Fall and rise of ability grouping;Briefing;Research Focus

23rd July 1999, 1:00am

Share

Fall and rise of ability grouping;Briefing;Research Focus

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/fall-and-rise-ability-groupingbriefingresearch-focus
After the Second World War the dominant form of ability grouping in United Kingdom primary schools was streaming (where children are allocated to classes ranked by ability). This normally began at age seven. It became increasingly unpopular because it led to low self-esteem and social alienation in pupils in the lower streams and the evidence of its positive effects on achievement was inconclusive.

These factors, combined with the demise of the 11-plus exam, and the new emphasis on equal opportunity, led most primary schools to establish mixed-ability classes which could be sub-divided into ability groups for specific subjects.

Over the past decade, the increasing national focus on raising performance has led the Department for Education and Employment, the Office for Standards in Education and individual schools to reconsider structured ability grouping.

Research suggests ability grouping is not a panacea (Hallam and Toutounji, 1996; Harlen and Malcolm, 1997; and Sukhnandan and Lee, 1998). However, in 1997, the Government White Paper Excellence in Schools indicated that setting (where children are placed in different classes for specific subjects) was “worth considering in primary schools”.

A year later, chief inspector Chris Woodhead, in his annual report, argued that “setting can help teachers to plan work more precisely and select appropriate teaching methods”.

A further OFSTED report, Setting in Primary Schools, published in 1998, presented research evidence, based on inspection reports and a questionnaire, which indicated that about 60 per cent of junior schools and half of primary schools adopted ability-setting for at least one subject in some year groups.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared