School Size (Was High School)

[Ron Force <rforce@moscow.com>]

You can review the research on school size on the "Ask ERIC" Web site

http://www.askeric.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi/Resources/Educational_Management/Educational_Facilities/School_Size.html

Here's a qoute from one of the reviews:

"...This consolidation, achieved at the cost of anguished protests by
thousands of citizens served by small schools in small districts, was
viewed by most professional educators as a triumph for enlightened
schooling. Larger schools created economies of scale that drove
per-student costs down, and at the same time gave students expanded
access to specialized courses, adequate libraries, and extensive
extracurricular programs. 

Ironically, just as the consolidation movement was basking in its
achievement, research was beginning to suggest that the public's
nostalgia for small schools was not misplaced. In the past three
decades, steadily mounting evidence indicates that children and
adolescents do best in schools with well under 1,000 students, with some
critics arguing that even 200 may be too many. 

The new research suggests that small schools are more likely to nurture
a sense of belonging and community, engaging active student involvement
through a positive, humane, and caring atmosphere. Even the supposed
economies of scale for large schools are being reexamined; some analysts
have suggested that computing the cost per graduate rather than the cost
per student gives an economic advantage to small schools..." 
-- 
Ron  Force                                                  
rforce@moscow.com
Moscow, Idaho U.S.A.