My DD7, grade 3 (grade skipped) was homeschooling until this year. She is currently attending a public school where a large percentage of the kids are economically disadvantaged and/or learning English as a second language. The school's state standards-based test scores are low.
This year, for math instruction (only), the 3rd grade teachers opted to group all of their classrooms' students based on ability for math (homogeneous ability grouping). This has been working well for my high-achieving daughter.
Unfortunately, the Principal recently decided to return all students back to their heterogeneous homeroom classes for math instruction. She's reverting back because: "while the intent was to have flexible grouping, the groups have not changed significantly. I am concerned about the detrimental effects that grouping students for math instruction will have on overall student achievement".
I met with the Principal and shared my concerns that my daughter (and her high-achieving classmates) will likely not be sufficiently challenged when such a large percentage of her homeroom classmates are low-achieving. Her response was basically this: "higher-achieving kids in the classroom help the lower-achieving ones grow; they are good role models." She tried to reassure me that the teachers will offer differentiated instruction within the classroom.
I like the diversity at this school and I like DD7's teacher (she is a gifted adult herself). However, if my kiddo's GT needs are not met, I will pull her out. Before I make any big decisions, I'd like to present the Principal with research data showing that ability grouping, done correctly, helps ALL students. Help? Thanks!!
