Study Questions Push for Smaller High Schools

Downsizing seen as unlikely to benefit types of students targeted by reforms.

Washington

When it comes to high school size, smaller might not be better, concludes a national study by researchers from Michigan State University.

The study, which was presented May 22 at a conference sponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, raises questions about high-profile efforts taking root across the country to reshape the nation’s high schools.

Spurred by major donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private and public funding sources, school districts in New York City, Chicago, Houston, and other cities are replacing large high schools with smaller, more personal...