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Common sense suggests that public school children will do better in smaller classes than in larger classes. Smaller class sizes provide the opportunity for personal attention and additional instructional help when necessary. Yet, whether smaller class sizes boost academic achievement has been examined in numerous studies with mixed results. This article examines how class size affects academic performance, where smaller class sizes can have the greatest impact, and how some critics question the benefits and cost-effectiveness of class size reduction.

Advantages of Reducing Class Size

Several studies have shown that reducing class size increases overall student achievement, especially for younger, disadvantaged children. The following are some of the benefits of fewer students in a classroom.

1. Students receive more individualized attention and interact more with the teacher.
2. Teachers have more flexibility to use different instructional approaches.
3. Fewer students are less distracting to each other than a large group of children.
4. Teachers have more time to teach because there are fewer discipline problems.
5. Students are more likely to participate in class and become more involved.
6. Teachers have more time to cover additional material and use more supplementary texts and enrichment activities.

As a practical matter, it is not possible for most public schools to hire enough teachers so that all classes in grades kindergarten through 12^th grade have no more than, for example, 18 students. Given finite resources to hire new teachers, judgments have to be made about where the additional teachers should be placed.

This TEDxTalk presents a student's perspective on small class sizes.

Studies show that students, especially younger minority and disadvantaged children, perform better when they are in classes with 19 or fewer students. Class size reduction is often embraced by elected officials because it is a popular subject with teachers and parents. There are also studies demonstrating that class size reduction is either not beneficial or not cost-effective compared to other school reforms. This article discusses the education policy of the federal government concerning class size reduction.

Before NCLB

In 1999, a Class Size Reduction (CSR) program was added to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The goal of the CSR program was to improve educational achievement by reducing class size with fully qualified teachers. Special attention was focused on class size reduction in the early elementary grades to 18 or fewer students. To accomplish the class size reduction goal, the program sought to fund the hiring of 100,000 fully qualified teachers for grades kindergarten through third grade within seven years. The appropriations were $1.2 billion in 1999, $1.3 billion in 2000, and $1.623 billion in 2001. The CSR program was only in effect from 1999 to 2001. In its first two years, 37,000 teachers were hired.

This video offers a teacher's point of view on class size.

The use of funds under the CSR program was restricted to activities that would lead directly to hiring and training qualified teachers. Local school

On the 12^th birthday of No Child Left Behind, many are still wondering what this federal law is and how it affects the education of their children today. While NCLB is now thick in the reform process, confusion continues over how to alter education policies for the best interest of the students they were designed to teach. The first step is to understand what No Child Left Behind is, why it was created, and how your child may continue to benefit from it. It will also discuss some potential controversies surrounding the legislation and the reasons why reform appears so hard to come by.

What Is No Child Left Behind?

No Child Left Behind was first introduced as House Resolution 1 during the 107th Congress in March of 2001. The No Child Left Behind Act aimed to ensure that all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, would have the opportunity for a solid education. President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law in January of 2002.

No Child Left Behind is a bipartisan effort. The act passed with support from democrats and republicans alike and a bipartisan commission was created in 2006 to review No Child Left Behind, its promises, and its problems. This commission provided Congress with recommendations prior to the renewal of No Child Left Behind in 2007. Unfortunately, NCLB has ground to a halt since that time, as lawmakers