The effect of class sizes of 1:15, 1:25, and 1:25 plus a full-time aide on kindergarten reading readiness achievement
Abstract
One hundred and forty teachers participating in the first year of Project STAR (Student Teacher Academic Ratio) in 1985-86 submitted for 2,837 kindergarten students data indicating mastery or non-mastery of the 25 reading readiness objectives of the Tennessee Basic Skills First program. Project STAR is a four-year $12 million dollar longitudinal study of class size funded by the Tennessee General Assembly. Data were analyzed using a five-way analysis of variance and a crosstabulation procedure with a chi-square test of significance. A statistically significant relationship was found between small class size and reading readiness achievement in the total 25 tested Basic Skills and the subcategory of the 20 comprehension skills at the.01 level of significance. The 1:15 class mastered one more objective than the 1:25 and.6 more of an objective than the 1:25 plus a full-time aide class. No significant relationship was found between classes of 1:15, 1:25, or 1:25 plus a full-time aide and the mastery of the 5 word identification skills. The 1:25 class was found to be least effective in achieving reading readiness. Students achieve better in all three types of classes when they are present over 90 percent of the time. Students in classes of 1:15 who attended 90 percent of the time showed the greatest gain. A statistically significant relationship was found between sex, race, socio-economic status, geographic localities, and achievement in the three reading readiness areas analyzed. Within each variable category, the lowest mean scores in the 25 total Basic Skills and the 20 comprehension skills were for males, blacks, free/reduced lunch, and inner city students in the 1:25 class, and the highest scores for this group were in the 1:15 class. It would seem from this study that it would be most cost effective if this group were in a 1:15 class. The recommendations included: (1) Kindergarten should be mandatory. (2) Pupil/teacher ratio should be 1:15 for kindergarten students. (3) Teachers should be trained to: (a) Utilize small group instruction; (b) Utilize home visits and parent training to reinforce readiness skills.
Subject Area
School administration|Literacy|Reading instruction
Recommended Citation
Roseanne Knight Jacobs,
"The effect of class sizes of 1:15, 1:25, and 1:25 plus a full-time aide on kindergarten reading readiness achievement"
(1987).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI9017209.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI9017209