High Schools: Size Does Matter - The College of Education - The ...

Small Schools Page 3 of 7
Issue Brief Vol. 1, Issue 1
4. School size is negatively related to
third-grade reading and mathematics
achievement when controlling for
student socioeconomic status.
5. As school districts increased either the
number of schools in the district or the
size of the school, supervisory services
were being financed at the expense of
students’ instructional services.
Recent studies have corroborated the
aforementioned findings. In their 1997
study, Lee and Smith found that schools in
the 600–900 enrollment range have the
highest achievement gains in both low and
high socioeconomic schools and that
school size appears to matter more in
schools that enroll less-advantaged
students. The TEA’s report on school size
also cited recent studies that showed
greater gains on the SAT and ACT in
states with smaller schools as well as the
disruption of negative effects of
socioeconomic status on achievement.
Further, as can be inferred from the
findings related to poverty and
achievement in small schools, learning is
Affiliation, Participation, School Climate, and Dropout
Large schools appear also to have
negative effects on student identification
with schools and, thus, participation and
affiliation. Pittman and Haughwout (1987)
found that “larger student bodies appear to
produce a less positive social environment,
less social integration, and less identity
with the school. These may translate into
more premature school leavings” (p. 343).
School climates that are less alienating and
fearful for both students and teachers
contribute to the finding that “smaller
school size is consistently related to
stronger and safer school communities
(Franklin & Crone, 1992; Zane, 1994)”
(Wasley et al., 2000).
Preparation for Postsecondary Education
Findings on the relationship between
school size and student preparation for
postsecondary school were meager and
tenuous, likely owing to the fact that many
small school start-ups have not been in
more equitably distributed in smaller
learning environments.
The findings of the Matthew Project
(Howley et al., 2000), a series of replicated
studies, showed that although academic
“excellence” results varied by state, overall,
the influence of school size varied by
socioeconomic level.
A negative influence on achievement in
impoverished schools and a positive
influence in affluent schools were found. In
their analysis of Texas schools, this finding
translated into 57% of schools being too
big to maximize achievement at the 10 th -
grade level. The Matthew Project also
looked at academic equity effects and
determined that these effects were highly
consistent across states and that the
relationship between achievement and
socioeconomic status was far weaker in
smaller schools than in large schools. They
found that in Georgia, Ohio, and Texas,
smaller schools reduced the negative effect
of poverty on average student achievement
in every grade tested.
TEA reported that large schools, especially
in large cities, experience a higher rate of
dropout than do small schools in small
districts. Additionally, Lawrence et al.
(2002, citing Steifel et al., 1998) reported,
“Schools with fewer than 600 students had
a 5% dropout rate, while larger schools
averaged a 13% loss” (p. 11). The
researchers asserted that this finding is
particularly encouraging because the small
schools served a higher percentage of poor
students and part-time special education
students than did the larger schools.
existence long enough for such an
examination. However, Cotton (2001)
summarized the evidence of two studies
regarding college-going rates. A study by
Ancess and Ort (1999) described a number
Violence: Large vs.
Small Schools
Larger schools have:
825% more violent
crime;
270% more vandalism;
378% more theft and
larceny;
394% more physical
fights or attacks;
3,200% more robberies;
1,000% more weapons
incidents.
Source: Violence and Discipline
Problems in U.S. Public Schools
1996–97, by the U.S. Department
of Education (1998), Washington,
DC: National Center for
Educational Statistics.