Haslam: Good Teachers Can Outweigh Smaller Classes

Governor Bill Haslam says smaller classes aren’t everything when it comes to getting a decent education.

Speaking to a group of several hundred high-school girls from around the state, Haslam was asked by a student about class sizes swelling as budgets have shrunk in recent years.

Haslam answered that a good teacher can outweigh the disadvantage a crowded classroom.

“Most studies have shown that teacher class size is not as direct a relationship to achievement as people had thought in the past, that having a great teacher with 25 students is better than having a mediocre teacher with 18 students in terms of the results produced.”

Haslam says that’s not to downplay the significance of layoffs, and that larger classes can mean less focused attention for each student. But to him, the place for schools to invest is in solid teachers.