"When it comes to schools, the smaller, the better"
Like the CEO of a corporation, the leader of a school has an impact on student performance. Effective leaders expect all their students to achieve. If the principal and the staff place more emphasis on athletics than on academics, so will the students.
Aside from the leadership of the school, the way that classes are organized can also affect student performance. In general, students do better in smaller classes where the instructor knows them and has the ability to provide them with individualized attention.
In recognition of the importance of class size, Florida residents voted to place limits on the number of pupils per class. The class size limits must be in effect by the year 2010.Classrooms throughout Florida must have the following limits:
Kindergarten through 3rd grade ------ 18 students
Fourth grade through 8th grade ------- 22 students
High Schools ------- No More than 25 students
To improve student performance, some high schools in Florida are restructuring into smaller sub-units in order to provide students with more opportunities for individualized instruction.
