Hal, thank you for providing information to refute Reich’s silliness.
Matt, I blogged on the Washington Post article earlier this week. This research should make the education establishment think twice about desirable class sizes, but, alas, we know all too well how they operate.
Eric Hanushek points out that class size initiatives tend to be convenient political instruments, rather than proven educational reforms. The problem is simple. For the public, it appears to be “common sense” that smaller classes would yield higher students performance. Anything that says otherwise (obviously!) cannot be true. I have heard from many that they support the idea of using lottery money for class size reductions, even if those funds would supplant money in place for existing projects. Thus, my Spotlight on a study that showed class sizes to be ineffective really got under people’s skin. The lack of conclusive evidence is why I recommend that instead of using lottery money for class size reductions, the state should use it for school construction projects.
Joe, I agree with your points, but I am pretty sure that this is how you became a fiscal policy analyst.
