EdSurge reported that Sir Michael Barber (of Pearson) had this to say about what is essentially ROI on education: “Most attempts at education reform since 1970 are about putting money into the system and trusting that it would improve–like more teachers, smaller classrooms–with small returns.”
What it did not report that Barber’s assumption is fallacious. Smaller classrooms in the 1980s did create positive ROI for high-poverty students who were in them, as a series of studies of the Tennessee STAR Project illustrate. (It is not clear that smaller class size created a steady stream of worker-bees to “create economic value” at businesses.)
Barber also brought up the importance of the intersection of technology and liberal arts. (As a B.A. who uses technology a lot, I agree with this assertion.) Another panelist brought up the success of Union City, New Jersey schools… which maintain low class sizes.
Chicago Mama 