Public Agenda Reports: Sizing Things Up

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Public Engagement

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he latest idea in America's ongoing debate on education reform has been a simple one: when it comes to schools, small is beautiful. A group of influential reformers say the U.S. trend toward larger and larger school buildings is creating schools that are difficult to manage and where students feel alienated and anonymous. These advocates call for high schools of around 500 pupils, saying teenagers thrive in more personal settings. The kind of comfortable, informal communication that takes place readily in a small institution is simply not feasible, these advocates say, in a larger, more harried one. In our latest study, Sizing Things Up, Public Agenda examines the attitudes of teachers, parents and students on whether size matters in education. To our knowledge, this is the most detailed public opinion study ever to focus on the question of school size. It is important to point out that Sizing Things Up is not a report on the model small high schools that have been developed in recent years. Instead, the study looks at the views of randomly selected respondents from small, medium and large high schools of all types in all parts of the country. In this study, most of the people in small high schools come from rural areas, and most in large high schools come from either cities or suburbs. Parents proved to be the most enthusiastic about small schools. Parents whose children attend small high schools were more likely to say that teachers help struggling students (75 percent compared to 48 percent in large schools) and that students speak and write well (67 percent to 47 percent). Parents whose children were in large schools were more likely to report that students were alienated (40 percent to 23 percent) and bullied (41 percent to 27 percent) and likely to dropout (43 percent to 21 percent). Both parents and teachers give large schools an edge, however, in having a diverse student body - a significant issue for many of those we surveyed. (see Small High Schools Get Thumbs Up From Parents for more details). Teachers in large high schools are more likely to say their schools are overcrowded, and more likely to say students can fall through the cracks (50 percent to 30 percent in small schools). Large schools were seen as providing more academic options. Yet regardless of the school they worked in, high school teachers were notably unhappy with academic achievement and morale. (see Teachers: Students in Large High Schools More Likely to Fall Through the Cracks). But we also found that school size is not a major concern for most of those surveyed. Just a third of parents say they have given a lot of thought to the idea of reducing school size, and many teachers and parents currently see other reforms as more pressing. Seventy percent of teachers, for example, say small class size is more important to student achievement than small school size. (see Teachers, Parents Find Smaller Schools Appealing, But See Other Education Reforms as More Pressing). Students, as might be expected, tend to like the school they're in. But the student survey finds that many problems carry across both large and small schools, with substantial numbers of students saying there are problems with bullying, cheating and substance abuse in their school. (see Teens Upbeat About Their Teachers, But Troubled With Fellow Classmates). Public Agenda's research for Sizing Things Up was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which supports smaller high schools. Public Agenda takes no position on the issue of smaller high schools and was given a free hand by the Gates Foundation to conduct the research according to our discretion. Public Agenda takes full responsibility for the results of this study. Full print copies are available for $10, plus $2.50 shipping and handling. Use our fax order form or call 212-686-6610. See these press releases for more information: Teachers, Parents Find Smaller Schools Appealing, But See Other Education Reforms as More Pressing Small High Schools Get Thumbs Up From Parents Teachers: Students in Large High Schools More Likely to Fall Through the Cracks Teens Upbeat About Their Teachers, But Troubled With Fellow Classmates		Finding One
		Parents Rate Their Own Schools On all but a handful of measures, parents of students in small high schools give their schools better marks than parents of students in large high schools. Small school parents are considerably happier with their schools on social issues such as civility, student alienation and parent-teacher engagement. They also are more likely to speak positively of their schools when it comes to academic preparation and achievement.
		Finding Two
		Teachers Rate Their Own Schools Teachers in large high schools tend to give their schools lower ratings in key areas, including maintaining high academic standards, providing help for struggling students, and letting too many fall through the cracks. As with parents, the most dramatic differences revolve around over-crowding -- in classes, in the hallways and in the school building. Still, on many issues there appear to be few or no differences between the experiences of large and small high school teachers.
		Finding Three
		Students Rate Their Own Schools Unlike parents and teachers, students in large and small high schools report very similar situations in their schools. On the whole, their perspective is upbeat, but teens in both types of schools also report fairly lackluster academic progress. Teens in large high schools, not surprisingly, have more complaints about overcrowding in hallways and classrooms.
		Finding Four
		Pervasive Disrespect in Schools According to parents, teachers and students, American high schools continue to be plagued by some unsettling social and discipline problems, regardless of their size. Teachers and students especially report problems with violence, drugs and alcohol, cheating, bullying and a general lack of respectfulness among the student body.
		Finding Five
		A Dispirited Teaching Corps in Schools High school teachers, regardless of the size of their school, see significant need for improvement in a number of academic areas, and they are far more critical than parents or students. Relatively few claim that student learning is where it should be or that struggling students get the help they need. Equally troubling, morale is low among high school teachers across the board.
		Finding Six
		Responding to a Movement Regardless of whether they are in large or small high schools, parents, teachers and students believe that small schools have numerous advantages over large -- from school atmosphere, to individualized attention and help for students, to small class size. While respondents believe that large high schools have many drawbacks, they also expect that larger schools are better when it comes to course offerings and diversity in the student body.
		Finding Seven
		How Communities May Respond Large numbers of teachers and parents say they themselves would support proposals to break up large high schools in their own communities, but such initiatives are hardly likely to escape controversy. For many parents and teachers, other kinds of reforms seem more pressing, and these may compete for public attention and support. Teachers especially anticipate that proposals to break up high schools would generate broad community opposition.
		Finding Eight
		Class Size or School Size? For teachers, reducing the size of their classes is a much higher priority than reducing the size of their schools. For both teachers and parents, class size is the more visible issue, and -- at least right now -- it is the issue that is more likely to prompt grassroots concern.

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