N.M. Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera on Smaller Schools
In 2003, New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera, then a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, co-authored a paper titled Smaller Is Better summarizing the research on smaller schools. Highlights of the article are quoted below. Read the full paper here.
“In fact, comprehensive research shows that small schools are superior to large schools on most measures and equal to them on the rest. A comprehensive review of 103 studies revealed the following: The academic achievement of students in small schools is at least equal to, and often superior to, that of large schools. A recent study documenting Chicago’s small-school reform implementation, which included approximately 150 schools, showed improved standardized test scores or average test scores holding steady despite more students taking the test.”
“A study in 2000 showed that small schools helped close the achievement gaps between less-affluent students and their wealthier counterparts.”
“Cost-effectiveness is also possible in small schools. When per pupil costs are calculated on the number of students who actually graduate from school, rather than on the number who just attend, the so-called savings of big schools largely disappear.”
“Research shows that, in every instance, small schools have lower incidences of negative social behavior - everything from truancy and classroom disruption to vandalism, aggressive behavior, theft, substance abuse, and gang participation - than do larger schools.”
“Nine out of ten reports reviewed confirmed lower dropout rates for small schools, and students from small schools are more likely to go to college.”
