OPTIMAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SIZE FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND EQUITY: DISENTANGLING THE EFFECTS OF CLASS SIZE AND SCHOOL

SIZE

Douglas D. Ready, University of Oregon Valerie E. Lee, University of Michigan

May 26, 2006

DRAFT

Paper prepared for the conference What Do We Know about the Effects of School Size and Class Size? Sponsored by the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C, May 22-23, 2006. For further information about this study, please contact Douglas Ready at <dready@uoregon.edu> or Valerie Lee at <velee@umich.edu>.

Abstract Over the past several decades, researchers, politicians, and corporate leaders have focused on various elements of school size. Billions of public and private dollars have been invested in reforms that reduce the size and scope of both classrooms and schools. Curiously, these important policy initiativesreduced class size and reduced school sizehave not been simultaneously considered within elementary school contexts. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) and growth curve analyses within a three-level hierarchical framework, this study examines the influence of elementary-school organizational size on childrens literacy and mathematics development during kindergarten and first grade. Our results support findings from the Tennessee and Wisconsin class-size experiments. With literacy and mathematics in both kindergarten and first grade, children learned more in small (<17 children) compared to large classrooms (>25 children). Our study adds an additional dimension to the well-known randomized class-size experiments: we also examine medium-sized classroomsthe type of classroom elementary-school students are most likely to experience. With kindergarten literacy and mathematics, and first-grade mathematics, small and medium-sized classes did not differentially influence student learning. Rather, large classes were detrimental to student learning. Only in first grade literacy learning did we find small classes to be more beneficial than medium-sized classrooms. After accounting for class size and other school and student characteristics, we found elementary school size to be marginally related to student learning. First-graders gained somewhat fewer literacy skills in large schools (those enrolling over 800 students) and gained somewhat more literacy skills in small schools (those enrolling less than 275 students).

Optimal Elementary School Size for Effectiveness and Equity: Disentangling the Effects of Class Size and School Size

Douglas D. Ready, University of Oregon Valerie E. Lee, University of Michigan

Introduction Young children's learningand how their learning is distributed by social backgroundis influenced by the structural and organizational properties of their schools. This study focuses on one important structural dimension of these educational contexts: size. Over the past several decades, various elements of school size have become a major focus of researchers, politicians, and corporate leaders. Billions of public and private dollars have been invested in reforms to reduce the size and scope of both classrooms and schools. Unlike many educational reform initiatives, these downsizing efforts have found support from virtually every quarter. A united front of stakeholders has coalesced behind the notion that smaller is better. Although well-intentioned, the effectiveness of size reduction policies is unclear, and some efforts have produced unintended and even undesirable consequences. Based on results from the famous Tennessee class-size experiment, California invested billions of dollars to encourage schools to limit classrooms to no more than 20 students in the early grades. Quite recently, the push to reduce the size of high schools has resulted in enormous financial support from foundations and the federal government for schools-within-schools, small learning communities, and small stand-alone schools. Curiously, these important policy initiativesreduced class size and reduced school sizehave not been simultaneously considered within elementary school contexts. Classsize effects may well be a function of school size, whereas the effects of school size may be a function of class size. The lack of research on these potentially related elements of size is somewhat surprising. Despite the groundswell of public support for smaller educational settings, the empirical base on the confounding effects of various elements of elementary school size remains quite sparseparticularly if only methodologically-sound studies are considered.

Efforts to reduce various size elements in elementary schools may be an instance where policy is far in front of research. It appears that crafting size reduction polices that faithfully reproduce the findings of experimental and quasi-experimental studies is a challenging task, at best.

Background The size of educational contexts can be conceptualized and measured at multiple levels. Decisions regarding the appropriate unit of analysis are important, as each level may uniquely influence student learning. It seems logical to assume that the social and structural consequences of size would be strongest where they most directly impact the daily activities of teaching and learning. For example, at the elementary-school level, a focus on class size seems most reasonable. Unlike high-school students, elementaryschool children experience classrooms more so than schools. However, non- and quasiexperimental studies of class size rarely account for school sizeclearly a problem, as class size may be a function of school size. Moreover, as most high schools contain the same grades (9-12), examinations of school size in those contexts seem quite appropriate. Conversely, the grades elementary schools include vary widely, with K-3, K-6, and K-8 schools all relatively common. If elementary schools contain fewer grades (K-3, for example), each grade probably includes more students and classes. Unfortunately, the research on these separate (yet related) elements of elementary school size is generally quite weak. Apart from the recent class-size experiments in Tennessee and Wisconsin, research in this area generally employs small and nonrepresentative samples; relies upon cross-sectional data; and suffers numerous methodological limitations. Moreover, the theoretical justifications behind these studies often rest on extant literature reviews. One strange result is a circular chain in which literature reviews often cite other literature reviews rather than solid empirical studies. In a sense this is understandable, given the scarcity of high-quality research on the topic. Our review is most extensive about elementary school class size, as the research on other elements of elementary school size is limited in both quality and quantity.

Class Size In 1985, Tennessee initiated a class-size reduction experiment that would serve as the foundation for similar efforts across the country (Finn & Achilles, 1999; Krueger, 2000; Krueger & Whitmore, 2003; Nye, Hedges, & Konstantopolous, 1999). The experiment, titled Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio), randomly assigned several thousand kindergarteners to one of three within-school experimental conditions: a small class enrolling 13-17 children; a large class enrolling 22-26 children; or a large class with a teacher aide. At the end of kindergarten, children in small classes were academically almost one month ahead of children in the other two classroom conditions; by the end of first grade, the same children were almost two months ahead (ES = 0.2 - 0.25 SD). Although Project STAR is generally considered the premier randomized design in contemporary educational research, the study has garnered some criticism (see Hanushek, 1998, 1999; Hoxby, 2000). Because participation in STAR required at least three classrooms at each grade levela small class, a large class, and a large class with aide only larger schools participated in the study. Moreover, student attrition from the treatment group was substantial and potentially non-random: only 48% of the original treatment group participated through third grade, and children who left the sample may have been lower-achieving (Hanushek, 1999). Teachers with smaller classes were also aware that they were part of the treatment group. Not only did many teachers enter the study already convinced that smaller classes were superior, the state was simultaneously considering universal class-size reductions (Hanushek, 1999; Hoxby, 2000). In this sense, such teachers may have induced experimenter expectancies (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). On the other hand, class-size effects may be underestimated in the Tennessee experiment, as large classrooms enrolled only 26 students. The nationallyrepresentative ECLS-K data we employ in this study suggest that a substantial proportion of U.S. elementary schools have class sizes larger than 26. In 1996, Wisconsin launched a similar (although more modest) class-size reduction experiment titled SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education). Unlike STAR, SAGE was designed as a between-school experiment. Kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in SAGE schools enrolled only 15 students, compared to

class sizes of 21-25 in the control schools (Molnar, et al., 1999; Molnar, Zahorik, Smith, Halback, & Ehrle, 2002). Wisconsins program also differed from Tennessees in that it targeted low-income schoolsboth SAGE and control schools enrolled substantial numbers of children living in poverty. Despite these differences in design and participants, findings from the SAGE program are comparable to those from Tennessee: children in SAGE schools gained more academic skills than their control school counterparts (ES = 0.2 SD; Molnar, et al., 1999). In 1996 California used the STAR findings to justify a program that provided districts $650 for every child enrolled in a classroom with 20 or fewer students. In general, evaluations of Californias efforts have been formative rather than summative. Unlike the efforts in Tennessee and Wisconsin, Californias program was nonexperimental. All districts were permitted to receive funds and reduce class sizes simultaneously, rendering meaningful evaluation virtually impossible. For example, on average, by the end of third grade, treatment group children were enrolled in smaller classes for only one year more than those in the control group. Moreover, selection bias was quite apparent, in that low-income schools were the last to implement smaller classes. Even without these critical design flaws, estimating the relationship between student learning and class size was not possible, as the data permitted only cross-sectional comparisons and students cognitive skills were not assessed in the early grades. Although evaluators reported class-size effects, we agree with their judgment that findings regarding student achievement were inconclusive (CSR Research Consortium, 2002). Policy concerns. As policy interest in organizational size increases, it is important to evaluate size-reduction efforts on two additional criteria: cost and unintended consequences. First, as class-size reduction programs are quite expensive, school districts and taxpayers are (rightly) interested in whether such costly investments are educationally sound (Hoxby, 2000; Krueger & Whitmore, 2002). California currently spends over $1.6 billion per year on its efforts to reduce class enrollments below 20a number still larger than the ideal class sizes identified in the Tennessee and Wisconsin experiments. Although policies that seek to reduce class sizes are quite popular among teachers and parents, the educational return on investment remains unclear.

