Receive this from CABE and thought I'd share it here. Trying to get off the subject of Budget and Special Ed for a short while.
Looming budget cuts have put class size at the center of the national education debate, writes Andrew Rotherham in TIME Magazine. At least 45 states will face some budget shortfall for the fiscal year that begins this July, according to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Secretary of Education Duncan has stated that scarce resources will be the "new normal" for schools.
Rotherham feels anxiety over the class size issue is misplaced. He indicated that school districts, states, and the federal government have tested class-size reduction as a school-improvement strategy for years, and research shows smaller classes are better only if the teacher is very good. Students are better off with 28 or 30 students in the classroom and a great teacher than 22 classmates and a mediocre teacher. On top of this, to make a significant difference in student achievement, "smaller" must mean fewer than 16 students, and benefits are greatest in the early grades and for at-risk youth.
"As is too often the case in education, that research is almost completely at odds with current practice," Rotherham writes. "Instead of lowering class size a lot for the students who most need it, school districts generally lower it a little for everyone." Therefore, across-the-board increases in class size is poor policy, in Rotherham's opinion. He feels it's important to go much smaller for some students, but fine to go larger for others. Districts should also consider ways to innovate with technology, schedules, and classroom configurations to increase student-teacher interaction.
He also stressed that it is time to get serious about teacher quality by making better decisions about hiring, evaluation and tenure.
Source: "When It Comes To Class Size, Smaller Isn't Always Better, "by Andrew J. Rotherham, TIME, March 3, 2011.
13 comments:
Get real. Six classes for each teacher at the high school with 25 students is bound to leave little time for real interactions (conversations, correction of papers, recommendations, etc.)with students. As any economist knows, there is a point of diminishing returns. Not to mention that the original intent of six classes was smaller class sizes.
And here comes the drama...
"Students are better off with 28 or 30 students in the classroom and a great teacher than 22 classmates and a mediocre teacher."
So true is this statement despite what most have been brain washed to believe.
When is the tc public hearing on the budget? Is it still Tuesday? This has not been very well publicized this year.
also. I hope the teachers refuse to teach six classes anymore since the agreement has been violated.
"When is the tc public hearing on the budget? Is it still Tuesday? This has not been very well publicized this year."
All the information you need is, and has been, available on the Town's website for some time.
http://www.cheshirect.org/budget/default.html
The TM doesn't send out engraved invitations. You actually have to make an attempt to get informed.
"As any economist knows, there is a point of diminishing returns. "
Yes, and it's called Tenure.
"Six classes for each teacher at the high school with 25 students is bound to leave little time for real interactions (conversations, correction of papers, recommendations, etc.)with students."
I checked your allegations against the CHS Master Schedule and found that we don't have teachers teaching 6 classes with 25 students.
In fact, when I filter our Study Halls, Physical Ed, Band, Choir, Lecture Halls, etc. the larges class size is 25 students for a history course.
And for that particular history course the teacher teaches 3 other courses with class sizes ranging from 13 - 17 students in the current term.
So, explain to me where you are getting your facts from?
"also. I hope the teachers refuse to teach six classes anymore since the agreement has been violated."
Per the contract, each teacher shall be assigned no more than (6) academic credits per school year. A teacher may volunteer to teach additional academic credits following negotiations with the EAC and Board concerning appropriate compensation for the additional academic credit or portion thereof.
Given the contract language and researching the master schedule I don't see the issue you are alleging.
And for those teacher's teaching 6 classes, class sizes aren't near 25 students but more in the 13 - 22 range.
Help me identify where you're observing 6 classes with 25 students how that violates the agreement.
"The TM doesn't send out engraved invitations. You actually have to make an attempt to get informed."
No one was asking for an engraved invitation just a confirmation that the meeting was still on. Considering the councils recent refusal to vote on issues due to that absence of councilors I just felt it was best to verify this wasn't postponed as well.
I hope that the TC is attentive tomorrow night and not rolling their eyes and having side conversations as has often been in the past.
I agree the controversy over class size is overblown. If class sizes are in the range that Tony states adding a few students should not be an issue. I also had a problem with council meetings in the past but the councilors who were always guilty of side conversations and not paying attention during meetings were voted out in the last election.
"No one was asking for an engraved invitation just a confirmation that the meeting was still on. Considering the councils recent refusal to vote on issues due to that absence of councilors I just felt it was best to verify this wasn't postponed as well."
I think your concern is valid but the meeting is on and I hope it's well attended. Tomorrow night is the public hearing portion of the budget process.
Also worth noting - If you can't go to the meeting or you don't want to speak at the microphone, you can email a councilor(s), give them your opinions on the budget, and ask them to include your email as part of the public record.
"Students are better off with 28 or 30 students in the classroom and a great teacher" is a quote from your article. My language "Six classes . . . with 25 students is bound to . . ." is in the future tense. Your implied suggestion is that in the future increased class size would not be all that bad. Ask the students if limiting access to their teachers by having them compete for a teacher's attention with more students per class would help them.
And total students per teacher makes a huge difference. At a point, there simply is not enough time to address student demands.What do you think that number is - 125, 135, 140. Check your master lists and you will see that teachers are being pushed into the top of that range.
Thank you Tony for doing your homework (a rare thing for most BOE members) and exposing the "over-worked" myth.
The CHS master schedule shows many classes under 20 students...some as low as 14.
My kids went through the system here in Cheshire and I absolutely agree that the quality of the teacher is what counts...not the class size.
Too bad the union leaders always talk about class sizes but will defend to the end a lousy teacher that the system is trying to purge.
Cheshire has its share of mediocre teachers......and the union will make sure they stay in the classrooms.....with 15 kids or 25 kids.....it is still a tragedy for the kids.
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