Class Size Effects on Student Achievement in Norway: Patterns and Explanations.

The causal effect of class size on student performance is investigated using a maximum class size rule of 30 students to generate an instrument for actual class size. The data come from lower secondary schools in Norway, and the initial analysis reveals a small negative class size effect. Further in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Southern Economic Journal Vol. 69; no. 4; pp. 952 - 966
Autor principal: Bonesrønning, Hans
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Southern Economic Association April 2003
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The causal effect of class size on student performance is investigated using a maximum class size rule of 30 students to generate an instrument for actual class size. The data come from lower secondary schools in Norway, and the initial analysis reveals a small negative class size effect. Further investigations show that the effect varies among student subgroups and that the benefits of smaller classes are larger in schools with a high proportion of students who come from intact families. The second section of the paper uses information about the teachers' grading practices and the students' efforts in class to shed additional light on the revealed patterns of class size effects. Class size effects seem to be conditional on student effort. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.