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Articles in Smaller class size advances health by supporting educational success.

  • A study in Tennessee of elementary schools found that students in classes with fewer children had higher scores in math, reading, and study skills compared to students in regular sized classrooms.

    Finn JD, Achilles CM. 1990. Answer & questions about class size: A statewide experiment. American Educational Research Jounral 27(3):557-577.

  • Class size reduction in the early grades leads to higher student achievement in reading and math when class size is reduced to 15-20 students.

    Pritchard I. 1999. Reducing Class Size: What Do We Know? US Dept. of Education. National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment. Available at HYPERLINK "http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ReducingClass/index.html" http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ReducingClass/index.html

  • In a Tennessee study, students who were in small classes in grades one through three were about half a school year (5 months) ahead of students from larger classes at the end of fifth grade, in all subjects.

    Finn JD, Achilles CM. 1999. Tennessee's class size study: Findings, implications, misconceptions. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Special Issue Class Size: Issues and New Findings 21(2):165-177.

  • High school students who were in small classes in grades 1-3 were less likely to be held back a year or be suspended compared with their peers from larger classes.

    Pate-Bain H, Fulton BD, Boyd-Zaharias J. 1999. Effects of class size reduction in the early grades (K-3) on high school performance. Nashville: HEROS, Inc.

  • School children are more likely to be engaged within small groups and during analysis-inference instruction than in large group activities, individualized work settings, and basic skills instruction.

    Downer JT, Rimm-Kaufman SE, Pianta RC. 2007. How do classroom conditions and children's risk for school problems contribute to children's behavioral engagement in learning? School Psychology Review 36 (3): 413-432.

  • Using a nationally representative sample from the 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a study estimated that class-size reductions would generate net cost savings of approximately $168,000 in health care expenditures and a net gain of 1.7 quality-adjusted life-years for each high school graduate produced by small classes. The estimated savings are greater for low-income students—$196, 000 per additional graduate.

    Muennig P, Woolf SH. 2007. Health and economic benefits of reducing the number of students per classroom in US primary schools. American Journal Of Public Health 97: 2020-2027