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Abstract
The quality of
American schooling has been a subject of discussion for decades now. One of the
hotly debatable issues is the impact of class size on performance of pupils or
overall school improvement. While proponents argue that smaller class size is
an important ingredient towards improving the performance of learners owing to
longer teacher-pupil interaction time, there are those who hold a contrary
opinion noting that other imperative factors such as race and ethnicity, the
education level of parents as well as socio-economic status practically
influence school and individual chid performance. The analysis of both sides of
the debate also reveals that reducing class size can yield positive result
towards school improvement on condition that the right procedures are followed
to the latter. Finally, it is evident that class size is integral in school
improvement in spite of the fact that it is integral to consider both
contrasting views in establishing whether class size per se is a fundamental
factor in learning process and overall school improvement.
The need to reduce class size
for effective teacher delivery is not a recent development. Several learning
models including the British one encompassing the learning experience of pupils
in large and small classes have been embraced in the past. For instance, the
consolidation of rural as well as town schools that were still small in size
was a broad attempt to investigate whether class size would translate into
better academic performance (Molnar,
2002). This trend was
aimed at setting up large schools since it was believed that large schools
would attract more effective and efficient teachers alongside offering myriad
of opportunities for learners. Nonetheless, such attempts to create large
classes have received a backlash and there is even growing campaigns by the
supporters of small class for the federal government to allocate more funds
targeting the reduction of larger classes to small ones. It is also vital to
note that internal reorganisations have been instrumental in reducing school
sizes, not government funding.
To begin with, the standards
movement has led to reawakening of the debate on the need to reduce class size.
The academic standards in most United States schools is closely monitored not
just by school administrators, there are also other quality standards bodies in
most states (Purinton, 2011). According to the movement on standards, the
schooling place has been noted as one area where inequity is highly likely to
thrive. When standardised assessments are given to students in both smaller and
larger school size, the former is found to perform better than the latter.
Worse still, schools with larger student populations are also found to be
endowed with less efficient teachers. If such empirical evidence is anything to
by, then it implies that school size is paramount in the determination of pupil
performance at any given time. Nonetheless, it should also be in order to argue
that there ought to be other factors in place worth considering when
deliberating on school improvement issue.
Students’ learning may not
improved with the presence of standards alone especially is they are being
poorly served by a crop of teachers who are deemed to be inexperienced.
Moreover, empirical evidence suggests that learning opportunities for students
can be improved in the best way with small class sizes.
In yet another research study,
it has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt that students from all walks of
life can learn given the right support and necessary opportunities. Educators
have unanimously agreed with this idea arguing that disparities in academic
performance are a direct function of the learning environment, largely driven
by school size. In some cases, teachers in schools with large populations have
a perception that so long as three quarters of students in a class understand
lesson concepts, while the remaining one quarter are average, then the lesson
objectives will have been achieved. This may not be the case as per the
requirements of an ideal learning environment. An effective and sound learning
process should not leave any pupil behind bearing in mind that all have equal opportunities
to excel. It is upon school administrators to devise ways and means of
resuscitating the performance of poor students (Kaplan & Owings,
2002). Those who propose
reduced class size reiterate that smaller student population will enable
respective teachers to concentrate on weaker students since time to do so will
be sufficient. In addition, meaningful discussions between teachers and students
can only be actualised when both the school and class size is at irreducible
minimum.
Having noted the impact
of school size on academic performance, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
embarked on a relentless attempt to fund class size reduction. Over 250 US
dollars in terms of funding has been dedicated towards this endeavour with the
aim of scaling down student population in high schools. Sincerely speaking,
such a staggering sum could not have been allocated to class size reduction if
the effect on education standards was negligible.
On the same note, pieces of legislations
have been endorsed by lawmakers in some states in a bid to thin down school
sizes for effective delivery by teachers (Noll, 2010). These legislators believe that a lower teacher-student
ratio will create a healthy ground for school improvement since instruction
time will be increased significantly. Pupils tend to absorb and comprehend more
when the contact time with teachers is relatively higher.
Another argument put forward
by proponents of reduced class size is that pupils who are in a larger
classroom environment with a higher student population often find themselves
lost among the crowed. Equally, it is also practically cumbersome for a teacher
handling a bigger number of pupils to fully comprehend the learning needs of
each student. This may occur even in a situation whereby parental involvement
towards the academic success of a child is optimum. In addition, larger
classrooms act as hiding places for learners who are well convinced that the
vigilant eye of the teacher will not catch up with them. As a result, spill
over effects of handling big class sizes such as growing cases of indiscipline
will be inevitable (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2008). At this juncture, its is crucial to note that once a
larger school population graduates into discipline problems, then academic
performance will grossly be affected
since performance and discipline are two intertwine factors that cannot be
separated when addressing school improvement strategies.
