I am SO sick of this crap. There were @50 kids in my classes in elementary school and , as near as I could tell, we all left knowing how to read and do basic math. Give me a break. Lazy parents and lazy teachers are in cahoots to raise a nation of idiots.
Teaching is the only occupation that actually has negative productivity gains per employee.
Speaking as a teacher - basically smaller class sizes are useless unless you can get a dramatic change.
If you could get classes of 10 instead of 30, you'd probably get improvement - but 20 instead of 30 just doesn't make a real difference.
And it increases the number of teachers you need by 50%, which means you have to lower the standards you use to employ them.
How many boatloads of administrators, assistants to administrators, over the top gymnasiums, and Taj Mahal type building structures is it going to take before people admit that schools WILL NOT spend the money in ways in "best benefit" their students? They WILL NOT and they NEVER WILL. They will spend it ON THEMSELVES, as they've always done.
I just read (I didn't save the reference) that made a good argument that the important point is not small classes, which in the study made no different, but smaller schools. The optimum size was 1,200 or less. I forgot the minimum number.
It's failing here in florida also. Feels good though. That's what counts.
When I was in grade school we had 30 or more kids in a class. The schools were better run back then; the kids were disciplined -- by teachers; and we got a good education. All that small class sizes has accomplished is more jobs for teachers and administrators. It's been little more than a scam perpetrated by the teachers' unions.
One more thing for which we can thank Pete Wilson.