Downsizing Wilder’s Experiment With Small Class Sizes Nets Big Results

The noise is what stands out when you walk into a Wilder first-grade classroom. Or, the lack of it.

A classroom filled with first-graders can be as tumultuous as a rock concert, especially after recess.

But a recent day, the 11 children in Patti Birch’s class politely listened to another student read from her book as if they were at a tea party. Later, they diligently worked on their math.

A productive classroom is one tangible result of Wilder’s experiment that caps first-grade classes at 13 students.

Another result is student achievement. First-grade classes that once read at or behind their grade level now read at second-grade levels. And several students could graduate to third-grade reading only days before their first-grade year ends.

Although Wilder’s experiment with class size is only in its second year, educators already declare the effort a success.

“There’s more one-on-one,” Holmes Elementary School Principal Jonathan Cline said. “There’s a general attitude improvement. The children are feeling better about themselves.

“They want to be here.”

Wilder’s experiment follows a simple theory: The fewer students teachers face, the more time they have to spend with each student.

First-grade teachers in Wilder once taught to classes of 20 or more. But the school district believed that smaller classes would benefit children in the long run.

And research shows that individual attention at an early age can improve a child’s education.

A study of 6,000 students in Tennessee showed that at-risk kids who enrolled in classes of 15 in primary grades performed better than those in classes of 25 or more. And they continued to perform at a higher level even after they moved into larger classes in later grades.

Wilder is the perfect laboratory to prove the research.

At-risk kids dominate the economically depressed district. And educators have few resources other than class size to address issues such as language proficiency and broken homes.

Holmes Elementary released its English as a Second Language, physical education and reading instructors and shifted some federal funds to hire a fourth first-grade teacher.

The school also added a second kindergarten teacher and aide, limiting those classes to 16 students.

First-grade teacher Xochitl Silva said the smaller classes allow her to challenge her top students with individual projects while shepherding her struggling students who need more attention.

Silva also conducts more hands-on work because it’s easier to organize and manage with a smaller group.

“If it were a larger class, I don’t think I’d have been able to challenge them as much,” she said.

The small class also benefits students in another way. The setting is more intimate, so students know each other better and form a sense of family, Silva said.

Birch said she hopes the school continues to limit class size. The experiment changed the children’s education, but it also changed her outlook on teaching.

Early in her career, she often faced classrooms filled with 30 or more children. Her attention was divided among so many students that she remembers days when some children received little or no attention.

But with a manageable classroom, every day is like Wednesday, when Birch had time to hold hands with one squirmy girl and shuttle among students in a mathematical jam.

“When I end the day, I feel like I’ve touched every child,” she said.