Patty Murray: “This is a report about a study that researchers in Tennessee began many years ago in relation to reduced class size in…”

“This is a report about a study that researchers in Tennessee began many years ago in relation to reduced class size in the first through third grades. They followed those young people all the way through to the point where they are now graduating this year. It is a very impressive study. It shows exactly what I have been debating on the floor of the Senate; and that is that students who are in smaller class sizes in the first through third grades are more likely to pursue college, have higher graduation rates, they achieve at higher levels, and it makes a difference in discipline. Mr. President, it seems to me that we have to get back to this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to take a second look and recognize that we can make a difference by continuing our support of class size reduction and teacher training here in the Senate.”