Ability Grouping

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Ability Grouping
By K

We were doing this at my school in the Primary division. We did it in six week stints, three times during the year. The groups were smaller -- the lower groups had only 8 - 10 students. There were many great things about
it. The kids were really being reached at their level...the ones who usually struggle in their regular class were working at the same level as the rest of their group and the high kids were getting that extra challenge. We discontinued it this year, however, as we found that it interfered with our regular Language program. There were gaps in some kids' knowledge, as different groups

focused on different parts of the reading process. The smaller groups were great, however, in order to make that possible we had to have some groups led by volunteers and/or educational assistants which raised other issues. As well, the scheduling impacted the whole school, causing some grumpiness among the staff. Definitely pluses and minuses to it!