TY - JOUR
T1 - The long-term effects of small classes in early grades
T2 - Lasting benefits in mathematics achievement at grade 9
AU - Nye, Barbara
AU - Hedges, Larry V.
AU - Konstantopoulos, Spyros
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Reducing class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive short-term effects of small classes, some scholars view the evidence as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee-a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size—provided persuasive evidence that small classes have immediate positive effects on academic achievement. Unlike most other early education interventions, these effects persisted for several years after the children returned to regular-sized classes. The authors of the present article report analyses of a 6-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. Class-size effects persisted for at least 6 years and remained large enough to be important for educational policy. The results suggest that small classes in early grades have lasting benefits and that those benefits are greater for minority students than for White students.
AB - Reducing class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive short-term effects of small classes, some scholars view the evidence as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee-a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size—provided persuasive evidence that small classes have immediate positive effects on academic achievement. Unlike most other early education interventions, these effects persisted for several years after the children returned to regular-sized classes. The authors of the present article report analyses of a 6-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. Class-size effects persisted for at least 6 years and remained large enough to be important for educational policy. The results suggest that small classes in early grades have lasting benefits and that those benefits are greater for minority students than for White students.
KW - Class size
KW - Long-term effects
KW - Longitudinal study
KW - Randomized experiments
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U2 - 10.1080/00220970109599487
DO - 10.1080/00220970109599487
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035285632
SN - 0022-0973
VL - 69
SP - 245
EP - 257
JO - Journal of Experimental Education
JF - Journal of Experimental Education
IS - 3
ER -