Class Size Matters: Understanding the Link Between Class Size and Student Achievement

The discussion about the importance of class size has been ongoing for decades. While some still argue that class size doesn’t make a noticeable difference in the quality of education, research has shown that is not the case. Understanding the connection between class size and student achievement, as well as teacher retentions, is critical to the future of our educational system.

The Link Between Class Size and Achievement

Research into the impact of class size on student achievement has been ongoing for decades. According to an article in the Seattle Times, the effects “have been hard to isolate and measure,” which has led to disagreements over the results. The article suggested the disagreement may have more to do with benefits outweighing the costs as opposed to actual effectiveness. In fact, The National Center for Education Statistics points out that after the 2008 recession, pupil-teacher ratio increased.

Even with some disagreement about the cost effectiveness of chasing the benefits of small class size, most researches agree that it does have a positive impact, particularly on students in younger grades.…Read More

Tradeoffs: Reduce class sizes or increase teacher pay?

Every morning at PS 148 in East Elmhurst, Queens, teacher Monique Bertolotti greets her 27 third graders, who speak English as a second language, with a reading exercise, reports the Huffington Post. Classes began on Sept. 13, but because of the volume of students in her class, it was only Wednesday — three weeks later — that Bertolotti got to sit down with two new Colombian students, Nicole and Amy, to help them acclimate…

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Ex-Apple exec wants to make textbooks like computers

Inkling, a digital textbook company started by ex-Apple education exec Matt MacInnis, wants to make textbooks more like computers, reports the Huffington Post. MacInnis told HuffPost that e-textbooks should be specially converted for digital consumption. They should be more, he said, “than just flat scans of the original material” — a not-so-subtle dig at Inkling’s main competitor, digital textbook seller Kno. What makes Inkling’s textbooks better, MacInnis said with a bit of braggadocio, is that they “change the way information is consumed.”

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