Class Size Reduction - Is It Working?

By Delaine Eastin

Class sizes have been reduced from 30 students to 20 in over 86,000 classrooms. Early assessments indicate academic performance is improving.

Two years have now passed since we began implementing California's landmark class size reduction program. To date, K - 3 class sizes have been reduced from 30 students to under 20 in over 86,000 classrooms throughout the state with 875 out of 895 eligible schools districts participating. Today, California schoolchildren in grades K - 3 attend much smaller classes and we are taking steps to begin reducing high school class sizes too.

The question remains: Have smaller classes improved student performance? The San Juan Unified School District recently tried to find out. To assess the results of the class size reduction program, the district compared a number of performance measures before and after class sizes were reduced in grades 1 through 3. The results are extremely encouraging:

• Standardized test scores are on the rise. Math scores increased dramatically over the previous year and reading scores have started to improve. This was especially apparent in grades 2 and 3, where math scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9) rose significantly faster than the national norm.

• Discipline problems are down. The number of young students suspended for disciplinary problems declined by almost 20% since class sizes were reduced.

• Special education placements have been reduced. Smaller class sizes resulted in a 16% decrease in the number of young students with learning disabilities who were placed in special education classes in the San Juan Unified School District

Perhaps most telling, parents and teachers from San Juan Unified -- those in the best position to assess -- felt smaller classes better met the academic needs of their children. Students and school principals also expressed greater satisfaction. And recently, a number of other school districts throughout California -- Poway, San Francisco, Long Beach, Fremont and Rescue -- have all reported gains in achievement among students as a result of smaller classes.

Is California's class size reduction program working? San Juan Unified's initial evaluation says YES. Students, parents and educators say YES. And although I believe they are only part of the solution, I, too, believe that smaller classes will result in a better education and a brighter future for California's children.