Ability Grouping Practices in the Primary School: A survey

This article examines ethnic segregation, defined as segregation among racial groups as well as between native-born and immigrant students, across elementary school classrooms in New York City. Specifically, the study compares patterns in within-school segregation across ethnic groups, grades, boroughs, and years. Current levels of within-school segregation are also compared to levels of across-school segregation and to levels of segregation that result from three simulations where students are assigned to their classrooms: (a) randomly, (b) to achieve complete ethnic segregation, and (c) according to their prior year test scores. Results indicate that racial segregation across schools is far greater than racial segregation within schools, however the segregation of immigrants within-schools is equal to the segregation of immigrants across schools. Within-school segregation cannot be entirely attributed to random processes or to the use of ability grouping practices, particularly in the case of black and Hispanic segregation. Finally, segregation within-schools varies considerably across the five boroughs and declined during the second half of the 1990s.

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The Dinosaur in the Classroom: what we stand to lose through ability-grouping in the primary school

FORUM ◽

10.2304/forum.2014.56.1.45 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 45 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

RACHEL MARKS

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Ability Grouping

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It’s not which school but which set you’re in that matters: the influence of ability grouping practices on student progress in mathematics1

British Educational Research Journal ◽

10.1080/0141192042000195245 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 279-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Dylan Wiliam * ◽

Hannah Bartholomew

Keyword(s):

Ability Grouping ◽

Student Progress ◽

Grouping Practices

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Does ability grouping affect UK primary school pupils’ enjoyment of Maths and English?

Research in Social Stratification and Mobility ◽

10.1016/j.rssm.2021.100629 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100629

Author(s):

Vikki Boliver ◽

Queralt Capsada-Munsech

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Ability Grouping ◽

Primary School Pupils

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An Organizational Perspective on the Origins of Instructional Segregation: School Composition and Use of Within-Class Ability Grouping in American Kindergartens

Teachers College Record ◽

10.1177/016146811011200503 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 112 (5) ◽

pp. 1300-1337 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anthony Buttaro ◽

Sophia Catsambis ◽

Lynn Mulkey ◽

Lala Carr Steelman

Keyword(s):

Reading Instruction ◽

Minority Students ◽

Ability Grouping ◽

Instructional Practice ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Ethnic Composition ◽

Homogeneous Grouping ◽

Student Body ◽

School Year ◽

Grouping Practices

Background This investigation was sparked by research findings on secondary education showing school segregation to be closely associated with homogeneous grouping practices, such as tracking and between-class ability grouping. Research Design We conduct secondary analyses of national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). Objectives Using these data, we investigate the degree to which the racial and ethnic composition of schools is associated with use of ability grouping practices as early as kindergarten. We focus on within-class ability grouping for reading instruction because it is the most common form of homogeneous grouping for the early grades. Results and Conclusions We find that this form of grouping is practiced by a majority of kindergarten teachers and schools, although frequency of use is quite varied, and some teachers and schools use it only sporadically. The most intensive use of within-class ability grouping exists in schools that serve high proportions of minority students and in schools with high variability in students’ reading readiness. The association between student body composition and use of this instructional practice remains even after variability in student academic skills and other structural characteristics of schools are accounted for. Schools serving primarily minority students that use within-class ability grouping have higher average gains in reading achievement by the end of the school year than comparable schools that do not use this form of grouping. Use of this instructional practice is not associated with increases in average achievement gain scores for schools serving students of diverse or primarily White backgrounds. Our findings provide the foundation for further studies of the structural, cultural, and political features of schools associated with the use of ability grouping at the onset of schooling.

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