Grouping by ability in elem classes?

[Anonymous]

So, let's say you have five classes. Don't they spread the kids out rather than grouping by ability in the class?

The reason I ask is that my kid ended up in a classroom with kids who appear to be rather bright (as opposed to sporty). The school sent us a letter at the end of last year saying my kid qualified as gifted (can't remember the exact language), would be doing compacted math, would be instructed at a higher reading level, etc. And now my kid ends up in a class with zero kids he knows, seemingly with the brightest kids.

Before I get flamed: I don't think my kid is a special snowflake or that the gifted label letter makes him special. Candidly, I didn't think twice about the letter when I received it. It wasn't until the open house this week when we realized we didn't really know any of the other families and the kids seemed a bit bookwormy that I wondered if that letter meant something and they grouped entire classes by ability---which I really didn't think was the case.

I realize that every school is different, but does anyone know if this happens?

[Anonymous]

They do group pockets of bright kids at our school but certainly not a whole class. They also group pockets of ESOL kids.

[Anonymous]

Is your kid in 3rd grade? The letter you received in 2nd means nothing. There is no class grouping in 3rd.

[Anonymous]

Compacted math must be 4th grade

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of bright kids who are very sporty. Just an FYI, you can be both!

I think it's great that they group kids by ability. Why shouldn't they put kids with their academic peers? When they spread them out too much it a) puts a strain on the teachers who have to plan for numerous but smaller groups, b) holds back the smarter kids from achieving their potential and c) holds back the kids who need the most attention because the teachers are spread to thin.

Your child will make friends this year, relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of bright kids who are very sporty. Just an FYI, you can be both!

I think it's great that they group kids by ability. Why shouldn't they put kids with their academic peers? When they spread them out too much it a) puts a strain on the teachers who have to plan for numerous but smaller groups, b) holds back the smarter kids from achieving their potential and c) holds back the kids who need the most attention because the teachers are spread to thin.

Your child will make friends this year, relax.

?

I'm not stressed out, so no need to relax. Merely asked a simple question, pp.

I have five kids, so this isn't my first rodeo. I'm not worried about my son making friends.

It's just odd that he's landed in a class with kids we've never encountered over the years--and they are the bookworm type (they don't play sports---we asked, "so what sports are you playing this fall?" Crickets.). To be clear, I'm not knocking them. Rather, I'm wondering why out of a class of 25 we've never encountered any of these kids before--and only two are new to the school.

This is precisely why I posted...because I'm wondering if these kids have been somehow tracked and moved along together. I didn't think mcps did that. But it's odd that we don't know any of these kids or their families, yet we know pretty much all of the other kids/families in the other classrooms (because they've clearly been mixed throughout the years).

It's just weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of bright kids who are very sporty. Just an FYI, you can be both!

I think it's great that they group kids by ability. Why shouldn't they put kids with their academic peers? When they spread them out too much it a) puts a strain on the teachers who have to plan for numerous but smaller groups, b) holds back the smarter kids from achieving their potential and c) holds back the kids who need the most attention because the teachers are spread to thin.

Your child will make friends this year, relax.

?

I'm not stressed out, so no need to relax. Merely asked a simple question, pp.

I have five kids, so this isn't my first rodeo. I'm not worried about my son making friends.

It's just odd that he's landed in a class with kids we've never encountered over the years--and they are the bookworm type (they don't play sports---we asked, "so what sports are you playing this fall?" Crickets.). To be clear, I'm not knocking them. Rather, I'm wondering why out of a class of 25 we've never encountered any of these kids before--and only two are new to the school.

This is precisely why I posted...because I'm wondering if these kids have been somehow tracked and moved along together. I didn't think mcps did that. But it's odd that we don't know any of these kids or their families, yet we know pretty much all of the other kids/families in the other classrooms (because they've clearly been mixed throughout the years).

It's just weird.

it seems like they don't group a whole class. But I do feel like they group clusters a little bit. At my kids' school, it was the case that most of the kids that got into the HGC for fourth grade were mostly (but not all) in the same 3rd grade class. I don't know how often that was true, but was true for my two kids.

