It makes sense that a lower ratio of students to teachers would result in more “one on one” time with teachers, and therefore result in a better education and smarter students. This is frequently used as an argument for increased educational spending and hiring additional teachers, but is it true? FlowingData compares state’s average ratio of Students to Teachers against average SAT scores and finds the truth a bit muddled.
From the picture above, it does look like there is a difference. States that score highest (highlighted in green) on the SAT on average tend to have lower student-teacher ratios. High-ratio states, however, have scores that hover around the national average.
But there are also many states with ratios below the national average (small-ish classes) that score below the national average.
The result is not surprising. There have been several researches that showed up to certain number (I think it was about 35) the class size does not matter. The ‘smaller class = better education’ has been pushed by teacher’s union for so long it is accepted as a fact. Obviously the smaller class size means more union members. That proves the union works for the union, not the children.
What source do you use for class size data? thanks!