, and it is the decisions of adults that affect their early education success. The
government needs to provide a quality education for students kindergarten through twelfth grade
without looking for shortcuts like impacting each class to save money on teacher salaries. It is
time that Americans recognize that the children are the future of the United States, and of the
world.

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Works Cited
Brewer, Dominic J., and Adam Gamoran. Psychological Science in the Public Interests 1st ed.
Vol. 2. N.p.: Sage Publications, 2001. Print.
"Class Size and Student Achievement: Research Review." Class Size and Student Achievement:
Research Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
Chingos, Matthew M. "Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy."
Brookings. Brookings Institution, 11 May 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
"The Federal Role in Education." U.S. Education Department. Government, 32 Feb. 2012. Web.
14 Oct. 2015.
Jepsen, Christopher, and Steven Rivkin. "Class Size Reduction and Student Achievement."
Journal of Human Resources J. Human Resources 44.1 (2009): 223-50. Web. 1
Nov. 2015.

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Schools and Staffing Survey (SSS)." NAtional Center for Education Statistics. N.p., 2011.
Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
"Small Class Sizes." Small Class Sizes. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, n.d. Web. 23 Sept.
2015.
"State and County Estimates of Low Literacy." National Center for Education Statistics. N.p.,
25 June 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
"Upgrading Schools and Putting Teachers Back to Work." Homeroom: EDgov Blog. Web.
23 Oct. 2015.
"2012-2013 Average Starting Teacher Salaries by State." National Education Association. NEA,
n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.