Inside Large and Small High Schools: Curriculum and Social Relations

Abstract

This paper investigates how enrollment size influences two organizational features of schools: curriculum and social relations. We interview teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and students in six public high schools (large and small schools in urban, suburban, and rural locations) and three schools of choice: two Catholic schools (one large, one small) and a small public school. All school members saw size as important. In small schools, student head counts translated directly into revenue that "bought" faculty and facilities. In large schools, members worried about anonymity. Social relations were more personal in the small high schools, although sometimes to students' detriment. Curriculum offerings in the small public schools, necessarily modest, were targeted toward the middle of the ability distribution. Although students in the large and small public schools were free to choose among a broad array of courses, the Catholic high schools offered a mostly academic curriculum to all students. Policy issues, especially about making schools smaller and basing the high school curriculum on a full "student choice model," are discussed.