Does Class Size Matter?

Most parents think the size of their children's classes makes a difference in terms of achievement. The prevailing belief is that kids in smaller classes do better on standardized tests and academically in general. Yet research has disputed this intuitive conviction, with studies finding no significant difference between the academic achievement of children in large and small classes.

This research, however, has examined groups of children. Statistics for entire classes are compared, and although each class is made up of many children, results of testing are aggregated. This means that though there may be no significant difference in the academic achievement of students as a whole in large and small classes, there can be significant individual differences.

Take, for example, a shy, quiet boy in a fourth-grade classroom of 37 kids (a number not unusual in some states, such as California). This child may not feel comfortable enough in a large class to participate, instead sitting silently at his desk. Not participating in class means the child is less likely to feel involved with the material being taught, the other students, and the teacher. It also means the teacher is less likely to notice the student or have a stake in his performance—especially since there are 36 other students, some of whom may have behavior problems, to attend to.

So for this individual student, being in a large class may well affect his academic achievement adversely. The same holds true for others like him, as it does for children who, for whatever reason, do better in smaller settings and with more individual attention.

Thus, the answer to the question of whether class size matters isn't as straightforward as it might initially seem. A more accurate response is that class size can indeed matter, depending on the individual child, and so taking into account a child's particular personality and needs is important when making decisions about schools with differing class sizes.