1. The Effects of Ability Grouping in Middle School Mathematics Classrooms By: Kristina Sartell

2. Ability Grouping in Education Tracking – students are tracked into groups based on academic achievement Ability Grouping Homogenous – all students in group similar in ability Heterogeneous – students’ skill levels vary within groups Well researched and controversial area of education. There continue to be studies conducted in attempt to solidify findings one way or the other.

3. Controversy Still today, studies are being conducted on the effects of ability grouping, specifically in math and science instruction. High ability students attain slightly better with homogeneous grouping. Middle and low ability students attain more significantly lower with homogeneous grouping. Studies tend to show an overall agreement for heterogeneous grouping, however, there continues to be disagreement on whether that is fair based on high achieving students ‘being held back’.

4. Hallinan et al. Ability grouping in general does not effect student achievement. Sex considerations did not have an effect on mathematics achievement, but did have an effect on which group students were assigned to participate in. Hallinan, M. T. & Sorensen, A. B. Ability Grouping and Sex Differences in Mathematics Achievement. (1987). Sociology of Education. (60)2, 63-72.

5. Ross et al. Compared remedial vs regular classrooms in first grade. Whole class ability groups forfeits the advantages of heterogeneous ability grouping in order to conduct adaptive teaching methods, such as peer tutoring. Instruction used in remedial classes was observed as similar to the regular classroom. “Offering low-ability students ‘more or the same’ seems less likely to enhance their achievement and motivations than would changes designed to meet their special needs. Ross, S. & Smith, L. J. Math and reading instruction in tracked first-grade classes. (1994). Elementary School Journal, 95(2), 105- 119.

6. Nor et al. Teachers have difficulty implementing meaningful instruction for low ability groups. Little difference in instruction in regular vs remedial classrooms. No significant differences in student achievement noted. Nor, S. M., Hamzah, R., Samad, A. A., Bakar, K. A., Mohamed, O., Tarmizi, R. A, ... Salim, S. S. Struggling Students in Low Ability Grouped Classrooms: Standardized Assessments and the Uphill Battle. (2007). International Journal of Learning, 14(7), 9-21.

7. McCoach et al. Ability groups for a portion of the day in kindergarten showed greater average gains academically. Flexible grouping is key to effectiveness and to students’ self-concepts. Teachers spent 15 to 60 minutes using ability groups throughout the day. There was a positive correlation between time in groups and student academic achievement. McCoach, B. D., O'Connell, A. A., & Levitt, H. Ability Grouping Across Kindergarten Using an Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. (2006). Journal of Educational Research, 99(6), 339-346.

8. Allan Within class ability grouping seen to be most effective, especially for talented students. Talented students should be given extension math activities to support work done in heterogeneous groupings. Homogeneous grouping for the entire school day had the least effectiveness for all groups involved. Heterogeneous grouping for the entire school day did not enhance the high group’s academic achievement. Allan, S. D. Abiliy-Grouping Research Reviews: What do They Say about Grouping and the Gifted? (1991). Educational Leadership, http://www.donet.com/~eprice/sdallan.htm.

9. Saleh et al. High and average achieving students achieved higher when in homogeneous ability groups. Low achieving students performed higher in heterogeneous ability groups. Saleh, M., Lazonder, A., & De Jong, T. Effects of within-class ability grouping on social interaction, achievement, and motivation. (2005). Instructional Science, 33(2), 105-119. doi: 10.1007/s11251-004-6405-z.

10. Mulkey et al. Compared high ability and low ability as well as untracked and tracked schools. Tracking (homogeneous groups) in 8th grade can be related to success in 12th grade for all students. Some costs to tracking are low academic self-concept. Mulkey, L., Catsambis, S., Steelman, L., & Crain, R. The long-term effects of ability grouping in mathematics: A national investigation. (2005). Social Psychology of Education, 8(2), 137-177. doi: 10.1007/s11218-005-4014-6.

11. Leonard Group composition has an effect on student achievement. In general, heterogeneous groups produced better achievement. High achieving groups showed little difference in achievement in homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. Grouping has larger effects in subjects such as mathematics and science. High ability students are better able to articulate ideas to their classmates, making them an integral part of heterogeneous grouping by skill level. Leonard, J. How Group Composition Influenced the Achievement of Sixth-Grade Mathematics Students. (2001). Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 3(2), 175-200.

12. Venkatakrishnan et al. Found mixed ability groups to be best because it was advantageous for most students. Grouping by ability showed slight advantage for the high groups, but a more significant disadvantage for both middle and low grouped students. Ability grouping is complex due to classroom setup, gender, race, etc. Venkatakrishnan, H. & William, D. Tracking and Mixed-ability Grouping in Secondary School Mathematics Classrooms: a case study. (2001). British Educational Research Journal, 29(2), 189-205.

13. Gilmore et al. Students gain math skills at varying times throughout their development. Students need to be allowed and motivated to move out of the low ability group as they develop appropriate skills. Gilmore, K. & Bryant, P. Individual differences in children's understanding of inversion and arithmetical skill. (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, (76)2, 309-331. doi: 10.1348/000709905X39125.

14. Useem Decisions for tracking are usually made in 5th grade for students going into middle school. The study noted that “late bloomers” tend to get left behind with this model. 16% students in fast-track classrooms in 8th grade 5% students in calculus in 12th grade We must increase the number of students in high achieving math groups within our education system. Useem, E. L. Tracking Students out of Advanced Mathematics. (1991). Education Digest, 56(9), 54-58.

15. Conclusions Used most often in math instruction, rather than other subjects. Most effective for high functioning students. Beneficial for middle and low students. Seen as most effective with math instruction. Homogeneous Grouping Heterogeneous Grouping

16. Classroom Implications Ability grouping is generally seen as having advantages and disadvantages. Math instruction is the subject most often used with ability grouping. The overall theme is that ability grouping can be effective if used in moderation in math classes in middle and high school. Math instruction should be heterogeneous, with students put into homogeneous ability groups for remediation and acceleration activities.