Ability grouping is the educational practice of grouping

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

potential Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple r ...

or past

achievement Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality type ...

for a relevant activity. Ability groups are usually small, informal groups formed within a single

classroom A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...

. It differs from

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

by being less pervasive, involving much smaller groups, and by being more flexible and informal. In a mixed-ability classroom, ability groups allow the teacher to target review,

direct instruction Direct Instruction (DI) is a term for the explicit teaching of a skill-set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset of direct instruction, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to a speci ...

, and advanced work to the needs of a small group, rather than attempting to meet the divergent needs of the entire class simultaneously. Assignment to an ability group is often short-term (never lasting longer than one school year), and varies by subject. Assignment to an ability group is made by (and can be changed at any time by) the individual teacher, and is usually not recorded in student records. For example, a teacher may divide a typical mixed-ability classroom into three groups for a mathematics

lesson A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

: those who need to review basic facts before proceeding with today's lesson, those who are ready to learn new material, and those who need a challenging assignment. For the next lesson, the teacher may revert to whole-class, mixed-ability instruction, or may assign students to different groups. Such grouping may be very fluid and temporary, such as when

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

teachers place children into small reading groups whose members may change several times throughout the

school year A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

Contrasted with tracking

Ability grouping is ''not'' synonymous with

. Tracking differs from ability grouping by scale, permanence, and what students learn. While a teacher could easily move an individual student from the "red table" to "blue table" ability group, tracking is a formal designation that often persists throughout a students' entire school career. In a tracking system, the entire student population is assigned to different classes, or even to different schools, according to their perceived academic potential. Tracked students attend all classes only with students whose overall academic achievement is the same as their own. Among younger students, a tracked school may teach the same underlying subjects, such as reading and mathematics, in different styles, speeds, or depth. Among older students, the students in different tracks are usually given the opportunity to learn only subjects that are deemed appropriate for their track. For example, a student in a "university" track is usually not permitted to study blue-collar

vocational skills Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

. Homogeneous grouping refers to grouping students solely with their academic peers, while heterogeneous grouping means that students are grouped with others of varying ability. Ability grouping can occur in either a heterogeneous or homogeneous classroom.

Social effects

Social stigma can be reduced by giving groups neutral names (e.g., colors, rather than "advanced group" or "

remedial Remedy, Remedies, The Remedy or Remediation may refer to: Computing and gaming * Remedy Corp, an American software company * Remedy Entertainment, a Finnish video game developer Law, politics, and society * Environmental remediation, the removal ...

group").{{cite journal, last=Aydin, first=Emin, last2=Ilker Tugal, date=26 April 2005, title=On The Influence of Grouping Practices on Classroom Teaching, url=http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol142005/aydin.pdf, format=PDF, journal=Essays in Education, volume=14, accessdate=2006-01-12 Flexible group assignment and regular re-assignments reduces stigma.

Application to high-ability students

Rogers (2002) identifies the following as the most frequent forms of grouping for high-ability students:Rogers, Karen B, Ph.D., Re-forming Gifted Education (Great Potential Press, Scottsdale, AZ, 2002), p. 209. * Whole class strategies: ** Full-time ability classes or tracks. These include special schools for the gifted, full-time gifted programs or classes, and the school-within-a-school approach. ** Untracked whole class instruction, the most common whole-class approach when others on this list are not utilized. * Small group strategies: ** Gifted pull-outs ** Cluster grouping ** Subject-based ability grouping ** Within-class ability grouping ** Like-ability cooperative grouping ** Cross-grade grouping by achievement level ** Peer-tutoring dyads ** Mixed-ability cooperative grouping, the most small common group approach when others on this list are not utilized

References

External links

The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the Gifted and Talented Learner
Education by method