Understanding the effects of class size reduction (CSR) has been an enduring issue in education. For the past 3 decades, Project STAR has stimulated research and policy discussions regarding the effects of CSR on a variety of outcomes. Schanzenbach (2007) reviewed STAR studies and concluded that small classes improved student academic outcomes.…

Schools across the United States are facing budgetary pressures on a scale not seen in generations. Times of fiscal exigency force policymakers and education practitioners to pay more attention to the return on various categories of public investment in education. The sizes of the classes in which students are educated are often a focus of these…

Most states nationwide have had policies for several decades that limit the number of students assigned to public K-12 classrooms. Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states, led by Tennessee and Texas, spearheaded this effort in the 1980s, and SREB's own "Legislative Briefings" have marked the growth of class-size policies across…

Preschool for All (PFA) is a part-day (2.5 hours for up to five days a week) early childhood education program for 3- and 4-year-olds in Illinois. The program is voluntary to families and is designed to be a high-quality preschool option for all children--especially those at risk of academic failure. PFA was implemented in 2006 and is free to…

Finding an unequivocable answer to the class size issue is vitally important to the future of American public education. Sorting out conflicting viewpoints and determining supportable conclusions are this report's primary purpose. Three factors--research motivation, the effects of confounding variables, and problems related to distinguishing…

From a cost-benefit viewpoint, investing school revenues in small K-3 classes has great potential for improving productivity. Statewide class reduction initiatives in Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin have positively influenced student achievement, behavior, citizenship, and development. Districts cannot afford to ignore this mounting…

Analyzed data from a five-year followup of students in Tennessee's Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project, a four-year large-scale randomized examination of the effects of class size on academic achievement. Results suggest that class-size benefits persist for at least five years and remain large enough to be important to educational…

Research indicates that the relationship between class size and instructional effectiveness depends on a multitude of related variables, such as age level of students, subject matter taught, and instructional methods used. Recent statistical syntheses of this research reveal that the instructional benefits of smaller classes are most significant…

Most education research has confirmed that small classes yield benefits. Research also has revealed nuances about how and when small classes will work best, where an investment will result in maximum return, and exactly how many students a "small" class should have. The details of these findings can help policymakers strike a practical…

Estimates the operational costs of nationwide class-size-reduction programs under various policy alternatives, including the specified class size, flexibility in implementation, and whether the policy is targeted toward at-risk students. Depending on the options, estimated costs range from about $2 billion per year to over $11 billion per year.…

Paper summarizes policy and research implications of several studies on Project STAR, noting relationships between class size and student achievement, class size and teaching, and theories of class size effects. It recommends using class reduction to improve achievement and suggests future research on teaching styles, curriculum objectives, and…

This review has two parts: the first concerns class size and general education; the second, class size and special education. The general education review is in four sections: (1) foundational class size research; (2) critiques of the foundational works; (3) extended research; and (4) five studies in class size research conducted by states. The…

Wisconsin's Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program demonstrates that small class sizes have unclear achievement benefits and that improvements remain isolated in small populations. SAGE grants $2,000 per low income student to elementary schools agreeing to class sizes of 15 students, extended hours, a rigorous curriculum, and…

"Smaller is better" is often the mantra of school leaders with regard to class size, while the benefits of smaller schools are ignored. Benefits of small classes seem obvious--teachers with fewer students could devote more time to each student. Conducted in 1985-89, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) found that…

Across the country, states are developing more unified and comprehensive education systems for young children. The authors of this article outline seven features that help connect various early education programs across a state. First, supportive governance ensures that all parts of an early care and education system complement, rather than…