- clearly shows that size really matters when it comes to school districts. That is, when it comes to student achievement and budget efficiency—the Holy Grail for anyone in public education. The research concludes that out of Indiana’s 292 school districts, it is the 49 districts with fewer than 1,000 kids that take the cake in both categories.
Word problem of the day
A recent Indiana University study
A bigger picture of the idea that smaller is better crops up if you compile this data with other research, like the review of 31 studies on smaller schools and achievement (Kathleen Cotton), plus the ever-changing information on class sizes.
And in government, just like corporations, it seems that less is more when it comes to size in relations to fiscal efficiency. That is not an attempt to dis any political views,, just a simple observation that spending can be harder to manage in a larger environment than in a smaller one. It seems to be true the more kids we add to our household too. The more children’s needs and wants to tend to, the easier it is to overspend if not careful.
Oddly enough more than a dozen states are contemplating mergers of smaller school districts into mega districts in effort to save money. This idea is even supported by the National Governor’s Association.
Sounds to me like some lawmaker’s have gotten so big so fast; they need to be reminded of common sense by the little guys. Maybe even the really little guys. In the event that you are looking for a really creative topic to teach math (mathematical, probable and statistical elements of the facts above), government, and writing; why not use this information with your student(s) this week? After coming to their own conclusion, your child could compose a powerful message to your governor, proving that even in the case of critical thinking and communication—smaller is sometimes more efficient.
For more information
Easy, peasy website to email your governor
