Lowering Class Size
The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program boosts student achievement in schools that serve low-income communities by lowering class size.
SAGE is a statewide Wisconsin program that reduces the student-teacher ratio to 15 students for every teacher. Most Americans believe that public schools should provide a level playing field for all children. But because more than half of funding for public schools is local, there are wide disparities between schools in wealthy, middle-class and impoverished communities. These disparities are a major factor in the achievement gap that puts low-income and minority students at a disadvantage.1 The SAGE program has been proven to help close this gap.
SAGE does more than lower class size—it mandates comprehensive reform.
Under SAGE, participating school districts sign contracts with the state that require
- A rigorous academic curriculum designed to improve student achievement.
- An extension of school hours to accommodate before- and after-school enrichment programs.
- Collaboration with community organizations to make educational, recreational and social service programs available at the school.
- Each teacher and administrator to submit to the school board a professional development plan that focuses on how he or she will help improve student academic achievement.
- An evaluation process for professional staff members that identifies individual strengths and weaknesses, clearly describes areas in need of improvement, provides opportunities to learn and improve, and systematically documents performance in accordance with the plan.
- Dismissal of professional staff members whose failure to learn and improve has been documented over a two-year period.
Annual evaluations show SAGE students outperform students from comparable schools.2
In the 2000-01 school year, SAGE students outperformed comparable students on every subject tested, including language arts, math and reading. SAGE students also showed significantly greater improvement than their non-SAGE counterparts on tests that compared first grade pre-test scores to third grade test scores.
SAGE is far more effective in improving student achievement than school vouchers.
Milwaukee began its voucher program in 1990 and its SAGE program in 1995. A multi-year study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison revealed that SAGE students showed improved test scores, while Milwaukee vouchers students performed no better than comparable Milwaukee Public Schools students in any year of the program to date. In 2006, Wisconsin increased funding for its SAGE program.
Reducing class size in early grades has significant long-term educational benefits.
The Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project—the most significant long-term study on the benefits of reducing class size in early education—involved more than 3,000 K-3 students in select rural, suburban, urban and inner-city Tennessee schools from 1985 to 1989. This $12 million study revealed that students in small classes consistently scored higher on achievement and basic skills tests. And inner-city students—predominantly minority children—in small classes outscored their counterparts in larger classes. This success continued through high school. A study of teaching practices showed that reduced class size results in fewer discipline problems, more instructional time, greater individualization of instruction to students, more frequent hands-on activities and higher teacher satisfaction.3
SAGE is a cost-effective way to improve education for all students.
Although SAGE was designed for low-income schools, its benefits could have a positive impact any student. Since it can be implemented over the course of years, schools can adapt the program to best suit their individual needs. And SAGE caps expenditures per student, which prevents unanticipated costs.
Endnotes
- Bruce J. Biddle and David C. Berliner, “What Research Says About Unequal Funding for Schools in America,” Policy Perspectives, 2003.
- Education Policy Studies Laboratory, “Class Size Reduction in Wisconsin: A Fresh Look at the Data,” Arizona State University, September 2003.
- Education Policy Studies Laboratory, “SAGE Advice: Research on Teaching in Reduced-Size Classes,” January 2003.
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