Category: Studies

Valerie Lee (Univ of Michigan) and Susanna Loeb (Stanford Univ)

“School Size in Chicago Elementary Schools”

https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/school-size-chicago-elementary-schools-effects-teachers%E2%80%99-attitudes-and-students%E2%80%99-achievement

This study of 5,000 teachers and 23,000 students concludes “In small schools, teachers have a more positive attitude about their responsibility for students’ learning and students learn more. Even after taking size into account, learning is also higher in schools with higher levels of collective responsibility. Thus, we conclude that school size influences student achievement directly and indirectly through it effect on teachers’ attitudes.”

Ann Sloan Devlin (Connecticut College)

“Big School? Small School? Does School Size Matter?”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-americans-build-and-why/201104/big-school-small-school-does-school-size-matter

“Research indicates that academic achievement is often better in small than in large schools. Parents tend to be more involved in small than in large schools, and many aspects of personal development are better in small than in large schools (e.g., sense of belonging, self concept) as are objective measures like attendance and dropout rate.”

New York Times, Op-Ed

https://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/does-the-size-of-a-school-matter/

“A huge amount of research, including my own, in more than 25 states shows that other things being equal, smaller schools produce higher academic achievement than larger schools.” –Herbert J. Walberg is a University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

“Many children respond especially well to smaller learning environments, a common-sense assertion supported by substantial research.”- Don Soifer is the executive vice president and an education analyst at the Lexington Institute, a free-market think tank.

Jorden Hylden (Harvard University)

“What’s So Big About Small Schools? The Case for Small Schools: Nationwide and in North Dakota”

https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG05-05Hylden.pdf

“A growing body of evidence points to the size of schools as a significant determining factor in academic achievement. Large schools are often far less successful at educating students than small schools.”

Diane Weaver Dunne

“Are Small Schools Better?”

http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues108.shtml

“This article reviews two studies of the impact of school size (one of 13,600 schools and the other of 150 schools). “The separate studies credit small schools with reducing the negative effects of poverty on student achievement, reducing student violence, increasing parent involvement, and making students feel accountable for their behavior and grades.”

Rachel Quednau

“Walkability Isn’t Just for Millennials”

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/8/18/seniors-walkability

A survey of 1,000 senior citizens reveals a strong preference for walkable cites.

Anthony Flint

“What Millennials Want—And Why Cities Are Right to Pay Them So Much Attention”

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2014/05/what-millennials-wantand-why-cities-are-right-pay-them-so-much-attention/9032/

Two surveys (a Rockefeller Foundation study and an American Planning Association study) found “the key characteristics [that Millennials looks for in a city] seem to be walkability, good schools and parks, and the availability of multiple transportation options.”

 

National Association of Realtors

“Millennials Favor Walkable Communities, Says New NAR Poll”

https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/millennials-favor-walkable-communities-says-new-nar-poll

A 2015 poll by the National Association of Realtors found that Millennials  “prefer living in attached housing, living within walking distance of shops and restaurants, and having a short commute… Millennials likewise favor developing communities where people do not need to drive long distances to work or shop.”

Jeff Speck

“Four Ways to Make a City More Walkable” (TED Talk)

https://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_speck_4_ways_to_make_a_city_more_walkable

In the first few minutes he outlines the urban planning trends of the 1950-1970s which emphasized single use. This led to concentrated areas of living (suburban housing developments), shopping (malls and later box stores), education (large school complexes), and recreation (putting all sports fields in one place). He then argues that if you want to save your town you need to make it walkable by giving people a reason to walk (places to go), with safe, comfortable and interesting walking routes. He points to Newburyport, MA as a model of this kind of city as opposed to the suburban sprawl model.

 

In a second talk, “The Walkable City,” (https://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_speck_the_walkable_city) he presents data that shows if you want to attract college educated millennials, you need to build walkable and mixed use cities.

Great Schools

“How important is school size?”

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/school-size/

“In the 1960s the general thinking was that larger schools offered more comprehensive instructional programs of greater quality at lower costs than small schools (generally defined as schools of less than 400 to 500 students at the high school level) did. But in recent years researchers have discovered that the cost savings provided by large schools have had a negative effect on student achievement and graduation rates. As schools get bigger, student achievement declines and larger schools have higher rates of absenteeism, dropouts and discipline problems. In addition, “Dollars and Sense II,” a 2005 study of 25 different small schools across the nation found that, on average, small schools spent 17 percent less per student than comparable schools in their districts while achieving equivalent or better results.”