Size Matters

There are two factors that Walden teachers and administrators will tell you are important in the overall well being of their students--one is the size of the school and the second is the size of the class.

School Size Matters

How important, really, is the size of the school in the education of our children? Extremely important, according to the experts. What Walden teachers witness in the everyday environment is supported by recent research. May Anne Raywid; one of the preeminent researchers in this field has stated, “the superiority of smaller schools over larger, more impersonal settings has been established with a clarity and a confidence rare in the annals of education.”

These recent studies on the advantages of small schools attest to the following benefits:

· Students achieve at a higher level.

· Students are more visible and well known by teachers and administration.

· Students are more apt to participate in extra-curricular activities.

· Students feel safer.

· Small schools typically have fewer behavior problems, which means there are fewer disruptions to the educational environment.

In small schools, teachers and students are able to develop close relationships. When we interview alumni and ask them what aspect of their Walden experience had the biggest impact on them, we consistently get the same answer, the close relationship they had with their teachers. A by-product of that close student-teacher relationship is a sense of trust that develops between students and teachers. Students are more likely to be invested in their academic achievement and motivated to do well when they trust and feel close to the teachers in their schools.

Class Size Matters

What about the importance of class size? In 1985, in the state of Tennessee, a project with 7,000 students was conducted to determine what effect, if any, “small class size” has on student performance in the areas of reading, math and study skills. The project was a three-phase study. The first and most crucial phase was labeled Project Star (Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio).

In that first phase, K-3rd grade students were randomly assigned to:

1. “Small classes” of a single teacher with 1-17 students

2. “Regular” classes of a single teacher with 22-26 students

3. “Regular classes of 22-26 students with a teacher plus a paid teaching aide in the classroom”

After four years in this large and very controlled study, significant differences emerged among the three types of classrooms. Comparing student performance in the areas of reading, math, and basic study skills, the “small class” students were “out-distancing the other two groups by statistically decisive margins.”

The second phase of the project, The Lasting Benefits Study, began in 1989 and was initiated to determine if the benefits persisted over time. The students who were originally in the “small” class (1-17 students with one teacher) continued to outperform their peers despite being “merged” into common classroom settings. The Lasting Benefits Study demonstrated that in eighth grade, the students who were in the “small” class remained significantly ahead of those in either of the regular classes.

Frederick Mosteller, emeritus professor of mathematical statistics at Harvard University, when reviewing the results recently stated, “Because a controlled educational experiment of this quality, magnitude and duration is a rarity, it is important that educators and policy makers have access to its statistical information and understand its implications.”

My personal and professional opinion is that the greatest benefit of small schools and small classes is that students are well known by their teachers and administrators. When teachers and administrators know every student’s name and can call them by name when they pass them in the hall, it fosters an environment that creates a sense of belonging and well being that is an immeasurable benefit. Students are more likely to be invested in their academic achievement and motivated to do well when they feel close to the teachers in their schools.