High school sizes vary by location. In urban areas almost half of all high schools
are large (900 or more students), whereas in rural areas half of all high schools are
very small (fewer than 300 students).
Large high schools have traditionally been considered more economical and able to
support a broader curriculum than smaller ones (Lee et al. 2000). In recent years,
however, research has suggested that small and
moderate size high schools foster more positive social and academic environments than
large high schools, especially for economically
disadvantaged students (Lee and Bryk 1988, 1989; Bickel et al. 2001). This research also
suggests that students in very small high schools
learn less than students in "moderate" size
(600–899 students) high schools (Lee and Smith 1997).
This indicator profiles the distribution of high schools by size and selected characteristics.
During the 1999–2000 school year, high schools were not evenly distributed by
size. Those in central cities or in urban
fringe/large towns were more likely than those in
rural areas/small towns to be large (i.e., to have
900 or more students), while those in rural areas/small towns were more likely than those
elsewhere to be very small (to have fewer than 300 students). High schools with the
highest percentages of limited English proficiency (LEP) enrollments were more likely than
those with the lower percentages to be large,
while those with the lowest percentages of LEP enrollments were more likely than all others
to be very small. Among public high schools, those with the highest percentages of
students receiving free or reduced-price lunches
were more likely than those with lower percentages to be very small (see table
30-1).
Among regular high schools, a positive relationship exists between school size and
the percentage of teachers who reported that apathy, tardiness, absenteeism, dropping out,
and drug use are "serious" problems among
students in their school. Teachers in larger
schools were generally more likely to report that
these problems are serious than were their peers
in relatively smaller schools. When examined across locations, this pattern generally
held true in central cities and rural areas/small towns, but not in urban fringe/large towns
(see table 30-2).
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