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This issue is a no-brainer.  Class size matters for many of the issues stated in previous comments.  I taught 34 years in a large urban high school (Bay Area) and now supervise beginning teachers in an MAT program in Portland.  If what passes for engaging curriculum in some schools continues, then class size will continue to be debated.  If, however, teachers are encouraged to create innovative, original curriculum, free of the pressure of test-driven administrators, achievement will rise.  I would be very wary of someone who left the classroom after a few years to "make policy."  Talk to teachers who have taught decades, talk to teachers who intend to teach decades.  This is a non -issue.  The real issue is why we can't find the political will to actually have the kind of schools we know will work.  I propose a new discussion topic on what it actually means to educate a person.

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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