Blue Birds, Black Birds: Ability Grouping Yes or No

By high school, and even in some subjects in middle school, students tend to group themselves by the courses they select. There are Advanced Placement courses, honors courses, robotics/engineering/technology courses, advanced electives in art and music, and other courses that tend to include students of similar ability. In elementary schools, according to Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on American Education survey of teachers, in the years between 1998 and 2009, grouping in Grade 4 rose from 28% to 71%. At the same grade level, math grouping also rose about twenty percentage points. Over 70% of Grade 8 math teachers said they grouped their students according to ability; this percentage has remained fairly constant for a decade or so.  Although grouping often receives negative press, teachers find that ability grouping works because it helps them address student needs.