[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-113258-en":3,"doc-seo-113258-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},113258,2336464648322,"Aria","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2200025388227c56fec?_k=1778556882303663488",8,"Research & Report","Class Size and Learning - Has India Spent Too Much on Reducing Class Size?","Whether class-size reductions improve student learning outcomes is a central policy question for India. The paper studies the causal impact of class size using a credible identification strategy that addresses endogeneity. Using pupil fixed effects together with value-added estimation, it finds no significant relationship between class size and student achievement under current teaching practices. If results generalize beyond a small one-city sample, spending on reducing class size appears to subtract value rather than raise learning.","The World Bank Economic Review, 37(1), 2023, 24–48  \n[https://doi.org10.1093/wber/lhac025](https://doi.org10.1093/wber/lhac025)  \nArticle  \nClass Size and Learning: Has India Spent Too Much on Reducing Class Size?  \nSandip Datta and Geeta Gandhi Kingdon   \nAbstract  \nWhether class-size reductions improve student learning outcomes is an important policy question for India. This paper investigates the issue using a credible identification strategy to address the endogeneity of class size. Pupil fixed effects combined with value-added estimation show no significant relationship between class size and student achievement, which suggests that under current teaching practices, there is no learning gain from reducing class size. If these findings, based on a small sample in one city, hold true for the entire country, they have important policy implications. When generalized, our findings suggest that India experienced a value-subtraction from spending on reducing class sizes, and that the US$3.6 billion it spends annually on the salaries of the 0.4 million new teachers appointed between 2010 and 2017 is wasteful spending rather than an investment in improving learning. These findings imply that India could save US$19.4 billion per annum by increasing PTR to 40, without any reduction in pupil learning.  \nJEL classification: I20, I21  \nKeywords: class size, student learning, pupil fixed effects, value added approach, cost benefit analysis  \n1. Introduction  \nReducing class size has been a popular reform across countries in their search for improved quality of education, and many countries have legislated an official maximum class size. In India, at the secondary school level, official policy supports a class size of 30,1 and the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 also stipulated a maximum class size of 30 in elementary schools, policies that necessitated the appointment of a large number of new teachers. Between 2010 and 2017, the total number of elementary teachers rose from 4,047,070 to 4,451,953, with a corresponding increase in the total teacher salary bill of  \nSandip Datta is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India; his email address is [sandip@econdse.org. Geeta Kingdon](sandip@econdse.org. Geeta Kingdon) (corresponding author) is a professor at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL; her email address [is g.kingdon@ucl.ac.uk. Acknowledgments](is g.kingdon@ucl.ac.uk. Acknowledgments)[and disclaimer: Geeta Gandhi Kingdon is president of a K](and disclaimer: Geeta Gandhi Kingdon is president of a K)–[12 nonprofit school chain in India](12 nonprofit school chain in India). The administrative data on student achievement used in this study have been made available by the school chain. The data can be made available for research purposes, on written request.  \n1 A Ministry of Human Resource Development document (MHRD, undated) that lays down norms for the funding of secondary schools under the RMSA secondary education program states that “for every incremental enrolment of 30 students, 1 additional teacher may be provided as per the RMSA norm of PTR of 30:1.” [https://www.education.gov.in/](https://www.education.gov.in/)[ ](https://www.education.gov.in/)[en/sites/upload](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[_](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[files/mhrd/files/upload](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[_](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[document/FAQ](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[_](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)[0.pdf.](en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/FAQ_0.pdf.)  \n© The Author(s) 2023 . Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / THE WORLD BANK.  \nAll rights reserved. For permissio","cbCaieu9fobBqapi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieu9fobBqapi","pdf",863108,1,25,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Policy context in India\n## Research approach and identification strategy\n## Main findings on learning effects\n## Cost implications and policy relevance","[{\"question\":\"What question does the paper investigate about class-size reductions in India?\",\"answer\":\"It examines whether reducing class size improves student learning outcomes in India.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study address the endogeneity of class size?\",\"answer\":\"It uses pupil fixed effects combined with value-added estimation to provide a credible identification strategy.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the results suggest about the relationship between class size and student achievement?\",\"answer\":\"The study reports no significant relationship between class size and student achievement, implying no learning gain from reducing class size under current teaching practices.\"}]",1784501935,63,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"class-size-and-learning-has-india-spent-too-much-on-reducing-class-size","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,53,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/class-size-and-learning-has-india-spent-too-much-on-reducing-class-size/113258/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":40,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-19",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What question does the paper investigate about class-size reductions in India?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"It examines whether reducing class size improves student learning outcomes in India.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"How does the study address the endogeneity of class size?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It uses pupil fixed effects combined with value-added estimation to provide a credible identification strategy.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What do the results suggest about the relationship between class size and student achievement?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The study reports no significant relationship between class size and student achievement, implying no learning gain from reducing class size under current teaching practices.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,100,104,109,114,119,122,127,130,134],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]