Second, several unintended and undesirable consequences accompanied Californias class-size reduction policy. By definition, large-scale class-size reduction programs require many more teachers, and California did not have a surplus of qualified teachers. As such, many districts hired teachers lacking full credentials to staff new classrooms, a practice that runs counter to the highly-qualified teacher provisions within the No Child Left Behind Act. Prior to class-size reduction, only 1.8 percent of Californias K-3 teachers were uncertified; by the second year of the program, 12.5 percent lacked full credentials. Moreover, schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged students were disproportionately forced to hire uncertified and inexperienced teachers (CSR Research Consortium, 2002; Jespen & Rivkin, 2002). Another unintended consequence in California flowed from the need to create 18,000 additional classrooms virtually overnight. Mirroring their struggle to locate qualified teachers, already crowded low-income districts often had inadequate facilities to accommodate new classrooms (CSR Research Consortium, 2002). Many schools and districts not only adopted year-round calendars, but also transformed teacher lounges, gymnasiums, libraries, labs, special education facilities, and even storage rooms into classrooms. Again, these issues are not particular to California. Almost 60 percent of large school districts receiving federal class-size reduction funds reported difficulty locating adequate classrooms for their new teachers (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).

School Size Extant empirical studies of school size are typically characterized by a host of problemsdefined in terms of level, outcomes, design, and quality. Regarding the first problemlevelalmost all school-size studies have focused on high schools. It is unclear whether research findings regarding high-school size are applicable to elementary schools. The second problemoutcomesrefers to the fact that most size research relies on simple correlations between school size and student achievement status, rather than achievement growth over time. Though it is reasonable to consider how structural properties of schoolssuch as the number of students they enrollmight influence student learning, the large majority of such studies are not longitudinal. Achievement

status is quite different from learning. A third general problem concerns the analytic approach: most studies assume that the relationship between school size and student outcomes is linear. In our own research (Lee & Smith, 1997), we documented a distinctly non-linear relationship between highschool size and student learning. Another common but fundamental design flaw is that almost no research on school size recognizes that questions regarding school size and student outcomes are multi-level. Thus, the large majority of school-size research examines the relationship with aggregated data (i.e., size effects on school-average achievement). This approach ignores the fact that size may differentially influence learning, based on students' social background. Moreover, size effects may interact with such basic measures of schools as their racial or social-class compositions (as we found in the Lee and Smith [1997] study). The Lee and Smith (1997) study, using multi-level methods and a longitudinal design, concluded that achievement gains were maximized in medium-sized schools (600-900 students), although schools with somewhat smaller enrollments were more equitable. Although the same size range was ideal in schools differentiated by their minority and SES concentrations, size had stronger effects on student learning in schools educating less-advantaged populations. In another study, we explored how the size of Chicago's K-8 elementary schools influenced achievement gains for 7th and 8th graders, both directly and through teachers' attitudes. That study found favorable effects for smaller Chicago elementary schools (below 400 students) but no differences between medium and large schools (over 750 students; Lee & Loeb, 2000).

Grade Span Another area that has received little empirical scrutiny is grade spana concept that describes how many and which grades are included within a single school. There are both structural and philosophical reasons arguing for narrow versus broad grade spans. Much of the literature on grade span has focused on middle and junior-high schools, neglecting elementary-school configurations. What grades are included in which schools is generally guided by matters of practical necessity. The size of existing buildings, enrollments, and fiscal resources determine grade spans more often than thoughtful

attention to childrens social and academic needs (Carnegie Council of America, 1989; Epstein, 1990). Our interest in grade span is twofold. First, grade configurations influence school social and academic characteristics. Socially, broader grade spans within a school create opportunities for older children to act as role models to younger peers (Epstein, 1990; Marshank, 1994). These opportunities may occur both informally (e.g., at recess and in the cafeteria) and formally (e.g., through reading buddy type activities). Academically, school principals craft goals for their schools based partly on the grades the school serves. Principals in K-8 and K-12 schools are more likely to stress higher-order thinking over basic skills than principals in schools enrolling lower grades (Epstein, 1990). Moreover, broader grade spans facilitate teacher communication across grades, matching pedagogical strategies and expectations to childrens developmental stages (Burkam, Michaels, & Lee, in press). Second, elementary school configuration influences the number of children within each grade. Schools serving fewer grades typically have more students per grade (e.g., K3); schools with many grades serve fewer students per grade (e.g., K-8 and K-12 schools). The same mechanisms may link school size and grade size to student outcomes. For example, schools that enroll more students per grade are more likely to sort students into tailored academic programs, thus increasing the odds that childrens learning will be socially stratified. Indeed, some research has used grade size as a proxy for school size (Lee & Smith, 1993). However, we choose to maintain an important distinction between these two elements of elementary size.

Summary In general, extant research favors smaller educational contexts, defined both in terms of school size and class size. However, the research strands examining class size and school size are curiously independent and seldom combined into single studies. Despite extensive literatures on high-school size and elementary-school class size, these bodies of research do not inform one another. Research on school size has focused almost exclusively on secondary schools, whereas research on class size has focused entirely on elementary schools (and really at the lowest grades). Clearly, these size elements are related in U.S. elementary schools.

Although policymakers have recently leapt to a strong advocacy of small high schools, research on high-school size may not be applicable to elementary schools. And despite the well-designed Tennessee experiment, many questions remain regarding the relationship between several elements of elementary-school organizational size and student learning. Although teachers at all levels would favor smaller classes, basic issues of educational cost and efficiency emerge. In the policy arena, the size dimensions we consider in this study are amenable to direct manipulation. People who work in schools should be aware of how the various elements of size work togetherrather than simply being asked to blindly accept the mantra that smaller is better. School practitioners may rightly ask, "Better for whom?" or "Possibly better for some but harmful for others?" Our aim in this study is to unify what are currently quite disparate strands of research and to address some of these questions.

Research Questions Our exploration of these issues differs from extant studies linking size to student outcomes in four important respects. First, studies investigating the relationship between school size and student outcomes have typically been located in secondary schoolswe focus on elementary school size. Second, we conceptualize the size of educational contexts quite broadly, focusing on the relative impacts of class size and school size while simultaneously accounting for grade span. Third, we explore the effects of these elementary-school structural characteristics on both learning and the equitable distribution of that learning by children's social background (particularly race/ethnicity and socio-economic status [SES]). Fourth, our research design provides considerable methodological leverage to disentangle the confounding effects of student background and the size of elementary-school contexts on student learning. We organize the paper around two research questions:

1. Effects on learning trajectories. How can we characterize the relationship between elementary class size, school size and student learning in reading and mathematics during kindergarten and first grade? Of particular interest is whether class size is related to student learning once we account for school size.

2. Changes in size effects over time. To what extent do the effects of these various size elements differ between kindergarten and first grade, and in literacy compared to mathematics? In other words, are certain elements more important in kindergarten than in first-grade, or for literacy rather than mathematics skill development? 3. Effects on equity. How is the social distribution of learning (i.e., the associations between learning and race and social class) related to elementary-school organizational size? An unfortunate feature of U.S. education is that children's learning is stratified by their social background. It is important to know how these different conceptualizations of size either ameliorate or magnify social differences in student outcomes.

