TSL: A Value Added Proposition

Jay Matthews is a long time columnist for the Washington Post who writes a weekly column about education. Frequently, I take issue with Mr. Matthews' points of view. His ranking of public high schools and his "Washington Post Challenge Index" are particularly offensive to me; however, I appreciate his ability to focus the national debate on education.

In one of his most recent columns, "Beware of the Easy School Fix," Mr. Matthews describes his introduction to a measure called Total Student Load (TSL) that has been the focus of William Ouchi's most recent research. Now, I don't know Mr. Ouchi, but I do know schools, and Mr. Ouchi's suggestion that TSL plays an important role in student success is right on the money.

According to Mr. Matthews, Mr. Ouchi writes in his latest book, "when a district has too few classroom teachers student loads per teacher rise to the point where teachers can no longer know their students well enough to establish a bond of trust with them. Without this trust, a teacher can neither establish an orderly classroom nor push a student to do his or her best, and the teacher's job often becomes frustrating and constantly stressful."

So, smaller TSLs lead to better student and teacher performance. Small schools should delight in this revelation; we have been preaching it for some time, and we are glad that researchers like Mr. Ouchi have taken the time to confirm our beliefs. Thank you Mr. Matthews for bringing this important research to our attention.