Ability Grouping-Sara Margaret West

    

Gifted education has not always taken precedent in the world of education.  However, research involving gifted education began in the 1870s and continues today.  There is much discussion when it comes to grouping "gifted" students.  What is the best method?  Should they be grouped? Will it hurt their self-esteem? Everyone has an opinion, but we must look at what is best for the students.  We also need to prepare them for their future.  

            Some people have tried to abolish ability grouping altogether. Between class grouping, cross-grade grouping, and with-in class grouping are some of the different ways some classes are grouped.  Jeanie Oakes points out that these groupings do not benefit the students in any way.  She believes that it is unfair and discriminatory to group students based on ability.   

Kulik conducted research that shows everyone benefits from grouping, even the non-gifted students.  Rogers states that students who are pulled out have substantial gains in their learning and thinking.  He credits these gains to the willingness of gifted students, their higher ability, and the interest of teachers. 

After reviewing all the research, it is easy to see why classes would benefit from being grouped by ability.  Students would be able to work on their level and be challenged in ways that are appropriate for them.  The gifted students would not get bored, and the low level students would be challenged in a way that would benefit them.  We differentiate our instruction anyway, so why not have it differentiated for a smaller homogeneous group? 

Self-esteem was addressed as a possible concern. However, a valid point was made that self-esteem grows when you have successes.  When you place gifted students in an environment where they are challenged, their self-esteem may be challenged.  They no longer are the only ones who know how to do it nor are they the only ones who understand it right away. They are equally paired with others and challenged to grow in their abilities.  Their successes would be fewer; however, would mean more.  Lower and middle achieving students will have more opportunities to succeed and would not feel overshadowed.

Although we group heterogeneously in schools, there are still homogeneous grouping taking place in the classroom.  In my classroom students are grouped based on ability in guided reading groups and math groups.  I do not worry about their self-esteem.  Instead, I am focused on making sure they have the knowledge needed to succeed, which will build their self-esteem.  Students are ability grouped once they get to middle and high school.  The benefits are clear, so why not group them by ability in elementary school?