School size, student achievement, and the equity of achievement in California

Research on school size has suggested that student achievement declines as the size of the school increases and that disadvantaged students are particularly affected in larger settings. This study investigated the association between grade-level enrollment and student outcomes, for all students, economically disadvantaged students, and English learners, first, descriptively, and second, net of student demographics, teacher qualifications, and school characteristics. It also analyzed the impact of enrollments on student achievement in schools with increasing percentages of students receiving free or reduced price lunch. Finally, it attempted to determine the range of grade-level enrollments in California schools in which achievement may be maximized, for economically advantaged students and for economically disadvantaged students. Publicly available, aggregated achievement data from California's 2004 statewide testing program was employed for students in grades two through eleven using grade level enrollment as the dependent variable, while controlling on student demographics and school and teacher characteristics. Regressions indicated that size was negatively associated with achievement in grades six through ten for all students, disadvantaged students, and English learners. As the poverty level of students in the school increased, the negative effect of size on achievement became greater in the high school grades. Analyses of variance revealed that both advantaged and disadvantaged students' achievement was higher in smaller settings and lower in larger settings in grades five through eleven. Policy decisions recently focused on lowering the size of high schools may need to be considered for the middle grades as well. Disadvantaged students, English learners, and even advantaged students seem to benefit from smaller settings.