Method This study is located within a type of research called "school effects," which investigates how school characteristics influence student outcomes. Most school effects research has centered on high schools. However, this type of research in elementary schools dates to a seminal study by Barr and Dreeben (1983). A few recent studies have also focused on elementary school effects (Burkam, Michaels, & Lee, in press; Lee, Burkam, Ready, Honigman, & Meisels, 2006; Lee, Ready, & LoGerfo, 2006). The school effects tradition capitalizes on a basic notion in education: nesting. That is, students are nested in classrooms, and classrooms are nested in schools. At each nesting level, different policies and practices influence students experiences. In this study, we conceptually and analytically nest students within schools. Although we could logically have the classroom as the unit of analysis, we do not pursue this approach for two reasons. First, two of the three size dimensions (school size and grade span) are schoollevel phenomena. Second, class size is typically a function of school enrollments and district policies; class sizes within schools vary little.

Data Our study employs data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). Sponsored by the National Center for Education

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Statistics (NCES), these data are ideal for studying how organizational size influences childrens learning, particularly with the statistical methods we discuss below. The ECLS-K base-year (1998) data collection had a stratified design structure. The primary sampling units were geographic areas consisting of counties or groups of counties from which about 1,000 public and private schools offering kindergarten programs were selected. A target sample of about 24 children was then drawn from each school. In this paper we employ the first four data waves of ECLS-K, which include information on the same children in the fall and spring of kindergarten (Waves 1 and 2), and the fall and spring of first grade (with a random sub-sample in the fallWaves 3 and 4). Data were also collected from parents through structured telephone interviews, and from each childs teacher and school through written surveys. These rich data allow researchers to capture a longitudinal picture of a recent and large cohort of young children as they move through elementary school.

Growth Curves within an HLM Framework We employ Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) within a three-level growth curve framework (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002; Singer & Willett, 2003). Specifically, we nest learning trajectories within children, who are nested within schools. Our Level-1 HLM models estimate children's individual learning trajectories. At Level 2, we model these learning trajectories as functions of children's social and academic backgrounds. Level 3 is the focus of this study, where we estimate the effects of organizational size on childrens learning. An alternate growth-curve approach. Quantitative researchers have traditionally used analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) or gain-score models to measure change over time within individuals. Over the past several decades, however, social scientists have concluded that estimating change based on only two data points is inherently inadequate (see Bryk & Raudenbush, 1987; Seltzer, Frank, & Bryk, 1994; Rogosa & Willett, 1985; Willett, 1988). Myriad statistical and substantive issues have driven this methodological shift, although one central concern is shared: traditional approaches assume that variance in the outcome remains steady over time. This assumption itself implies that growth

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trajectories among individuals are perfectly parallel, an entirely unrealistic state of affairs [that] is obvious even at the most casual glance (Willett, 1988, p. 377). As an alternative approach, educational researchers are increasingly using three or more data points to model growth rates and learning trajectories. Such analyses entail both within-individual and between-individual components (Willett, 1988). The growth rates of individuals are estimated in the first analytic phase, while the second phase focuses on the detection and explanation of systematic variance in individual growth rates (Rogosa & Willett, 1985). An endless array of potential explanatory co-variates exists, including the characteristics of individual children, their classrooms and teachers, schools, peers, and neighborhoods (Willett, 1988). Our examination of the relationship between elements of elementary-school size and cognitive growth falls within this relatively new analytic framework. Conceptualizing time. The ECLS-K data present a unique challenge to researchers interested in modeling childrens cognitive growth over time. Longitudinal studies of student learning generally consider the timing of events as constant across cases (i.e., third grade represents an identical value or construct). However, the dates on which the ECLS-K cognitive assessments were administered varied considerably across children, both within and between schools. This is understandable given the enormity of the data collection involved with ECLS-K and the time each one-on-one assessment required. In addition to variability in testing dates, the starting and ending dates of academic years varied across schools. The result of this variability in school exposure at each assessment is that childrens opportunities to learn differed both within and between schools. For example, the time children were in school between the fall and spring kindergarten assessments ranged from almost four to over eight months. For some children, the fall assessments took place months into the school year and the spring assessments occurred several months before the end of the school year. As such, the assessments do not represent comparable events in time across children. Further complicating the analyses, children were in school for approximately half of the summer vacation between the spring kindergarten and fall first-grade assessments. Considering the rapid learning rates among

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young children, researchers who employ the ECLS-K data must take these concerns into account (Burkam, Ready, Lee, & LoGerfo, 2004). Despite these analytic challenges, the ECLS-K data structure actually provides a unique methodological opportunity. Our Level-1 models include three time-varying covariates that indicate childrens exposure to school at each assessment: (1) months of exposure to kindergarten; (2) months of exposure to summer between kindergarten and first grade, and; (3) months of exposure to first grade. For example, at the time of the first assessment the average child had been exposed to over two months of kindergarten, but zero months of summer and zero months of first grade. With the second assessment, the average child had experienced over eight months of kindergarten, but no exposure to summer or first grade. At the third assessment, the average child had been exposed to 9.5 months of kindergarten (a full year), 2.7 months of summer (the traditional summer vacation), and over a month of first grade. At the point of the fourth and final assessment, the average child had been exposed to 9.5 months of kindergarten, 2.7 months of summer, and over eight months of first grade. These three measureseach linked to the four assessment datesallow us to model four distinct parameters: (1) initial status, or childrens achievement as they began kindergarten (literally, predicted achievement with exposure to zero days of kindergarten, zero days of summer, and zero days of first grade). Rather than initial status, the three remaining parameters are linear learning rates or slopes over: (2) the kindergarten year; (3) the summer between kindergarten and first grade; and (4) the first-grade year. Again, the variability in testing dates permits this slopes as outcomes approach, where the slopes modeled are exposure to school. An additional benefit of this approach is that at each analytic level, all coefficients are in an easily interpretable metric: points of learning per month in kindergarten, summer, and first grade. In this paper we focus on the estimates obtained from the kindergarten and first-grade parameters, which address our questions regarding the influence of educational size on student learning.1 Weights. Because ECLS-K utilized a multi-stage stratified sampling design, the data include a series of design weights. As with other longitudinal NCES datasets, analyses using ECLS-K require the use of weights to compensate for unequal probabilities of selection (e.g., the intentional over-sampling of Asian/Pacific Islander

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children) and non-response effects. Although our growth curve models consider achievement at four waves of the ECLS-K data, the 1234 panel ECLS-K weights are only defined on children in the sample at time 3. Hence, the use of those weights automatically restricts the sample to that small subgroup. Instead, these analyses employ the 124 panel weights which retain the larger sample. Our descriptive and analytic analyses employ a child-level weight [C124CW0] to compensate for differential sampling both within and between schools. We use the ECLS-K school-level weight [S2SAQW0] with our school-level descriptive and multi-level analyses. Both weights are normalized to reflect the smaller sample size. Analytic sample. From the ECLS-K full sample, we constructed our analytic sample in two stages. First, we selected children who: (1) had a non-missing weight; (2) remained in the same school in kindergarten and first grade; (3) advanced to the first grade following the 1998-1999 kindergarten year; (4) had complete data on gender, race/ethnicity, and SES; and; (5) had test scores for at least three of the four literacy and mathematics assessments. We then selected schools that (1) had a non-missing weight; (2) were not year-round schools; (3) were public schools that offered kindergarten and first grade, and; (4) enrolled at least five ECLS-K children. Our final analytic sample includes 25,545 literacy and 25,545 mathematics test scores nested within 7,740 children, who are nested within 527 public schools. A missing data analysis revealed that our subsample was somewhat more socio-economically advantaged than the full ECLS-K sample, with fewer language-minority children and fewer children from the lowest SES quintile. The loss of lower-SES and language-minority children mostly occurred when restricting the sample by school sector and available test scores.

