Mr. Herb Garrett, Executive Director of the Georgia State School Superintendents Association (GSSA) submitted the following article as a follow-up to his presentation at our at-issue forum of June 1, 2006.

For several years now, the issue of smaller class sizes for Georgia’s schoolchildren has been a hot topic of discussion among educators, politicians, parents, and other interested observers. No one argues that smaller class sizes are a good thing, but misunderstanding of the issues associated with such action abound. For example, most of the research on the effect of smaller class sizes on student achievement leads to the inescapable conclusion that the pupil/teacher ratio would have to be much, much smaller than is affordable for a recognizable student achievement gain to be made as a result of those smaller class sizes. Further, it is clear to all those who fight the daily battles in the great war against ignorance that some children—those in lower grades who struggle to learn—receive a far greater benefit from smaller classes than some others do, but the push continues for smaller class sizes for everyone. Finally, some argue that other positive effects may result from smaller class sizes—improved teacher morale and better student discipline, for example.

The issues listed in the paragraph above, though, are not the focus of this brief paper. The reasons for this document are twofold: (1) to help those unfamiliar with school scheduling and QBE formula funding to make the distinction between funding size and actual class size and understand why there is and must be a difference; and, (2) to debunk the myth that the state is actually paying for the smaller class sizes that are now mandated as a result of the passage of HB1358, the “Truth in Class Size” bill. 

(Continued here)

Contact Herb Garrett