Why Class Size Matters

Teacher and students in a small classroom
environment with smiles on their face. 

Class size can impact a classroom community based on how it is approached. Class size is the number of students in one classroom that a teacher is responsible for during a period of time. Recently with the teacher shortage, class sizes have been increasing dramatically putting more stress on the teachers and less individualized attention for the students. Class size is becoming a bigger issue as teachers begin to become burnt out and leave the teaching profession. A smaller class size does not only benefit the teacher, but it also significantly benefits the students. It is evident that smaller class sizes leads to an increase in students' success due to less distractions and more attention from the teacher. Students in smaller classes perform better in all their classes compared to other students who are in larger classes. Smaller classes are typically ahead on content learning with higher scores on standardized exams. There is a significant impact on students and teachers with smaller classes because it allows teachers to expand more on topics they would not be able to with a bigger class that would need more attention. Bigger classes are a struggle to manage because of how many students there are leading to a more disruptive environment. In larger classroom environments, there is typically less student engagement and participation. Overall, class size is significant in order for teachers and students to have a successful and engaging learning environment.  

Empty classroom with
around 16 desks. 

In an ideal world, I believe the perfect class size would be 18 students to 1 teacher. This gives teachers more opportunities to provide individualized instruction to students. The teacher would be able to create stronger teacher-student relationships which could then help the students feel more comfortable within the classroom environment. With strong teacher-student relationships, students will want to participate in class and will want to respect the teacher. In a class with 30 students, it is more difficult for the teacher to have a relationship with every student. Smaller classrooms create better communication between the teacher, students and their peers. Because of the teacher shortage, it is nearly impossible for there to be 18 students to 1 teacher in every classroom. I do believe though that there should not be more than 25 students to 1 teacher in a single classroom in order for students to effectively learn. 

I have been able to experience the affects of class size first hand. I work at a Knox County Middle School as a Math Tutor. I work with students in all grades (6th, 7th and 8th grade). As apart of my job, I am in the classroom during the school day when instruction occurs. This means I am able to see what goes on in the classroom and observe how class size affects students. What I have noticed is some of the class sizes are incredibly too big for students to be able to learn well and for teachers to be able to teach effectively. There are several reasons to why class sizes are increasing at this school. Many teachers have recently quit which leaves the remaining teachers having to adjust their schedules and take in more students. This school is currently down to one teacher in 7th grade math which leaves class sizes at around 30 students. This is even more difficult to have a majority of students be behaviorally challenged. The teacher shortage is real and it is affecting so many schools around the United States. I am very passionate about this topic because I am becoming a teacher and I see the challenges there are in growing class sizes. I want all students to be able to have the desire to learn and want to expand their knowledge. Students are typically less engaged and do not care for school as much in larger classes because of all the distractions. Class size is something that continually needs to be addressed in schools and focused on in order for students to reach their goals and for teachers to teach productively.