By Tom
Despite being three months pregnant, my wife agreed to hike with me to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. The last three miles were brutal, what with the pregnancy and all, and the only way I could keep her going was the promise of ice cream from the little stand near the trail head. When we finally finished the hike, she headed to our cabin; telling me not to bother following her without a scoop of strawberry.
So I waited in line. When it was finally my turn, the ice cream guy rolled down the security screen and told me they were closed. “It’s five o’clock,” he explained. Nothing I could say would change his mind, so I headed back for what became a tense evening.
That was almost 20 years ago, but the ice cream guy is starting to look a lot like our governor. I’m talking about the part in his budget where he proposes class size reductions (down to 17 students!) for kindergarten through third grade.
I teach fourth grade.
Apparently he thinks it’s fine to cram 29 students in a fourth grade classroom, as long as there’s only about half that number in the younger grades. And he’s not the only one. Most class size reduction programs around the country focus on K-3.
Why? Research, of course. Specifically, a twenty-five year old study out of Tennessee that found positive gains in student achievement when class size went down. What most people forget to notice, though, is that the study only looked at K-3 students. They didn’t involve anyone older. At least not in that study. Another study (which you don’t often hear about) was conducted in 2000 by the National Center for Education Statistics and looked at K-12 data from 20 different states. These guys found that lower class size had a positive effect of students across grade levels. To wit:
“The clearest result with respect to correlates of achievement is that average achievement scores are higher in schools with smaller class sizes. This result, obtained from structural equation modeling using both state assessment data and NAEP adjustments for between-state variance in achievement, is consistent across grade levels.”
Then there’s me. I’ve taught second, third and fourth grade for over thirty years, and I’m here to tell you that nothing structural happens to a kid on her ninth birthday which helps her better navigate a crowded classroom. What I can tell you is that when my class size creeps upwards of thirty, several things happen.
First of all, classroom management becomes an overwhelming priority. I have to come down hard on the smallest of infractions to keep things under control. I can do it – trust me – but sometimes it’s not pretty.
Secondly, with more kids I relate mostly to the class as a whole, not to the students as individuals. When I plan lessons, I think of the whole class or small subgroups and differentiate (or not) accordingly. With a class size closer to twenty, it’s much easier – and more natural – to think of individual students.
And finally, I simply don’t have the time to spend giving personal feedback to each student. My students just completed a major writing project before winter break. There was literally no way I could sit down with 29 students and spend even three minutes explaining to each child how I scored their writing. The best I could do was fill out a thorough rubric, attach it to the writing, and pass it back.
I’m glad to see that Kindergarteners through third graders might get lower class sizes. But I’m not convinced that it should stop there.
We should all get ice cream.
Tom, you’re right, my previous comment was so ambiguous I want just delete it. The full job of teaching younger kids isn’t easy–you couldn’t pay me enough to do it. I think primary teachers are saints.
My friend’s comment had to do with content and skills to prepare for and the time spent grading in different grade levels. That’s all–just that part of the job.
My point, which I didn’t say well, is that you can make an argument for needing smaller classes at higher grade levels too.
I’ll take smaller class sizes if they are offered… BUT I still think that the solution is not in class size but in overall teacher case load versus preparation time. If that first grade teacher had a class of 28, but also shared that class with another teacher (and each had three hours a day for prep, assessment, planning, etc.) I think the number of bodies in the room might not be as big of a deal. Similarly, at the high school, If I taught three classes of 30 (90 kids) but had three hours per day for prep, grading, planning, etc. instead of another sixty kids from two other periods and just one hour (55 min) of planning time, the number of kids in the room would be less important… just my own theory.
Jan-
Whether or not it’s easier to teach younger kids is certainly debatable, and I’m sure you could make arguments either way. Personally I’ve found that working with second graders is more exhausting than fourth graders, but planning for and assessing fourth grade work takes a lot more time than preparing for working with primary kids.
But that’s not really the point I was trying to make.
The Governor’s budget provides for lower class sizes for K-3 based on an assumption that lower class sizes benefit younger students more so than older students. I’m challenging that assumption and the research behind it. The Tennessee study that I referenced in my post is often cited as the reason for supporting smaller class sizes in younger grades, since the study actually randomly assigned students to different-sized classes. The problem with the study, though, is that it only included K-3 kids, therefore it shouldn’t be used as a reason for not lowering class sizes at all levels.
As kids get older the curriculum gets more demanding–the content and skills must meet higher levels. Things in school get harder for the kids to understand. A friend who taught sixth grade for years and then went to second grade said her “dirty little secret” was how much easier the teaching was. And it’s not just that–the grading gets tougher as the kids get older and their work gets more sophisticated.
Then there’s simple logistics. Most classrooms are pretty much the same size with some student computers, a teacher desk, a projector, and some bookcases and files. Now go into one room where there are 30 fifth graders crammed inside–with their big fifth grade bodies and their big fifth grade desks and fifth grade backpacks and jackets and chairs. Then go down the hall to another room with 17 first graders–with their little first grade bodies and and their little first grade desks and first grade backpacks and jackets and chairs. The contrast is stunning. Being able to spread out on some floor space to do science or art or lit groups? Priceless.
Yeah, I was gonna say…thirty essays times five or six preps and you’ve got yourself a weekend. I can imagine how a few corners might be cut.
Fair point. But having to grade essays with a class of 30+ is certainly a gargutuan task. Like you, student feedback is compromised in order to complete grading essays in a timely manner so I can retain some semblence between work and my personal life.
And Nathan, you make an excellent point about the fact that optimal class size depends on the context. The needs of high school humanities teachers – like yourself – who spend a lot of class time with whole-class discussions are very different from the needs of fourth grade teachers – like me – who spend a lot of time with small groups or one-on-one interactions. And I’ll bet that if you went down the hall to the math department you’ll find a strong preference for 20-student classes, while your orchestra teacher is perfectly happy with 60 kids in the room!
Tom you make a good case why class size reduction has become an arbitrary issues based on politicians ideas what class size looks like without consulting educators. Yet, I keep on thinking about a chapter I read in Malcolm Gladwell’s “David in Goliath” that made good points that class size reduction is not the holy grail that teachers’ unions espouse. I’ve taught classes over 30 and it’s exhausting as you pointed out. But, then right now I have a class of 20 who are nice kids, but quiet and unmotivated. Sometimes I wish I could add a few more students to the roster to motivate them. It’s not just the ice cream, but the favors as well.