There are many factors that go into getting the best education. Something that is very important for this is student-teacher interaction, class discussions, and being able to have one-on-one conversations. So this leads to the question, does class size matter?

I know from personal experience that the size does affect the class experience. My health and P.E. class had a total of 41 people. The first day, this class had students sitting on the ground and lined up on the wall due to there not being enough desks. When it came to taking notes or participating in class, a flood of commotion filled the room.

Although large classes can be superior for diversity and less cost expenses, these enormous proportions can create a lack of getting things accomplished. With many students in one class, there are bound to be disruptions and talking throughout the lessons. With taking breaks to fix the situations, less gets done and this makes it harder for others to learn.

According to The Brookings Institution, “The most influential and credible study of [class-size reduction] is the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio, or STAR, study which was conducted in Tennessee during the late 1980s.  Beginning with the entering kindergarteners in 1985, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students.  Thus the reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was quite large.  There are several research studies based on the STAR experiment.  We examine two, including one that focuses on longer-term outcomes.”

Tennessee STAR experiment found that when elementary school students were randomly assigned to small classes outperformed their classmates who were assigned to regular classes. Students in the smaller classes received about 3 months more schooling than the students in the regular classes.

As I sat in this class there were constant interruptions of the teacher trying to get the groups to pay attention and eventually led to changing seats. However, with so many people in a class it’s hard to get away from someone you do not talk to.

If classes were downsized, it could lead to a better behavior report and student participation. With these little changes, it could give rise to a major impact later on in these students lives.