By SAD ADIB

A 2014 survey by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) found that reducing class size is a “top priority” for parents. But for some middle school students, concerns for class size vary dramatically.

DOE statistics show that the number of students per class have decreased slightly, to 26.8 students from 26.7.  And though reducing class size is still key to the DOE’s long-term agenda, some students and teachers didn’t see the difference.

At West Farms’ PS 214 middle school, Trinity Haynes, 13, has an eighth grade class comprised of 34 students. “In a smaller class, the teacher gives more attention to you and there is less noise than in a larger classroom,” said Trinity. But she sees no parallel to class size and student achievement. “It just really doesn’t matter.”

Melissa Maehara, 40, is a teacher at PS 214 who instructs the large class. But she’s seen the other side of the coin, having taught smaller classes made up of 13 students. “In a larger class, it is much easier to lose students [in the work], but it seemed students were more affected by motivation than class size,” she said.

Brian Mills, a humanities teacher who instructs the eighth grade at PS 214, said student performance depends on how driven a student is. “You have some students who are independent and can work in large classes and others that can’t,” he said.

Mehbub Rohit, another eighth grader at PS 214, agreed. Despite being transferred from a school with a smaller class size, Mehbub said he prefers “big class sizes because you can better associate and help each other whereas in a smaller classroom you’ll feel more lonely.”

Mehbub added he has many friends and is more open to the people around him because of the large class. And although statistics conclude that class size decreases student performance, he stood strong in his words. “I kind of like my classmates,” he said. “This class made me who I am.”