Measures Conceptualizing size. A central task of this study was to consider the most fruitful way to conceptualize various elements of public elementary-school size. Although we had intended to include grade cohort size as one element, we found kindergarten and first-grade cohort sizes to be highly correlated with school size (r = .75). This is reasonable, given that elementary schools with larger enrollments generally enroll more students at each grade. However, this finding meant that we were unable to pursue

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independent effects for grade cohort size. Thus, our study focuses only on class size, school size, and grade span. Class size. Because ECLS-K sampled only a modest number of children per school, the small within-classroom sample sizes precluded conceptualizing the classroom as a unit of analysis. Fortunately, we found that the vast majority (over 85%) of variance in class size existed between (rather than within) schools. As such, we consider class size as a school-level aggregate (i.e., an average of the kindergarten and first-grade class-sizes in each school). Based on the Tennessee class-size parameters, we designated classes of 17 children or less as small classes. For reasons we discuss below, we designated classes enrolling 25 or more children as large classes. In our multi-variate HLM analyses, we compare these large and small classes to medium-sized classesthose enrolling between 17 and 25 students. Interestingly, neither the Tennessee nor Wisconsin class-size experiments examined medium-sized classrooms. Classrooms with enrollments between 17 and 22 did not participate in Project STAR, and Wisconsins SAGE program involved no classrooms enrolling between 15 and 21 students. This is quite understandable, in that these evaluations sought to identify class-size effects. However, according to the nationallyrepresentative ECLS-K data we employ in this study, roughly half of all schools offer medium-sized kindergarten and first-grade classrooms (enrollments between 17 and 25 students). Moreover, the Tennessee and Wisconsin experiments suffered restricted classsize ranges: no classrooms in either experiment enrolled more than 26 students. The ECLS-K data again suggest that a considerable number of U.S. children are enrolled in classrooms larger than this. As such, the parameters of our large classrooms are somewhat larger than those in either the Tennessee or Wisconsin experiments. School size. For three reasons, we chose not to employ a continuous measure of school size in our statistical models. First, our measure of school size is particularly skewed, with many more small than large schools. This non-normal distribution precludes its use as a continuous measure in our multi-variate analyses, which assume normal distributions. Second, our previous work with school size suggests non-linear relationships between school-size and student learning (see Lee & Loeb, 2000; Lee & Smith, 1997). Third, in addressing issues of interest to policymakers and school

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administrators, it is helpful to offer results that have substantive meaning. Although we could have transformed our school size measure using the natural logarithm (as we did in Lee & Smith, 1995), describing results in terms of log size can be a cumbersome venture. Rather, we constructed a series of dummy-variables that identify small schools (<275 children); medium-small schools (276-400); medium-sized schools (401-600); medium-large schools (601-800); and large schools (>800 students). In our multi-variate analyses, we use medium-sized schools as the comparison group. Dependent measures: cognitive assessments. The ECLS-K cognitive assessments were administered individually, with an adult assessor spending between 50-70 minutes with each child (NCES, 2001). The literacy assessment was designed to measure both basic literacy skills (print familiarity, letter recognition, beginning and ending sounds, rhyming sounds, word recognition) as well as advanced reading comprehension skills (initial understanding, interpretation, personal reflection, and ability to demonstrate a critical stance). These advanced literacy skills, which were assessed through verbal dialogue between the child and the assessor, measured childrens ability to identify main points and connect text to their own personal backgrounds, as well as their critical thinking skills and the ability to distinguish real versus imaginary content. Mathematics assessment items measured conceptual and procedural knowledge and problem solving, with items equally divided between number sense and measurement. The scores on both the reading and mathematics assessments were separately equated using Item Response Theory (IRT), in order to make them appropriate measures of change over time. As suggested by Seltzer et al. (1994), our analyses use the IRT scale scores. Social and academic background. Childrens socio-economic status is captured with a composite measure of parents income, education, and occupational prestige (a zscore [M=0, SD=1]). Our analyses also employ a dummy-coded gender measure (girls=1, boys=0) and a measure indicating whether the child was a member of a traditionally under-performing racial/ethnic group (Hispanic, African-American, Native-American and multi-racial children=1, White and Asian children=0). The models further account for childrens age (in months); whether the child lived in a single-parent home (yes=1, no=0); and whether a language other than English was the primary home language

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(yes=1, no=0). Academic background was captured by whether the child was repeating kindergarten (yes=1, no=0) and had full-day kindergarten (yes=1, no=0). School characteristics. The focus of this study is our Level-3 (between-school) HLM models. In addition to the class-size and school-size measures we discussed above, our grade span measures identify primary (K-3) schools, K-8 schools, and K-12 schools, which are all compared to elementary (K-6) schools in our multi-variate analyses. Our school-level models also incorporate socio-demographic controls for school-average SES (a z-score) and high-minority enrollment (a dummy variable indicating non-White and non-Asian enrollments above 33%). Due to the strong associations between urbanicity and school size, we include dummy variables indicating school location (large city, medium city, rural/small town, all compared to suburbs/urban fringe). Presentation of results. We present both descriptive and analytic results. Our descriptive results provide information about both children and schools organized by class size and school size. We tested group mean differences for statistical significance with t-tests (for continuous variables) and cross tabulations (for categorical variables). We present our within-school and between-school results separately. As we discussed above, our HLM results are presented in a quite useful metric: points of learning per month in literacy and mathematics during kindergarten and first grade. Our within-school results describe the relationships between child-level characteristics and student learning. Our between-school models explore the effects of elementary-school organizational size on student learningthe focus of this study.

Results Descriptive Results Table 1 presents information about schools and students organized by school size. A linear relationship is evident between school size and average kindergarten and firstgrade class size, although the differences are small and statistically non-significant. We find stronger evidence of a (curvilinear) relationship between average-SES and school size. A 0.4 standard deviation SES gap separates small and medium-sized schools (p<.05), and a 0.3 SD gap separates large and medium-sized schools. As subsequent results suggest, small schools tend to be rural (and lower-SES) and large schools urban

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(and also lower-SES). In short, schools at both ends of the size continuum tend to serve socio-economically disadvantaged clientele. Indeed, half of the small schools in our sample are located in small towns and rural areas, compared to only one-quarter of medium-sized schools (p<.001). Further reflecting the small-town and rural character of these schools, less than one-fifth (18.2%) of small schools have high-minority enrollments, compared to almost one-third of medium-sized schools (p<.01). In terms of grade span, compared to medium-sized schools, small schools are less likely to be primary schools, and more likely to be elementary schools (p<.001).

------------------------------Tables 1 and 2 about here ------------------------------Mirroring these school-level descriptive statistics, children in small, mediumsmall, and large schools tend to come from less-advantaged families than those in medium-sized schools. Minority children are also less likely to attend small compared to medium-sized schools (p<.001). Children in medium-large and large schools are more likely to attend full-day kindergarten (p<.001). This may reflect the fact that many large, urban schools offer full-day kindergarten as a compensatory program. Interestingly, children in small and medium-large schools are more likely to be kindergarten-repeaters than those in medium-sized schools. Childrens age, gender, and single-parent status appear to be unrelated to school size. Table 2 presents information about schools and students organized by average class size. Although the socio-demographic relationships are similar to those found in Table 1, there are some clear differences. Most notably, the relationship between school size and average class size becomes quite evident. Schools with small kindergarten and first-grade class sizes enroll roughly 130 fewer students than schools with medium-sized kindergarten and first-grade class sizes (p<.001). Moreover, schools with large first-grade classes enroll almost 100 students more than those with medium-sized first grade classes (p<.05). Schools with large kindergarten and first-grade classrooms are also considerably more likely to be high-minority schools (p<.05) and located in large cities (p<.01). Conversely, schools with small classrooms are much more likely to be located in small

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towns and rural areas (p<.01) and suburban and urban fringe communities (p<.01). Indeed, over two-thirds of schools with small classes are located in these areas (40.2 and 29.0% of small kindergarten classes; 42.5 and 23.9% of small first-grade classes). Further demonstrating the curvilinear relationship between class-size and socioeconomic status, children attending schools with small and large class sizes tend to be less advantaged compared to those attending schools with medium-sized classes (p<.001). Almost half of the children attending schools with large kindergarten (43.4%) and first-grade classrooms (45.9%) are members of racial/ethnic minority groups (p<.001). Schools with small and large classrooms also enroll greater proportions of children from single-parent homes, and children for whom English is not the primary home language. Again, reflecting the compensatory nature of full-day kindergarten in many public schools, almost two-thirds of children in schools with large kindergarten and first-grade classrooms receive full-day kindergarten, compared to slightly more than half of students in schools with medium-sized classrooms (p<.001). Interestingly, despite their relative socio-economic disadvantage, children attending schools with small kindergarten classrooms are actually less-likely to receive full-day kindergarten (p<.001). Descriptive summary. In sum, our descriptive results suggest that there is a modest but positive relationship between public school size and class size. Thus, the effects of each measure of context size should be estimated net of the other. Smaller schools (with smaller classes) are more likely to be located in rural areas, whereas larger classes (often in larger schools) are more often located in large cities. Although schools with high minority concentrations are more likely to be large (and offer large classes), SES does not follow this same pattern. Both the largest and the smallest schools (with larger and smaller classes) enroll disproportionate numbers of socially disadvantaged children. It is clear from these descriptive differences that our analyses to estimate classsize and school-size effects on children's learning must include statistical controls for social background, school composition, and school location and grade span.

