Deseret News best of 2012: Excellence in education

Among parents and teachers, class size reduction is a popular approach to raising student achievement. Large-scale studies link small classes to improved teacher morale, an 18 percent higher graduation rate for low-income students and a two-thirds reduction in the black-white achievement gap. However, reducing class size from 30 to 20 means hiring 50 percent more teachers at an average cost of $39,000 — an expensive measure anytime, but especially challenging during a recession.

Read the full report here: Cash-strapped, crowded schools eye ways to help all students