CLASS SIZE AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE - 1984-94

The literature on class size and student performance is reviewed. Stud ent performance and class size in a large modular course was studied o ver a period of 10 years, involving over 5,000 modules and 250, 000 st udent grades. The hypothesis that students would perform less well in larger classes was confirmed A small but highly significant negative r elationship between module enrolment and grades was found and students in larger classes stood significantly lower chances of getting good g rades. Subject areas varied widely in the strength of the relationship between class size and performance. As class size increased markedly during this period and performance was worse in larger classes it was hypothesised that overall student performance would have declined duri ng the period studies. This hypothesis was not confirmed: overall stud ent performance improved. Possible explanations of this paradox are ex plored.