While the desirability of small classes seems an article of faith among educators, a review of the research indicates that class size in itself has rarely shown a substantial effect on educational achievement. The research itself has been flawed by the impossibility of determining or measuring all the variables that changes in class size can affect. It may also be true that the positive effects attributed to smaller classes are not translatable into testable outcomes. In the end, educational goals, instructional strategies, and related contextual matters may be most important in determining optimum class size. Smaller classes require greater staffing, which could help satisfy teacher associations in a time of declining enrollment, but they also raise costs. A weighting system that favors students needing extra attention may be one way of making class size policies flexible. (Author/PGD)