The influence of class size upon numeracy and literacy performance
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influences of calendar year, year level, gender and language background other than English (LBOTE) on student achievement in literacy and numeracy relative to class size.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study were collected over five years (2008-2012) as test results from the Australian National Assessment Plan in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Years 3 and 5 from over 100 Sydney primary schools.
Findings
It was found that the most important factors influencing academic performance in literacy and numeracy were, in descending order: gender, LBOTE, the calendar year in which the test was conducted, followed by class size. All variables were significantly associated with NAPLAN performance, but effect size estimates for class size were close to zero.
Originality/value
The results of this study support other studies suggesting that factors other than class size are more important in influencing academic performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr Edward Waters from The University of Notre Dame Australia for his generous assistance in the statistical and methodological analysis. Also, this research would not have been possible without the interest and financial support of the Sydney Catholic Education Office.
Citation
Watson, K., Handal, B. and Maher, M. (2016), "The influence of class size upon numeracy and literacy performance", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 507-527. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-07-2014-0039
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited