Effects of Class Size and Provision of Learning Goals and Feedback on Students’ Two-Year Achievement Trajectories:

Abstract

The present study analyzed elementary school students ' achievement trajectories in social studies between the fourth and fifth grades as a function of class size and teachers ' presentation of achievement goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals. The data included the scores on standardized achievement tests that were administered around the beginning of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades to 1 , 672 students from 50 schools whose class size remained constant in the fourth and fifth grades, forming panel data that also included data on class size and teachers ' presentation of achievement goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals. Multilevel analysis with a model postulating 3 levels (pupils, classes, and schools) was performed to ascertain effects of class size, frequency of teachers ' provision of learning goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals, and the interaction of these measures on students ' achievement scores in, separately, the fourth and fifth grades, and in the two-year period from the fourth through fifth grades, in relation to the students ' prior achievement level. The results indicated that when students who scored at a lower level on the earlier achievement test were placed in smaller classes in both years and were taught by homeroom teachers who frequently provided learning goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals, they showed greater advancement of achievement on the test taken after the two-year period than did the students in the other conditions.