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How Important Is Class Size?

Class size is one of many factors to consider when choosing or evaluating a school.
By GreatSchools Staff
 

How much attention do students at your school get? Class size is one factor to consider when evaluating a school's effectiveness. But small class size alone does not ensure a good education. The quality of the teaching, the school leadership, the size of the school, the amount of parent involvement and other factors are important to consider, too.

What's the Difference Between Class Size and Student-Teacher Ratio?

GreatSchools publishes class size information for schools in some states and student-teacher-ratio information in others, depending on what's available in each state from the respective state Department of Education. It's important to understand the difference between these two types of data and what they indicate about your school.

When you see class size stats on GreatSchools' school pages, the number refers to the average class size at the school. Some classes may be larger or smaller than the average number you see. This is especially true in schools which have state-mandated class sizes, particularly in the lower grades. Schools that have mandated lower class sizes in grades kindergarten through 3 may have larger class sizes for the upper grades.

Student-teacher ratios are based on the total number of school instructional staff divided by the total enrollment of students. So this number may include specialist teachers in the arts, literacy specialists, physical education and special education teachers, who may teach smaller groups of students. As a result, student-teacher ratios may show smaller numbers than the actual average class size.

Student-teacher ratios, which in many states are based upon full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers, can appear high for schools that have a large number of part-time teachers. If, for example, a small school has four part-time teachers, who each work 25% of the time, the student-teacher ratio at this school would be calculated based upon one teacher instead of four (because four teachers at 25% is equal to one full-time teacher). This will make the student-teacher ratio appear higher than it really is. If you think your school data shows an exceptionally high student-teacher ratio, check with your school principal to find out why.

What Defines a "Small Class"?

Researchers have found that gains in achievement generally occur when class size is reduced to less than 20 students.

What Are the Benefits of Small Classes?

Numerous studies have been done to assess the impact of class size reduction. Although most studies do show a relationship between small class size and increased student achievement, researchers disagree on how to interpret the results. Because there are so many variables in the average classroom - the quality of the teacher, the home environment of the students, the quality of the curriculum, the leadership of the school - it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about student achievement based on class size alone. In other words, strategies effective in one setting may not be equally effective in another. Nevertheless, studies over a period of years have pointed to a number of trends as a result of lowering class size:

  • Gains associated with small classes generally appear when the class size is reduced to less than 20 students.
  • Gains associated with small classes are stronger for the early grades.
  • Gains are stronger for students who come from groups that are traditionally disadvantaged in education-minorities and immigrants.
  • Gains from class size reduction in the early grades continue for students in the upper grades. Students are less likely to be retained, more likely to stay in school and more likely to earn better grades.
  • Academic gains are not the only benefit of lowering class size. A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health revealed that reducing class sizes in elementary schools may be more cost-effective than most public health and medical interventions. This is because students in smaller classes are more likely to graduate from high school, and high school graduates earn more and also enjoy significantly better health than high school dropouts.
 
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Comments from GreatSchools.net readers

