Issue 2: What Does Research Say About Class Size Reduction?

This issue is available to CEA members and will be posted on this site 30 days after the initial release date.

Additional Resources

Ontario Ministry of Education: The Class-Size Tracker allows the public to see the primary (JK to Grade 3) class size of every school in the province of Ontario. [Class_Size Tracker]

Reducing Class Size: Promises and Perils: This article discusses what's good about smaller classes and why caution is needed in class size reduction. [Available for Download]
Class Size Reduction: What the Literature Suggests About What Works: This report, published by the Canadian Education Association, looks at a variety of studies and research done on class size reduction. [Available for Download]
At Issue: What Matters About Class Size?: At Issue, published by the Canadian Education Association, is "a series that explores current areas of debate within the educational community". This article looks at why reducing class size is important to the improvement of teaching and learning. [Available for Download]
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO): The ETFO has written a research report on how class size makes a difference. [Website] [Available for Download]
BC Teachers' Federation: The Teacher Newsmagazine, published by BC Teachers' Federation, looks at the supporting research in class size reduction. [Available for Download]
C.D. Howe Institute: This report argues that smaller class sizes aren't always better. [Available for Download]
Teaching Practice Resources: This website provides a list of essential search engines for teacher and student resources. [Website]
Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching: The Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching focuses on research and curriculum development in Mathematics teaching and learning. The website provides a variety of resources for mathematics teachers. [Website]
Web Resources for Mathematics Teachers: This link provides a list of resources, produced by Ottawa Catholic School Board, for mathematics teachers. [Available for Download]

Research References Informing this Issue

Anh, J. and D.J. Brewer (2009). "What Do We Know About Reducing Class and School Size?" in Sykes, G., B. Schneider, and D.N. Plank, Handbook of Education Policy Research. American Educational Research Association, Routledge: 426-437.

Bascia, N. and E. Fredua-Kwarteng (2008). Class Size Reduction: What The Literature Suggests About What Works. Canadian Education Association.

Bascia, N. and E. Fredua-Kwarteng (2008). "Reducing Class Size: Promises and Perils." Education Canada 48(4): 30-33.

>When classes are reduced, students tend to learn more (at least by a modest amount), as measured by standardized test results, and their engagement in learning is enhanced, as demonstrated by classroom behavior, attitude, and effort; some studies suggest that students expend more academic effort and initiate more of their own learning activities in smaller classes.

>The enthusiasm for class size reduction is an example of the kind of 'magical thinking' that is unfortunately common among educators, policy makers, and researchers alike.

Bascia, N. (2009). Reducing Class Size: What Do We Know? Canadian Education Association.

>The research confirms that class size reduction does provide the environment in which teachers can teach differently. In smaller classes, they interact with individual students more frequently and use a greater variety of instructional strategies. They can create more opportunities for higher order co-construction of meaning by students. They also may spend out-of-classroom work time on more creative planning (and less on routine marking), and they may interact more frequently with other teachers and adults in support of classroom teaching.

>But the research also suggests that the full gains of class size reduction cannot be achieved if it is implemented without paying attention to other factors that support innovative practice.

Bohrnstedt, G.W. and B.M. Stecher (2002). What We Have Learned About Class Size Reduction in California. CSR Research Consortium Capstone Report. California: California Department of Education.

Finn, J. and C.M. Achilles (1999). "Tennessee's Class Size Study: Findings, Implications, Misconceptions." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 21(2): 97-109.

Guillemette, Y. (2005). School Class Size: Smaller Isn't Better. C.D. Howe Institute.

Milton, P. (2006). "What Matters About Class Size?" Education Canada 46(3): 1-2.

Stecher, B.M., G.W. Bohrnstedt, et al. (2001). "Class-Size Reduction in California: A Story of Hope, Promise, and Unintended Consequences." The Phi Delta Kappan 82(9): 670-674.

Zahorik, J.A., A. Molnar, and P. Smith (2003). Sage Advice: Research on Teaching in Reduce-Size Classes. Temple, Arizona: Education Policy Studies Laboratory.

What is this project?

Increasing research use in schools has been a growing concern in the last decade. The primary goal of this project is to get relevant research into the hands of parents by embedding "Research Findings for Parents" in Elementary School Newsletters. This project arises from a partnership between the Canadian Education Association and OISE's Research Supporting Practice in Education (RSPE) program at the University of Toronto.

Each newsletter provides short summaries of current research on topics of interest to parents and the public. Each issue is based on our best interpretation of the body of research on this topic. Additional resources for educators and parents are also available on this website for each newsletter topic.

We encourage you to share these results with staff, parents and students via your school newsletter or website. You are free to reproduce and distribute this material in any form provided that you reproduce the entire commentary and credit it to the two sponsors.

We welcome your comments on the content, format or ideas for topics. Please email: rspe@oise.utoronto.ca

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