The long-term effects of small classes in early grades: Lasting benefits in mathematics achievement at grade 9

Reducing class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option cur rently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized ex periments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive short-term effects of small classes, some scholars view the ev idence as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee-a 4-year, large-scale random ized experiment on the effects of class size-provided persuasive evidence t hat small classes have immediate positive effects on academic achievement. Unlike most other early education interventions, these effects persisted fo r several years after the children returned to regular-sized classes. The a uthors of the present article report analyses of a 6-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. Class-size effects persisted for at least 6 ye ars and remained large enough to be important for educational policy. The r esults suggest that small classes in early grades have lasting benefits and that those benefits are greater for minority students than for White stude nts.