Guidance for Class-Size Reduction Program: April 2000
Since the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, concern about the quality of the Nation's public schools has stimulated an unprecedented interest in educational reform. At the Federal level, a focus on raising academic standards has been the driving force behind every elementary and secondary education initiative of the past decade. In 1993, President Clinton initiated a national campaign to support States in their efforts to ensure that all children learn to high standards, that there is a well-qualified teacher in every classroom, and that schools and districts are accountable for results. These principles were embodied in two major pieces of legislation that Congress passed in 1994: the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and the Improving America's Schools Act which re-authorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
The programs supported by these Federal statutes are now firmly centered on the premise that all students will become effective learners when we:
Set high standards of learning that all children are expected to achieve.
Assess students against those standards.
Hold schools and school districts accountable for students making progress toward meeting State standards.
Provide schools with the tools they need to help students meet the standards, including investments in high-quality professional development for teachers and technology for the classroom.
Provide schools with the flexibility to determine how best to meet the needs of their students and prepare them to meet high standards.
In the last few years, the Administration and the Congress have begun to shift their attention beyond "what must be done" to a focus on "how it can best be done." New efforts such as the Class-Size Reduction Program, the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program, the Reading Excellence Act, and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program are providing resources to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools committed to implementing research-tested and validated approaches to improving teaching and learning.
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This initiative is grounded in current research demonstrating that, at least for the early grades, class size does indeed make a difference - something parents, teachers, and students have known intuitively for years. |
The goal of the Class-Size Reduction Program is to help schools improve student achievement by reducing class size through the hiring of fully qualified teachers to ensure that class size—particularly in the early grades—is decreased to no more than 18 children per class. The Class-Size Reduction Program provides funds to school districts to recruit, hire and train fully qualified teachers who are assigned to primary-grade classrooms. The goal of this program is, over seven years, to hire 100,000 new teachers and reduce kindergarten through grade 3 classrooms across the country to an average of 18 children. Small classes are especially important in the early grades so that all children learn to read well, which will increase their ability to succeed in advanced subjects and later grades. Teachers in small classes can provide students with more individualized attention, spend more time on instruction, cover more material effectively, and provide students and parents with more detailed feedback on each child's progress.
A growing body of research indicates that students in smaller classes in kindergarten through grade 3 (K-3) earn significantly higher scores in basic skills tests. Though small classes provide an advantage to children in all types of schools, benefits appear to be greatest for lower-achieving, minority, poor, and inner-city children. Follow-up studies have shown that achievement gains are maintained long after students return to regular-size classes beyond the third grade.
While smaller classes are important, research also shows that teacher quality has a powerful impact on student learning. Further, because smaller classes present different teaching options, teachers who move from large to smaller classes may benefit from assistance in changing their teaching approach. That is why the Class-Size Reduction Program also includes a strong emphasis on hiring fully qualified teachers and providing them with professional development opportunities. This multi-dimensional emphasis on recruiting, training, and professional development, in concert with hiring new teachers, presents school districts with a rich opportunity to develop creative approaches to improving learning for children.
Research underway across the country provides convincing evidence that class-size reduction can directly improve student learning. For instance:
Smaller class size increases student achievement. A March 1999 Education Department analysis of several research studies found that reducing class size from substantially above 20 students per class to below 20 students leads to gains in student achievement, with the performance of the average student moving from the 50th percentile to somewhere above the 60th percentile. In recent research studies, students from smaller classes in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Tennessee outperformed their peers in larger classes. Early findings from a large-scale class-size reduction effort in California indicate a modest achievement gain for third graders. In a follow-up study in Tennessee, students from smaller classes continued to outperform their peers in all academic subjects even after returning to larger classes in the fourth grade. In 1997, Harold Weglinsky conducted an analysis of data on 10,000 fourth-graders in 203 school districts and 10,000 eighth-graders in 182 school districts across the United States and found that students in smaller classes performed better in fourth and eighth grade than comparable students in larger classes.
