ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110063
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
High schools that are excessively large or very small can impair learning, according to a new study that reckons a student complement of 600 to 900 is ideal.
``Students learn less in small schools,'' said researcher Valerie E. Lee of the University of Michigan School of Education. ``And in large high schools, especially those enrolling over 2,100 students, they learn considerably less.''
The study, being presented today at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New York, was conducted by Lee and Julia B. Smith of the University of Rochester.
They collected data over four years from almost 10,000 high school students in 789 public and private high schools. Earlier studies have debated the bigger vs. smaller issue, but Lee says a major point of hers was to estimate a balance point.
``We don't have too many kids in schools with 600 to 900 students,'' Lee said. ``The real push is toward smaller high schools. But our point is: `Watch out. Don't get too small.'''
The study used data from a standardized assessment test begun in 1988 that measured the progress of the same students through the eighth, 10th and 12th grades. The researchers charted differences among the students' reading and math scores along with information about their families' standards of living and the sizes of their schools.
Lee said the study found that pupils in schools with 600 to 900 students showed the highest reading and math achievement, regardless of whether they were well-to-do or poor.
Achievement declined for both groups of pupils as schools became larger or smaller than the ``ideal high school.'' It fell off more sharply for low-income and minority pupils.
This finding is important because minority students typically attend large high schools, and low-income students are found more often in either large or very small schools, Lee said.
``We argue that this conclusion about school size is especially important if we wish to increase social equity in educational outcomes in America's secondary schools,'' she said.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals says 32 percent of the 13,749 U.S. schools with at least some high school students have enrollments exceeding 1,000. More than 35 percent enroll fewer than 500.
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