An analysis of the effects of class size on student achievement in selected middle schools in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of class size and student achievement in mathematics and reading. The study focused on grades 6 through 8 and used the results of the North Carolina EOG tests in mathematics and reading for the academic year 2006-2007. This study examined the effects of class size and student achievement in selected middle schools in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina. This quantitative study involved an analysis of EOG test scores within the three grade levels to determine if there are significant differences in achievement between small, medium and large size classes. Small classes were defined as having 15 students or less, medium size classes ranged from 16 to 24, and large classes had 25 or more students. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with alpha set at .05 significance was used to determine significance differences between the independent variables (class size and gender) and dependent variable (EOG Tests) to evaluate whether there is a significant difference between the average value, or mean, within the three categorical groups. Tukey's HSD was used to determine the nature of the differences between the class sizes. This study indicated that students that were enrolled in the large class size had a significant higher mean score in reading and mathematics than students enrolled in small size classes and a slightly higher mean score than students enrolled in medium size classes. The only exception was in 6th grade reading where there were no significant differences found in reading score means in small, medium or large class sizes. The results also revealed that female students had significantly higher EOG test scores in small classes and only marginal higher scores in medium and large size classes. The only exception was in 8th grade mathematics where male students scored significantly higher in large size classes, but only slightly higher in medium and small size classes.
Subject Area
Middle School education|Educational administration
Recommended Citation
Maples, Jeffrey B, "An analysis of the effects of class size on student achievement in selected middle schools in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina" (2009). ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University. AAI3406569.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI3406569