A couple days ago Mitt Romney stated that they found in Massachusetts that class size does not matter. Really? I would love to see that study. I suspect it was terribly flawed. When you take a flawed study and try to make some conclusions, guess what? Those are going to be wrong also. It's like that old economic saying – garbage in, garbage out.
Let's be clear, Mitt Romney went to a very prestigious prep school in Michigan. As far as I know, that prep school does not boast larger class sizes. As a matter fact, it boasts individual attention. It is impossible to have individual attention in larger classes. As a matter of fact, one of things that exclusive prep schools share in common is the fact that they all boast individual attention and smaller class sizes. So, either all of the prestigious prep schools in the country have got it wrong or possibly Mitt Romney's trying to pull a fast one over on the American public.
Here's some information that I found that clearly states that class size does matter. The smaller the class size and the more individual attention you can get from your teacher, the better you do.
How does your Kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project Star
School-Level Correlates of Academic Achievement
more here.
Again, let's be clear. There are a lot of things that go into learning. Class size is not the only thing that equates to better achievement scores. If you have a small class size and a moron as a teacher, the students are not going to learn. On the other hand, a small class size was an excellent teacher, everyone in the classroom has an opportunity to learn to their full potential. Just to belabor the point, if you have a brilliant teacher and a huge class size, some of the students will be left behind. You need well-educated teachers, motivated students and supportive parents in order for everyone in the classroom to learn. This is the formula for proving school achievement – students, teachers and parents working together.
