Spyros Konstantopoulos|Anne Traynor
Class Size Effects on Reading Achievement Using PIRLS Data: Evidence from Greece
Michigan State University|Michigan State University
backgroundcontext effects class size student achievement gained considerable attention education research policy especially last 30 years perhaps best evidence effects class size thus far produced analyses project star data largescale experiment students teachers randomly assigned smaller larger classes within schools researchers also analyzed observational data examine effects class size results mixed purposeobjectiveresearch questionfocus study generally difficult draw causal inferences class size effects observational data omitted variables problem shortcoming overcome instrumental variables iv methods designed facilitate causal inferences present study uses iv methods examine effects class size reading achievement using data 2001 fourthgrade sample progress international reading literacy study pirls greece took advantage greeces nationwide rule maximum class size elementary schools construct iv estimates class size population pirls designed monitor childrens achievement levels fourth grade worldwide used reading achievement data 2001 greece sample national probability sample fourth graders use appropriate weights helped us make projections fourthgrade student population greece 2001 research design research design secondary analysis examined whether class size predicts reading achievement fourth graders greece net student teacherclassroom school characteristics used multilevel models capture dependency data ie students nested within schools also used instrumental variables methods facilitate causal inferences class size effects conclusions investigated effects class size reading achievement fourth graders greece 2001 using rich data pirls results produced multilevel iv analyses overall similar generally results indicated positive association class size achievement however association typically statistically insignificant especially teacherclassroom school variables taken account