Relationship Between Class Size and Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

Benguet State University, particularly in the Mathematics-Physics-Statistics Department. Specifically, it aimed to: 1) determine if there is a significant difference in academic performance between students of smaller and bigger class sizes, and 2) determine if there is a significant relationship between class size and students' academic performance. The performance was based on the average of the final grades per class in the general education courses, particularly Information Technology (for the subject Basic Computer Education), Mathematics (College Algebra), Statistics (Priciples and Methods of Statistics), and Physics (General Physics 1). For each teacher in the Department, the final grades in the classes with the biggest and the smallest class sizes were used in determining significant differences in the academic performances of students in bigger and smaller class sizes.

Results indicated that in Basic Computer Education (Information Technology), one out of four teachers had a significantly lower students' average grade for the smaller class. In Mathematics, two out of four teachers had a similar trend. In Statistics, one ot two teachers had significantly lower students' average grade for the smaller class. For Physics, two out of four teachers had the same result.

In contrast, one Mathematics teacher had significantly higher students' average grades in her smaller class. This is also true for one Physics teacher. However, for each of the four subject areas, and using all the classes of each teacher, correlation analyses showed that in general, there was no significant relationship between class size and students' academic performance.