Sizing Up Smaller Classes
Perhaps education reform is reforming. The education establishment's old fixation with reducing teacher-student ratios to "improve learning" is facing a tough challenge—from studies that simply don't bear it out.
Teachers may find smaller classes more comfortable to work with. But critics charge that the educational benefits gained from shrinking class size are too small to justify its exorbitant cost.
First the history lesson. Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economics professor and local school board member, points out that there were more than 29 students per teacher in 1940. Today there are fewer than 18. Yet during this significant drop in the ratio, test scores and other academic measurements have plummeted.
Now turn to economics. A recent Education Department study found that reducing classes to 15 students—the National Education Association's "optimal size"—would cost over $69 billion and require a million new teachers. And even then, the study shows, there would be at best only marginal learning gains.
At least some school officials, at all levels of government, are now doing their homework, putting education dollars to more productive use. And trade-conscious policymakers may yet again look to Japan for guidance. There, students sit 40 to a class, twice the U.S. average, but outperform Americans in almost every subject.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Sizing Up Smaller Classes."
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?