Reducing class size is a waste of money, argue Lance Izumi and Rachel Chaney of the Pacific Research Institute. California reduced classes to 20 students in kindergarten through third grade 10 years ago, and legislators want to get down to 25 students in fourth through eighth grades. A state-sponsored consortium of top research organizations analyzed the (class-size reduction) program and found no association between the total number of years a student had been in reduced size classes and differences in academic achievement. Further, there's no evidence that CSR helps at upper grade levels.

California should invest in better training and higher standards for new teachers, they write.