Additionally, there is
consensus among educators and policy analysts that individual needs of pupils
in a classroom differ markedly. Even in a case when a repertoire of delivering
instructions in the best way possible has to be devised, the school size is
still an issue of concern. Individualisation of students by teachers is a
classroom practice that can only be achieved when there is a reduced class
size. Teachers may not be a vantage position to know all their pupils in a
situation whereby both the class and school size is too large to handle
effectively (Kaplan & Owings, 2002). Furthermore, administrators will also find
themselves in tight fix when they have to share a common agenda in a large
school population. It is crucial to emphasises that the overall school
improvement goes beyond classroom size, it is also dependant on the wider
school community which has to be impacted by the day-to-day decisions made by administrators.
As mentioned earlier, there
are other imperative factors that do affect school improvement and performance
over and above class size. However, these may be considered as subsidiary or
auxiliary factors that cannot override the impact of pupil population in any
school population. As Kirk A. Johnson
observes in the article The Downside to
Small Class Policies (Noll, 2010), positive academic outcomes is not reliant on small
class sizes. Although he tends to fully refute attempts by the federal
government to fund class size reduction, empirical research study on this subject
matter is necessary in order to determine the tangible contributions of small
class size in school improvement. A total of 1.3 billion US dollars was set
aside by the U.S Congress in year 2000 to cater for smaller or reduced class size.
Similarly, a large sum of money was channelled towards reduced class size
program even when Bill Clinton was still in office. This led to heavy spending
on education sector whereby more teachers were hired to cater for small
classes. Both the public and elementary schools were duly affected by this initiative.
As the government noted later, the initiative significantly reduced the
student-teacher ratio.
Perhaps, the use of the
Californian experience lone as an example may be quite inadequate and
misleading as well. The small class size program was fully entrenched into Californian
laws by 1995. It targeted pupils right from early grades so that their academic
improvement could be noted as they progress to higher grades. As anticipated,
the reduced class size approach in California was widely supported by most
education stakeholders including parents, teachers and community-based
organisations. Nevertheless, the program was implemented wholesome and the
demand for teachers became acute. There were insufficient qualified teachers to
handle the multiple divided small classes since all the elementary schools were
thrashed into dire need for surplus and more experienced teachers.
Unfortunately, the California state was not fully prepared for this
aftermath.
The analysis that was done
alter by RAND researchers as well as the American Institute for Research on the
effectiveness of Californian class reduction program found out that most of the
K-3 classes that were not affected by the initiative were mainly from poor
districts with low income earners (Noll, 2010). Besides, it was also evident that there was marked
decline in the teacher qualifications during the time period when te program
was being implemented. The research study emphasized that all the grade levels
were notable affected among all the schools at elementary level. The poor
schools went on normally and uninterrupted in spite of the few teachers but who
had the best credentials in terms of teaching experience and education
background. Although these research results were presumable taken as
irrefutable facts, it is pertinent to put into consideration some of the
underlying issue that may have been instrumental in derailing the reduced class
size program in California.
First, it was inescapable to
hire new and inexperienced teachers at the wake of the new program since those
who were already in employment were not adequate to meet the demand of the
moment. Thus, it was inevitable for elementary schools to not only go through
worst academic times, but also decline in school improvement.
Second, California department
of education failed to plan in advance in terms of teacher demand with the adoption
and implementation of reduced class size. Proper measure needed to have been
put in place prior to the official launch. These are some of the weaknesses
likely to be encountered when reducing class size and unless the right measures
are instituted, the program may appear as a white elephant project. The debate on reduced class size alongside
government initiative in funding the program may not auger quite well if
positive outcomes will have to be realised. Funding is necessary if and if
precautionary measures are put in parallel with program implementation. There
is a whole mix of latent and visible factors that, if not addressed well, may
lead to a skewed interpretation that reduced class size is an insignificant
factor as far as school improvement and individual student performance is
concerned. For instance, a research study conducted by Centre for Data Analysis
way back in 1998 in a bid to investigate whether student performance could be
affected by class size found out other intrinsic factors that would equally
impact academic improvement (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2008). For example, the study revealed that the learning process
is greatly enhanced when both quality and quantity time is sent between a
teacher and student. However, the study was also categorical that race and
ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background of a learner, parents’ level of
education as well as availability of learning materials were integral in both
pupil and net school improvement.
