Chapter 6: Implications of Class-Size Reduction Research for Practice and Policy

James G. Ward
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sabrina W. M. Laine
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Much has been written about the effects of reduced class size on student performance and on the implications for the operations of schools. The chapters in this volume discuss many of the issues important for educational practice and policy and shed new light on the topic. The question for educational practitioners and policymakers is, what does all this mean? How can I use this information to make decisions I feel I need to make? The purpose of this chapter is to explore the implications for practice and policy of the research presented here and provide some practical guidance to improve schools.

The first part of this chapter synthesizes what we know about class-size reduction, pulling together findings from earlier chapters and offering some conclusions. The second part of this chapter uses these conclusions to offer specific guidance to superintendents and principals interested in implementing class-size reduction and to policymakers considering class-size reduction legislation or state initiatives.

Some Conclusions About Class-Size Reduction

The chapters included in this volume provide some conclusions about class-size reduction: Reductions in class size produce increases in student achievement, class-size reduction is costly, class-size reduction affects teacher labor markets, class-size reduction cannot be implemented alone, and class-size reduction raises equity concerns.

Reductions in class size produce increases in student achievement

The results from research on programs such as STAR and SAGE provide convincing evidence that reductions in class sizes produce statistically and educationally significant increases in student achievement. However, many questions remain unanswered. How much are the achievement gains and at what level do they seem to be the most significant? Questions remain about whether the gains occur at the earliest level or at all levels. Are reduced class sizes necessary for the retention of student achievement gains, and do the gains disappear if class sizes are increased again? While these kinds of questions remain, additional longitudinal studies, which will look at student achievement gains over time in relation to class sizes, will help provide new information from which to offer guidance. The inescapable fact remains that student test scores increase with fewer students in the class.

Class-size reduction is costly

Reductions in class sizes require an increase in funding. The most obvious cost of class-size reduction is the increase in the number of teachers. Costs vary for teachers depending on salary schedules, fringe benefits provided, the cost of leaves, professional development costs, and whether the new teachers are beginning teachers or veteran teachers. The calculations are rather simple: If you have 100 students at a grade level and class size of 25, then four teachers will be required. If you reduce class sizes to 20 students, then five teachers are necessary; six teachers will be necessary if class sizes are reduced to 17 students. Likewise, the number of classrooms will need to increase. Some schools and school districts have excess capacity of classrooms, but most do not. At the very least, class-size reductions may require the acquisition of temporary classrooms and, more likely, they mean engaging in capital facility expansion.

Class-size reduction affects teacher labor markets

A very important question is that when a district decides to engage in a systematic program of class-size reduction, where will the new teachers come from? How good will they be? In many subject areas and in many areas of the country, there is a shortage of good teachers. Teacher labor market projections indicate that this shortage likely will become more acute during the next decade. How will we attract and retain a sufficient number of good teachers? Will class-size reduction be effective if it dilutes the talent pool of teachers? How will this affect costs? One chapter in this volume suggests that by reducing class size, schools will increase the attractiveness of teaching by providing more satisfying working conditions and thus allow for a reduction in teacher salaries. Other evidence suggests that the only way we will be able to attract and retain more high-quality teachers will be by providing higher salaries. The effects of class-size reduction on teacher labor markets also depend on whether class size is implemented in one district or whether it is implemented in all districts. If only one district initiates a class-size reduction program, it may be able to entice teachers from neighboring districts at minimal excess costs above normal teacher salary levels. If a program is implemented statewide, it may produce widespread teacher shortages and sharply increased teacher costs.

Class-size reduction cannot be implemented alone

The evidence seems very clear from both the research studies included here and the experiences of administrators described in this volume that class-size reduction with an extensive professional development program is much more effective than class-size reduction alone. According to a teacher in a class-size reduction program in Hammond, Indiana, ¹ "Having the smaller classes made learning new instructional strategies very easy to do compared to going into a classroom of 20 to 22 and trying to use this. You had a lot more time to deal with issues or to think about what you were doing or to make plans" (NCREL, p. 3). Significantly reducing the number of students in a class requires different instructional approaches. Some of the research suggests that for class-size reduction to be effective, there needs to be more individualized instruction and more hands-on teaching. However, simply placing teachers in smaller classes in no way guarantees that they will change their instructional approach. In fact, the Zahorik et al. found that in some cases, "The time saved by fewer discipline problems and a more manageable class may cause some teachers to become less assertive, ill-prepared and less focused" (see Chapter 4). Teachers need coordinated programs of professional development related to school improvement plans in order to do this.

Class-size reduction raises equity concerns

Implicit in the Harris and Plank chapter (Chapter 2) is that if class-size reduction occurs on a district or a school basis, rather than as part of a statewide policy change, the costs involved increase the likelihood that it will be more affluent districts with more resources that will be able to effectuate class-size reduction. As a result, the achievement gains more likely will be experienced by students who already are doing well, and the benefits of class-size reduction will not accrue to lower-income students who may be performing at below-average levels to begin with. Two years ago, the Michigan legislature passed a class-size reduction pilot program in 106 schools to reduce class size in grades K-3. One of the goals of Michigan's program is to improve student achievement in schools with smaller classes, and a four-year evaluation² of the initiative is examining how different groups of students are affected by class-size reduction and why. These equity concerns suggest that provisions need to be made to ensure that schools of all income levels and funding levels have access to adequate resources for class-size reduction.

