What Do You Think?
Does Class Size Matter?
CSR Research Consortium, a partnership researching California's class size reduction, has released their Year 4 findings, which state:
~ Implementation of CSR occurred rapidly, although it lagged in schools serving minority and low-income students
~ the relationship of CSR to student achievement was inconclusive
~ CSR was associated with declines in teacher qualifications and a more inequitable distribution of credentialed teachers
~ Students in reduced size third-grade classes received more individual attention, but similar instruction and curriculum.
~ Parents liked reduced size classes
~ Classroom space and dollars were taken from other programs to support CSR
Recommendations:
~ Improve the effectiveness of the current CSR program by integrating and aligning it with other reforms..Integrating CSR into the state's evolving standards-based reform policy could significantly bolster California's ability to meet its objective of improving student achievement.
~ Further explore why and how CSR works by identifying best instructional practices in small classes.
~ Before undertaking any statewide effort to expand CSR to additional grades, policymakers should ensure the state has sufficient facilities and qualified teachers
~ Be explicit to the field about the assumptions underlying state reimbursement of CSR, while also taking steps to determine the real costs as well as the cost-effectiveness of CSR.
"Size Matters" in Teacher Magazine March 2004
by John Gehring
~ Implementation of CSR occurred rapidly, although it lagged in schools serving minority and low-income students
~ the relationship of CSR to student achievement was inconclusive
~ CSR was associated with declines in teacher qualifications and a more inequitable distribution of credentialed teachers
~ Students in reduced size third-grade classes received more individual attention, but similar instruction and curriculum.
~ Parents liked reduced size classes
~ Classroom space and dollars were taken from other programs to support CSR
Recommendations:
~ Improve the effectiveness of the current CSR program by integrating and aligning it with other reforms..Integrating CSR into the state's evolving standards-based reform policy could significantly bolster California's ability to meet its objective of improving student achievement.
~ Further explore why and how CSR works by identifying best instructional practices in small classes.
~ Before undertaking any statewide effort to expand CSR to additional grades, policymakers should ensure the state has sufficient facilities and qualified teachers
~ Be explicit to the field about the assumptions underlying state reimbursement of CSR, while also taking steps to determine the real costs as well as the cost-effectiveness of CSR.
"Size Matters" in Teacher Magazine March 2004
by John Gehring