Will Larger Class sizes have an effect on lower Elementary School Children?

Kim - posted on 06/30/2010

I had 28 or 29 First Graders all year! Not a great experience. Our limit is 27, but district ran out of funds, so they provided a part time aide. She helped in my classroom for 1 hour per day. (and sometimes not at all)

Julia - posted on 06/30/2010

I already had 26 students in 2nd grade this year, and I cannot imagine having more!!

Lori - posted on 06/25/2010

Larger classroom sizes will no doubt have in my opinion adverse effects on all students. The issue involves more than just the number of students in a class it also deals with the fact that since the limit has been taken off in terms of when you have enough for an aid, there will be no more classroom aids!! I don't know about the rest of you but I feel in a class of 20-25 Kindergarteners an aid is a GODSEND!! I fear this will impact the learning environment tremendously and we will begin to see a higher burn out rate among the teaching profession then what is already out there. I do not feel this was a smart decision. It will definitely have a negative effect on the quality of education our children are now receiving.

Aideen - posted on 06/14/2010

WOW! The max class size in Ireland at the moment is 37 children. I've had 33 in 4th class (age 9-10 ish) and oh my was it hard work. Corrections, preparation, space in the room, meetings with parents etc. were all issues. With such a large class you're more likely to have children with special learning needs: I had 1 with dyspraxia and a severe dyslexic. Diversity in ability is also an issue: I also had 5 children very bright children who scored STens of 10 for both reading and maths. With such diversity in our classes I wonder how one person in one room can possibly meet the needs of the ESL students, those with special needs, weaker students, average students and have any time or energy to stretch the bright sparks? These Einsteins of the future are neglected in large classes as we fail to enable them to reach their full potentials, and more often than not these needs are not met at home as parents are either unaware that their child is exceptionaly able, not worried since their child is doing well or simply expect that the school is catering for their needs. Class sizes need to be reduced for the sake of all children. My daughter learned to swim in a group of 8 and learned to read in a group of 29....there is something very wrong with that!

Kim - posted on 06/08/2010

Larger class sizes do have an effect on the quality of education. I believe research says that it is the teacher, not the size of the class, but larger classes limit what a teacher is able to do. More students mean more noise in the classroom, more bodies, less space, and less time with individual students. I am a first grade teacher. I always teach reading in small groups, however, 8 kids per group is no longer a "small group". Students have less time to "be the reader", because there are 7 others waiting for their turn too. The larger classes make more work for the teachers in preparing, and grading. It is surprising what a difference just a few less kids can make.

April - posted on 06/07/2010

well.....I think the answer is obvious but.....one on one teaching or as much as possible is IDEAL. So, the larger the class size, the more children are going to fall through the cracks!

Carina - posted on 06/05/2010

Larger classes are not better for anyone... On my first day of term 2 my class jumped from 28 - 31... Y5/6 students... 9 & 10 year olds... management can be a nightmare... larger chn, less space, wet weather really a problem... but we get by. This is the first time Ive ever had this many chn... usually our numbers stay around 25-28 students per class in the senior school. The chn who are coping or above are ok... lets just focus on the below & at-risk.... We have to keep our numbers down!

Gina - posted on 06/04/2010

Betty, quite honestly it can be a problem regardless of the academic level. I just ended the school year with a cllas, at it's peak, of 35 boys in HIGH SCHOOL. By the end of the year, the class size got to a surprising 27! That number is still high, and there are so many issues that become flashing neon signs that it begins to blind you bringing more attention to them in a negative way and impedes the possible progress that could have been made with those who were really wanting, working and struggling to learn. So class size is usually a determining factor on the educational welfare of a child's future.

Jo - posted on 06/03/2010

There is no doubt that a large class size is detrimental to kid's learning and well being. In a large class, each child gets less individual attention and has more potential distractions. I've taught a class of 31 and a class of 19 primary school age children and the difference was amazing. It's always such a relief to have a small class, it makes the day much calmer when you know you'll have time to give each child what they need to succeed in each lesson.

Shannon - posted on 05/28/2010

I teach 1st grade and have to say I'm concerned about the large class size too. I had 24 kids for just a few months last year and couldn't believe the challenges it presented. Having 20 this year made it easier for me to differentiate instruction and work with small groups to build reading skills. It also made it easier to handle classroom management, special needs, ELL, and low-income challenges. We are projected to have 24-25 first graders in our classrooms this coming year which means we'll be short on text books, materials & supplies. Too many students means extra discipline problems, less one-on-one instructional time available, and a frazzled teacher. Sadly it is the kids who don't require extra time & attention that suffer most. They don't get challenged enough because the teacher is busy fighting to bring up test scores and working with low kids to learn to read. I think this is just one of many problems education is facing today.

Shannon - posted on 05/25/2010

Having taught both upper and lower elementary, I can say that having larger class sizes will definitely have an impact. We have 25 in our classes this year and it is challenging to meet with each group in one day during guided reading. When they are younger and still learning to read, they need the small group instruction so that the teacher can model and provide the skills that each group needs. The older kids are reading to learn and can handle literature circles (for the most part) so that the teacher can go from group to group to support, but not lead, the learning. I can honestly say I am worried about bigger class sizes.