Howley and Bickel did not base their findings on a definition of what constitutes a large or small school but looked at school size on a continuum. They found that poor students from relatively smaller schools outperform poor students from larger schools. Dropout rates are significantly lower. Students have higher grade-point averages. Students have better attendance records.
Fewer students fail courses.
Fewer students are retained at the elementary level. Students achieve higher standardized test scores in reading. In Georgia, achievement scores in schools serving children from poorer communities fell on 27 of 29 test scores as the school size increased. In Texas, scores dropped on eight of ten tests. In Ohio, at all grade levels, students in both smaller schools and smaller school districts that served poorer communities had a higher achievement rate.