Children Continue to Reap Benefits From SAGE
A study released Thursday (January 18, 2001) confirms
the wisdom of Wisconsin's investment in a pioneering class-size reduction
program, according to WEAC officials.
The fourth annual report on the Student Achievement
Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program found student performance continues
to climb in participating schools.
"Students in SAGE schools are outperforming students
in non-SAGE schools by significant margins in reading, language arts and
math," WEAC Teaching and Learning Director Katie Schultz Stout said. "The
study is also showing the benefits are lasting over time. SAGE students
are seeing increased achievement in each grade in each year."
Stout said the review confirms the importance of expanding
the program even further.
"Smaller class sizes in the lower primary grades work,"
she said. "These annual evaluations are proof of that fact. The Legislature
should take a close look at these results and make sure more children
benefit from this program."
Stout said evaluations of the program over four years
have consistently found significant improvement in student achievement.
"Smaller classes allow for more individualized instruction,
where teachers can focus on each student's needs," Stout said. "SAGE is
a common-sense program that helps districts create great schools with
great teachers and classrooms that work. We all know that great schools
benefit an entire community."
The program focuses on schools where there is a high
concentration of low-income students. SAGE began in the 1996-1997 school
year with 3,267 students in 30 schools. Schools sign five-year contracts
with the state, receiving $2,000 per low-income child to reduce class
sizes to 15 in kindergarten through the 3rd grade. The program has now
grown to 566 schools and 60,00 students.
WEAC's 2001-2002 Legislative Agenda calls for decreasing
class sizes in the 6th and 7th grades in math, science, English and language
arts; making the SAGE program permanent; and increasing funding for administration
of the program.
The Department of Public Instruction is seeking an additional
$59 million in the upcoming state budget to continue funding SAGE contracts.
"The nation is looking to Wisconsin for its leadership
on class size reduction," Stout said. "SAGE has proven that lowering class
sizes in the primary grades improves student performance. It is now time
to build on the success of SAGE and give more children the opportunity
to learn in classrooms that work so well."
The evaluation was conducted by Alex Molnar, Philip
Smith and John Zahorik of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The report
can be found on the Web site of the UWM
Center for Education Research, Analysis and Innovation.
Resource page on SAGE
and class size reduction
Posted January 18, 2001