Multigrade classes show negative weighted effects for science and social studies but not English as a foreign language¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q3·i3large
Currency · newest study 1996 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i3 Reanalysis yielded weighted average d-indexes of -.19 for science (6 studies), -.25 for social studies (4 studies), and +.04 for English as a foreign language (3 studies), with significantly heterogeneous effect sizes. → Simon Veenman 1996
Evidence¶
Simon Veenman 1996¶
Simon Veenman. (1996). Effects of multigrade and multi-age classes reconsidered. Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 323-340. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170526
q3 · i3 · quant-synthesis · r2
Meta-analytic reanalysis of non-basic-subject outcomes from the best-evidence synthesis data. The tests for homogeneity/heterogeneity revealed the studies were significantly heterogeneous (p < .01); the largest effect size (g = -.91) came from an atypical study comparing a two-room rural schoolhouse with single-grade urban students.
"I found the following weighted average ^-indexes: (a) for science -.19 (6 studies, N = 5,989). (b) for social studies -.25 (4 studies, N = 3,970), and (c) for English as a foreign language .04 (3 studies, N = 9,429)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Meta-analysis shows no significant difference in cognitive outcomes between multigrade and single-grade classes — related
- Multi-age classes show no significant cognitive or noncognitive differences from single-age classes — related
- Grade level moderates multigrade cognitive effects, with a diminishing positive effect from lower to higher grades — related
- Staff development for multigrade teachers improved time-on-task and teaching skills but did not raise achievement relative to untrained single-grade classes — related
- Noncognitive outcomes of multigrade classes show essentially zero overall effect after outlier removal — related
- Country of publication moderates multigrade cognitive effects, with a small negative effect only for European studies — related
- Evidence for a selection bias favoring multigrade classes is limited, found explicitly in only 4 of 51 studies — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
multigrade-science-social-studies-negative |
title |
Multigrade classes show negative weighted effects for science and social studies but not English as a foreign language |
description |
Multigrade classes show negative weighted effects for science and social studies but not English as a foreign language |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
1996 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-20 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — simon-veenman-1996 |
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