View Single Post
  #9  
Old October 29th 03, 09:16 PM
Clisby
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ability grouping



Nevermind wrote:
I know this will be a very unscientific survey, but I'm curious about
how common Erika's school's grouping system (see below) is these days.
Our school doesn't officially do ability grouping -- there is *no*
expectation that the work the kids're doing in reading or math will be
pegged to their individual ability at all, only to their age. It's
one-size-fits-all unless the teacher wants to differentiate on her
own.

How about your kids' elementary schools?

I had understood that ability grouping had become rare in U.S.
elementary schools, but if I'm wrong about that, then our school
district's system is much more vulnerable to criticism and parental
agitation for change.


Nevermind wrote:



Wow -- is ability grouping common in the UK? If I understand
correctly, it has been all but wiped out of public schools in the


U.S.

It sounds like wonderful common sense to me.



It sure isn't wiped out in the public schools
here. In my sons' school they ability group for math
and reading in every grade past kindergarten (except
it seems that they don't in the center based GT program,
which I suppose makes sense). They have as many groups
as they have teachers for that grade. So, this year
there are something like six first grade teachers, so
they have seven reading groups (each teacher has one,
plus there's a reading specialist) and six math groups.
The groups are relatively fluid, so children who need
to move up or down accordingly. Seems to work like a
charm.

Best wishes,
Ericka




My daughter attends a small private school, so this might not be the
type of experience you were asking about. But I'll offer it anyway.

Her school has multi-age classes - so her classmates range from
kindergarten to 3rd grade (she's a 2nd-grader.) I believe there are 10
kids but it might be 11; they won't take more than 12 in a class.
Because of the age range, there have to be ability groupings, at least
for reading/math/language arts. These don't necessarily coincide with
"grade levels".

In science and social studies, the whole group might be studying one
particular unit, but the older kids obviously are given more difficult
assignments.

As I think about it, what happens in my daughter's school seems somewhat
similar to what Jenrose described, although she was talking about a
public school.

There isn't any "gifted" program at this school. Since the SOP is to
accommodate individual children's abilities and learning styles, there
really isn't a need for one. I'm not talking about children like
Marjorie's son - I can well imagine it's incredibly tough to find the
right situation for children who are profoundly gifted. While I
haven't had my daughter tested, I'm betting she's BG (barely gifted).
My husband has tested at 135 IQ and I've tested at 134; from observing
my daughter, I'd bet she's right there in the neighborhood with us,
which wouldn't be surprising. Her school has been able to accommodate
her needs very well, simply because they don't expect all children in a
class to do the same work or progress at the same speed.

I don't know of any public school in Atlanta that works this way. And
yes, I guess I could get out and be an activist and try to get that
changed, in all the spare time I have left over from raising 2 children
and working full time. Or I could say (and I do) - screw it - I
shouldn't *have* to fight to get my daughter a decent education. I'll
pay the taxes without whining, and then pay for the private school.


Clisby