Analytic Results Within-school results. Our within-school HLM models explore the associations between child-level characteristics and learning in kindergarten and first grade. Although

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our between-school models represent the primary focus of this study, we briefly describe our child-level results here. As indicated in Table 3, girls gain more skills in literacy (0.13 points per month [ppm], p<.001) and mathematics (0.04 ppm, p<.05) than their male counterparts. Children attending full-day kindergarten learn considerably more than their peers attending half-day programs (0.26 and 0.15 ppm in literacy and mathematics, respectively; p<.001). These results are similar to findings from our previous work with ECLS-K (see Lee, Burkam, Ready, Honigman, & Meisels, 2006; Ready, LoGerfo, Burkam, & Lee, 2005;). Our previous work has also described the considerable racial and socio-economic disparities that characterize young childrens achievement as they begin kindergarten (see Lee & Burkam, 2002). Table 3 suggests that these differences actually increase during kindergarten. Even after adjusting for the other child-level co-variates, minority status is associated with reduced literacy and mathematics gain during kindergarten (-0.13 ppm in literacy, p<.01; -0.12 ppm in mathematics, p<.001). Conversely, higher-SES children tend to gain more skills: a one standard deviation increase in SES is associated with 0.07 ppm additional learning in literacy and 0.04 ppm additional learning in mathematics (p<.01). ------------------------------Table 3 about here ------------------------------Children for whom English is not the primary home language gain more literacy skills during kindergarten than children for whom English is the primary home language (0.13 ppm in literacy, p<.05; 0.09 in mathematics, p<.05). Unlike these potentially compensatory effects associated with language-minority status and full-day kindergarten, our results challenge the efficacy of kindergarten retention practices. Kindergarten repeaters learn less than non-repeaters in mathematics (-0.16 ppm, p<.05), and gain literacy skills at comparable rates to non-repeaters during their second year of kindergarten. Interestingly, our results suggest that the full-day kindergarten learning advantage is virtually erased during first grade; considerable catch-up is evident among non-fullday children, who gain more literacy and mathematics skills during first grade than

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children who had full-day kindergarten the previous year. Another departure from kindergarten learning is that minority and non-minority students learn at similar rates during first grade (i.e., their learning rates are parallel). However, higher-SES children continue to gain more literacy skills during first grade (p<.05). Accounting for the other co-variates, first grade literacy and mathematics learning are unrelated to gender, singleparent and language status. We should also note here the very different learning rates within each subject in kindergarten and first grade. Particularly with literacybut also with mathematics children gain considerably more skills in first grade than kindergarten. The intercept associated with literacy learning suggests an adjusted average monthly gain of 1.61 points per month in kindergarten, but 2.56 points per month of learning during first grade. Although the distinction is not so stark with mathematics, children gain 0.27 points per month more in first grade compared to kindergarten. These differential learning rates are understandable given the generally stronger academic focus of most first-grade classrooms. One implication for our current study is quite simple: less variability in kindergarten learning suggests less variably that can be explained as a function of elementary school-organizational size. Between-school results. We present the major findings from our study in Table 4. The estimates obtained from our between-school models are adjusted for both the childlevel characteristics in Table 3 as well as the school-level measures displayed here. Because the child-level estimates presented in Table 3 changed so little in the betweenschool models, we do not present them again here. Rather, we focus on our major findings regarding the relationship between organizational size and student learning. Class-size effects. The most striking findings presented in Table 4 concern class size. Compared schools that offer large kindergarten classes, children in schools with small kindergarten class sizes gain 0.10 points more per month in literacy and 0.08 points per month more in mathematics (p<.10). Similarly, children in schools with mediumsized classrooms gain more in literacy (0.14 ppm) and mathematics (0.08 ppm) than those in large kindergarten classrooms (p<.05). Because we are interested in identifying ideal class sizes, we also estimated effects of small compared to medium-sized classrooms. However, we found no differences in literacy or mathematics learning

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between schools offering small rather than medium-sized kindergarten classrooms. This suggests detrimental effects of large kindergarten class size rather than benefits of small classes. These findings do support the conclusions from the Tennessee and Wisconsin class-size experiments. But we extend their important findings by including schools with medium-sized classrooms in our models. Our results suggest that schools may enjoy similar advantages by moving from large to mid-size classrooms. Moving to even smaller classrooms may not provide additional academic benefits.

------------------------------Table 4 about here ------------------------------Table 4 also indicates substantial class-size effects on literacy and mathematics learning during first grade. Compared to those in large first-grade classrooms, children in classrooms with small enrollments gain almost one-fifth of a point more in literacy (p<.05) and 0.12 points per month more in mathematics each month (p<.01). Children in medium-sized classrooms also learned more mathematics than their peers in large classrooms (0.09 ppm, p<.05). As we did with kindergarten learning, we compared the learning of rates associated with small and medium-sized first-grade classrooms. Whereas we found no benefits of small compared to medium-sized kindergarten classrooms, children in small first-grade classrooms gained more literacy skills than those in medium-sized classrooms (0.12 ppm, p<.05). In mathematics, however, we find no differences between small and medium-sized classrooms. Figures 1 and 2 offer simple illustrations of these class-size effects. Note in Figure 1 that compared to both small and medium-sized classrooms, children in large kindergarten classrooms gain fewer literacy skills. In first grade, however, the effects are somewhat different: small classrooms have an advantage over both medium and large classrooms (which do not statistically differ). The results for mathematics learning presented in Figure 2 are more straightforward: children learn considerably less in large compared to both small and medium-sized classrooms (p<.05), whereas the learning rates among children in small and medium-sized classrooms are parallel. In this sense, small classrooms appear to have no advantage in terms of mathematics learning over medium-

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sized classrooms. There are, however, clear negative effects associated with large kindergarten and first-grade classrooms.

------------------------------Figures 1 and 2 about here ------------------------------School-size effects. Once we take into account the types of students they enroll and their other social and structural characteristicsnotably average class sizewe find little evidence of school-size effects on student learning. In first grade, students gain more mathematics skills in small schools (0.13 ppm, p<.05), and gain fewer literacy skills in large compared to medium-sized schools (-0.17 ppm, p<.05). The lack of findings regarding elementary school size is understandable given the self-contained nature of most kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. As we noted above, unlike high-school students, childrens experiences in elementary school are generally influenced more by their classroom contexts, in which the vast majority of their experiences take place. Differential effects of school size. To address our third research question whether organizational size explains the associations between student learning and social backgroundwe modeled the race and SES learning slopes with our indicators of organizational size. Although the minority status and SES slopes did vary across schools, none of our indicators of organizational size were related to student social background. In other words, the class- and school-size effects we report here are similar across race and social class backgrounds. We also explored whether these class-size and school-size effects were different for schools with different minority concentrations and social class compositions. We did find some interactions, but they were inconsistent. As such, we decided to focus on our main effects, which are themselves quite complicated. Other school effects. Although not the focus of this paper, Table 4 indicates additional school-level effects on student learning. In kindergarten, children in smalltown and rural schools gain fewer literacy skills than their suburban counterparts (-0.11 ppm, p<.10). One notable effect is the reduced first-grade literacy learning among K-12 compared to elementary-school children. Compared to those attending traditional K-6 schools, those in K-12 schools gain over one-half point less per month (0.57 ppm,

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p<.001). Moreover, children attending schools in medium-size cities learn more in literacy and mathematics than their peers in suburban and urban fringe schools (p<.001). Even after accounting for the other child- and school-level co-variates, children attending high-minority-enrollment schools gain fewer skills in kindergarten (-0.12 ppm in mathematics; p<.05) and in first grade (-0.18 ppm in literacy; -0.13 ppm in math; p<.05). In kindergarten and first grade, once we account for the other child- and school-level covariates, we find a small negative relationship between school-average SES and mathematics learning.

