Reducing Class Size

The reduction of children to adult ratio can enable a teacher to implement a wider range of approaches and give each child more attention. The majority of evidence is based on class sizes of 10 and found a small positive impact of +2 months. 

Reducing a class from 30 to 25 would unlikely be a cost-effective approach. Where is has the most potential benefits is in the early stages of primary school. 

A reduction in class size will only have an impact if the teacher is able to teach differently e.g. minimise disruption or have higher quality interactions. Evidence suggests that the gains from this approach are more likely to be from the flexibility of how learners are organized or the quality feedback they receive. 

Where the evidence suggests this is beneficial is from international research which suggests positive outcomes for young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. 

An alternative approach would be to change the deployment in teachers and teaching assistants to enable teachers to work intensively with a small group.