Charles M. Achilles

Answers and Questions About Class Size: A Statewide Experiment:

A large-scale experiment is described in which kindergarten students and teachers were randomly assigned to small and large classes within each participating school. Students remained in these classes for 2 years. At the end of each grade they were measured in reading and mathematics by standardized and curriculum-based tests. The results are definitive: (a) a significant benefit accrues to students in reduced-size classes in both subject areas and (b) there is evidence that minority students in particular benefit from the smaller class environment, especially when curriculum-based tests are used as the learning criteria. A longitudinal analysis of a portion of the sample indicated that students in small classes outperform their peers in kindergarten classes of regular size and also gain more in reading outcomes during the second year. The question of why these effects are realized remains largely unanswered, but in light of these findings, is particularly important to pursue.

The “Why’s” of Class Size: Student Behavior in Small Classes:

Small classes in the elementary grades have been shown to boost students’ academic performance. However, researchers continue to seek a consistent, integrated explanation of “why” small classes have positive effects. This article forwards the hypothesis that when class sizes are reduced, major changes occur in students’ engagement in the classroom. Engagement is composed of “learning behavior” and pro- and antisocial behavior. Both are highly related to academic performance. We first review research on the relationship between class size and student engagement. Second, we review sociological and psychological theory about the behavior of individuals in groups to explain how student behavior can be affected by changes in class size. Both theory and empirical findings support our hypothesis, although additional research is required. High-priority questions needing further research are identified in the conclusion.

The Enduring Effects of Small Classes.

The purpose of this investigation was to extend our knowledge of the effects of small classes in the primary grades on pupils’ academic achievement. Three questions were addressed that have not been answered in previous research: (1) How large are the effects of small classes relative to the number of years students participate in those classes? (2) How much does any participation in small classes in K–3 affect performance in later grades when all classes are full-size? (3) How much does the duration of participation in small classes in K–3 affect the magnitude of the benefits in later grades (4, 6, and 8)? Rationales for expecting the continuing impacts of small classes were derived in the context of other educational interventions (for example, Head Start, Perry Preschool Project). The questions were answered using data from Tennessee’s Project STAR, a statewide controlled experiment in which pupils were assigned at random to small classes, full-size classes, or classes with a full-time teaching assistant. Hierarchical linear models (HLMs) were employed because of the multilevel nature of the data; the magnitude of the small-class effect was expressed on several scales including “months of schooling.” The results for question (1) indicate that both the year in which a student first enters a small class and the number of years (s)he participates in a small class are important mediators of the benefits gained. The results for questions (2) and (3) indicate that starting early and continuing in small classes for at least three years are necessary to assure long-term carryover effects. Few immediate effects of participation in a class with a full-time teacher aide, and no long-term benefits, were found. The results are discussed in terms of implications for class-size reduction initiatives and further research questions.

Democracy and Site-Based Administration: The Impact on Education

The principal who seeks a democratic school in the service-oriented era of school-based administration must lead teachers and others to accommodate and to build upon educations successes.

Evaluating Preparation Programs for School Administrators

The understanding and improvement of programs to prepare leaders for America’s schools depends upon careful collection and judicious use of evaluation data about those programs. As in other areas of higher education, little research has been conducted on university-based educational administrator preparation programs (in spite of the fact that many professors in these programs advocate that their students base their decisions on data). Many programs, however, have undergone or must undergo some national, state, regional, or professional association accreditation.

As Tensions Spread . . .

Abstract Student alienation is but part of a larger framework of minority and majority as a property of numbers, not simply as a function of such things as race, sex, and religion. Paradigm‐shifting demographics and other tradition‐wrenching social changes are at the heart of both student alienation and the potential to reduce this alienation. Improved schooling and all social relationships in the future will require a new worldview of pluralism, reconceptualizations of power, and a triumph of knowledge and its application to human attitudes, values, and behaviors.