Researchers from the Los Angeles-based firm presented their preliminary findings at an April meeting of the American Educational Research Association. They examined test scores of 20,000 students who were enrolled in third grade in the 1998-1999 school year, two years after the state set policy to reduce class size in kindergarten through third grade to about 20 students. Scores were higher for the students in the smaller classes, especially in math and language arts classes. The International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement conducted the Civic Education Study assessment. In the U.S., the assessment was administered to a nationally representative sample of ninth-grade students in October 1999.
Impact evaluations are studies that compare participants in any given program with non-participants.
Head Start and Even Start. Together Now, where the author champions economic desegregation as the key to school reform. Kahlenberg's approach to providing equal education opportunity centers on teaching disadvantaged and advantaged children together in one school. He cites several examples where economic integration is working. For example, La Crosse, Wisconsin,school Superintendent Richard Swantz committed himself to equalizing opportunities offered at the city's two high schools - Logan High School, which served disadvantaged students and offered mainly shop courses and Central, the college preparatory high school.