Institute of Education, University of London
December 2004
This short research brief discusses the effects of class size on student achievement and classroom procedures. Some of its findings are not surprising: students in smaller classes are "more likely to be the focus of a teacher's attention." But of course. As for actual achievement, however, the study found no evidence that children in smaller classes made greater progress - in any subject - than those in large classes. (A previous study by the same group did find that small classes are more effective for students in the first year of school.) The authors sympathize, and rightly so, with teachers who want to provide individual attention to students. But they propose to resolve the tension between this goal and the "constraints of the curriculum and the environment" by making "more strategic use of a third context for learning . . .that is, more use of more group work in the sense of pupils learning together with a deliberate attempt to minimize the teacher's input." In others, the kids teach one another. Consider us doubters. If you want to take a look for yourself, you can find it here.
"British study tracks effect of class size," by Debra Viadero, Education Week, January 12, 2005