Class Size and Academic Performance in 4th Grade Elementary Schools Essay

Class Size and Academic Performance in 4th Grade Elementary Schools - Essay Example At least over a dozen states have already adopted policies that reduce class sizes. Unfortunately, class size as described and measured in most cited literature does not readily translate into student-faculty ratios. Class size is defined as the number of students assigned to a teacher for a specific period of group instruction. In contrast, the student-faculty ratio is a measure that aggregates the entire student body of an educational entity (school, program, grade, or enrollment cohort) and expresses it as a ratio to the entire faculty involved in their teaching.(Brian and George,2003) Average class size is a measure that aggregates the number of students in the number of classes to which they are assigned and divides it by the number of classes. As a summary statistic, average class size is closer to the root meaning of class size than the student-faculty ratio. The speed and enthusiasm with which America implemented class size reduction underscored a shared optimism on the part of legislators, educators, and parents that fourth grades would quickly improve the quality of education and lead the state's fourth grade students to achieve higher scores on standardized tests. To a great extent, this optimism has been rewarded: evaluations after the second and third years of class size reduction in America confirm that students taking part in fourth grades do perform a lot better on standardized tests than similarly placed students in larger classes. Educators hope these gains will increase as the program matures and students have longer exposure to fourth grades. My research on class size reduction would study its full effects - positive and negative - which may not be realized practically for several more years. However, as class size reduction programs gain momentum across the nation, educators and legislators would be well advised to learn from America's experience and keep equity foremost in their minds when planning their own programs. This paper reviews the history and status of class size reduction in America, reports results from comprehensive evaluations of the study for fourth graders, and derives a short set of studies from the experiment. These studies are intended to help inform the debate about class size in other states and in the nation as a whole. The strong political support for class size reduction in America has been based on the belief that reducing class size would produce significant improvement in student achievement. This certainty, in turn, was based on the positive results of a class size reduction experiment on fourth grades throughout major American schools, the Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio, or STAR, program. Students who participated in reduced size classes in the STAR program during the primary grades made statistically significant achievement gains in all subject areas tested.( George and Brian,2003) The achievement gains were equal for boys and girls. Also important from the perspective of some American legislators, the achievement gai

Week 5 posts 6330 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 5 posts 6330 - Assignment Example Thanks for such a short and precise post on developing successful evaluation strategies on the course issues and trends in nursing. I agree that it is important to develop a rubric, which is very important in grading as it acts a reference point to check whether all the required documentation has been included. In the post, you have mentioned â€Å"Widespread use of technology makes it extremely easy to lose sight of the myriad individual pieces of a syllabus† (Habanek, 2005). However, you have not specified your take towards incorporating technology in the evaluation process. On my part, I think technology is an essential part in carrying out evaluation especially when you anticipate having a long and detailed syllabus. The central part is to ensure that you enforce a system that can easily be monitored and adjusted when need arises. I would agree with you that having active learning strategies is necessary to prepare students such that they are in a position to apply what they learn from a classroom setting into real life situation. Therefore, it is necessary for the faculty to have a clear and precise curriculum that will help them achieve these conditions. Similar to what Billings and Halstead (2012) explain in their text â€Å"rely on goals, objectives, and outcomes to guide program, course, or lesson development† (p. 423). Besides that, I would like you to clarify one area that I did not quite understand. You mentioned â€Å"the students will complete a concept map and case study in preparation for the teaching plan they create and present† kindly elaborate more on this part. Thanks for such an informative post on developing a curriculum that will incorporate cardiac disorders as one of the main courses. Cardiac disorders such as heart failure have become a common problem in the current medical field. Therefore, need to have professionals that are well educated in the field and