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Community Corner

Will money make a difference for our schools?


Here's what the research says...

There are some who believe that spending more money on education is futile, because the districts that spend the most money on education are not necessarily the ones that get the best outcomes and highest test scores for students.  They believe that there is little relationship between overall spending and student achievement and believe that investing more money in schools won’t make a difference.  However, the research evidence is clear:

It’s not how much you spend; it’s what you spend it on!

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After more than 30 years of research, experts agree that school districts that spend money on proven approaches to providing high quality education get effective results. The large body of evidence on the relationship between spending and student achievement was summarized in a very readable report authored by Bruce Baker, a professor at Rutgers University, in 2012 (http://www.shankerinstitute.org/images/doesmoneymatter_final.pdf ). This leads to an obvious question: What are the approaches that research shows lead to high quality education and high student achievement?  Education researchers agree that smaller class sizes is a proven approach to high student achievement.  The strongest research supporting this conclusion was conducted using the same type of research design used in medical research, i.e., the “gold standard” randomized trial.  This study, known as Project STAR, found that students in smaller classes, such as those recommended by the Shrewsbury School Committee, experienced significant educational benefits over their peers taught in larger classes (https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/05_02_08.pdf).  The investment in an adequate number of teachers to have reasonable class sizes costs money, of course, but the research evidence shows that you will receive a measurable, immediate return on your investment.  And the research indicates that smaller class sizes benefit all students, regardless of grade level, prior academic performance, gender, ethnic group, or socio-economic status. 

This evidence supports what students, teachers, and administrators have been telling us: overly large class sizes in Shrewsbury schools are negatively affecting our students and undermining the work of our teachers.  It lends credibility to their stories, and the numerous reports from parents and teachers of physical overcrowding, reduced capacity for teachers to spend time with students, reduced morale, increased behavioral problems, and more.   The reality has been that, for many years, Shrewsbury schools have achieved excellent results despite spending much less than the vast majority of other districts in the state because they have been spending funds on the right things, including reasonable class sizes.  The research also indicates that the longer students experience class sizes that are too high, the more the negative effect on their education will be compounded.  Class size matters in the quality of education our town’s students receive, and the School Committee is wise to make this its number one priority.

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Beth Boulay is a Shrewsbury resident and a mother of a preschooler and two older children who will attend Paton School next year.  She holds a doctorate in education from Harvard University, and works as Principal Associate at a social policy research firm, where she leads rigorous studies that investigate which approaches to improving educational outcomes for students are effective.

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