Language Deficiency and Science Achievement
Class Size and Its Impact on Students’ Achievement Introduction
Class size has been discussed extensively in the literature due to pioneering studies conducted by several scholars in states and countries addressing the issue of student academic achievement. The primary locus of their study had centered on the question of which provides the better academic achievement- the smaller or larger class. The two sides had provided evidences on their claims. This proposed study aims to contribute to the literature by proposing a study on class size and its impact on student achievement.
The purpose of this proposed study is to examine the current research regarding the relationship of class size to student achievement in education and test this hypothesis on a specific school. Schools with different class sizes shall be examined and evaluated and compare the students’ academic achievement with their previous performance using their academic history. Furthermore, this proposed study shall use a minimum of six classrooms with varying sizes in testing the hypothesis that class size affects students’ academic achievement. Moreover, I shall also consider the possibility that other variables such as potential grade inflation, lower academic standards, student aptitude and readiness for college work, lack of remediation for ill-prepared and disadvantaged students, student learning styles, instructors ' teaching styles, and student motivation and effort will also be examined as it can be a factor in the academic achievement of students.
A pretest-posttest strategy will be used in this study as was used by Kennedy and Siegfried (1997) to examine the influence of class size on achievement while holding constant a variety of factors thought to influence learning such as student ability and study hours. This study shall utilize a minimum of six classrooms with randomly selected students, consolidating these data so that each observation represents a class rather than a single
Class size has been discussed extensively in the literature due to pioneering studies conducted by several scholars in states and countries addressing the issue of student academic achievement. The primary locus of their study had centered on the question of which provides the better academic achievement- the smaller or larger class. The two sides had provided evidences on their claims. This proposed study aims to contribute to the literature by proposing a study on class size and its impact on student achievement.
The purpose of this proposed study is to examine the current research regarding the relationship of class size to student achievement in education and test this hypothesis on a specific school. Schools with different class sizes shall be examined and evaluated and compare the students’ academic achievement with their previous performance using their academic history. Furthermore, this proposed study shall use a minimum of six classrooms with varying sizes in testing the hypothesis that class size affects students’ academic achievement. Moreover, I shall also consider the possibility that other variables such as potential grade inflation, lower academic standards, student aptitude and readiness for college work, lack of remediation for ill-prepared and disadvantaged students, student learning styles, instructors ' teaching styles, and student motivation and effort will also be examined as it can be a factor in the academic achievement of students.
A pretest-posttest strategy will be used in this study as was used by Kennedy and Siegfried (1997) to examine the influence of class size on achievement while holding constant a variety of factors thought to influence learning such as student ability and study hours. This study shall utilize a minimum of six classrooms with randomly selected students, consolidating these data so that each observation represents a class rather than a single
References: Cohen, G., Miller, C., Stonehill, R., & Geddes, C. (2000, September). The class-size reduction program: Boosting achievement in schools across the nation. A first-year report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. (ED 446 349) Educational Research Services. (1980). Class size research: A critique of recent meta-analysis. Arlington, VA: Author. Glass, G. V., & Smith, M. E. (1979). Meta-analysis of research on class size and achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1, 2-16. Glass, G. V., Cahen, L. S., Smith, M. L., & Filby, N. N. (1982). School class size: Research and policy. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Hanushek, E. A. (1986). The economics of schooling: Production and efficiency in public schools. The Journal of Economic Literature, 24, 1141-1177. Hanushek, E. A. (1989). The impact of differential school expenditures on school performance. Educational Researcher, 18(4), 45-65. Hanushek, E. A. (1999). Some findings from an independent investigation of the Tennessee STAR experiment and from other investigations of class size effects. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21, 143-164. Hedges, L. and Nye, B. (2001) Are effects of small classes cumulative? Evidence from a Tennessee experiment. The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 94.