CLASSROOM SIZES Essay, Research Paper

Are class sizes to big in the America school system today? In my personal

opinion, I feel that overpopulated classrooms are mainly a quandary in the lower

elementary grades. The number of children in schools is prolifically increasing

in the overpopulated areas of the country, such as; New York, California, new

Jersey and other mid-west and east coast states. (www.ed.gov)

I choose to do my educational issue paper on class sizes because I feel that it

has a negative impact on young children in today’s school system. Also, going

through my education experience, my classes were all small and I felt that the

student and teacher interaction was very helpful for me to achieve my academic

success. I feel that all students need and deserve the one on one attention to

reach the zenith of their academic success.

Some benefits of small class sizes would be; students receive more personal

attention in smaller classrooms. Reviewing existing data kept by the United

States Department of Education, the figures show that between 1969 and 1997 the

average number of pupils per teacher in American public and private elementary

schools fell from 25.1 to 18.3, a decline greater then 27 percent. In secondary

schools the numbers also fell, from 19.7 to 14.0. (Scientific America, 2001) An

example of how classroom sizes can have a negative effect on children would be;

a student with a learning disability may not be able to receive all the care and

attention he/she deserves if a teacher had to tend to a larger classroom.

Whereas if she only had a class with fewer students then average in it, she

would be able to facilitate the students needs in a better more manner.

(www.ed.gov) Another reason would be the fewer amount of students in the

classroom translate into less noise and disruptive behavior, which not only

gives the teacher more time for class work, but also more time to engage

students creativity-by dividing them into groups for specific projects.

(Ehrenberg 1999) All the above mentioned benefits are very important to students

who have special classroom needs, this is why our government needs to invest as

much money into education as possible so we can be provided with nicer classroom

sizes, and more interpersonal relationships with the teachers and the students.

When talking about reducing classroom sizes the cost issue is always a huge

factor. Congress is paying out 1.3 billion dollars to school districts across

the United States. This will enable them to recruit, hire and train new teachers

for the 2000-2001 school year. On December 22nd 2000 congress appropriated an

additional 1.6 billion for the 2001-2002 school year. (www.ed.gov) In reducing

classroom sizes school districts will need this money for bigger schools and

higher quality teachers, Groups such as; Students Achievement Guarantee in

Education (S.A.G.E) provides dozens of schools with the resources to improve

student achievement through reduced classroom sizes. (Haig, 2000) Schools in

low-income areas apply for a five-year state contract to fund class size

reductions. Participating districts receive 2,000 dollars per student. When

first originated the program funded thirty schools in twenty-one districts. That

number has grown to an estimated five hundred schools for the 2000-2001 school

year. (Haig 2000) The many benefits of S.A.G.E come at a high price. State

funding for S.A.GE. , Is about 58.8 million dollars this year, which is up from

18 million last year. In paying for these programs such as S.A.GE to reduce

classroom sizes, the final costs exceed the funding that the state has put away

for education, and cuts into other government money (American school and

University, 1999)

The objective of the government to reduce classroom sizes will always be a

struggle for our society. Due to the fact that the population is always

increasing. The money is also another detriment to getting smaller classes,

because of the certain amount the government allots to education not being

enough. This is a problem that may never be solved. The money that government is

putting into programs such as S.A.G.E is greatly helping the fight against

classroom sizes. At least the government is working on the problem and showing

interest in the quality of education that the children of the future are

receiving. I feel that the government is doing an eccentric job in trying its

best to provide money for this issue in our school system. I only hope they can

continue to provide for the future generations of children to come.

WORKS CITED

Ehrenberg, Ronald,” Education Change in the United States” Academic Search

Publishing. New York 2001

The Journal, “National Education agenda to help students” Volume 27. Boston,

2000

America School and University, “Reductions come with costs” Volume 71 1999

Hiag Barbara “Small Classes, Big gain” UWM, 1999

www.ed.gov “Class sizes reduced”