Small Classes In Early Grades Research Articles

Are there additional benefits from being in small classes for more than one year?

Evidence from Project STAR has suggested a considerable advantage of being in small classes in early grades. However, the extra benefits of additional years in small classes have not been discussed in detail. The present study examined the additional effects of being in small classes for more than 1 year. We find that once previous grade achievement and small-class membership are controlled for, small-class effects are typically insignificant except in 1st grade. Findings from longitudinal analyses showed no independent effects of small classes in early grades. Again, the exception was the estimate in 1st-grade mathematics. Thus, there is little evidence about the accumulated benefits of additional years in small classes. If indeed being in small classes for only 1 year is sufficient in early grades, the evidence points to reducing class size in first grade.

Modeling Class Size Effects Across the Achievement Distribution

Previous findings from Project STAR have highlighted the benefits of being in small classes in early grades on average. Here, we examined the differential “value-added” effects of small classes across the achievement distribution. We find that once previous grade achievement and small class membership are controlled for, small class effects are by and large insignificant. Although high-achievers benefited more from small classes in third grade reading, overall, the differential small class effects were not systematic. Findings from longitudinal analyses failed to show that being in small classes for two or more years is as beneficial as being in small classes for only one year. Although the cumulative small class effects are positive, significant, and meaningful in magnitude, they do not indicate which grade (or grades) are the most important.

Teacher Effects in Early Grades: Evidence from a Randomized Study

Background/Context One important question to educational research is whether teachers can influence student achievement over time. This question is related to the durability of teacher effects on student achievement in successive grades. The research evidence about teacher effects on student achievement has been somewhat mixed. Some education production function studies seem to suggest that the effects of observed teacher characteristics on student achievement are negligible, while others suggest that they are considerable (Greenwald, Hedges, & Laine, 1996; Hanushek, 1986). Other studies have consistently documented that teachers differ substantially in their effectiveness measured as between-classroom variation in achievement adjusted by student background (Hanushek, 1986; Nye et al., 2004; Rivkin et al., 2005). Thus far, there is no evidence about the persistence of teacher effects in early grades using high quality data from a randomized experiment. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study examines the enduring benefits of teacher effects on student achievement in early elementary grades using high quality experimental data from Project STAR. I am interested in determining the persistence of teacher effects in early grades and whether teacher effects remain strong predictors of student achievement or fade over a four-year period for kindergarten through third grade. Research Design I computed teacher effects as classroom-specific random effects and then I used them as predictors of student achievement in subsequent years. I also examined whether teacher effects persisted through third grade. Multilevel models were used to conduct the analysis. The results suggest that overall teacher effects in early grades are evident through third grade in reading and mathematics achievement. Findings/Results The findings support the idea that teachers do matter and significantly affect reading and mathematics achievement not only in the current or the following year, but in subsequent years as well. However, the results also show that teacher effects estimates in previous grades are smaller than estimates in later grades. The teacher effects are more pronounced in reading. Conclusions Students who receive effective teachers at the 85th percentile of the teacher effectiveness distribution in three consecutive grades kindergarten through second grade would experience achievement increases of about one-third of a SD in reading in third grade. These effects are considerable and comparable to achievement increases caused by cumulative effects of small classes in early grades. Such effects in education are important and are nearly one-third of a year's growth in achievement (Hill, Bloom, Black, & Lipsey, 2008).

What Are the Long‐Term Effects of Small Classes on the Achievement Gap? Evidence from the Lasting Benefits Study

The findings on the social distribution of the immediate and lasting benefits of small classes have been mixed. We used data from Project STAR and the Lasting Benefits Study to examine the long‐term effects of small classes on the achievement gap in mathematics, reading, and science scores (Stanford Achievement Test). The results consistently indicated that all types of students benefit more in later grades from being in small classes in early grades. These positive effects are significant through grade 8. Longer periods in small classes produced higher increases in achievement in later grades for all types of students. For certain grades, in reading and science, low achievers seem to benefit more from being in small classes for longer periods. It appears that the lasting benefits of the cumulative effects of small classes may reduce the achievement gap in reading and science in some of the later grades.

Do Small Classes Reduce the Achievement Gap between Low and High Achievers? Evidence from Project STAR

Given that previous findings on the social distribution of the effects of small classes have been mixed and inconclusive, in the present study I attempted to shed light on the mechanism through which small classes affect the achievement of low- and high-achieving students. I used data from a 4-year, large-scale, randomized experiment (project STAR) to examine the effects of small classes on the achievement gap. The sample consisted of nearly 11,000 elementary school students who participated in the experiment from kindergarten to grade 3. Meta-analysis and quantile regression methods were employed to examine the effects of small classes on the achievement gap in mathematics and reading SAT scores. The results consistently indicated that higher-achieving students benefited more from being in small classes in early grades than other students. The findings also indicated that, although all types of students benefited from being in small classes, reductions in class size did not reduce the achievement gap between low and high achievers.

The Long-Term Effects of Small Classes in Early Grades: Lasting Benefits in Mathematics Achievement at Grade 9

Reducing class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive short-term effects of small classes, some scholars view the evidence as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee-a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size—provided persuasive evidence that small classes have immediate positive effects on academic achievement. Unlike most other early education interventions, these effects persisted for several years after the children returned to regular-sized classes. The authors of the present article report analyses of a 6-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. Class-size effects persisted for at least 6 years and remained large enough to be important for educational policy. The results suggest that small classes in early grades have lasting benefits and that those benefits are greater for minority students than for White students.

The Long-Term Effects of Small Classes: A Five-Year Follow-Up of the Tennessee Class Size Experiment

Reduction of class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option that is currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive effects of small classes, the evidence has been seen by some scholars as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee, a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size, provided persuasive evidence that small classes had immediate effects on academic achievement. However, it was not clear whether these effects would persist over time as the children returned to classes of regular size or would fade, as have the effects of most other early education interventions. This article reports analyses of a 5-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. The analyses described here suggest that class size effects persist for at least 5 years and remain large enough to be important for educational policy. Thus, small classes in early grades appear to have lasting benefits.

The Long-Term Effects of Small Classes: A Five-Year Follow-Up of the Tennessee Class Size Experiment

Reduction of class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option that is currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive effects of small classes, the evidence has been seen by some scholars as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee, a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size, provided persuasive evidence that small classes had immediate effects on academic achievement. However, it was not clear whether these effects would persist over time as the children returned to classes of regular size or would fade, as have the effects of most other early education interventions. This article reports analyses of a 5-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. The analyses described here suggest that class size effects persist for at least 5 years and remain large enough to be important for educational policy. Thus, small classes in early grades appear to have lasting benefits.