The effect of class size on student achievement in the principles of economics courses

The focus of this research was to examine the effect class size has on student achievement in the principles of economics courses, as taught at Illinois State University. This comparative study addressed the question: Is student achievement, as measured by average percentage score on multiple choice examinations, in a lecture hall equivalent to that in a classroom setting for the principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics courses?; In the fall 1993 semester, data were collected in three principles of microeconomics classes: one lecture hall ("test" group) and two smaller classroom settings ("control" group). In the spring semester of the same academic year, data were collected in a similar fashion for principles of macroeconomics classes.; The learning model, or education production function, used for this research is related to those employed by Benjamin Bloom, Eric Hanushek, and Elisabeth Allison. It examines the effect of class size on student achievement by considering two simultaneous equations that represent the behavioral interrelationship between achievement and attitude in economic education. In this fashion, students' attitude is included as an additional endogenous variable reflecting its chaining effect on student achievement.; The results of this study indicate that students' average score on examinations in a lecture hall is 3.33 percentage points lower for the principles of microeconomics course and 4.22 percentage points lower for the principles of macroeconomics course than students average score in smaller classroom settings, controlling for attitude, ability, and student characteristics.; This research indicates that restricting the teaching of principles of economics to smaller classroom settings would have significant improvements in student achievement, as measured by average score on examinations.