Discussion Our results suggest robust class-size effects, net of school size, the types of students they enroll, and other school-level characteristics; the effects of both class size and school size have been estimated in the same models. That is, the class-size effects we report here are independent of school size. To us, that says that these size effects are real. In literacy and mathematics in both kindergarten and first grade, our study clearly supports the findings from the Tennessee and Wisconsin class-size experiments: children learn more in small compared to large classrooms. However, our study adds an additional dimension, in that we also examine medium-sized classroomsthe type of classroom elementary-school students are most likely to experience. With kindergarten literacy and mathematics as well as first-grade mathematics, small and medium classes did not differentially influence student learning (see Figures 1 and 2). Rather, large classes were detrimental to student learning. Only in first grade literacy learning did we find small class sizes to be more beneficial than medium-sized classrooms. Are these findings large or small? Although in many ways reporting results in a points-per-month metric is helpful, the metric of the ECLS-K assessments are not wellknown, and are unlikely to convey a clear sense of magnitude or importance.2 However, we can still describe these effects in meaningful ways. As Figure 1 indicates, first graders in small classes learn almost ten-percent more per month in literacy than children in large classrooms (2.68 versus 2.49 points per month). Translating this 0.19 monthly advantage into nine months of learningthe traditional school yearsuggests that children in large compared to small classes finish first grade roughly three weeks behind (0.19 x 9 = 1.71,

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with average monthly gain of 2.56). If children remained in the same elementary school for five or six years, these differences would be very substantial: a roughly ten-point advantage for small-class over large-class children by the end of sixth grade, or 4.5 months of additional learning. This finding is quite similar to that reported in the Tennessee experiment. We should stress again, however, that our calculations account for the different types of students and schools associated with differing class sizes. Our results also suggest that literacy gains are reduced in large elementary schools (those that enroll over 800 children). Moreover, as indicated in Table 1, large elementary schools are also more likely to have large first-grade classrooms. This suggests that some children suffer the double disadvantage of large classrooms and large schools. Our estimates suggest that such children will complete first grade almost 1.5 months behind children enrolled in small first-grade classrooms and schools with enrollments below 800. Causal mechanisms for class size effects. What causal mechanisms might explain the associations between class size and student learning? Teachers in smaller classes may know their students better and thus more easily individualize instruction. Another explanation argues that rather than instructional or pedagogical improvements, class-size effects may operate through improved classroom climates. Smaller classrooms may foster more-positive disciplinary environments with fewer student disruptions. As a result, teachers in smaller classes may spend less time on classroom management, leaving more time for instruction. In this view, class size benefits may accrue from student rather than teacher changes in behavior. Future work on this topic might identify practices and processes that typify smaller classrooms. This is crucial, as class size per se may not be the issue, but rather the pedagogical approaches and classroom climates that typify smaller classrooms.

Two Types of Small Schools. In this study, we found that organizational size influences childrens learning in literacy and mathematics in both kindergarten and first grade. However, once we account for the characteristics of students and their schools, class size plays a much larger role than school size in students cognitive development. This finding raises questions that are rarely discussed by those who advocate smaller educational contexts. Why do some small

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schools work better than others? Some schoolsboth public and privatehave small enrollments because they wish to consciously limit the numbers of students they serve (and the types of students they enroll). However, the vast majority of small schools are public, and must enroll all students in their catchment areas. Even with the powerful trend toward consolidation, many schools have small enrollments because there are simply not many students in the community (especially in rural areas and those with declining populations). It seems quite inappropriate to confuse these two types of small schools. Some are small by design, others are small by default. The first group of schools inherently possesses many advantages not shared by the latter group. Interesting as they are, such small schools as Central Park East Elementary School (see Meier, 1995) are incredibly different from the majority of rural and small-town small schools. Our own and others research has led us to wonder whether smallness by itself is the inherently valuable characteristic as many advocates claim. Smallness accompanied by the ability to organize a school around a special theme or ideology, to enroll only students, families, and faculty to whom this theme appeals, and the ability to select among applicants is a special kind of smallness. This is very different from smallness experienced by the large majority of small by default schools. Indeed, many small elementary schools would prefer to be larger, partly because resources flow to most public schools based on student enrollment. In the context of our current study, it is impossible to establish whether small classes and small schools are the product of conscious efforts to limit the size of educational contexts, or simply the result of low enrollments.

An Alternative to Small Policymakers and school practitioners regularly make decisions about the size of elementary schools and classrooms, what grades to include in schools, and the total number of students in each grade. Although school professionals are often required to make such decisions based on local funding, available personnel, or demographic and enrollment projections, ideally they would also base such important decisions on highquality empirical evidence. Although this study does not meet the current call for randomized studies that would allow very strong causal inferences, we suggest that the

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empirical results we have drawn from these multi-wave longitudinal data provide a very strong base from which to draw direct policy implications. In light of our findings, the policy-relevant question may not be whether small contexts are more beneficial for student learning than large contexts, but whether medium-sized environments are preferable to large environments. Earlier in this paper we described some problems with current policies that seek to reduce class sizes in California, even though such decisions were based on very solid empirical evidence from the Tennessee class-size study. With these unintended consequences of Californias policy in mindas well as ever-present concerns about fundingsmall may be unattainable or even undesirable. For example, in districts and schools where large classrooms are a reality, fiscal questions might lead decision-makers to wonder whether moving from large to even medium-sized classrooms would produce equally favorable (and less costly) results. In general, our results suggest that such a move would indeed offer comparable benefits, except in the case of first-grade literacy development. Our purpose in this paper was to provide evidence about the potentially confounding elements of elementary-school size based on solid data and appropriate methodology. We hope that people who work in schoolsand those who make decisions affecting themwould think about how the various elements of size work together, rather than simply accepting the increasingly common ideology that small is good. Our findings in this paper lead us away from an unquestioning allegiance to small size. Rather than the constant mantra of "small is good," our results lead us to a different proclamation: "large is bad."

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Notes

1. Our initial unconditional HLM analyses included a traditional third-degree polynomial model. This model revealed a non-linear growth pattern between the start of kindergarten and the end of first grade in both reading and mathematics, with increasing learning in kindergarten, decreasing learning over the summer months, and increasing learning in first grade. For two reasons, however, this paper does not develop the polynomial model further. First, the complexity of such models makes them rather difficult to interpret. Second, traditional growth models assume that the temporal distance between repeated measures is constant across individualsan assumption broken by the data structure of ECLS-K. Rather, we employ piecewise linear models, which permit us to explore the differential kindergarten and first-grade growth rates (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002).

2. One reason we do not report our results in a more recognizable metric relates to the statistical challenges accompany the reporting of growth-curve results. In our research we tend to report results in effect size (standard deviation) units, which affords a common measure of the magnitude of effects. However, the analytic approach we employ in this paper, combined with a statistical artifact of the ECLS-K assessments, led us to a different approach. Over time, as the ECLS-K children progress through elementary school, the population variability in cognitive skills increases, indicating a general fan-spread pattern of learning. As such, researchers who use ECLS-K must decide which SD should be used in computing them: the test score SDs at a fixed point (e.g., the beginning of kindergarten, the end of first grade), or the time-specific SD of each test score? Using the SD from a fixed point in time ignores the changing dispersion, whereas using the time-specific SD captures the changing dispersion in the population, but does not provide a stable comparator metric over time. To avoid such confusion, we have decided to report all study results in the original test-score metric (or in a months-of-learning metric for HLM results).

