International Journal of Special Education（国际特殊教育杂志》上）.pdf

International Journal of Special Education 2004, Vol 19, No.1. CLASS SIZE REDUCTION: NO SILVER BULLET FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT Fatemeh Zarghami and Gary Schnellert St. Cloud State University While there are hundreds of studies reported for general education, few researchers have focused on the impact of class size on the academic achievement of students with special needs. Despite escalating special education costs and increasing student needs, policies governing special education re main inconsistent. We examine the effect of class size reduction on special education students. Two issues were explored: (a) appropriate class size and caseload as they influence special education student academic achievement and (b) the effect of class size on special education teacher attrition rate and teaching methods. The implications of these issues for policy makers are also discussed. Findings indicate 1) each state has different rules on class size and caseload for special education, 2) the students demonstrating the most profound needs remain largely unaffected by class size reduction, and 3) that attrition rate is affected more by quality of teacher preparation than it is by class size. Teachers felt inadequately prepared for inclusion and indicated that their primary need was for more specific inclusion training. We identified no sin