With the rise of accountability policies since the early nineties, the daily operation of English schools has profoundly changed. Through the in-depth analysis of ability grouping practices in one English secondary school, this paper aims to explore how the accountability shift and datafication impacted the practice of student grouping and…

Ability grouping is a common practice in elementary mathematics instruction, but some research suggests that grouping by ability can exacerbate existing inequities, and there is evidence that alternatives to grouping can improve learning experiences for all students. In this paper, we describe an effort to support teachers in using equitable…

This article comes largely from observations made on-the-job while teaching mathematics in a government high school in the ACT. The issues canvassed will be familiar to those who have considered the arguments for and against ability grouping in mathematics education. It is speculative in nature, hinting at a synthesis of opposing views in the…

We retrieved data from China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) and adopted the hierarchical linear model as well as the quantile regression method to examine the effect of education groups on the quality of urban and rural compulsory education. Student cognitive ability was cited as the evaluation index of education quality. According to the research…

This article uses data from a research project exploring grouping practices based on 'ability' in classrooms for children aged 3-7 years in England to consider the relationship between teachers' views of ability and their ways of organising children. The widespread use of grouping with young children and the concomitant 'fixed-ability thinking' by…

Computer-assisted instructional programs such as intelligent tutoring systems are often used to support blended learning practices in K-12 education, as they aim to meet individual student needs with personalized instruction. While these systems have been shown to be effective under certain conditions, they can be difficult to integrate into…

Within-class ability grouping (WCAG) is widely used in elementary mathematics instruction in the United States, yet it has drawn criticism on the grounds that it can inequitably limit the learning opportunities of some students, not least because of its connection to between-class ability grouping (BCAG) that is more common in middle or secondary…

In this article, the author explores the market phenomenon revealed in the practice of a mixed-ability grouping policy in Taiwan, and traces the influence of the wider educational contexts on the formation of the market phenomenon. Although there have been no major policies introduced with the intention of creating a market mechanism in Taiwanese…

While international research has demonstrated that ability grouping is inequitable, Australian research has often overlooked equity concerns, predominantly focusing on studying the benefits of grouping for students perceived to have high ability, especially in mathematics. This paper investigates the effect that mathematics ability grouping has on…

Many studies have explored the effect of grouping and task distribution strategies in collaborative learning in the conventional condition, for example, grouping based on student's learning style, gender diversity, and motivation, but few studies have investigated the impact of heterogeneous grouping with mixed gender and ability factors and the…

The study aims to investigate the effect of homogenous and heterogeneous grouping on students' achievement and experiences of learning in a collaborative environment. A collaborative learning environment has been used as a pedagogical tool for a long time now. However, there is no clarity on which grouping strategy to use. In this paper, we study…

This paper explores strategic grouping in a Southern, suburban high school mathematics classroom. Two grouping techniques were implemented on review days in Algebra II classes in which composition based on ability varied strategically. The researcher examined the Alternate Ranking Method for Grouping compared to normal heterogeneous grouping for…

Differentiated instruction is a student-centered approach to instruction that considers the differing characteristics and aspects of the learner. With increasing diversity in higher education, differentiated instruction is one strategy that instructors may use to facilitate student success. However, there is limited empirical research examining…

Spatial ability is a form of intelligence where a person demonstrates the capacity to mentally generate, transform, and rotate a visual image and thus understand and recall spatial relationships between real and imagined objects. The aim of this paper is three-fold: (1) to review related empirical studies on spatial abilities for young children…

This article focuses on the unintended consequences of within-class ability grouping on primary students of mathematics. I review relevant research, including promising approaches to teaching in mixed ability settings. I then outline four ways in which these groupings are typically structured, discussing some of the issues that arise with each of…