A Study Of American Small-School

School size is a very important quantity norm closely-related to quality and efficiency of the school. Decision of appropriate school size is limited by two elements: one is on the basis of education quality which lays emphasis on seeking student's ideal learning effect and results in development of body and mind; the other is on the basis of education efficiency which lays emphasis on pursuing ideal economic returns. Appropriate school size is just to the assurance of the two joint. However, in general practice, there is particular stress on a certain aspect. Different scale demand exists in different stages of a nation's educational development.This paper has investigated the changes of American high and primary school size in the visual angle of small-scale school destiny during the reform of different historical periods of school, and then analyzes important meaning, appropriateness and limit of influence of school size.This thesis has three parts besides the preface and conclusion.The first part is about small-scale schools which are formed spontaneously in history .It is included and the reasons they formed, the characteristics and the decline in the changed society.The second part touches upon the conscientious pursuit of the small-school which rose in the middle period of the seventies in 20th century and sustained to the present. The pursuit to the small-school has already gone beyond the meaning of the small-school in history and has reached the stage of the negation of negation to the small-scale school in history. This part analyzes the social background and the reasons of small-school's rejuvenation, the characteristic and classification of the new small-school and the advantages and questions the small-school has shown.Through analyzing about the case of American small-school wave in history, the third part draws some thinking that involves the importance, appropriateness and limit of influence of school size.