Does class size matter?

In the 1990s, Tennessee cut class sizes across that state with dramatic increases in student achievement. Other states followed Tennessee’s lead, most notably California with its own class-size reduction program.

But a recent reanalysis of the Tennessee data by Northwestern University professor Spyros Konstantopoulos shows that lowering class size in Tennessee did not bridge the achievement gap between low and high achievers. Many of the achievement gains found in Tennessee did not materialize in California.

Critics of lowering class size now point to these experiences as proof that class size doesn’t matter. But that is not what the data say. 

In fact, Konstantopoulos concludes that all students benefit from lower class sizes. Higher achieving students just seem to benefit more. That should not be too surprising. Higher achieving students probably get more out of just about everything connected to education-computer programs, videos, field trips, and quality teachers. Do lower achieving students benefit from lower class sizes? For Konstantopoulos, the answer is “yes.”

California could not do what Tennessee did within the same time frame because California is a much larger state. Not enough qualified teachers existed to fill all those new classrooms. If you were breathing, you could get a teaching position in California in the late ’90s.

So what is better? Having a highly qualified teacher with 38 students, or a poorly prepared teacher with 20 students? This is not much of a choice.

If a teacher goes from handing out mindless worksheets to 35 students and then the same mindless worksheets to 20 students, not much educational improvement is likely to take place. The quality of school leadership (principal) is also a major contributing factor. In short, a lower class size, by itself, will not improve achievement. But that doesn’t mean class size isn’t important.

Milwaukee Public Schools has the largest class sizes of any school district in the metro area with teachers who have the fewest years of experience. Our students are being shortchanged. If we can both lower class size and recruit and retain the best teachers, achievement will go up for all students.

Terry Falk is the Milwaukee Public Schools Director for the Eighth District, which includes Bay View. To contact him, call (414) 510-9173 or email falktf@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.