To determine if class-size research outcomes should influence decisions, the educational leader should consider the strength of the design, the duration of the study, how pupils and teachers were assigned to classes, what measurement instruments were used and the results of multiple measurements. Variables other than class size should not cloud the results. The study limitations should be clearly stated. To the contrary, class-size research has shown that small classes influence student outcomes positively. Actually, it is because pupil-teacher ratios and class size are not the same.
Class size refers to the number of students in a teacher s class.
The pupil-teacher ratio usually results from dividing the enrollment by the assigned professional staff. The STAR results became available at a time when federal education policy was on another path, so they received little attention from policymakers. One federal official at the time suggested that STAR probably would not be replicated due to its cost, size and complexity. But the federal policy debate today may now be shifting. The finding of a class-size effect on student achievement and development is research.