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Krueger, A.B., & Whitmore, D.M. (2002). Would smaller classes help close the black white achievement gap? In (J.E. Chubb & Tom Loveless, Eds.), Bridging the achievement gap (11-46). Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Lazear, E.P. (1999). Educational production. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 7349. Lee, V.E., Burkam, D.T., Ready, D.D., Honigman, J., & Meisels, S.J. (2006). Full-day vs. half-day kindergarten: In which program do children learn more? American Journal of Education, 11(2), 163-208. Lee, V.E. & Loeb, S. (2000). School size in Chicago elementary schools: Effects on teachers' attitudes and students' achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(1), 3-31. Lee, V.E., Ready, D.D., & LoGerfo, L.F. (2006, April). School effects on learning rates over the kindergarten and first-grade years. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Lee, V.E., & Smith, J.B. (1997). High school size: Which works best and for whom? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 19(3), 205-227. Lee, V.E., & Smith, J.B. (1995). Effects of high school restructuring and size on gains in achievement and engagement for early secondary school students. Sociology of Education, 68(4), 241-270. Marshank, D. (1994). From teachers perspectives: The social and psychological benefits of multiage elementary classrooms. In Emerging images of learning: World perspectives for the new millennium. Chicago: ERIC Clearing House. Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas: Lessons for American from a small school in Harlem. Boston: Beacon Press. Molnar, A., Zahorik, J., Smith, P., Halbach, A., & Ehrle, K. (2002). Wisconsins SAGE program and achievement through small classes. In (J.E. Chubb & Tom Loveless, Eds.), Bridging the achievement gap (91-108). Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Molnar, A., Smith, P., Zahorik, J., Palmer, A., Halbach, A., & Ehrle, K. (1999). Evaluating the SAGE program: A pilot program in targeted pupil-teacher reduction in Wisconsin. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(2), 165177. Newmann, F. M. (1981). Reducing student alienation in high schools: Implications of theory. Harvard Educational Review, 51(4), 546-64.

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Nye, B., Hedges, L.V., & Konstantopoulos, S. (2002). Do low-achieving students benefit more from small classes? Evidence from the Tennessee class size experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(3), 201-218. Raudenbush, S.W., & Bryk, A.S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ready, D.D., LoGerfo, L.F., Lee, V.E., & Burkam, D.T. (2005). Explaining girls advantage in kindergarten literacy learning: Do classroom behaviors make a difference? Elementary School Journal, 106(1), 21-38. Seltzer, Frank, & Bryk (1994). The metric matters: The sensitivity of conclusions about growth in student achievement to choice of metric. Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, 16, 41-49. Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., Campbell, D.T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Shapson, S.M., Wright, E.N., Eason, G., & Fitzgerald, J. (1980). An experimental study of the effects of class size. American Educational Research Journal, 17, 141-152. Singer, J.D., & Willett, J.B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. New York: Oxford University Press. Slavin, R. (1989). Class size and student achievement: Small effects of small classes. Educational Psychologist, 24, 106. U.S. Department of Education (2004). A descriptive evaluation of the Federal class-size reduction program: Final report. Washington, D.C.: Author. Weber, M. ([1922]1978). Economy and society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Willett, J. B. (1988). Questions and answers in the measurement of change. Review of Research in Education, 15, 345-422.

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Variable Appendix
Achievement [Level-l] Fall Kindergarten Math Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of math achievement [from C1RMSCAL]. Spring Kindergarten Math Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of math achievement [from C2RMSCAL]. Fall First-Grade Math Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of math achievement [from C3RMSCAL]. Spring First-Grade Math Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of math achievement [from C4RMSCAL]. Fall Kindergarten Reading Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of reading achievement [from C1RRSCAL]. Spring Kindergarten Reading Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of reading achievement [from C2RRSCAL]. Fall First-Grade reading Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of reading achievement [from C3RRSCAL]. Spring First-Grade Reading Score IRT-scaled, standardized test of reading achievement [from C4RRSCAL]. Exposure to Kindergarten, Summer, and First Grade [Level-1] Exposure to Kindergarten at Each Testing Time Point Total number of months of Kindergarten at the time of testing, computed at four time points [from C1ASMTYY, C1ASMTMM, C1ASMTDD, C2ASMTYY, C2ASMTMM, C2ASMTDD, C3ASMTYY, C3ASMTMM, C3ASMTDD, C4ASMTYY, C4ASMTMM, C4ASMTDD, U4SCHBMM, U4CSHBDD] Exposure to Summer at Each Testing Time Point Total number of months of Summer at the time of testing, computed at four time points [from C1ASMTYY, C1ASMTMM, C1ASMTDD, C2ASMTYY, C2ASMTMM, C2ASMTDD, C3ASMTYY, C3ASMTMM, C3ASMTDD, C4ASMTYY, C4ASMTMM, C4ASMTDD, U4SCHBMM, U4CSHBDD] Exposure to First Grade at Each Testing Time Point Total number of months of First Grade at the time of testing, computed at four time points [from C1ASMTYY, C1ASMTMM, C1ASMTDD, C2ASMTYY, C2ASMTMM, C2ASMTDD, C3ASMTYY, C3ASMTMM, C3ASMTDD, C4ASMTYY, C4ASMTMM, C4ASMTDD, U4SCHBMM, U4CSHBDD] Child Social Background [Level-2] Female Dummy coded gender variable, 1=Female, 0=Male [recoded from GENDER]. Minority Dummy coded race variable, 1=Black, Hispanic, Native-American, Mixed-Race, 0=White, Asian [recoded from RACE]. ESL Dummy coded language status variable, 1=English is not the primary home language, 0=English is the primary home language [recoded from WKLANGST]. SES Continuous measure of social class including parents education, parents occupational prestige, and household income [a z-score, M=0, SD=1; WKSESL]. Age Age in months at time of Fall kindergarten assessment [WKAGE]. Single Parent Household Dummy coded variable indicating that child lives with only one parent due to divorce or separation, parents were never married, or one parent is deceased, 1=yes, 0=no [from P2MARSTA]. Full-Day Kindergarten Dummy coded variable indicating that the child was enrolled in a fullday kindergarten program, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from F1CLASS].

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Repeating Kindergarten Dummy coded variable indicating that the child was a kindergarten repeater in Fall 1998, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from P1FIRKDG]. School Context [Level-3] Small School-Average Kindergarten Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool kindergarten classes enroll 17 or fewer students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A1BOYS and A1GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Medium School-Average Kindergarten Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool kindergarten classes enroll between 17 and 25 students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A1BOYS and A1GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Large School-Average Kindergarten Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool kindergarten classes enroll more than 25 students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A1BOYS and A1GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Small School-Average First-Grade Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool first-grade classes enroll 17 or fewer students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A4BOYS and A4GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Medium School-Average First-Grade Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool first-grade classes enroll between 17 and 25 students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A4BOYS and A4GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Large School-Average First-Grade Class Size Dummy coded indicator that average withinschool first-grade classes enroll more than 25 students, 1=yes, 0=no [from teacher survey: summing A4BOYS and A4GIRLS, then aggregated to the school level]. Small School Dummy coded indicator that school enrolls 275 students or less, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from S2ANUMCH]. Medium-Small School Dummy coded indicator that school enrolls 276-400 students, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from S2ANUMCH]. Medium-Large School Dummy coded indicator that school enrolls 601-800 students, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from S2ANUMCH]. Large School Dummy coded indicator that school enrolls more than 800 students, 1=yes, 0=no [recoded from S2ANUMCH]. Large City Dummy coded urbanicity indicator 1=Large city, 0=Other [recoded from KURBAN]. Medium City Dummy coded urbanicity indicator 1=Medium city, 0=Other [recoded from KURBAN]. Small Town/Rural Dummy coded urbanicity indicator 1=Small town or rural, 0=Other [recoded from KURBAN]. K-3 Primary School Dummy coded school grade level indicator, 1=primary school (e.g., grades K-3), 0=Other [recoded from S2KSCLVL]. K-8 School Dummy coded school grade level indicator, 1=K-8 (or K-7) school, 0=Other [recoded from S2KSCLVL]. K-12 School Dummy coded school grade level indicator, 1=K-12 school, 0=Other [recoded from S2KSCLVL]. School-Average SES School aggregate measure of average SES (within-school mean of student SES).

