critical analysis

1) Kreuger, A. B., and D. M. Whitmore. 2000. The Economic Journal, 111. The Effect of Attending a Small Class in the Early Grades on College Test-Taking and Middle School Test Results

This article explores a study designed to determine the link between classroom size of a child’s first four years of education (kindergarten to third grade) and secondary school test results. Both students and teachers were randomly assigned to either a small class of 13-17 students or a regular sized class of 22-25 students. After four years of education students continued their education in random class sizes. Both middle school math and english standardized test scores and college entrance exam scores were then compared for the two groups of students

The results showed that students who started off their education in smaller classes were more inclined to take college entrance exams (the SAT or ACT). Although students from smaller elementary school classes were significantly inclined to take these tests their actual test scores were only slightly higher than their counterparts in larger elementary school classes. There was no significant difference in middle school standardized test scores between the two groups of students. What this shows is that students who had more attention during early years of their education were more likely to attempt to go to college, especially among minority students.

From the data we can infer that students who have a more personal experience with education at a young age are more likely to develop a positive relationship with school. Although students in smaller classes don’t necessarily learn more they do gain an increased respect and appreciation for education, as evident by their increased participation in college entrance exams. This seems logical to me as my experiences have shown me that students who feel as though they have teachers who are invested in their academic growth are more likely to have the desire to continue their education in the future.

2) Hannafin, B. 2002. Evaluative, 12. Mashpee High School, Mashpee, PLATO (R) Evaluative Series.

This article explores a case study done on Mashpee High School. The school was struggling with it's math and english MCAS scores, and consequently hired an outside consulting firm, PLATO, to restructure the school. By changing the school's curriculum to target specific objectives covered on the MCAS and by aligning individual lesson plans with state standards MCAS scores improved from 64% passing to 84% passing in just one year.

This significant jump shows the effect aligning curriculum and lesson plans to standards has on assessment scores. By making sure lesson plans were aligned to state standards it assured that class time was being utilized to increase MCAS scores. This makes sense for having lesson plans that are aligned to state assessments insures that students are continually moving towards mastery of skills that are actually being tested at the end of the year. It helps the teachers and students stay focused on the end result, which is higher MCAS test scores. My only criticism of this study is that it only illustrates the effect of aligning lesson plans to standards in one school. This could have been an isolated incident or other factors could have aided in the rapid turn around of Mashpee High School. If the article outlined multiple schools that had similar results due to the consulting of PLATO the conclusion would be more credible. However, I do agree with the overall message of the article, which is that student achievement on standardized tests can be tremendously increased by aligning curriculum and lesson plans to state assessments. The significant jump in test scores by Mashpee High School demonstrates the correlation between aligned lesson plans and increased assessment scores.