Some links of interest

Are Small Schools Better? This is a concise and readable account of the research that shows the advantages of small schools.

Dollars & Sense: The costs to society of large schools are clearly described in this document.

Small Schools and the Community: From the UK. Make sure not to miss the list "Ten things traditionally said about small schools" at the end of the article. Note the comments:

"OFSTED declares very small schools among the best for specialist teaching, not least their use of parent/community expertise".
"OFSTED reports affirm the high quality of such children's personal development. New research shows closeness to home reduces bullying. The link to home is a first element of effective education and a prime virtue of small schools."

School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance: A Summary of Research by Kathleen Cotton, excerpted from Kathleen Cotton, School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance (Portland, OR: NWREL), 1996, pp 10-11, a comprehensive review of formal research studies on school size.

The Fiscal Impacts of School Consolidation: Research Based Conclusions: Research of school consolidation performed in the United States shows that the projected savings have not occurred!

School Size: Research Based Conclusions: Another good review of the research showing the advantages of small schools.

Small Schools Reduce Poverty’s Power over Student Achievement: A report reviewing the results of a study over 13,600 urban, suburban and rural schools. The study showed that small schools are better for most communities.

Missouri Small Schools Prevail Because They Work: "When the Springfield Public Schools in Missouri proposed closing four small, high-poverty neighborhood schools this year, they did not count on one board member, Ralph Plank, asking how such a move would likely affect student learning. Nor did they expect him to do some serious research to find the answer."

Small Schools: The Numbers Tell a Story: An good summary article. "This data is striking; attending to it is urgent"

The Case For Small Schools: An attempt to define what forms a small school.

Small Schools Get Results: A report showing hard figures about the effectiveness of small schools. From Chicago.

Megaschools of mediocrity: "school boards ... are ignoring years of research and locking us into schools that will hinder student learning for decades to come". Reminds me of the actions of a certain Minister.

New Zealand Links:

I have removed the New Zealand links, as they all no longer work...

Links yet to be sorted:

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CERAI/documents/archives/00/cerai-00-35.htm
http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest113.html
http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed448968.html
http://www.newrules.org/journal/nrsum00schools.htm
http://www.cfra.org/pdf/Small%20Schools-.PDF
http://www.cfra.org/pdf/caseforsmallschools.pdf
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/css.html
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/pubs/ss_great_strides.pdf
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/pubs/ss_strong_com.pdf
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/pubs/ss_high_schools.pdf
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/pubs/ss_transform.pdf
http://www.bpichicago.org/pe/pe_pubs.html
http://www.smallschoolsproject.org/articles/case.html
http://www.ascd.org/author/el/2002/02february/ark.html
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/NR/Downloads/ed/evaluation/BMG911SmallSchoolsBrochure.pdf
http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/size.pdf

http://www.ou.edu/center/educationalrenewal/practice_4.htm

http://www.ou.edu/center/educationrenewal/practice_4.htm

http://www.bayces.org/newsletter/August/policy.htm

http://www.schoolreport.com/schoolreport/articles/schoolsize_9_98.htm