Identifying an appropriate class size is an important decision public schools face as they weigh balancing their budget with the impact class size may have on student achievement. This study examined perceptions of South Dakota kindergarten through third-grade teachers, elementary principals, and superintendents concerning optimal class size and…

Background/Context: One important question to educational research is whether teachers can influence student achievement over time. This question is related to the durability of teacher effects on student achievement in successive grades. The research evidence about teacher effects on student achievement has been somewhat mixed. Some education…

Results from experimental and nonexperimental studies have shown that teachers differ in their effectiveness. In addition, evidence from nonexperimental studies has indicated that teacher effects last for 3 years in elementary grades. This study uses data from Project STAR and its follow-up study, the Lasting Benefits Study, to examine whether…

This paper investigates the effects of California's billion-dollar class-size-reduction program on student achievement. It uses year-to-year differences in class size generated by variation in enrollment and the state's class-size-reduction program to identify both the direct effects of smaller classes and related changes in teacher quality.…