IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucn/oapubs/10197-7263.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Class Size: Does It Matter for Student Achievement?

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher Jepsen

Abstract

Reducing class size is a popular education policy measure with parents, teachers, and policymakers. However, research shows that reducing class size leads to, in most cases, only modest improvements in student achievement. Also, students in early grades appear to gain more from smaller classes than older students. Despite extensive research on class size, much about this relationship is still unknown. Policymakers should be aware that reducing class sizes can be costly, is no guarantee of improved achievement, and is only one of many possible reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Jepsen, 2015. "Class Size: Does It Matter for Student Achievement?," Open Access publications 10197/7263, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:oapubs:10197/7263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/7263
    File Function: Open Access version, 2015
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven G. Rivkin & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain, 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(2), pages 417-458, March.
    2. Jonah Rockoff, 2009. "Field Experiments in Class Size from the Early Twentieth Century," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(4), pages 211-230, Fall.
    3. Alan B. Krueger, 1999. "Experimental Estimates of Education Production Functions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(2), pages 497-532.
    4. Wo[ss]mann, Ludger & West, Martin, 2006. "Class-size effects in school systems around the world: Evidence from between-grade variation in TIMSS," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 695-736, April.
    5. Peter Fredriksson & Björn Öckert & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2013. "Long-Term Effects of Class Size," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(1), pages 249-285.
    6. Paul Bingley & Vibeke Myrup Jensen & Ian Walker, 2007. "The Effect of School Class Size on Post-Compulsory Education: Some Cost Benefit Analysis," Working Papers 200717, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    7. Matthew M. Chingos & Kenneth A. Couch, 2013. "Class Size and Student Outcomes: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 411-438, March.
    8. Duflo, Esther & Dupas, Pascaline & Kremer, Michael, 2015. "School governance, teacher incentives, and pupil–teacher ratios: Experimental evidence from Kenyan primary schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 92-110.
    9. Caroline M. Hoxby, 2000. "The Effects of Class Size on Student Achievement: New Evidence from Population Variation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1239-1285.
    10. Robert J. Gary-Bobo & Mohamed-Badrane Mahjoub, 2013. "Estimation of Class-Size Effects, Using "Maimonides' Rule" and Other Instruments: the Case of French Junior High Schools," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 111-112, pages 193-225.
    11. Hideo Akabayashi & Ryosuke Nakamura, 2014. "Can Small Class Policy Close the Gap? An Empirical Analysis of Class Size Effects in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 253-281, September.
    12. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek & Marte Rønning, 2008. "Quasi‐experimental Estimates of the Effect of Class Size on Achievement in Norway," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(4), pages 663-693, December.
    13. Denny, Kevin & Oppedisano, Veruska, 2013. "The surprising effect of larger class sizes: Evidence using two identification strategies," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 57-65.
    14. Bingley, Paul & Jensen, Vibeke Myrup & Walker, Ian, 2005. "The Effects of School Class Size on Length of Post-Compulsory Education: Some Cost-Benefit Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 1605, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Miguel Urquiola, 2006. "Identifying Class Size Effects in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rural Bolivia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 171-177, February.
    16. Thomas Piketty & Mathieu Valdenaire, 2006. "L'impact de la taille des classes sur la réussite scolaire dans les écoles, collèges et lycées français - Estimations à partir du panel primaire 1997 et du panel secondaire 1995," Post-Print halshs-00754847, HAL.
    17. Pascal Bressoux & Francis Kramarz & Corinne Prost, 2009. "Teachers’ Training, Class Size and Students’ Outcomes: Learning from Administrative Forecasting Mistakes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(536), pages 540-561, March.
    18. repec:adr:anecst:y:2013:i:111-112:p:8 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Christopher Jepsen & Steven Rivkin, 2009. "Class Size Reduction and Student Achievement: The Potential Tradeoff between Teacher Quality and Class Size," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    20. Mikael Lindahl, 2005. "Home versus School Learning: A New Approach to Estimating the Effect of Class Size on Achievement," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 107(2), pages 375-394, June.
    21. Hojo, Masakazu, 2013. "Class-size effects in Japanese schools: A spline regression approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 120(3), pages 583-587.
    22. Berrara, A., 1989. "The Interactive Effects Of Mother'S Schooling And Unsupplemented Breastfeeding On Child Health," Papers 572, Yale - Economic Growth Center.
    23. Steven Dieterle, 2013. "Development Class-size Reduction Policies and the Quality of Entering Teachers," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 224, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    24. Martin Browning & Eskil Heinesen, 2007. "Class Size, Teacher Hours and Educational Attainment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(2), pages 415-438, June.
    25. Simone Dobbelsteen & Jesse Levin & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2002. "The causal effect of class size on scholastic achievement: distinguishing the pure class size effect from the effect of changes in class composition," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(1), pages 17-38, February.
    26. David Sims, 2008. "A strategic response to class size reduction: Combination classes and student achievement in California," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 457-478.
    27. Boozer, Michael & Rouse, Cecilia, 2001. "Intraschool Variation in Class Size: Patterns and Implications," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 163-189, July.
    28. Akerhielm, Karen, 1995. "Does class size matter?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 229-241, September.
    29. Chingos, Matthew M., 2012. "The impact of a universal class-size reduction policy: Evidence from Florida's statewide mandate," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 543-562.
    30. Joshua D. Angrist & Victor Lavy, 1999. "Using Maimonides' Rule to Estimate the Effect of Class Size on Scholastic Achievement," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(2), pages 533-575.
