Seven times the usefulness of small classes
In five years to a maximum class size of 21 students, in both primary and secondary education. Why does the AOb into this, and why now? Eugenie Stolk, president of the AOb, explains the initiative.
Picture: Type tank
If the classes get smaller, even more teachers are needed, how can that be reconciled with the teacher shortage?
"The teacher shortage is there, it is growing and there is no prospect of a structural decline. In the forecasts we see an upward trend in the shortage of teachers until 2028. The registrations for some teacher training courses have increased, but we also know that half of students complete the course and that a quarter of new teachers quit within the first five years.Research shows that large classes are one of the three reasons for leaving the profession.In addition, absenteeism in education is high. Large classes increase the workload and I think also absenteeism due to illness. Unfortunately, the latter has not yet been investigated."
Address the teacher shortage with smaller classes
"We want to turn it around: tackle the teacher shortage with smaller classes, so that the rising trend of the shortage can be converted into a falling line. Do this together with better guidance for starters, and then - substantiated by economic research - it will have a positive effect on the economy and on the students."
Why a maximum of 21 students and not, for example, 25?
"According to calculations of the CPB this number yields the largest learning gain in the Netherlands in relative terms. Other scientific studies also show that substantially smaller classes – of a maximum of 21 students – lead to better performance. Experiments have been carried out in primary education and this shows that larger classes - of 25 pupils - lead to smaller positive effects. From the scientific literature you can deduce that especially students from disadvantaged situations benefit from smaller groups. And that starting teachers do significantly better in smaller classes."
Isn't it the job of schools and not of the government to decide on the size of the classes?
"The group division is indeed a task of the school. But the government can very well set a maximum limit when it comes to the size of that group. And then the school is still free to divide the groups. This is not a burglary in the freedom of education, but a condition to be able to offer quality education."
The picture of OCW is distorted by the measurement date of 1 October
Hadn't class size declined last year?
"The government assumes average class sizes. These only exist in theory. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science does not publish figures about the actual class size, the figures behind the 'averages' are invisible. What we do know: 30 percent of the students are in a group that is larger is then 25 students, 4 percent are in a group of 30+. The picture of OCW is distorted by the measurement date of 1 October: after that, many four-year-olds enter primary education and the kindergarten classes become increasingly full."
What do we know about the effect of smaller classes on the quality of education?
"In recent years there has been a revival in research into class reduction, and that revival is mainly due to the fact that many recipes for better education appear to fail. Performance-related pay became a fiasco, new control models do not work and better teacher training programs are difficult to come about. The debate about how to provide the very best education is fragmented and detailed. The Dutch policy agenda is overcrowded, but rarely leads to visible results."
In 2016, the CPB radically changed its views: 'The smaller the class, the better the learning performance'
"There are economists who search data for processes that do work. For example, researchers saw that school performance is better in smaller classes, but above all that the yields in the longer term are much higher than expected. In recent years, many studies have been published with comparable results, which means that awareness has grown among economists that class reduction is a good investment, so the CPB also changed its view in 2016 radical: 'The smaller the class, the better the learning performance. This is evident from a large amount of literature on class size in primary school.' Money for smaller classes must then be earmarked, otherwise it will leak away in the lump sum. But ultimately an investment in smaller classes yields extra economic growth."
What about the costs for this plan?
"Smaller classes are good for the economy, at least if you calculate beyond the short term. The CPB has calculated that a class reduction to a maximum of 21 students costs 990 million for primary education and a billion for secondary education. Mind you: it goes then not about an average group size, but really about a maximum. Such a maximum group size of 21 pupils is a considerable investment, but one that pays for itself and which can be gradually grown towards. It is good to start at disadvantaged schools , because that is where the positive effect on learning performance is greatest SEO research has calculated that an investment of 1,5 billion euros in smaller classes and better guidance for starting teachers will eventually yield 3,5 billion euros in extra economic growth."
In 1997, one billion guilders was invested in class reduction, which had hardly any effect. Why should it be any different now?
"From 1997, money was indeed made available to gradually reduce the classes in groups one to four. The money came, but the obligation to spend it on class reduction became less and less strict. You could also use assistants. in the upper years. The then State Secretary Netelenbos prevented research into the effects of the investment, and in the end the money simply ended up in the lump sum. One billion guilders, now about 450 million euros, was allocated for it - and six years later it had evaporated. The average class size fell slightly, but has started to rise again since 2011. It is more than high time that the subject was put back on the political agenda. Also, or certainly, now that education everywhere is under pressure from the teacher shortage."
Also read: 'Small classes give the space that is much needed'
