On Thu, Jun 02, 2005 at 04:56:10PM -0400, Ken Hirsch wrote:
> Actually, no, except for a small effect in kindergarten and first grade,
> class size does not matter much at all.  In fact, having smaller classes
> means hiring more teachers which likely means lowering the average
> quality of teachers.  And the quality of teachers matters a lot.
> Smaller class size also means spending more on buildings and secondary
> personnel which have no effect on achievement.
>
> Here's an interview with William Sanders about the importance of
> teachers.  Here he is measuring the _change_ in test scores from year to
> year (value-added assessment), which essentially controls for
> family/individual factors (which are larger than teacher effects).

In other words, throwing money at schools (the favorite answer of leftists
and the NEA (but I repeat myself)) does not fix the problem. Surprise,
surprise, surprise.

One of these days, we'll remove the corrosive influence of the NEA from the
school debate. Maybe then we can have true improvement in our schools, and
finally get what we're paying for - whether we want to pay or not.

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