With changes in the economy in the United States, schools are being faced with budget cuts that are causing the obstacle of big changes in the school system. Some schools are being shut down, there are teachers being let go and all this is leading to larger classroom sizes in schools nationwide. Increasing classroom sizes can cause a student to be distracted and with less supervision it may cause more chances for them to lose interest and slack off. Children and teenagers tend to have a lower attention span and one-on-one student-teacher interaction can help alleviate this distraction.

According to the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio study, or STAR, reduced class sizes were shown to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about three additional months of schooling four years later. Optimal classroom sizes is between 13 to 17 students per teacher. Another benefit of smaller classroom sizes is how it affects the teacher. Education.com states “Many teachers report a higher job satisfaction rate when dealing with smaller class loads, and academic achievement tests seem to indicate favorable results across the board for smaller classes.”

We hope this post has helped you get a better understanding of the effect of larger class sizes. We would love to hear your thoughts on classroom sizes and how this may have effected your child’s learning.