The research on class size, as Ms. Wiley wrote, is, indeed, complicated. I�ll try to provide a little background on the study Mr. Mann mentioned, which has been discussed locally and nationally.
Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) looked at a lot of Tennessee students (various aspects looked at anywhere from 7,000 to 11,600) in kindergarten through third grade between 1985 and 1989 in about 75 schools in 42 school systems. It compared student achievement in: --small classes (13 to 17) --regular-size classes (22 to 25) --regular-size classes with teachers aides. The smaller classes seemed to show significant benefits over either of the other models, and it led to class size reduction strategies in at least 25 states. Some notes on the study: -- Children who gained most were minority students in inner-city schools. It showed in lots of areas, from test scores to retention to graduation to taking advanced courses to going on to college. -- Later analysis seemed to indicate that students did better in math classes taught by teachers of their same race. -- Researchers are adamant in saying that you cannot generalize to sizes above 17 (and folks doing a similar study in Wisconsin have argued that class size reductions that leave classes larger than 15 are unlikely to show the same gains.) Minneapolis never promised class sizes smaller than 19. -- There is disagreement whether gains can be sustained if the time in smaller classes is less than 3 years...which makes it a questionable strategy unless coupled with efforts to keep students in the same school system for 3 years....the argument for stability. -- Minneapolis teachers think they are more effective teaching smaller classes, and this is no small thing, regardless of research findings in Tennessee. I remain unclear about what Mr. Mann intended when he wrote that there was a misappropriation of funds for class size. He quotes hallowed sources to the effect that the term �misappropriation� may or may not connote something illegal. OK. But since at least some readers will suspect the allegation has legal implications, it might serve discussion well to use different language when it is a question policy as opposed to suggestions of outright illegal behavior. It would help if Mr. Mann stated clearly which of the definitions is his using. Small class size is a good idea, but it is far from a certain bet and is only one of several possible strategies to help students. Several alternatives have been offered on this list. I would not suggest that schools should abandon all other strategies in the name of class size. I would not call pursuing those other strategies thoughtfully to be a misappropriation of funds, regardless of the definition. Dennis Schapiro Linden Hills School board member-elect _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
