The current debate about class size is not centered on whether smaller class sizes are desirable. Rather, the debate is whether the costs involved are the best ways to spend taxpayers' monies. This analysis addresses this question for the state of Florida. Using the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a measure of educational achievement, a…

This article reports the Project STAR interview study that examined changes in K-3 teacher perceptions after teaching for a year in small classes or regular classes with aides. Teachers believed small classes or aides changed teaching and learning. They became more effective and satisfied and provided more individual attention. (SM)

Pupils (N=1,755) in 232 elementary school classes in Tennessee participated in a 3-year longitudinal study of the effects of reduced class size on reading and mathematics performance. The small-class setting increased performance significantly in both mathematics and reading, and it had an especially strong impact in inner-city schools.…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the relationship between the performance (as measured by test results) of pupils in classrooms with full-time teacher aides. The Student Teacher Achievement Ratio project (STAR) was implemented in Tennessee from 1985 through 1989 to study the effects of class size on student achievement and…

Teacher's perceptions of their experiences in teaching small classes or with a full-time teacher's aide are discussed in this report. The study reported was part of Tennessee's Project STAR: a 4-year, longitudinal demonstration policy study. Analyses were conducted on interviews with 86 teachers of small second grade classes, 54 teachers of second…

It is widely assumed that increasing the number of teaching assistants (TAs) in the classroom will be beneficial to children, and this is one important aim of the recently implemented Workforce Agreement. But there are still significant gaps in knowledge about many aspects of their deployment and impact. The Class Size and Pupil-Adult Ratios…

This paper offers a summary analysis of 4 years of interviews with 1,003 kindergarten and first through third grade teachers regarding their experience in teaching either a small class, a regular size class, or a regular size class with a full-time teacher's aide. The paper uses teachers' descriptions of their experience to explore the effect of…

Research findings identifying the most effective class size are found to be inconclusive. Some studies have found small classes more effective, others have favored large classes, and some have found no differences in learning effectiveness due to class size. A number of these studies are cited and points of agreement noted. In a second section…

In a study of cognitive therapy as a strategy for compensatory education, fourteen low-achieving first graders in the Holly Springs Separate School District (Mississippi) were assigned to treatment conditions consisting of a teacher trained in cognitive therapy, an aide, and a small class size. The therapy relied upon a clinical tutorial model…

Findings of a recent Oregon Department of Education survey of elementary school principals are reported. In fall, 1988, questionnaires were mailed to 789 elementary school principals in the state. A total of 694 responded. The survey was designed to provide insight into important trends in kindergarten and first grade. The following topics were…

In this paper, the authors examine several factors related to class size. The purpose of the presentation is to: (1) trace the evolution of class-size research; (2) briefly describe the Student Achievement Ratio (STAR) class-size experiment; (3) summarize the early and the later student outcomes of STAR participants; (4) outline the…

Tennessee's Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio project (Project STAR) was designed to study the effects of class size on pupils in primary (K-3) grades. Responses of Project STAR teachers (N=1,003) to the annual Teacher Exit Interview are summarily reported for 1986 through 1989. Generally, the perceptions of teachers in small classes, in regular…

The development and validation of an instrument designed to measure the quantity of types of instruction delevered to individual students is described. The Classroom Activities Log (CAL) is a teacher-completed record of students' instructional experiences, and may be used to study educational equity questions posed by Elementary Secondary…

This report presents results of Tennessee's 4-year longitudinal class size project: Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR). The study analyzes student achievement and development in three class types: small classes with 13-17 students per teacher; regular classes with 22-25 students per teacher, and regular classes with 22-25 students per…

This report examines differences between full-day and half-day kindergarten across the United States using ECLS-K data from schools, teachers, parents and kindergarten children. Described, are the schools, both public and private, that offer these programs and the children who attend them. The report further describes many characteristics of…