Emily Bisker

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 2

28 Sept. 2018

Synthesis essay, Class size effects on student achievement

The class room is the foundation for success, therefore class size should be taken into
great measure. School is a huge part of every one’s childhood and has a major effect on their
future. Making school easier is beneficial for the students and the teachers to ensure you get the
most out of your school career. Having smaller class sizes is best for students and teachers, a
good ratio of teachers to students is 1:15, however for younger students a good ratio is 2:15. The
best thing about smaller classes is getting 1 on 1 help, which makes it easier for students to get
help.

Many parents are searching for smaller schools for their kids to go to because student
achievement is linked to class size. From Class size effects on student achievement: patterns and
explanations, it states that the maximum number of students per classroom is 30, but many
schools must go over this limit to correlate with how many students they have. Schools that go
over this limit have lower academic success than schools that stay within the limit. Studies from
this source also state that students work better in smaller classes because of the less distractions
from others around them, making a more peaceful environment for students to work in. Recent
studies show that as children age their patience grows, so younger students need smaller classes,
and older students can manage with slightly larger classrooms.

As people grow, they mature, and everything becomes easier. This statement applies to
all students. Younger students have less patience and need more attention and care than older
students. One must have great patience to work with younger students because they need more
one on one time, therefore classrooms for younger grades should have more than one teacher, or
have teacher’s assistants. From The effects of class size on student achievement: new evidence
from popular variation, it states that younger oriented classrooms are growing, and academic
achievement scores are going down. However, the classrooms with multiple teachers or teacher’s
assistants, the scores have remained relatively the same or even went up. This just goes to show
that younger students that get more one on one time do better than those who are in larger
classrooms and don’t get enough personal attention.

A lot of schools are switching their live classes to asynchronous online courses. This may
be beneficial for many students and teachers, but for a greater number of students and teachers, it
is doing more harm than good. Online classes have been introduced to many schools and
colleges recently, and this is having a negative effect on students. Class size for online courses
shouldn’t matter, because there is no capacity limit, but that doesn’t make it any less work for the
teachers. When teachers have 100+ students enrolled in their online class, its going to take a very
long time for them to grade their students work and give them feedback. If a student has a
question it is going to be very difficult for them to ask it and get an answer. And with online
classes students can not work together on assignments or projects, you’re basically on your own.
Sometimes as a student, you reference older assignments for feedback, but if the teacher has to
many students it will take him or her longer to grade papers and assignments. Students won’t get
feedback quickly, and then they wont have the option to use that as a resource.