08/27/2009:
"Class size is not as important as people make it out to be. In many countries in Asia, there are thirty to forty kids in a class with one teacher. Yet, they seem to learn very well - as much as they are expected to or better. Even with 12 kids, it's not possible for a teacher to sit down and have every kid understand every concept that is taught. Also, learning is two-faced. There are the 'understanding' part and the 'repeat-until-you-master' part. What we need is more discipline and parental involvement at home (not even at school). We shouldn't make a such a big deal about volunteering at school, either. Teachers should impart knowledge through lessons. Parents should monitor and help with kids' progress. Besides, teachers are not educated enough to be completely responsible for your children's learning. That is if you are going for excellence."
04/17/2009:
"i love this school it is great "
01/30/2009:
"Class size, school size, district size, attitude, and atmosphere affect learning. In the district where we live there are 3 elementary schools: one with over 2,000 students, a new school with around 1,000, and a small country school with 3 teachers, one of whom is also the principal. Grades K-3 have a 20- student limit. Upper grades allow almost twice as many! A close friend moved from 5th to 3rd so she could really get to know and reach out to each of her students as well as perform the ever-growing, time-consuming, non-teaching, under-appreciated extra tasks required of teachers. My granddaughter's teacher this year was neither very caring nor helpful. None of the 9 other first-grade classes at the school had any room, and the administration couldn't force someone switch. The only school with room for another first grader was the little one miles away. There are 2 other districts with schools closer than that! We opted for Faith Academy, a small K-8 Christian school. It is close, has a caring staff, offers an after-school program till 5:30 for $5.00 a day, and costs about $200 less per month than preschool did. Of course everyone participates in fundraisers. I believe that small classes are needed for K-6, and also all the way through college for subjects such as learning another language, where participation and interaction are crucial, and/or that require a lot of teacher time outside of class to read, evaluate, and provide constructive feed-back such as in a writing class. Small schools are better where students are in self-contained classrooms. In junior high and especially in high school and college, students of larger schools often have a bigger choice of courses, especially if small classes do not fall victim to school or district 'politics.' "
01/12/2009:
"I suspect the writer of this article was a conservative Republican. I was amazed that I did not read that you would prefer to take take school funding away from public schools and hand those tax dollars over to some type of parochial religous school that would not teach anything about sex education except total abstinence; that you would prefer you children learn about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden instead of learning about evolution; and that teaching anything about global warming should be totally out lawed in any school that your children would attend. Without a doubt, public school education has been the foundation of every single great leader this county has ever produced. And millions of children have been educated by public school teachers who have stood up and screamed and hollered and had to get down on their knees and beg the public to produce the dollars for the programs that have been so successful in educating all colors of children throughout this country while racist politicians and media have attempted to establish a 'haves' and the 'have nots' society by taking away tax dollars from the public schools full of dedicated teachers who have struggled to teach poor students from the worst of neighborhoods in this country and students of immigrants who do not speak the English language in the home. Teachers cannot plug a student into a wall socket and expect children from all walks of life, with varying degrees of experiences to take in, assimilate, and reguritate all the correct answers on a state test. No Child Gets Left Behind in public schools in this country even though Geo Dubyah Bush attempted to dismantle public schools by cutting off the funding needed. "
01/2/2009:
"When the mandate to reduce class size in the elementary schools hit the Placentia/Yorba schools, it was a scramble to attract and hire qualified teachers. Because of the area, finding great teachers was for the most part no problem. The point is top teachers like to live and work in nice communities. Having a large supportive parent base for volunteer programs and field trips didn't hurt either. My kids now go to an overly large high school - Esperanza. Class size is larger than average, however, doesn't seem to impact the teachers ability to teach or the kids ability to absorb the learning. Point is, I now believe that a a strong elementary school education in the basics is extremely important to the later learning skills and that the teacher/parent team is everything to the success of a child in school. "
12/23/2008:
"Class size is important..Although next year Los Angeles Unified School district is increasing their class size due to major budget cuts. In LAUSD there will also be a major teacher layoff, many principals and coaches will be forced back into the classroom, which will bump out any newly hired teachers, due to senority.The district may not have enough $$ to function in the year 2010-2011."
12/23/2008:
"I agree that class size DOES matter, but i enrolled my daughter in summit academy middle school and her class sizes are fairly large still (equivelant to regular public school) yet, the teaching staff seems to be MUCH stronger-therefore she's doing better. Grades and behavior- and thats all that matters! She would like to still try our public middle school, but i think she's just fine where she's at."
12/23/2008:
"Class size matters. with 30-35 student in the class rom the student achievement is poor. I don't like that, the boar of educacion have to do something, this is why some student are d d f f, because teacher have not time for them. is too much 30 student for one teacher."
11/21/2008:
"I believe that smaller classes for all are best but as they get older it's not SOOO needed. The kindergartens are new to the system. Have been home with parents or is small preschool classes and have to learn to trust what is going on. As they get older they are more confident. I think High schoolers are better is smaller schools but not so much from smaller classes. They know what is going on, don't need to be one on one with the teachers so much and are preparing to college or the real world. My daughters school is great, we moved her because it was. She is in a class of only 18 kids and she's in kindergarten and loves it. It's only up to 4th grade and there are 3 kindergarten teachers. I can't say i remember the full student count. But i think we need to Make them lower the student count if the count is over 20. But know one listens. Good luck with that."
