In a small class, teachers are able to interact with the class and oversee individuals’ learning far
better than in a class with 30+ pupils. Teachers can give each pupil more of their time and can
better tailor the lesson plan to their needs, as well as go into more detail in their feedback. This
greater degree of personalised interaction may lead to the pupil being more interested in the
subject and therefore more engaged in lessons, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of learning and
positive feedback.
Project STAR, a large study into the impact of class size reduction in Tennessee which looked at
11,600 pupils and their teachers, found evidence to suggest that even a temporary (1-4 years)
experience of small classes (15 rather than 25) resulted in a long-lasting improvement in pupil
outcomes. 2
The greatest improvements were for boys and pupils who were from a traditionally
disadvantaged background. Other evidence suggests that small class sizes have more of an impact
for younger pupils.3