Why is Student to Teacher Ratio So Important?
Feb 19th, 2008 by masspreschools
Research has conclusively shown that preschool children expelled from pre-kindergarten classes go on to have serious problems for the rest of their academic career. In fact, for these children that may be predisposed to have behavior problems in school in later years - preschool is the best way to mitigate this risk. In other words, preschool is the best early intervention for children that might have a difficult time in school. Preschool helps these children ease into school and develop the social, behavioral and academic skills that allow them to become better students throughout their academic career. The problem is, - kids with challenging behavior are often expelled from the very programs that are the best available early intervention for these children. In fact, Massachusetts has one of the highest pre-kindergarten expulsion rates in the country.
What does this have to do with Student to Teacher ratios? The researchers tried to find characteristics of preschool programs that predicted higher expulsion rates. You guessed it - the number one predictor of high expulsion rates has a high student to teacher ratio. An increase from 7 students per teacher to 10 resulted in a 36% increase in expulsion rates. It seems intuitive but the more students a teacher is responsible for, the less tolerant of challenging behavior that teacher becomes. So a student that may be expelled from a preschool with a high student to teacher ratio is denied the early intervention the child needs most. If that same child were placed in a preschool program with a lower student to teacher ratio, that student would have a 36% better chance of getting the early support and help to adjust that they need for years of success ahead.
Massachusetts EEC guidelines require preschools to have no more than a 10 to 1 student to teacher ratio. However, this research shows that a ratio closer to 7 to 1 is much better for all children but particularly for children with challenging behaviors or difficulty adjusting to school. Many “preschools” in Massachusetts, particularly day care facilities that market themselves as “preschools” find ways to stretch the student to teacher ratio. Be very careful and scrutinize this ratio carefully because hopefully your child will adjust to school well, but if they encounter problems you want teachers that are able to help and not exacerbate the problem by expelling your child and denying him/her the exact intervention needed.
Read the full “Implementing Policies to Reduce the Likelihood of Preschool Expulsion” report here.
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