11/12/2008:
"Class size is UNIMPORTANT. Discipline is important. Remember that when these kids are in UC's and CalState, they will be in a class with 300 other students if not more for Math 101 - with one teacher and 10 TA's. Small class size is a function of the strength of teachers' unions who couldn't care a *&$^ about the quality of education [of course they will say and preach otherwise]. Bottom-line: Class size does not and will not affect learning. If it does, then none of our kids should go to college. Rob"
10/28/2008:
"I'm a substitute in New Mexico. Where a 1st grade class has as many as 28 students. The students can go to any school of there choosing. Not staying in there own districts.Which of course makes for overcrowded classrooms and exhausted teachers. Besides the child that goes to a school where he shouldn't be. Takes the place of the child who should be.I believe if your a new teacher maybe you can get a smaller class the first year. Work your way up from there.For a first time teacher and 28 children,that's a bit intimidating don't you think.LCPS is in a sad shape and in a bad state of mind.So bad that even the subs are not showing up for assignments.Except for myself,I just don't get the calls I use to.B/c I hear the teachers were reprimanded on taking to many days off. Gee,I wonder why ? But here, if you don't use them you loose them ? Now how is that suppose to work ? I'm glad I'm not a teacher for the district. As a sub I can pick and choose.Oh,as Subs here we make $69.00 a day. I haven't seen a raise in the 5years I've for them !"
10/2/2008:
"What about a 2/3 blended class, how can a teacher prepare a 3rd grader for the big test to move forward to the 4th, when she is teaching both 2nd and 3rd graders, it really confuses my 3rd grader, they are left out and made fun of because of being in with the 2nd graders. I think it is not a good thing, it's almost like repeating 2nd grade. I thought 3rd grade was a very important grade to learn all they can, not to repeat last year."
09/30/2008:
"I'm a veteran high school English teacher. The NEA recommends no more than fifteen students per class. Period. The FTE to student ratio is all smoke and mirror and does not tell us how many students occupy one particular class at any one particular time. I note that reading, writing, and math scores drop as students advance in grade level which shoots down the claim that larger class sizes at higher grade levels is somehow acceptable. IT IS NOT! Any school--no matter the grade level--that exceeds twenty-five students per class at any one time is doing American education and American society a grave injustice. America cannot break the top twenty in education among developed countries worldwide--and yet America spends more per student than many of the schools that rank in the top twenty. Obviously, class size reduction is so serious an issue that the federal government was willing to appropriate 2.6 billion dollars to class-size-reduction in 2000. "
09/24/2008:
"100% for sure class sizes are way to large!!! We live in a small division of Los Angeles and I have one 2nd grader and one 7th grader and a special needs child in special ed. My daughter in special ed is getting outstanding care and schooling. However, my boys' classes are absolutely way to large. In fact, my younger son' school just fired a teacher last week, I guess the funding is very low and enrollment is low so someone had to go, but it makes no sense to me. She had a full load of 2nd grade children, maybe 20 students but apparentely that is too small so they fired her and have shuffled all the kids around amongst the other couple of classes. They are even now combing kinder and 1st, and 2nd and third. I forgot what they call it but it is ridiculous. I am furious and feel that my husband (serving his country in the military) and myself have and continue to work hard to set a solid foundation for our children at home, through church, sports, etc. And then they s! pend majority of their life in a overcrowded classroom receiving hardly any personal attention. The only kids that really stand out are the bullies, those are the ones getting all the attention. I just don't by what the article said about small classes don't have an impact. I don't care how old you are, smaller, more one on one time with your teacher, qualitiy time to ask questions and bond with other classmates and your teacher is majorly key. I get so furious when I see how large the classes are as you may be able to tell. This is our future, Education we are talking about, day in and day out, someone needs to get into reality and see how important this is. Who cares, build an extra few rooms, bring in free standing classrooms, and I am offended also on the comment about the teachers would not be qualified, good try, that is ridiculous, there are many qualified teachers with their bach. degrees and furthur, not that hard to find, no excuse for that. Sorry for whini! ng, I wish I homeschooled my kids sometimes but I love the int! eraction with such diverse kids and adults and special field trips. I am not up for that challenge but it may come down to that. I am not gonna let my kids slip through the cracks and not feel important. Their our future, they are bright and amazing but who at school would notice, there are too many other kids to pay attention to. So sad!"
09/17/2008:
"How about an urban ,first grade classroom with 44 students in it?Eventually,(hopefully) a new teacher,(or sub.)will eventually be appointed.At that point, some children will be ripped from their teacher and classroom and put into a new room with a new teacher who may or may not be able to be effective, stepping in with no preparation.This class includes children who have special needs,children who are in foster care and already have disrupted lives,children who have been diagnosed with A.D.H.D and children who already read above grade level and need to be challenged.(Some children do not even know their letters!)Obviously,many of these children would greatly benefit from the attention and nurturing that they could receive in a small sized group.Nobody will benefit from being ripped from the teacher that they have begun to bond with.This is happening in a district that has been undergoing 'reform' for the past six years!"
09/17/2008:
