Statistics 

A persuasive article called “Class Size Matters,” notes that class size reduction would help students advance forward rather than having to repeat a grade (Class Size Matters). In one school in New York, statistics came back showing that only 16.7% of students in a classroom with less than 18 students would have to repeat the grade (Class Size Matters). In previous years, students were in classrooms with over twenty-five students and 43.5% of students had to repeat a grade (Class Size Matters).

Jeremy Finn from the University of Buffalo wrote an article expressing the importance of academic achievement in the early years. Finn's research focused on when students in grades K-4 do better academically, it gives them motivation and appreciation for education. Finn later went on to explain that if students do better grades K-4, they are more likely to continue to do better and graduate high school. Finn says, “Our study has shown that the origin of students dropping out is due to academic performance in the early grades of education.” Students who received poor grades K-3 rarely moved on to make better grades in future grade levels (Finn).

Also, when students do better in school, they are more likely to graduate high school and further their education. A study done in 2011 by Jason Koebler concentrated on the economic benefits of students graduating high school. According to a report from the Alliance for Excellent Education, high school dropouts cost the nation billions of dollars each year. Koebler’s study estimated that if half of the 1.3 million students who drop out each year had graduated, those students could be earning $7.6 billion more yearly compared to those students who did not graduate high school (Koebler).

Photo Credit: bskolb