Although class size reductions are often proposed as a way to improve student learning, research does not indicate that smaller classes will necessarily produce improved student achievement. Class size effects on student learning vary by grade, pupil characteristics, subject area, teaching method, and other learning interventions. References…

Reviews research that finds teachers assigned to smaller classes do not significantly alter the instructional methods they used in larger classes. (PKP)

Tennessee's Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio), a large longitudinal project involving students in kindergarten through third grade, has provided important information about class-size effects on pupil achievement and development. The project showed that small classes provided higher student outcomes and better student behaviors than…