Are Small Classes More Efficient?

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29760, 1 March 1962, Page 10

Are Small Classes More Efficient?

Occasional complaints about the declining level of education and knowledge of young people joining their vocational lives after having left school, were the reason why, in recent years in all parts of Germany, reform plans of the educational system have been discussed. Longer Schooling Apart from the demand for a lengthening of schooling from eight to nine and even 10 years of elementary school there has again been the clamour for more modern and individual teaching methods, particularly in the upper classes of primary schools—in other words the desire to reduce the number of children in each class as far as possible to raise the standard of learning. Ever since the Currency Reform of 1949, that major event which triggered off the rehabilitation of the economy in the Federal Republic of Germany, approximately 1500 million dollars have been spent in Western Germany for the erection of new schools. In spite of this tremendous sum, another 30.000 additional school-rooms will be needed, and as many as 15.000 teachers for the reduction of the number of pupils to the desired small classes ”et the educational system, as in all countries, suffers from the lack of funds, and realisation of this “wishdream” of the educational authorities in all countries to have as few pupils in a class as possible, is one that has not been fully accomplished However, psychological and educational experts have recently been studying; the

question whether the efficiency of individual pupils does, indeed, depend on the size of classes. The head of the statistical department of the International Pedagogical Research Institute in Frankfurt . (Dr. Fritz Suellwold), for example, holds that a small class is no guarantee for greater efficiency in learning and better results. Recently tests were carried out on efficiency in arithmetics, among 4000 young boys and girls in the upper classes of elementary schools in all of Germany. Test Method

The test method developed by Dr. Suellwold provided for a number of simple and more difficult problems to be solved by 14 and 15-year-old boys and girls. Small and large groups, divided by boys and girls, were asked to solve 50 problems in 60 minutes. The result was that the smallest classes with less than 20 pupils and the largest with more than 40 children solved the same number of problems correctly—namely around 34.4 to 34.9 per cent Among the girls the result was most striking. Here it appeared that there was no difference at all in efficiency and knowledge. between large and small classes. For these reasons. the number of children appears to have no bearing on the efficiency and the success of class work.

This, however, does not mean that in future the en-

deavours to reduce the number of pupils in classes will slacken. For a small number of pupils gives a much better opportunity to the teacher to promote the development of the individual pupils. This, however, was something not considered in the test. Dr. Suellwold’s inquiry was only to show that many of the demands which the public sometimes raises are not based on facts and figures. In spite of the results, parents, authorities, teachers and everyone concerned with education will continue to do their utmost to improve the educational system of the Federal Republic of Germany.