POLICY AND PROGRAM STUDIES SERVICE

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

This is some 

A Descriptive Evaluation of the Federal Class-Size Reduction Program

BACKGROUND

The federal Class-Size Reduction (CSR) Program, PL 105-277, begun in Fiscal Year 1999, 

helped school districts hire additional qualified teachers, especially in the early elementary

grades, so children would learn in smaller classes. The CSR program also allowed funds to be 

spent for professional development, in part to help teachers take advantage of instructional 

opportunities in smaller classes. The ultimate goal of the program was to improve student 

achievement, particularly in reading, by reducing class size in grades K-3 to 18 students. 

As part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), 

the CSR program was folded into Title II, Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 

(NCLB). Although no longer a separate federal program, class-size reduction remains an

allowable use of funds under Title II, Part A. Therefore, this evaluation provides valuable 

lessons not just about the federal CSR program, but also about a major component of Title II, 

Part A of NCLB.

The evaluation was designed to address multiple research questions, organized into three main 

categories: (1) distribution and uses of federal CSR funds; (2) implementation of CSR; (3) and 

effects of CSR on class size. This evaluation was not intended to provide data on the effects of 

CSR on classroom practices or student achievement. 

The evaluation used mixed data collection methods. Surveys of district staff and school

principals provided generalizable information about the federal CSR program, while site visits to 

six states, 12 districts (two in each state), 24 schools (two in each district), and 48 CSR 

classrooms (two from each school) provided qualitative information that illuminated and helped 

verify the survey findings. The surveys and site visits were conducted in the spring of 2001, 

during the federal CSR program’s second year of funding, and most data correspond to the 2000-

2001 school year. 

KEY FINDINGS:

Distribution and Uses of Funds

• In 2000-2001, about 25,000 teachers were hired with federal CSR funds. Ninety-four 

percent were regular classroom teachers rather than specialist teachers. Schools with 

the largest class sizes in their district were typically the recipients of the federally 

funded CSR teachers. Sixty percent of schools hired one teacher, 30 percent hired 

two teachers, and 10 percent hired more than two teachers.
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• In keeping with the law’s explicit intent, two-thirds of all districts coordinated federal 

CSR funding with other funding sources, including funds from Title I of the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Title II of the Higher Education Act, as 

well as state and local CSR initiatives. When districts received state or local CSR 

funds, those funds were typically five times the size of the federal CSR allocation but 

often came with more strings attached, such as restricting funding to teachers in 

separate classrooms.

• Although only 1 percent of the teachers hired with federal CSR funds were special 

education teachers, 16 percent of districts reported coordinating their CSR program 

with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study did not 

explore how these programs were coordinated. In addition, sixty-nine percent of the 

districts offering professional development with CSR funds reported including special 

education teachers in this professional development. It is not clear why the

professional development was not offered to special education teachers in every

district.

Implementation

• Recruiting and hiring fully certified teachers was a problem in almost one-third of 

large districts, and in 10 percent of smaller districts. Many large districts were 

engaged in large-scale recruitment initiatives (often with different funding sources), 

but a lack of credentialed applicants was a major problem (and more of a problem 

than non-competitive salaries or single year funding). In 40 percent of all districts, 

over 50 percent of the new hires were novice teachers.

• Although permitted to use up to 15 percent of federal CSR funds in 1999-2000 for 

professional development, and up to 25 percent in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, 

districts spent an average of 13 percent in 1999-2000 and 14 percent in 2000-2001. 

Only 39 percent of districts chose to spend CSR funds on that activity. According to 

district personnel, the professional development offered typically focused on reading 

(80 percent of districts) and/or math (57 percent) rather than on instructional

strategies to optimize the use of small class size (38 percent). In lieu of professional 

development, districts used funds to hire teachers to reduce class size.

• Just as large districts had trouble finding qualified teachers, they also were more 

likely than smaller districts to have shortages of space. Almost 60 percent of large 

districts reported facilities problems, typically not enough additional rooms and

insufficient funds to modify existing facilities. In response, districts promoted team 

teaching or converted non-classroom space (other instructional rooms like

gymnasiums, or non-instructional rooms like teachers’ lounges) into classrooms. 

Overall, 42 percent of the schools that hired CSR teachers did not place them in selfcontained classrooms.

• CSR implementation was affected by other administrative and resource-related 

issues: the lack of state administrative funds resulted in minimal state involvement in 
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the program; districts were unable to hire teachers due to the late notification of the 

availability of funds; district administrators were wary about the uncertainty of the 

program’s future; and allocations for rural districts were too small to create a

meaningful program.

• Based upon observations in 48 CSR classrooms in 24 schools, some teachers took 

advantage of smaller classes to tailor instruction and maximize one-on-one time with 

students, giving students more time and attention. At the same time, other CSR 

classes functioned like non-CSR classes, with desks in rows and the teacher lecturing 

from the front of the room.

Changes in Class Size

• In the schools and grades where federally funded CSR teachers were placed, average 

class size decreased with the advent of federal CSR funds, typically by one or two 

students. After the federal CSR program, overall average class size ranged from 18 

students per class in kindergarten, to 20 in grade 1 and 21 students per class in grades 

2 and 3. There are two reasons for the modest reduction in average class size. Many 

schools (44 percent) did not assign the CSR teacher to a separate classroom, but 

rather assigned the teacher to special subjects or team teaching. Even in schools 

where teachers were assigned to their own classrooms, 52 percent had simultaneous 

increases in enrollment that mitigated class size reduction. Overall, 73 percent of 

schools either did not assign teachers to separate classes or had enrollment increases 

that reduced CSR’s impact.

This report is available online at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/ppss/reports.html.