Smaller classes can help lay a strong foundation in basic skills for young children. Smaller classes are especially important in the early grades, where attending school in a reduced class size can help all children learn to read well—increasing their ability to succeed in advanced subjects and later grades. Tennessee's Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project found that students in smaller classes in grades K-3 earned significantly higher scores in basic skills tests in all four years and in all types of schools. Research on class-size reduction efforts in Wisconsin and North Carolina also found clear academic gains for students in smaller classes through the third grade. Follow-up studies from Project STAR have shown that achievement gains continued after the students returned to larger classes after third grade. Through high school graduation, a decreasing, but still significant, higher academic achievement level persists for the students from the smaller classes.
Smaller classes reduce discipline problems and increase instruction time for teachers. When Burke County, North Carolina, reduced class size, the percentage of classroom time devoted to instruction increased from 80 percent to 86 percent, while the time devoted to non-instructional activities, such as discipline, decreased from 20 percent to 14 percent. Students from Tennessee's STAR program worked harder and caused fewer discipline problems than students from larger classes—even after the STAR students returned to larger classrooms. The latest Wisconsin Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) evaluation concluded that individualization is a dominant feature of SAGE classrooms that is made possible because having fewer students enables teachers to know students better, reduces the need for discipline, and results in more time for instruction.
Smaller classes have the greatest impact on disadvantaged and minority students. The Weglinsky study of fourth- and eighth-graders nationally found the greatest impact of smaller classes on inner-city youth. Achievement data from class-size reduction studies in Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin all indicate that reducing class size is especially valuable for minority and disadvantaged students.
Smaller classes are most effective when implemented early and sequentially. The research from Tennessee's Project STAR indicates that the long-term benefits of smaller class sizes are greatest for students when they first attend school. For many students, this means having a smaller class size in kindergarten. Each subsequent year in a smaller class, at least through the third grade, further strengthens the benefits of the intervention.
The research base supporting smaller class sizes in the early grades is growing. Additional studies are confirming and expanding on the finding that smaller classes lead to increased student achievement. The number of States and local school districts with class-size reduction policies is increasing, and feedback from these initiatives will continue to provide more insight into how teachers can maximize the opportunities provided by smaller classes and overcome obstacles such as teacher recruitment and facility shortages. As such, the topic of class-size reduction continues to emerge in numerous publications. For more information on the research that supports class-size reduction, see the Resources and References listing at the end of this section.
For fiscal year 1999, the first year of the initiative, Congress provided a down payment of $1.2 billion for schools to hire new classroom teachers for the 1999-2000 school year. In appropriating funds for this program, Congress recognized the "impressive research studies" and pointed out that "[c]lass-size reduction can be particularly beneficial in [the] early grades because students in those grades are learning to read and to master the basics in math and other subjects." Based on data from approximately half of the local school districts, the Department estimated that with the fiscal year 1999 funding, school districts were able to hire more than 29,000 new teachers. In the grades in the schools in which these teachers were hired, class sizes were reduced significantly; from an average of 23 to 18. Most of the teachers were placed in first grade, followed by second, third, and other grades. At the national level, approximately 8% of the funds were used for professional development activities. An estimated 1.7 million children benefited directly during the first year of the Class-Size Reduction Program.
For fiscal year 2000, Congress has slightly increased the funding for the Class-Size Reduction Program to $1.3 billion. The funds will be made available in two installments: $400 million will become available to States in July of 2000, and the remaining $900 million will become available in October.
States must allocate 100 percent of the funds they receive to school districts to pay for salaries and provide other benefits for additional teachers to reduce class size in the early grades. Of their fiscal year 2000 allocations, school districts must use at least 72 percent for recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers. In addition, they may use no more than three percent for local administration and no more than 25 percent to pay the costs of such activities as professional development and testing of teachers for academic content knowledge and to meet State certification requirements.
Under the FY 2000 legislation (starting with school year 2000-2001):
The scope of the early grades was increased and now includes kindergarten through grade three (see F-1, F-15). The FY 1999 legislation did not include kindergarten.
The percentage of funds available to school districts for professional development activities increased from 15% to 25% (see F-2).
Districts that receive an allocation smaller than the starting salary of a new, fully qualified teacher in the district are no longer required to form a consortium (see F-2).
The teacher qualification requirements were strengthened. All teachers hired under the Class-Size Reduction Program must be fully certified to teach the grades and/or subjects to which they are assigned (see F-11, G-6).
