Several new analyses of the Tennessee Class Size Reduction program show that reducing class size has both immediate and long-term benefits. The benefits of participating in small classes increase from year to year, both in the early grades when classes are small and in subsequent years when students are placed in larger classes. Further, follow-up studies of the same students show that high school students who were in small classes in grades one through three beginning in 1985 were less likely to be held back a year or be suspended compared with their peers from larger classes. Students from small classes were found to be making better grades in high school and taking more advanced courses. Teachers benefit too.
Teachers spend more time on instruction and less time on discipline problems.
Teachers say they know their students better, know where each child is in the learning process, and can provide more individualized instruction. All of these improvements in teaching are matched by increased student achievement, making teaching more rewarding. The benefits of reduced class size in the early grades go beyond the well-documented improvements in reading, mathematics, and science. Smaller classes also lead to better identification of students who need special help, increased student participation and engagement, improved behavior, and reduced retention in grade. The percentage of the funding coming from the federal government is already too meager, in my judgment.