[Anonymous]

Your post is odd, OP. They send out the gifted letter at the end of 2nd grade. If you have 5 kids, you should know by now that the gifted letter doesn't mean anything. They don't notify about compacted math until the end of third grade. So what grade is you kid in? If it is third or fourth grade, why are you so surprised that the few kids you met don't play fall sports? Maybe they do swim team, maybe they just don't do sports. So what? Kids are either "sporty" or "bookworms" in your world? How old are you for goodness sake?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of bright kids who are very sporty. Just an FYI, you can be both!

I think it's great that they group kids by ability. Why shouldn't they put kids with their academic peers? When they spread them out too much it a) puts a strain on the teachers who have to plan for numerous but smaller groups, b) holds back the smarter kids from achieving their potential and c) holds back the kids who need the most attention because the teachers are spread to thin.

Your child will make friends this year, relax.

?

I'm not stressed out, so no need to relax. Merely asked a simple question, pp.

I have five kids, so this isn't my first rodeo. I'm not worried about my son making friends.

It's just odd that he's landed in a class with kids we've never encountered over the years--and they are the bookworm type (they don't play sports---we asked, "so what sports are you playing this fall?" Crickets.). To be clear, I'm not knocking them. Rather, I'm wondering why out of a class of 25 we've never encountered any of these kids before--and only two are new to the school.

This is precisely why I posted...because I'm wondering if these kids have been somehow tracked and moved along together. I didn't think mcps did that. But it's odd that we don't know any of these kids or their families, yet we know pretty much all of the other kids/families in the other classrooms (because they've clearly been mixed throughout the years).

It's just weird.

it seems like they don't group a whole class. But I do feel like they group clusters a little bit. At my kids' school, it was the case that most of the kids that got into the HGC for fourth grade were mostly (but not all) in the same 3rd grade class. I don't know how often that was true, but was true for my two kids.

No so in our case. Kids were spread out over 3 classes. But, I do think they do spread out abilities between classes so that it's a bit more even. I think this also works well for kids with behavioral issues. It is unfair to the teacher and the whole class to have one class with all the kids with issues.

[Anonymous]

I think they do group kids, but it may also have to do with teachers' teaching styles. My son is on an IEP, and in K he had a very lovely teacher, but she was entirely the wrong type to deal with my son - didn't have the right skill set, discipline model, etc. When we met with the school for the following year's plan, we all agreed that my son responds better to a certain type, and he has been matched with that kind since. My nephew in the same school responds well to a different type, and he has gotten more of those kinds of teachers. The principal knows what's what, and they do a pretty good job. But that means you are also more likely to find clusters of like kids in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

They didn't seem to group kids in our W cluster elementary school. The kids who qualified for the HGC came from all 5 classrooms, and our DCs, who were always in the highest reading and math groups, were with a mostly different mix of kids each year. At the larger elementary schools I don't think it is surprising if your child is in a class with a lot of new faces each year. PS - I know tons of kids who are intellectually curious and athletic!

[Anonymous]

I have an intellectual kid who swims. But if someone focused on sports and asked what sports he does, he'd probably just stare back and not answer, too. It's just part of what he does, not a defining feature of who he is. OP: I think you're making leaps based on very little knowledge of your child's classmates.

[Anonymous]

I think it's highly unlikely they grouped a whole class by ability. County policy is that the classes should be heterogenous. However, principals so have some leeway and as some PPs have said schools do sometimes put clusters of similar kids together.

If as you said you've never seen a lot of the kids before it's possible this group moved together every year and they rotate the rest of the class. If there are 5 classes total in all probability your son may only see these kids one year or two years throughout his elementary career.

In our DD's grade there is a small group of high ability kids who have been together for at least 3 years. That doesn't mean there aren't smart kids in the other classes or that these kids are smarter than the others. I think these kids tend to work well together and they get pull outs together so it makes sense that the school would want to keep them together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your kid in 3rd grade? The letter you received in 2nd means nothing. There is no class grouping in 3rd.

Not true.

Class grouping comes in the form of reading and spelling abilities and math abilities. There must be at least 4 different spelling tests given each time they have them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your kid in 3rd grade? The letter you received in 2nd means nothing. There is no class grouping in 3rd.

Not true.

Class grouping comes in the form of reading and spelling abilities and math abilities. There must be at least 4 different spelling tests given each time they have them.

Yes, there are reading and math groups based on levels. When my DC was in 3rd, the math groups had some different worksheets - some were harder than others.