For nearly three decades, ever since the 1983 “Nation At Risk” report, education reformers have generally agreed that smaller class sizes are a key to improving schools. And class sizes have, in fact, plummeted. Some of us baby boomers can remember being in public school classes with 35 or more kids; today, the nationwide average is around 20. Yet as all know by now, school test scores have stagnated, even as education costs have soared.
So today’s reformers might conclude that a combination of mediocre teachers, educational fads, multiculturalism and an ACLU-ized learning environment have overwhelmed the putative advantages of smaller class size. And oh, by the way, all the new teachers that we’ve hired aren’t necessarily good at their jobs.
