Originally Posted by aquinas
Economies of scale are needed to make ability-grouping viable, and public schools have scale in spades. Schools are averse to change when it means rallying new resources, but ability-grouping leverages pre-existing resources more efficiently to better meet the needs of all students. So while I agree it's a total paradigm shift, I believe the fiscal backstory makes disruptive change in public education necessary for its survival.
Agreed. Flexible cluster grouping by readiness and ability (rather than chronological age) places more reasonable demands on teachers for differentiated instruction while offering greater learning opportunity to students. Everyone benefits.