Resources

Learning impacts 

Does class size matter? by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Northwestern University: National Education Policy Center. February 2014

Why class size matters today. National Association of Teachers of English policy document, 2014.

Class size reduction

Faced with schools that were failing students, the State of California targeted funds toward class size reduction. This report evaluates the findings. http://www.classize.org/techreport/CSR_Capstone_prepub.pdf

Economic benefits 

Reducing class sizes from 25 to 15 students results in a long term economic benefit of $66,000 per student over 20 years, according to a new research report released in the U.S. The study found smaller class sizes results in improved academic and economic success for students. Smaller schools and long-term relationships with teachers also improve students success.

Interview with the author

Report: Prioritizing approaches to economic development by Jeffery Thompson (Amherst: PERI Institute, 2010).

Class size matters

Sept 2011 – Class Size Matters is a non-profit organization that is one of the U.S.’s strongest advocates for class size reduction. The group provides information on the benefits of class size reduction to parents, teachers, and concerned citizens, as well as monitor class sizes in New York City. The organization’s founder and Executive Director, Leonie Haimson, has been named a Family Hero by New York Family magazine. Visit classizematters.org for reports, news and testimonials.

Regina Public class size – 2009 Reports

Feb. 2009: Despite claims that the 10 Year Plan would reduce class size, the average Gr. 1-8 classroom increased slightly in the past year. There are 23.83 students per classroom in 2008-2009, compared to 23.76 students in 2007-2008, according to a report tabled with the board in mid-January.

Progress, if any has been made in the past five years, is measured in fractions of fractions. In 2004-2005 the class size was 23.84 students, just .01 of a student more than you would find in today’s classroom.  Likewise,  the average kindergarten classroom has 15.37 students, little changed from 2004-2205’s 15.79 students.

Highschools registered small decreases in several (not all) upper grade classrooms, but again the difference between the beginning of the Board’s push for ‘renewal’ and now is fractional, with 24.26 students per class in 2008-2009, compared to 24.9 students in 2004-2005.

In any case, the more prevalent concern raised in highschool consultations was a desire for smaller and moderate-sized highschools, identified as the top “change needed” in a public forum. This was answered with the closure of Usher Collegiate, a smaller highschool, in 2008, as well as a proposal to close Martin.

The American Federation of Teachers recommends class sizes of 15 to no more than 19 students (AFT Issue Brief, Nov. 2003). Several studies suggest 15 is an optimal size for student success.

2009 Regina Public Class Size Report by John Conway.