Call me old fashioned and curmudgeonly, but I can't stand it when the wonks break out in a "research shows" chorus with no references. If research so valiantly and definitively shows it, you should be able to tell us whose research shows it.

The quote of the day is a tie; both quotes hail from the Teachers College forum on class size this afternoon.

1) In introducing NYC Department of Education's Garth Harries, who is the "Chief Portfolio Officer" and the former "engagement manager" at McKinsey, TC prof Carolyn Riehl said, "These titles - we usually don't think about them in education - so I'm sure it makes for some great cocktail party conversation."

2) After Harries spoke at length about how the effect of teacher quality is much larger than the effect of reduced class size, an audience member asked him to cite some studies supporting this claim. Harries replied, "Uh, I can't quote to you on what the research is, but I can (pause) get it to you." Research shows!

For a paper on teacher effects using the STAR data, see "How Large are Teacher Effects?"

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I unfortunately missed the session yesterday afternoon on class size, but USA Today's Greg Toppo covered it here:

New findings from four nations, including the USA, tell a curious story. Small classes work for children, but that's less because of how teachers teach than because of what students feel they can do: Get more face time with their teacher, for instance, or work in small groups with classmates.

"Small classes are more engaging places for students because they're able to have a more personal connection with teachers, simply by virtue of the fact that there are fewer kids in the classroom competing for that teacher's attention," says Adam Gamoran of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who analyzed the findings.

Update: Ed Week coverage as well!

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