Small classes, especially in the first four years of school, can have an important and lasting impact on student achievement, a new report shows. In a review of over 100 papers from 1979-2014, an education expert looked at whether the conclusions reached on the effect of smaller class sizes still hold true today. “Smaller classes in the early years can lift a child’s academic performance right through to Year 12 and even into tertiary study and employment,” he concluded.