Summary: While there is still debate related to the effects of smaller class size and student-teacher ratios, much of the evidence supports making the investment. Both large-scale and small-scale studies have shown increases in student achievement, improvements in student behavior, reductions in achievement gaps, etc.
Education Commission on the States on class size
EducationWeek magazine' s report on class size
ReduceClassSizeNow.org includes the latest research on small class size, state policies on small class size, and tips for implementing small classes and for endorsing political candidates who support this measure.
Research provided by Class Size Matters information clearinghouse:
Peter Muennig and Steven H. Woolf, "Health and Economic Benefits of Reducing the Number of Students per Classroom in US Primary Schools," American Journal of Public Health, published online Sep 27, 2007. Analysis shows large savings in health care costs and almost two years of additional life for students who were in smaller classes in the early grades. See also Oct. 16, 2007 summary in Slate magazine by Dr. Sydney Spiesel.
Fatih Unlu, "California Class Size Reduction Reform: New Findings from the NAEP," Nov. 2005. Study showing large and significant gains from smaller classes in California.
Jeremy D. Finn et.al., "Small Classes in the Early Grades, Academic Achievement, and Graduating From High School," Journal of Educational Psychology, 2005. Summary.
SERVE, "How Class Size Makes a Difference," 2002. One of the best and most readable summaries of the research, prepared by the Regional Educational Laboratory for the Southeast, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
SERVE, "A Parent's Guide to Class-Size Reduction," 2003. A basic introduction, including actions parents can take to encourage class-size reduction at their schools.
Jan O'Neill and Deborah Mercier, "Incredible Shrinking Class Size," National Staff Development Council, 2003. Describes how one school in Wisconsin reduced class size without additional funding.
STAR studies in Tennessee: Results from the best-designed large scale experiment in the history of education.
American Youth Policy Forum has available a summary of SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) results in Wisconsin.
Bruce Biddle and David Berliner, "What Research Says About Small Classes and Their Effects."
Alan B. Krueger and Diane M. Whitmore, "Would Smaller Classes Help Close the Black-White Achievement Gap?" Bridging the Achievement Gap, Brookings Institution Press 2002. Cost-benefit analysis and critique of Eric Hanushek, class size critic.
Debra Viadero, "Study Links Smaller Classes To Higher Earnings," Education Week, October 25, 2000. Summary of Krueger's economic analysis
Gerald Bracey, "Distortion and Disinformation about Class Size Reduction." Arguments countering class size criticism.
California Educator, "Research supports class size reduction," May 2003 and "Smaller classes work - don't turn back the clock," May 2003. What smaller classes have achieved in California.
Michael Winerip, "Miracles of Small Class Size Unfold Each Day in California," The New York Times, October 29, 2003.
Austalian Education Union Fact Sheet Number 1, "Class Sizes Do Matter."
Education World School Issues Center on class size
Jeremy Finn, "Class Size Reduction, Grades K-3," School Reform Proposals: The Research Evidence, 2002
Ivor Pritchard, "Reducing Class Size: What Do We Know?" US Department of Education, 1999
Charles M. Achilles, "Small Classes, Big Possibilities," The School Administrator, 1997.
Charles M. Achilles, "Exploring Class-Size Research Issues," The School Administrator, 1997.
Helen Pate-Bain, "Effects of Class-Size Reduction in the Early Grades (K-3) on High School Performance."
David Grissmer, et.al. Improving Student Achievement: What State NAEP Test Scores Tell Us. RAND, 2000.
Leonie Haimson Smaller is Better: First-hand Reports of Early Grade Class Size Reduction in NYC Public Schools, Educational Priorities Panel, 2000.
People for the American Way, See section, "Smaller Classes Mean Better Schools, Smarter Students"
The Scottish Council of Research on Education, Does Small Really Make a Difference? Lliterature review on the effects of class size on teaching and student behavior.
The National Center on Education in the Inner Cities, "Parents Guide to Class Size Reduction," 2000.
American Federation of Teachers Resources:
AFT's class size brief - Summaries of research
International studies add to body of class-size research, American Teacher, May/June 2008
Small Class-size benefits extend beyond school, American Teacher, Dec./Jan. 2008
Gov. Blagojevich signs Illinois Federation of Teachers-initiated class-size reduction bill, Insight, Illinois Federation of Teachers Sept./Oct. 2006
AFT Resolutions on Reducing Class Size
Class-Size Program on Track, American Teacher, November 2000
Recent Research Shows Major Benefits of Small Class Size, June 1998
Research on Improving School Safety: The Role of Technology and Reduced Class Size, August 1998
Smaller Class Size: It's Worth the Effort, American Teacher, December 2000/January 2001
Where We Stand: Think Small, March 1998
"What Research Says About Small Classes and Their Effects," Bruce J. Biddle and David C. Berliner, WestEd Policy Perspectives, 2002
Reducing Class Size: What Do We Know?, Ivor Pritchard, National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum and Assessment. Revised March 1999
Class-Size Reduction--Myths and Realities, U.S. Department of Education
"Class Size," Eugene M. Lewit and Linda Schuurmann Baker, The Future of Children. Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 113-121, Winter 1997
"Class Size: Counting Students Can Count," Fall 2003, from the American Educational Research Association, reviews research which shows that smaller class sizes shrink the achievement gap for minority students and shift schools away from ineffective spending.
In "Crowd Control," Education Next, May 13, 2003, the authors examine data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study to compare the effects of class size around the world. "While Americans squabble over whether class size should be 18 or 25 students," they note, "teachers in Korean schools routinely face classrooms of more than 50 students."
Read "How Class Size Makes a Difference," 2002, a publication from SERVE that provides information on state-level class-size reduction initiatives, research, and recommendations.
Dennis Rowen's "Federal Class Size Reduction Update for 2002-2003," briefly explains updates on federal class size reduction.
"What Research Says About Small Classes and Their Effects," a 2002 report from WestEd, examines research and findings on class size, and explores how these findings can be incorporated into practice.
In "Results of the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education Program Evaluation," 2001, researchers from the Education Policy Studies Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee found that a Wisconsin program for class-size reduction has helped poverty-stricken children increase their achievement levels.
"Smaller, Safer, Saner, Successful Schools," September 2001, from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, examines the benefits of reduced school and class size.
The North Central Regional Education Laboratory's report, "Using What We Know: A Review of the Research on Implementing Class-Size Reduction Initiatives for State and Local Policymakers," presents information on the costs and benefits of reduced class size. It also includes advice on implementing class-size reduction policies.
The Council of the Great City Schools released results of a survey in the report "Reducing Class Size: A Smart Way to Improve America's Urban Schools," October 2000. The CGCS surveyed its membership to determine how they were using federal class size reduction funds in the 2000-2001 school year.
"The Class-Size Reduction Program: Boosting Student Achievement in Schools Across the Nation," September 2000, from the Department of Education, reports positive findings on the federal government's class-size-reduction initiative.