For those school districts where a State or local class-size reduction goal of 20 or fewer was in place prior to enactment of the FY 2000 Class-Size Reduction statute (i.e., before November 29, 1999), the State or local goal may be substituted for the target of 18 (see F-4).
Districts in Ed-Flex States where 10 percent or more of the teachers have not met State or local certification requirements can apply for a waiver to use more than 25 percent of Class-Size Reduction funds on professional development activities. (see G-2).
There are new public reporting requirements for States, participating school districts and schools (see H-1, H-2, H-3).
To be most effective, the Class-Size Reduction Program should work hand-in-hand with other Federal, State, and local programs that have related purposes. Several States, for example, have recently instituted their own class-size reduction initiatives. In those States, school districts must use their Class-Size Reduction Program funds to supplement (and not replace) funds they receive from those State initiatives, so that they can implement greater class-size reductions or provide more enhanced professional development opportunities than they would have been able to accomplish under either the State or Federal initiative alone. School districts should also coordinate their Class-Size Reduction activities with those of several related Federal programs, including:
Title I of the ESEA, which provides supplemental education funding to significantly raise the academic achievement of disadvantaged children and youth.
The Eisenhower Professional Development Program, which provides assistance for training teachers in effective practices of reading, mathematics, and science instruction.
The Reading Excellence Act (REA), which supports activities that will provide children with the readiness skills and support they need in early childhood to learn to read once they enter school; teach every child to read by the end of the third grade; and use research-based methods to improve the instructional practices of teachers and other staff.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides many opportunities to coordinate efforts to serve children who have special needs. The Class-Size Reduction Program can reduce class size for special-needs children and provide training for regular classroom teachers who teach children with disabilities and special needs.
Title II of the Higher Education Act (HEA), which provides funds, on a competitive basis, to help States and partnerships between local school districts and institutions of higher education recruit and better prepare talented people for careers in teaching.
Title IV of the HEA, which provides a loan forgiveness program (up to $5,000) for new student loan borrowers on or after October 1, 1998, who serve as teachers in designated low-income schools for five years.
School districts and schools that participate in these programs are encouraged to pursue a coordinated strategy to strengthen instruction in reading and other subjects in the early grades and help all students reach challenging standards - by creating smaller classes, staffing them with well-prepared teachers, and providing extra help for those who need it.
These guidelines emphasize that Class-Size Reduction Program funds are intended to support the basic purpose of reducing class size in grades kindergarten through three with fully qualified teachers. However, the Department of Education recognizes that school districts and schools must have flexibility to resolve complicated issues of teacher availability, limited classroom and building space, certification requirements, ongoing State initiatives, collective bargaining agreements, and other issues that vary from locality to locality. Therefore, the guidelines also point out opportunities for school districts to be as inventive as possible in pursuing options and alternative approaches in such areas as recruitment, class-size reduction, and professional development. In addition, while the statute contains certain requirements, SEAs and LEAs may apply for waivers of some of these requirements, as explained in Section G Flexibility to Meet Local Needs.
Although the Administration's original proposal for class-size reduction was for a continuing program that would reach $12.4 billion over seven years and then continue to provide funds, Congress has enacted legislation and appropriated funds for only the first two years. The Administration recognizes that funding for this program beyond two years will require additional Congressional action. The Administration's Fiscal Year 2001 budget requests $1.75 billion from Congress to continue and expand this program—enough funds to enable local communities to continue to pay for teachers hired in the first two years and hire additional teachers to further reduce class size. In addition, the Administration sent Congress legislation seeking full, long-term authorization for this program, and will work closely with Members of Congress to secure its enactment.
More information on the Federal Class-Size Reduction Program, and on the research that supports class-size reduction, is available from the sources listed below:
Web page for the U.S. Department of Education Class-Size Reduction Program: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/ClassSize/
Web page for the Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (Project STAR), the scientifically rigorous class-size reduction study in Tennessee
Web page for the CSR Research Consortium, a partnership researching California's Class-Size Reduction Program: http://www.classize.org/
Web page for the WestEd Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis SPECIAL ISSUE - Class Size: Issues and New Findings, volume 21, No. 2 (Summer, 1999). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association (AERA). Abstracts available at: http://www.aera.net/publications/
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