Reply to Why the aversion to grouping kids based on ability rather than age? Thoughts from down under.

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[quote=Anonymous]1) People do not want 5 and 10 year olds in the same class.  
2) Grouping leads to tracking kids and kids do not move up in tracks (or least in the past they did not often move up).  Which means a 5 year olds future is determine the moment they walk in the door or perhaps is pre-determined at birth.
3) There is a belief that smarter kids learn from the slower kids and the slower kids learn from the smarter kids.  The conversations in the classroom are more diverse.
4) Kids with problems are grouped together which might make their overall learning environment tougher and slower.  You then have to provide smaller student to teacher ratios and people complain that too much attention is given to these students over gifted or regular students.
5) Stigma
6) Advocacy - just like parents advocate for GT, certain parents will advocate for their kid to not be in the slower class.  Unfortunately, the most vulnerable population will not have people advocating on their behalf.

Growing up, I definitely saw kids who were in the slow class (for lack of a better word) who would have been better off in today's system.  They were not slow but because they were pegged at such an early age and there were not really services to get these kids move back to their current grade level they fell behind.  I really noticed this with the AA kids at my school, I did not see nearly as many white kids in this class.

Even with all that I have said, I believe in tracking and ability grouping however I think you can only do it with one or two grades.  More than that it is too much of an age difference; the maturity level of kids can be dramatically different.[/quote]

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