Several years in small classes in elementary school yields big rewards at graduation time

WASHINGTON -- It is well established that small class size in the early elementary grades boosts student achievement in those grades and allows students to be more engaged in learning than they are in larger classes. But there has been little research on the long-term effects of small class size. A new study involving a large sample of students followed for 13 years shows that four or more years in small classes in elementary school significantly increases the likelihood of graduating from high school, especially for students from low-income homes. The study is reported on in the May issue of the Journal of Educational Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).