Class Size DOES Matter

It is quite true that many years ago a good number of us attended classes with 33, 35 or more students. It seemed to work. If we examine those 'good ole days' we'd find that some elements of the classes we attended then aren't the same as today...by a long shot.

Years ago, classes were largely homogeneous in nature. Segregation existed, the number of non-English speaking students was minimal as compared to today, and the number of disabled/autistic/learning behavior children was small when thinking of these students in our classrooms in 2013. By the way, years ago, the dropout rate was higher than it is today.

Given the above conditions, the pressure on students and teachers to perform relative to standardized testing, the push for nearly everyone to attend college, legal requirements and MORE, is it any wonder that teachers, parents, and others in the field of education are pushing for smaller class sizes.

The research on smaller class sizes is extensive and conclusive. Smaller class sizes DO make a different in both cognitive and non-cognitive skill development. If the so called 'reformers' thought about it, they would actually see improvements in test scores and other performance skills among students by reducing class sizes. They would really get 'more bang for the buck.'

Dick