    31. Cho, Hyunkuk & Glewwe, Paul & Whitler, Melissa, 2012. "Do reductions in class size raise students’ test scores? Evidence from population variation in Minnesota's elementary schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 77-95.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hayri Eren Suna & Mahmut Ozer & Sadri Sensoy & Bekir Siddik Gur & Selahattin Gelbal & Petek Aşkar, 2021. "Determinants of Academic Achievement in Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 64(64), pages 143-162, December.
    2. Pierre Lefebvre & Philip Merrigan, 2022. "Why Subsidize Independent Schools? Estimating the Effect of a Unique Canadian Schooling Model on Educational Attainment," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Faten DARWEZ & Khaled JEGUIRIM & Christopher R. BRYANT, 2020. "Class Size and Educational Achievement in Tunisia: A Spatial Econometric Approach," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 52, pages 83-104.
    4. Judith M. Delaney & Paul J. Devereux, 2021. "Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence," Working Papers 202103, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    5. Havranek, Tomas & Opatrny, Matej & Irsova, Zuzana & Scasny, Milan, 2023. "Publication Bias and Model Uncertainty in Measuring the Effect of Class Size on Achievement," CEPR Discussion Papers 18159, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Comi, Simona Lorena & Argentin, Gianluca & Gui, Marco & Origo, Federica & Pagani, Laura, 2017. "Is it the way they use it? Teachers, ICT and student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 24-39.
    7. John Cullinan & Kevin Denny & Darragh Flannery, 2021. "A distributional analysis of upper secondary school performance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 1085-1113, February.
    8. repec:eee:ireced:v:30:y:2019:i:c:p:- is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Eleanor Jawon Choi & Hyungsik Roger Moon & Geert Ridder, 2019. "Within-District School Lotteries, District Selection, and the Average Partial Effects of School Inputs," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 35, pages 275-306.
    10. Haepp, Tobias & Lyu, Lidan, 2018. "The Impact of Primary School Investment Reallocation on Educational Attainment in Rural Areas of the People’s Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 821, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    11. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2020. "Can Human Resource Management Improve Schools' Performance?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(4), pages 427-440, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maximilian Bach & Stephan Sievert, 2019. "Birth Cohort Size Variation and the Estimation of Class Size Effects," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1817, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Kedagni, Desire & Krishna, Kala & Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Zhao, Yingyan, 2021. "Does class size matter? How, and at what cost?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Cohen-Zada, Danny & Gradstein, Mark & Reuven, Ehud, 2013. "Allocation of students in public schools: Theory and new evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 96-106.
    4. Stephen Gibbons & Sandra McNally, 2013. "The Effects of Resources Across School Phases: A Summary of Recent Evidence," CEP Discussion Papers dp1226, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Hægeland, Torbjørn & Raaum, Oddbjørn & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2012. "Pennies from heaven? Using exogenous tax variation to identify effects of school resources on pupil achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 601-614.
    6. Graham McKee & Katharine Sims & Steven Rivkin, 2015. "Disruption, learning, and the heterogeneous benefits of smaller classes," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1267-1286, May.
    7. Hideo Akabayashi & Ryosuke Nakamura, 2014. "Can Small Class Policy Close the Gap? An Empirical Analysis of Class Size Effects in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 253-281, September.
    8. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "Does class size influence student achievement?," Post-Print halshs-02522747, HAL.
    9. Han, Joseph & Ryu, Keunkwan, 2017. "Effects of class size reduction in upper grades: Evidence from Seoul, Korea," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 68-85.
    10. Matthew M. Chingos & Kenneth A. Couch, 2013. "Class Size and Student Outcomes: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 411-438, March.
    11. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "Does class size influence student achievement?," Post-Print halshs-02522747, HAL.
    12. Hideo Akabayashi & Ryosuke Nakamura, 2012. "Can Small Class Policy Close The Gap? An Empirical Analysis Of Class Size Effects In Japan," Working Papers e051, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    13. Sameh Hallaq, 2020. "Class Size, Cognitive Abilities, Bullying, and Violent Behavior: Evidence from West Bank Schools," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_955, Levy Economics Institute.
    14. West, Martin R. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2006. "Which school systems sort weaker students into smaller classes? International evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 944-968, December.
    15. Argaw, Bethlehem A. & Puhani, Patrick A., 2018. "Does class size matter for school tracking outcomes after elementary school? Quasi-experimental evidence using administrative panel data from Germany," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 48-57.
    16. Matej Opatrny & Tomas Havranek & Zuzana Irsova & Milan Scasny, 2023. "Publication Bias and Model Uncertainty in Measuring the Effect of Class Size on Achievement," Working Papers IES 2023/19, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised May 2023.
    17. Chingos, Matthew M., 2012. "The impact of a universal class-size reduction policy: Evidence from Florida's statewide mandate," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 543-562.
    18. Torberg Falch & Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør & Bjarne Strøm, 2017. "Do Smaller Classes Always Improve Students’ Long-run Outcomes?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(5), pages 654-688, October.
    19. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek & Marte Rønning, 2008. "Quasi‐experimental Estimates of the Effect of Class Size on Achievement in Norway," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(4), pages 663-693, December.
    20. Masakazu Hojo, 2011. "Education Production Function and Class-Size Effects in Japanese Public Schools," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd11-194, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Class size; Student achievement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucn:oapubs:10197/7263. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Nicolas Clifton (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/educdie.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.