Does Class Size Matter?

Class size is known as the number of students per classroom and there have been recent concerns about whether the number affects students' educational outcomes. Smaller classes allow students to get more individual attention which results in better achievement, higher test scores, and fewer disciplinary issues.  "In 1985, Tennessee launched an experiment which assigned 7,000 kindergarten students in 79 schools to classes of varying sizes. After four years, the students who had been placed in small classes were between two and fives months ahead of their peers in larger classes". Although there are many benefits to smaller classes, there also bring up many challenges such as hiring quality teachers to fill those roles. Since the pandemic, there has been a teacher shortage and many schools are struggling to hire teachers. This is a challenge when reducing class size because this would mean hiring more teachers. There are, however, alternatives such as hiring teaching assistants to give students the extra attention they would receive in a smaller class. The topic of class size is important in the education field because it has been shown to positively affect students' outcomes and performance. Knowing this, teachers should prioritize more small-group work and meet with children individually to give them more one-on-one attention.

Teacher sitting next to girl
and pointing at book

I believe that class size can be extremely beneficial for elementary grades in particular because smaller classes play an important role in young children's growth and development. I also believe that even without a smaller class, teachers can achieve similar outcomes if they give children the individual help they need. The reason why smaller classes boosted students' academic achievement is that teachers were able to give more one-on-one attention to all children. I believe there are ways around this where teachers can utilize small groups to give children individual attention. As a student myself, I know how easy it is to get distracted in class when there are so many people in it. My middle school had a big class size with almost 25-30 kids per class. Although this may seem like a normal size class, it was hard to stay focused when there was only one teacher at the front of the room. I remember my teachers would often get frustrated because it is hard being responsible for 25 middle school-aged students on your own. I understand why there are both benefits and challenges of smaller classes, however, from experience and the statistics, I believe that reducing class sizes is helpful for both students and teachers.