More CAP clap trap on class size reduction; who are they trying to fool?

[proud2BlibKansan]

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In this report, Chingos falsely claims that that the benefits of smaller classes, as shown by the Tennessee STAR studies, faded out over time:

“The bump in test scores after one year would be impressive if it didn’t erode over time despite the continued use of small classes.”

Actually, follow up studies by Jeremy Finn reveal that students who were randomly assigned smaller classes in the early grades had significantly higher graduation and college-going rates. The gains were especially impressive for low-income students:

“For all students combined, 4 years in a small class in K–3 were associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of graduating from high school; the odds of graduating after having attended small classes for 4 years were increased by about 80.0%. Furthermore, the impact of attending a small class was especially noteworthy for students from low-income homes. Three years or more of small classes affected the graduation rates of low- SES students, increasing the odds of graduating by about 67.0% for 3 years and more than doubling the odds for 4 years.”

Yet another recent study showed that students who were randomly assigned a smaller class in Kindergarten were more likely to own a home and have a 401K, more than twenty years later!!

more . . . http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-cap-clap-trap-on-class-size.html