Class Size

An article in this morning's Calgary Herald, "Parents fear impact of fewer teachers, support staff in Calgary schools," included some interesting comments from Sharon Friesen, an associate professor of education at the University of Calgary. According to her, studies have demonstrated that class size does not have a significant impact on K to 12 learning and that other factors need to be considered as well.

In a letter to the editor responding to this article, Gordon Thomas explains why "Smaller classes make for better learning."

The Hon. Dave Hancock, Minister of Education, also talks about class size research in his blog posting, "Money Matters: Let's focus on what improves student outcomes." He states that, "there are, no doubt, students who benefit from smaller classrooms beyond grades K-3, but the research is clear that small class sizes are not the best way to improve student outcomes for most students."

Back in 2003, Alberta's Commission on Learning made recommendations around class size guidelines. Although there have been many more studies done on the topic since then, the rationale makes for an informative read (page 67).

What are your thoughts? Comment on this post or drop us a line at info@capsc.ca.

Hon. Dave Hancock's address to the Public School Boards' Association

The Hon. Dave Hancock, Education Minister, in a recent address to the Public School Boards' Association at their Spring General Assembly, talked about education funding and what we really need to focus on to ensure a strong future for our education system.

Education Minister blogs about, "Money Matters: Let's focus on what improves student outcomes"

Education Minister Dave Hancock has a new blog posting that discusses the budget, class size, and student outcomes.

Class Size Debate on CNN

Check out this youtube video from a CNN piece on class size. Leonie Haimson, a New York City public school parent, debates the issue with Matthew Chingos, a research fellow from Harvard. While it is geared to the American experience, there are some takeaways for our parents.