Class Size: What’s the Best Fit?

Is class size an important influence on the quality and educational effectiveness of preschool programs? Teachers and parents generally believe so. Common sense suggests that smaller classes and higher staff-child ratios are better for young children, allowing more individual attention, reducing the time and effort devoted to classroom management, and reducing the number of stressful interactions. Yet, some states do not set limits on class size in their prekindergarten programs, and some researchers have suggested there is no causal link between class size and educational effectiveness. Of course, no one really believes that it doesn’t matter how many preschool children are packed into a classroom. Thus, it is useful to consider what research has discovered about the relationship of class size to preschool children’s experiences and outcomes.

The relationship between class size and cost also deserves consideration. Just as smaller classes benefit young children, smaller classes also cost more. Therefore policy makers and parents face a tradeoff. They must weigh the value of the gains to children from reducing class size against the costs. This is a difficult task, made more difficult by the fact that the costs are easily measured while the benefits may be hard to see and measure without rigorous research. This brief provides information on costs and guidance on comparing the benefits from smaller classes to those costs.