Class Size Comparison Changes For Parents - The Classroom Effects of Closing & Consolidating Schools

Welcome to Citizens for Better Schools WHAT'S NEW: Ala Ed Budget Crisis - State Takes Fed Stimulus Funds Then Cuts State Funding REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Brown Past 50 SympoSIUM and Education Workshops SCHOOL TAKEOVER CORNER: BIRMINGHAM * DETROIT * SAINT LOUIS School Size and Grade Structure Contact Citizens for Better Schools Education Statistics & Thumbnail Facts: School size not saving Detroit schools form chopping blocks - Economies of scale B'ham Superintendent Search: Edgecombe County - Birmingham City Schools NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND REAUTHORIZATION UPDATE PAGE - NOW OPEN BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL CLOSING WATCH: MORE SECRET MEETINGS 2007-2008 BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL CLOSINGS (HERE WE GO AGAIN - "DOWN SIZING, RIGHT SIZING, or CAPSIZING" ) Alabama School Districts Without One Month Reserve Fund More Busing in Birmingham With School Consolidations ALA'S #1 PROBLEM: TEACHER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT Blog Ala's Biggest Problem - Teacher Sexual Misconduct BIG SPENDERS - MOST COSTLY SCHOOLS NOT SMALL SCHOOLS The late Henry Sparks made Birmingham the financial envy of the state's education system Education Finance, Economics, & Budget Monitoring Despite Free Space in SomeSchools, Many Packed Classrooms(How are Birmingham Classrooms?) Class Size Comparison Changes For Parents - The Classroom Effects of Closing & Consolidating Schools COMING SOON: ** THE CHOICE: SCHOOL ZONING, BIG SCHOOLS - SMALL SCHOOLS (WHICH EDUCATES THE POOR BEST?) CLASS SIZE REDUCTION Education Research on School Size: School Climate and Academic Achievement Evidence Based Consequences of Increased School Size Curriculum and Instruction BIRMINGHAM CITY SCHOOLS DECLINE: THEFT IN SCHOLS - INTERNAL CONTROLS LACKING Worhtless BOE Guidelines and Frame Work For Superintendent Stan Mims, Lay Citizen Advisory Task Force (BOE Policy 6170) Sabotaged In Education: Big Is Not Better - Research Finds Small Schools Better for Poor and Black Students Links About Birmingham City Schools The Good Common School Journal Thumbnail Facts: Birmingham Enrollment/ Teacher Loss Not Cause of $22 Million Bham BOE Losses Anniston Citizens for Better Schools FAIRFIELD CITIZENS FOR BETTER SCHOOLS Jefferson County (Alabama) School System: Sylacauga Citizens for Better Schools Citizens For Better Schools: Education Management and Leadership Special, Exceptional, and Gifted and Talented Education GOLD FACULTY - BROWN PAST 50 WORKSHOP: BEYOND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND - FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF BROWN Contact Your School, State, and Federal Representation Here! Favorite Links: Legal Resources - College Funding Opportunity ALL SPORTS Birmingham - ALL THE TIME GENDER EQUITY: Public Schools, Segregated Schools? Phillips Academy - Crisis in Student School Bus Transportation WE ARE "HOKIES" TOO! Topic Index: BREAKING SCHOOL CLOSING NEWS ** Citizens for Better Schools Guest Book

Citizens for Better Schools

CLASS SIZES LARGER IN 21st CENTURY: HOW MUCH MORE WILL STUDENTS LEARN

The national ratio of students to their teachers fell between 1980 and 2008, from 17.6 to 15.8 students per public school teacher, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Because the statistics count special education and other specialized teachers who normally have much smaller classes than regular teachers do, the U.S. Department of Education estimates the current average class size at more like 25 students. That number is likely to rise, given states’ and districts’ financial constraints, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said last week at a Washington forum.

The “gold standard” study:Tennessee’s Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio, or STAR, project, a four-year, longitudinal, randomized controlled study that began in 1984 and tracked more than 7,000 students in 79 schools. Researchers compared the achievement of pupils in kindergarten through grade 3 who were randomly assigned to small classes, of 13 to 17 children, or to regular classes, of 22 to 25 with either a teacher alone or a teacher with a full-time aide.

At the end of the first study on the project, researchers found children in the smaller classes performed a tenth of a standard deviation better than youngsters in either of the regular-size classes, a significant improvement; poor and minority pupils showed greater effects. Follow-up studies through the years have found the students who had been in small classes in their early years had better academic and personal outcomes throughout their school years and beyond.

Click on the link below to view the Volkert-Wasman School Consolidtion Plan

http://birmingham.schoolinsites.com/Download.asp?

School Size and Its Relationship to Student

Outcomes and School Climate

A Review and Analysis

http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs

http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/size.cfm

http://www.edfacilities.org/impact_learning.cfm

Stevenson, K. R. (2001) Elementary School Capacity: What size is the right size?

CEFP Journal, 33(4), 10-14

Raywid (1999). Current Literature on small schools. Charleston, WV: ERIC Reproduction Service No. ED42049

Lee, V and Smith J. (1997). Which works best and for whom? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 19(3), 205-227.

Lamdin, D. J. (1995). Testing for the effect of school size on student achievement within a school district. Education Economics, 3, 33-42

Florida Department of Education. Office of Policy Research.

(1997, May). The relationship of school size and class size with student achievement in Florida. [online] http://ericps.ed.uniuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnew696f.html