Research Paper on:
Research Proposal: Effects Of Class Size

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
higher achievement than those in large classrooms. The research has been controversial but the general prevailing opinion is that students in small classes are able to increase their academic  performance. The problem statement is phrased as a question: Do small classes result in higher student achievement? The hypothesis is: Students in smaller class sizes with a maximum  of 18 students will show higher academic achievement than students in larger class sizes. The study is important because it will add to the research on the effects of small  class sizes on academic achievement. The studys delimitation is that it will include only the variable of academic achievement. Definitions: * Small class size: a class with no more than  18 students. * Large class size: any class with more than 18 students. * Academic achievement: for this study, achievement is measured only by standardized tests. * Randomized sample: a  process wherein each student in the subject pool has an equal probability of being assigned to the experimental or control group. Review of Literature [Tutorial: We have included only  studies that support the hypothesis. The student may want to report some contrary studies to demonstrate that not all research favors small class size. Also, the student may want to  include literature about class size theories that do not necessarily emerge from research.] Numerous research studies have been conducted to determine the effect of class size on student achievement. One  of the largest studies involved the entire Texas education system, which is comprised of 800 districts and over 2.4 million students (Pritchard, 1999). Ferguson, the investigator found significant relationships between  and among class size, teacher quality and student achievement (Pritchard, 1999). Using the student-teacher ratio as the measure of class size, Ferguson found that in grades 1 through 7 student