I am struck by how much emphasis there is in California on smaller class sizes. I am very suspicious that this is an accommodation to the teachers' union's desires to reduce teacher workload and the concomitant publicity campaign for public support of this than being of any real benefit to the students. I cannot understand why there is so much pride in delivering on this goal at the expense of so many others, not only in this article, but consistently across the system. I suggest that the easiest, most cost effective way of improving public education is to have larger class sizes where teaching can be more efficient and to eliminate the worst performing teachers who will, consequently, not be needed.

In a smaller class room the teacher has more opportunity to work one on one with students to focus on individual questions or areas of trouble that students have instead of a mass throw the education at the children and hope that it sticks in the majority and the minority are a silent one. If you want to blame unions for small class sizes fine but I prefer to congratulate them on smaller class sizes and their obvious commitment to helping our youth.

I believe Jeffrey's question is whether there is proof that class size alone is a factor in improved education. Building on that question, is the cost of reducing class sizes more effective than other alternatives (e.g. eliminating poor performing teachers or introducing technology or extending school hours)?

Thank you, David, for saying well what was my intention. There is no doubt that smaller class sizes are somewhat helpful, even to the extreme of having multiple teachers per student. The question is about whether keeping class sizes small is the best use of scarce resources (as David says). I seldom had fewer than 35 students per class in elementary and secondary school, and that seemed fine to me at the time. Also coloring my views somewhat is that this is the ninth state I've lived in, and I or my kids have gone to school in all of them, and this is the only state where I've seen such an emphasis on small class sizes. And California schools rank among the worst in the nation, so we must be doing something wrong.

In my view, kids should be in school from 9-5, five days per week, year round (but perhaps with significant breaks from time to time). We no longer live in an agrarian society where kids have to be home to work the farm all summer and kids tend to find a lot of trouble during "latchkey time." We are badly losing an all out race with every other nation for creating an educated populate on which to build our future society, and these are the kinds of changes we really should be talking about, but teachers instead fight for shorter days, fewer days, and smaller classes, things that make their lives easier rather than improve education per se. (And who can blame them? Most people want less work to do.)

Thank you, Brian, for your post. I agree with you 100%! Our state is DEAD LAST in teacher/ student ratio. I feel very grateful that I only have 20 children in my class, but I do expect it, because of the parcel tax we passed to save class size reduction, among other things.
Jeffrey and David, scientific research has shown that class size reduction has a positive impact on student achievement, particularly in reading test scores. Smaller class sizes especially help students who are at risk of falling behind. There are many studies that show the benefit of class size reduction, but to me, it's just common sense. I cringe at your perception of "efficiency" if what you want is factory like schools, where teachers read from a script, and everyone is doing exactly the same thing. Individualizing attention to student's academic needs is a function of good teaching. The more students you have, the less individual attention they can receive.

Small classes help kids, especially kids who need the help.
Is it efficient to argue about something so obvious?

Jeffrey, I respectfully disagree with you. You seem to have a lot of disdain for teachers in your post when you write, "And is it coincidence that this highly favored choice makes the jobs of teachers easier, while many of the other choices that are rejected out of hand in deference to small classes would make their jobs harder?"
I chose teaching to help kids. Why don't you like teachers?

The reason our school district can afford small class sizes and is compelled to continue funding them is because our community passed a parcel tax to protect class size reduction. To take it away would not honor the promise of the parcel tax provisions.

Sarah,
It is my impression the difference small class size makes on learning may not be as significant as the importance of the quality of the teacher. It is true, however, that with so many second language students as well as students who enter kindergarten behind, that the more help they can get the better. But class size alone, isn't making the difference we hoped it would.

I am grateful to Bruce Harter and our School Board members for maintaining smaller class sizes at a time when most districts don't have it anymore. I am grateful to our community, two third of whom voted to protect class size reduction with a parcel tax.
Twenty is very different from thirty when you are teaching young children skills that are the very foundation of their education.

Susan, you are right that teacher quality is the #1 factor for student success.
Still, we must not ignore other contributing factors that help lead to student success.

@Jeffrey- Your words speak for themselves.
"In my view, kids should be in school from 9-5, five days per week, year round (but perhaps with significant breaks from time to time)." Sounds pretty factory like to me.

Tonight, I attended the WCCUSD Community Budget Advisory Committee. I'll make sure the city council gets a report. There was talk of a parcel tax for maintaining class-size reductions.

One item I suggested is that they post job descriptions and org charts of district staff on the district webpage. Currently, they do not. I want to know who is responsible for what in our district. Being a citizen of Hercules, I've learned to request this information.

I was told that the job descriptions are ancient and that there is no one to post this stuff on line. So how are they advertising job positions? And they haven't been updated?

I volunteered to PDF every document and post it on my own webpage if necessary. You can't have accountability if we do not have this information made highly visible.

I'll keep folks apprised if you are interested.