Small Classes, Small Schools

Patricia A. Wasley writes a very insightful look at the relationship between small classes and small schools. Of course, research shows that small schools are mostly found in smaller school districts, so this article is a reflection of that, too.

Students in schools with large populations of disadvantaged students perform least well on standardized assessments. Evidence also suggests that these schools often have the least-experienced teachers (NCTAF, 1996; Roza, 2001). In effect, having standards in place emphasizes that standards are necessary but insufficient in themselves to improve student performance. Unless we change students' learning opportunities, especially for students who are ill-served by their schools, standards alone are unlikely to influence student learning. Educators and policymakers are looking for strategies that will enable students to succeed on the new assessments (thereby supporting the standards movement) and, more important, that will enhance students' learning opportunities. Small classes and small schools may be two such strategies.

Research conducted on the validity of the assertions favoring large schools has suggested that less-advantaged students end up in the largest classes, with the least-experienced teachers and the least-engaging curriculum and instructional strategies (Oakes, 1987; Wheelock, 1992). Further research suggests that schools are organized more for purposes of maintaining control than for promoting learning (McNeil, 1988).

Powell (1996) examined independent schools in the United States and learned that private preparatory schools value both small school and small class size as necessary conditions for student success. In 1998, the average private school class size was 16.6 at the elementary level and 11.6 at the high school level. By contrast, the average class size was 18.6 in public elementary schools and 14.2 in public high schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999).

Despite parental involvement and teachers' good intentions, it is easy for students to get lost in large classes and in large schools.

Colleagues and I recently conducted a study of small schools in Chicago. Part of our time was spent in a small school-within-a-school with eight teachers. Because they were few, they could meet together every day for an hour, work toward common agreements and understandings, and accept shared responsibility for their students. They discussed the curriculum in all subjects, agreed on instructional approaches, and tried to build as much coherence in the curriculum as they could manage. In the larger school, which had some 70 faculty members, a common agenda simply wasn't possible.

Read more from the original article: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb02/vol59/num05/Small-Classes,-Small-Schools@-The-Time-Is-Now.aspx

New York Leaps into the Middle School Trap : Education Next

New York Leaps into the Middle School Trap : Education Next

"In the specific year when students move to a middle school (or to a junior high), their academic achievement, as measured by standardized tests, falls substantially in both math and English relative to that of their counterparts who continue to attend a K–8 elementary school. What’s more, their achievement continues to decline throughout middle school. This negative effect persists at least through 8th grade, the highest grade for which we could obtain test scores."

7-12 Secondary schools instead of jr. highs

Jr. highs have proven to be the worst time of a student's public school experience. That's when kids are most likely to take a nose dive in either behavior or academics. Many people have just written it off to hormones! While that makes things harder, the configurations of middle schools and jr. highs play a big role too.

Elementary students typically have anywhere from 50-100 students per grade level, usually with one main teacher per class. They know their teacher and the other students well, usually of the whole grade. They can't hide in the mob. In a jr. high they typically have 200-300+ students per grade level. It takes those kind of numbers, when you only have 2-3 grades in a school, to be financially viable. In that setting students become part of the mob. Their behaviors deteriorate along with their grades.

Many districts are now experimenting with K-8 schools, which have shown much improvement. Still better, though not as prevalent, are 7-12 secondary schools. There are many advantages to this configuration, but few have really considered this option.

If you turn each jr. high and high school into a 7-12 school, they would house the same number of students, but would reduce the number of students per grade level.

By readjusting school boundaries, the schools would be closer to the homes of the students. This would lower the amount of traffic and travel times.

Students would be in the same school longer without having to transition to a new school, thus reducing the loss of learning and time of adjustment.

Students and teachers would get to know each other better. Parents would tend to be more connected with the school.

If the students had siblings near their age, they would be in the same school - family-friendly, one-stop schooling! They could look after each other better.

One study shows that students who attend 7-12 schools do better in college.

The more you look at 7-12 schools the better they look!