Small Classes Do Reduce the Test-Score Achievement Gap.

Autor/inn/en	Achilles, C. M.; Finn, J. D.; Gerber, Susan B.
Titel	Small Classes Do Reduce the Test-Score Achievement Gap.
Quelle	(2000), (53 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Academic Achievement; Achievement Gains; Class Size; Primary Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schulleistung; Achievement gain; Leistungssteigerung; Klassengröße; Primarbereich
Abstract	Tennessee's Project STAR, a randomized experiment involving almost 12,000 pupils, demonstrated convincingly that small classes in the early elementary (K-3) grades increase pupil performance, reduce the test-score achievement gap between or among different social groups, and can have long-lasting effects. The benefits are greater for minority students, resulting in a reduced minority-White achievement gap. This paper summarizes latest research on the immediate and long-term effects of small classes. Section 1 discusses the need for independent research on important education issues such as class size and achievement gap. Section 2 begins with a call for clear definition of terms in any class-size discussion. Section 3 presents evidence from recent non-STAR sources related to class size and student achievement. Section 4 offers a summary, conclusions, and some recommendations, including conditions for implementing small classes, problems that districts have encountered, and conditions likely to maximize small-class benefits. Three figures and 14 tables show trends in data. Appendices include a description of STAR, a summary of class-size findings and issues derived from various sources, part of Texas HB 72 which mandated small classes, a major caveat on Texas data, and a discussion about the Black-White test score gap. (RT)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC