Describes Tennessee's Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, a study of class size, and summarizes its findings with regard to academic achievement and behavior. Positive findings from STAR are providing impetus for class-size-reduction policies. Discusses some criticisms of STAR research and findings. (SLD)

Confusion over the concepts of class size and pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) creates a conundrum for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. An examination of how these two concepts are different is presented in this paper. A review of the literature suggests that class-size reduction makes a positive overall difference in student achievement,…

Discussion and research concerning class size can be traced back at least to the 12th century. An overview of recent research on the subject is provided in this report. The paper, which serves as an introduction to a symposium on class size, examines research that has appeared in the past 20 years, but it concentrates on the results of a…

A short overview of an experimental evaluation of lower teacher-pupil ratios is presented in this report. The research under review is the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project. This longitudinal project was conducted in Tennessee and was designed to prove to state legislators the efficacy of smaller class sizes. For STAR, evaluation…

This paper begins by describing the basic design and scope of Tennessee's Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (Project STAR), which began in 1985. The project was designed to determine the effect of reduced class size on the achievement and development of students in kindergarten through grade three. Findings that demonstrated that students in…

As poverty, dysfunctional families, and special needs continue to affect students, educators seek improved ways to start children in formal education. One such approach is to lower the teacher-to-pupil ratios, and recent research shows that this method positively influences pupil achievement. How the process works is not well understood. To fill…

The use of recent college graduates as volunteer teachers has increased in recent years with the growth of the Teach for America program and alternative middle schools for at-risk children from low income homes. Very few studies to date have investigated the effects of the use of such teachers on student learning and engagement in school. The…

A review of the literature on compensatory education programs was conducted to determine the effects of their following design features: (1) instructional setting; (2) class size; (3) ability grouping; and (4) various types of instructors. Remedial instruction in reading, language arts, and mathematics for elementary school students was…