Class Size and Achievement
The issues here are quite difficult to grapple with. Some voices proclaim that class size has no effect at all, and can produce statistical evidence to prove the same. Others take a much more cautious standpoint, with the view that class size actually does effect achievement, and it effects it a great deal. Furthermore the younger the child, the greater the effect of class size. More worrying, is the view that class size has the most effect on achievement and non-achievement at the lower end of the social scale.
It
is a sad and ironic fact then, that the very children for whom class size would
have the most effect, (the poor,) are the least likely to have the benefit of
the same. The children of the middle
and upper classes are much more likely to benefit from smaller classes,
especially those who attend independent schools.
Furthermore,
a low IQ child from a richer background will most likely overtake the high IQ
child from a poorer background in the course of their educational career. Indeed, the social divide in education in
England is one of the poorest of the industrialised nations.
School
it seems, in England, does nothing to help children from poorer and socially
disadvantaged backgrounds to do better.
What
follows are a number of links to articles which deal with some of the issues related to class size.
A Policy
Information Memorandum
Class
size and achievement closely related
Study
of Class Size Effects in English School Reception Year Classes
Information
Services: Class Size
BBC News
| Education | Class size cuts both ways
Does
Small Really Make a Difference? Bibliography
Hampshire
County Council - Effects of Class Size
Further Relevant
Research Continued - Human Scale Education