Implementation of Class-Size Reduction

These conclusions are mostly consistent with the ever-growing knowledge base on class-size reduction, but they also raise some new implications for the implementation of class-size reduction in states, schools, and districts. Implications are provided both for policymakers at the state and federal level and for local school administrators. In addition, each set of implications is followed by a list of questions policymakers and local school and district administrators may want to ask and answer before embarking on reducing class size.

Implications for state and federal policymakers

A number of factors discussed above suggest that class-size reduction might best be implemented through some kind of systematic and uniform state or federal program. Such a program could alleviate the equity concerns raised above. In fact, a state or federal program of class-size reduction might focus on poor school districts, poor schools, and schools with high concentrations of children in poverty. The research from the earlier chapters suggests that class-size reduction might be particularly effective with low-achieving children, and a state or federal policy initiative might provide resources for a program focusing on such children. Also, a comprehensive state or federal policy on class-size reduction could address such issues as how to enable districts to have access to a larger pool of highly qualified teachers and how to provide resources for capital facility expansion to meet class-size reduction needs.

The questions Harris and Plank raise in Chapter 2 also need to be addressed at the state or federal level. To what extent should policymakers focus on class-size reduction and to what extent on the teacher-quality issue? Also, that chapter raised the issue of how to increase teacher salaries to provide an incentive to increase the number of highly qualified teachers available to schools. This is an issue that best would be solved by state or federal action rather than a hodgepodge of local incentive programs.

Additional questions for state and federal policymakers

• What are the goals and priorities of school reform in a state that will be addressed through a policy of reducing class size?
• What competing education policy priorities might address the state's reform goals in lieu of implementing a class-size reduction initiative?
• What is the existing picture of teacher supply in the state, and how will state policies address issues of teacher quality and quantity in case a class-size reduction initiative induces a teacher shortage?
• What types of additional programmatic and policy incentives need to be in place to ensure the successful implementation of a class-size reduction initiative?
• How can class-size reduction policies be used in conjunction with such statewide education policies as reading readiness and comprehensive school reform?

Implications for local administrators

These chapters and the conclusions drawn from them raise a number of critical implications for local school administrators.

Expected outcomes of class-size reduction

Any district planning to enter into a comprehensive program of class-size reduction needs to be clear about its goals. There should be clear and explicit statements of the student achievement gains that are expected from class-size reduction and the period of time needed to achieve those goals after introducing the reform. School board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and students should not be given any false expectations about what likely will happen. The research reported in this volume shows the possible effects of class-size reduction, but it also shows that it may take time for tangible results to emerge and also that the sustainability of the achievement gains can be an issue.

Costs of class-size reduction

Before embarking on a program of class-size reduction, a careful and detailed cost plan should be developed. Major elements in this plan will be increases in teaching staff, increased cost of classroom space, and professional development costs. These need to be developed for both the first year of the program and for future years. The initial start-up costs may be high, and the recurring costs of sustaining the program also will be sizeable. The cost plan should be accompanied by a plan of projected revenues to support the policy.

The cost-effectiveness calculus

A plan for any large expenditure of funds also should consider alternative means of achieving the same outcomes and a cost comparison of the options available. As suggested in Chapter 2, a program for improving teacher quality may be more effective at a lower cost in raising student achievement. A district or a school first should look carefully at its needs and select the most cost-effective measure for meeting those needs.

The Personnel Factor

As discussed, class-size reduction requires more teachers. In the current teacher labor market, it's necessary to address the question of whether sufficient numbers of new teachers can be found to implement the program, and what the source and cost of those teachers will be. Also, consider that hiring new teachers not only incurs a new cost to the district, it represents an investment in human capital. If, at some point, the district changes priorities and discontinues its class-size reduction program, it still will have a staff about which to be concerned.

Professional development plan

Before engaging in a program of class-size reduction, the district needs to have a clearly articulated program of professional development that connects the improvement in teacher quality to class-size reduction and the school improvement plan. This plan should be clear about the changes in teaching and learning that are expected and how teachers might improve their approaches to instruction.

Additional questions for local administrators

• What are the expected outcomes of a districtwide class-size reduction initiative, and how will those outcomes be measured?
• What are the range of facility and fixed costs associated with implementing a class-size reduction program?
• What are the short- and long-term implications of the number of new teachers needed to implement a class-size reduction initiative?
• What pedagogical approaches and classroom organization and management techniques will maximize the advantages of small classes?

Some Concluding Comments

Class-size reduction has proven valuable in improving student achievement; however, other reforms may provide equal or greater value. Class-size reduction comes with a significant cost to the school district, and those costs are not confined only to the costs of more teachers. Also, class-size reduction can be connected to other issues, such as the quality of the teaching pool available and the fair distribution of teaching talent. Class-size reduction is not a simple issue, but it is one that schools need to consider. This chapter has tried to provide some clear guidance from the literature on the issue and some considerations for the implementation of a class-size reduction policy.

Endnotes

1. The city of Hammond received class-size reduction funding from the Indiana Department of Education in 1999. The project is focusing on reducing class size in first- and second-grade classrooms in three elementary schools. NCREL is the external evaluator on this project.

2. NCREL and the Indiana Center for Evaluation at Indiana University are conducting the evaluation for the Michigan Department of Education.

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