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Table 1. Descriptive statistics for schools and students organized by school size (unweighted n=7,740 children nested within 527 public schools) Small Schoola A. Schools (n=527) Sample size Avg. kindergarten class size Avg. first-grade class size Avg. SESb % High-minority schoolc % Primary school (K-3) % Elementary school (K-6) % K-8 school % K-12 school % Large city % Medium-sized city % Suburban/urban fringe % Small town/rural B. Students (n=7,740) Sample size SESb Medium-Small School 128 20.2 (4.6) 19.3 (3.0) 0.1 (0.9) 24.2 6.3 82.7 7.9 3.1 7.0 22.6 32.8 32.6 Medium-Sized School 171 20.7 (4.8) 20.4 (3.2) 0.1 (1.1) 33.1 4.6 83.9 6.3 5.2 10.9 24.6 38.9 25.3 Medium-Large School 80 21.5 (3.9) 21.4 (3.1) 0.1 (1.0) 33.8 5.0 82.5 10.0 2.5 21.3* 17.5 48.8 12.5* Large School

110 19.3 (5.9) 18.2*** (4.8) 0.3* (0.7) 18.2** 18.2*** 64.5*** 11.8 5.5 9.1 20.9 20.0*** 50.0***

38 22.2 (3.7) 21.2 (4.2) 0.2* (1.0) 44.7 2.6 86.8 10.5 0.0 18.4 13.2 50.0 18.4

1,004 1,510 2,733 1,615 878 0.2*** 0.1*** 0.0 0.1 0.1* (0.9) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (0.9) Age (months) 66.1 66.1 66.1 66.4 66.2 (4.2) (4.2) (4.2) (4.2) (4.3) % Female 51.3 46.3 49.2 47.7 48.8 % Full-day kindergarten 49.2 48.9 51.0 59.2*** 71.9*** % Minority (non-White/Asian) 24.0*** 28.5 31.3 33.4 34.5 % ESL 3.6*** 3.2*** 6.7 7.6 8.0 % Single-parent family 23.3 23.6 22.5 23.8 22.4 % Repeating kindergarten 4.8* 2.7 3.1 4.9** 2.7 * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001; all significance tests compared to medium-sized schools; standard deviations in parenthesis a small school = <275 students; medium-small school = 276-400; medium-sized school = 401-600; medium-large school = 601-800; large school = >800 b measure is z-scored (M=0, SD=1) c school enrollment > 33% non-White, non-Asian

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Table 2. Descriptive statistics for schools and students organized by class size (unweighted n=7,740 children nested within 527 public schools) Small Classesa A. Schools (n=527) Sample size Average enrollment Average SESb % High-minority school c % Primary school (K-3) % Elementary school (K-6) % K-8 school % K-12 school % Large city % Medium-sized city % Suburban/urban fringe % Small town/rural B. Students (n=7,740) Sample size SESb Kindergarten Medium-Sized Classes 341 484.2 (212.8) 0.1 (1.0) 29.1 9.0 83.4 5.2 2.3 11.4 24.4 38.4 25.9 First Grade Medium-Sized Classes 374 478.9 (206.2) 0.1 (1.0) 27.9 9.0 79.6 8.0 3.4 12.2 20.7 39.4 27.6

Large Classes

Small Classes

Large Classes

107 359.0*** (156.7) 0.2* (0.8) 18.7* 4.7 72.0** 15.0*** 7.5* 4.9* 27.1 29.0** 40.2**

80 473.2 (265.9) 0.3** (0.9) 41.3* 7.5 70.0** 16.5*** 6.3* 24.1** 8.9** 33.8 32.9

113 344.9*** (188.4) 0.4*** (0.8) 23.9 6.2 77.9 9.7 7.1* 5.3* 28.3* 23.9** 42.5**

40 572.6* (272.9) -0.2* (1.0) 51.3* 2.6 82.1 15.4 0.0 28.2** 22.5 35.0 12.8*

1,295 5,352 1,093 1,289 5,749 0.1*** 0.0 0.2*** 0.2*** 0.0 (1.0) (1.0) (1.1) (0.9) (1.0) Age (months) 66.3 66.2 66.1 66.6** 66.1 (4.4) (4.2) (4.2) (4.4) (4.2) % Female 46.4 49.1 47.6 47.2 48.6 % Full-day kindergarten 38.3*** 56.8 62.9*** 57.2 53.4 % Minority (non-White/Asian) 27.0 29.2 43.4*** 30.6 29.2 % ESL 3.2*** 6.0 9.2*** 4.0** 5.9 % Single-parent family 27.3*** 21.2 28.8*** 24.2* 22.4 % Repeating kindergarten 3.7 3.5 3.9 3.7 3.7 * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001; all significance tests compared to schools with medium-sized classes; standard deviations in parentheses. a Small classes = <17 students; medium-sized classes = between 17 and 25 students; large classes = >25 students b Measure is z-scored (M=0, SD=1); c School enrollment > 33% non-White, non-Asian

702 -0.1*** (1.1) 66.0 (4.2) 49.8 63.9*** 45.9*** 10.8*** 27.7** 2.3

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Table 3. Within-School Models of Kindergarten and First-Grade Literacy and Mathematics Learning (n=7,740 children nested within 527 public schools) Literacy Learninga A. Kindergarten Female Full-day kindergarten Age (months) SES ESL Single-parent family Repeating kindergarten Minority (non-White/Asian) Intercept B. First Grade Female Full-day kindergarten Age (months) SES ESL Single-parent family Repeating kindergarten Minority (non-White/Asian) Intercept 0.13*** 0.26*** 0.00 0.07** 0.13* 0.05 0.14 0.13** 1.61*** Mathematics Learning 0.04* 0.15*** 0.00 0.04** 0.09* 0.02 0.16* 0.12*** 1.29***

0.03 0.27*** 0.01 0.06* 0.10 0.06 0.38 0.01 2.56***

0.04 0.11** 0.01*** 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.14* 0.03 1.56***

* p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001; all measures are grand-mean centered a All coefficients are in a points-per-month of learning metric b Measure is z-scored (M=0, SD=1)

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Table 4. Between-School Models of Kindergarten and First-Grade Literacy and Mathematics Learning (n=7,740 children nested within 527 schools) Literacy Learning a A. Kindergarten Small kindergarten classesb Medium-sized kindergarten classes Small schoolc Medium-small school Medium-large school Large school Primary schoold K-8 school K-12 school Large citye Medium-size city Rural/small town Average SESf High-minority schoolg Random effect (intercept) B. First Grade Small first-grade classes Medium-sized first-grade classes Small school Medium-small school Medium-large school Large school Primary school K-8 school K-12 school Large city Medium-size city Rural/small town Average SES High-minority Random effect (intercept) 0.10~ 0.14* 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.11~ 0.01 0.07 1.55*** 0.19* 0.07 0.03 0.07 0.04 0.17* 0.08 0.12 0.57*** 0.01 0.12~ 0.12 0.03 0.18* 2.49*** Mathematics Learning 0.08~ 0.08* 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.06 0.03 0.08 0.04 0.02 0.05 0.04~ 0.12* 1.28*** 0.12** 0.09* 0.13* 0.08 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.04 0.03 0.08 0.18*** 0.05 0.05* 0.13* 1.43***

~ p<.10; * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001; to simply the table, we do not present child-level coefficients here, which were virtually unchanged from the results of the within-schools models in Table 3. a All coefficients are in a points-per-month of learning metric b Small (<17 students) and medium-sized classes (>17 and <25 students) compared to large classes (>25) c Small (<275 students), medium-small (276-400), medium-large (601-800) and large schools (>800) compared to medium-sized schools (401-600) d Compared to elementary (K-6) schools; e compared to suburban/urban fringe schools f Measure is z-scored (M=0, SD=1); g school enrollment > 33% non-White, non-Asian

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Figure 1. Literacy Learning by Class Size

3

Kindergarten
2.5

2.68*

First Grade
2.56 2.49

points of learning per month

1.64
1.5

1.69 1.55*

0.5

Small Classes

Medium Classes

Large Classes

Small Classes

Medium Classes

Large Classes

* Differs from medium-sized classes, p<.05. Small classes= < 17 students; medium = 17-25; large = > 25.

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Figure 2. Mathematics Learning by Class Size

3

Kindergarten
2.5

First Grade

points of learning per month

1.56
1.5

1.52

1.43*

1.36

1.36

1.28*

0.5

Small Classes

Medium Classes

Large Classes

Small Classes

Medium Classes

Large Classes

* Differs from medium-sized classes, p<.05. Small classes= < 17 students; medium = 17-25; large = > 25.

39