"My son's third grade class is 27:1 and I was just wondering if that is large. Does the state place restrictions on class size? If so how do I find this information? Thanks for your time."
09/17/2008:
"I am a mother of a first grade student in timber trails. I am very concerned about the huge number of students in one class. together with the rest of the parents in our school, we are appealing for reconsideration of creating an additional class, to allow each teacher to be able to concentrate on a much more manageable size, thereby allowing our children the opportunity to learn in a typical setting where each child is given ample enough attention. I am unaware of exactly who to plead my case to, or where to present our case. "
08/11/2008:
"I know the struggles that are facing our schools,but we must keep addressing the issues and please work with the administration to always lower the class size.We must not give up our whole society will suffer from it."
06/20/2008:
"I would love if our schools classes could be smaller. The bibbest class i had last school year was 32 and the smallest class i had was 25. It felt like not all of my classmates got that one on one time to fully understand what was expected. Our school is very overcrowded and its is hard for my school to place new kids."
06/20/2008:
"I've taught for only 13 years, and my experience is that smaller class size is of great importance. There is also a tremendous need for parents to prepare their children for school (and life) by teaching them to follow rules, the difference between right and wrong; read to their children as part of the family's daily routine; limit television and encourage activities that require longer attention spans. These measures would have huge, long-term impact on their children. I'm amazed at how many people are always willing to blame schools, but don't see or talk about the problems in school that result from poor parenting."
06/2/2008:
"I am a high school English teacher and agree with most of this article. Class sizes are growing and the larger a class the less time the teacher has for each student--not only in the classroom but parent communication. When I began teaching 10 years ago classes averaged 25 students, now we consider anything under 30 as small. More stressful than class size is lack of equipment. This year our department did not have copier transparencies until after the winter holidays, 16 teachers share 14 classrooms, 4 LCD projectors, and 3 printers. Though they have had college degrees, none of my last three team teachers have had degrees in education, English, or special education, nor have they had teacher training. A 2nd year teacher at my school is considering quitting teaching, not because of salary, because of the lack of respect from parents, students and administrators; and the frequently overwhelming workload."
06/2/2008:
"One positive result of small class size is to provide the opportunity for the teacher to adjust instruction to meet the needs of more students. If this does not happen a sdmaller class has little value for the student."
04/24/2008:
"I think class size is very important because there is one teacher to a classroom and too many children can cause the teacher to neglect some of the kids to help the others and we wouldnt want that."
03/31/2008:
"To Parents of Special Ed students: Know your rights - you have the law behind you. The school administration's greatest fear is lawsuits brought by parents of special ed students. Do not let the school administrators place your student in a resource room with 30 students (all with IEP's) and one special ed teacher. Make sure all aspects of the IEP is being followed - especially accommodations. Refuse to sign the IEP if you feel your child is not getting a free appropriate education. Use 'No Child Left Behind' and 'IDEA' as leverage to get what your child deserves. Maintain a document trail - which could be used later in a 'due process' hearing."
03/18/2008:
"My public school experience, I guess, was from a different age. I was in public school during the 50's and my memories of the time were mostly positive, I was a good student. Class sizes were on the order of 35 to 45 students and discipline was not a sever problem though there were always those individuals who were disruptive. They were diverted to detention halls and other disciplinary haunts. Academically the schools were good and offered good preparation for higher education. I had no trouble when I arrived at college relative to my peergroup many of whom went to prepschool and or private schools. Frankly I find the advent of the Teachers Unions most disruptive to Public Education, Particularly in Penna. Nothing is worse than a Teacher's strike. It sends the message to the students that they are just a meal ticket to the teachers. The breakdown of class discipline is also very dissapointing. Parents also need to be more involved. "
03/10/2008:
" i'm really happy that u work to makr the calss size smaller but I just heard from friend that next year the class size will be bigger that has about 50 student ,what ur info about this thought ,this scare me to put my kids in class that big "
03/6/2008:
"Determining class size is misleading. When the number of students enrolled in a school is divided by the number of all the teachers in a building, you get a much smaller class size number than are acutually in student homerooms. Physical education, music, art, special sevices, and special program teachers do not have all the students at one time, but their numbers are consistently used to determine class sizes. So a class size of 16 is VERY misleading, when is actuallity the limit of students assigned to one class is 27."
03/5/2008:
"I am a high school senior, and I totally agree on the fact that we need smaller classroom sizes! I feel the teachers will be able to give each student what they need(if they truly care). I could not stand when I was in school having 30 some odd students in the classroom. I could not get my questions across or someone was always being disruptive. If class sizes decline teachers would not be as stressed, and students will hopefully have the ignitive to get the best education possible! "
03/4/2008:
"Small size to parents means 1 teacher to 10 - 12 students. The more time a teacher has to instruct and repeat the contents of the lessons helps the students. If teachers are overwhelmed, they perform out of obligation without any joy of teaching and using creativity, as it should be."
02/27/2008:
"You state that the 3rd grade classes at Friendly Hills Elementary are at an average of 24 students per teacher when I know that one class has over 30 and the other has 33-34 AND neither teacher has an assistant teacher. Does the school provide you the stats, because if it does, they are incorrect. Lisa"
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