SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Only the Shadow Knows For Sure

Here’s an interesting report on what’s happening to class sizes in the US. In a nutshell, a few years back it was fashionable to mandate smaller class sizes. Sadly, student achievement has not improved as a result but the reduced class sizes have been continued because they are very popular with parents/voters. Now, however, the huge and continuing expense of smaller classes is starting to bite, and many jurisdictions are no longer able to afford to maintain their class size reductions. It will be very interesting to see what happens as a result. Will student achievement fall? Will parents/voters express their displeasure at the ballot box? Will Ontario abandon its own class reduction initiative? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.