Presents a case study of grade 9 curriculum reforms at a urban high school in Ontario (Canada). Explains that students were streamed according to their abilities and interests before the reform. Discusses questions related to de-streaming, especially how teachers contend with mixed-ability classes, and integration with a particular focus on…

In this article, the author discusses the teaching strategy of the mixed independent school where she works, in which they split the students into four or five ability sets. The sets are decided primarily either by pupil achievement in the entrance examinations prior to Y9 or by pupil performance in the prep school. The author also presents the…

The authors examined the effects of age and ability (as measured by education and verbal ability) on self-reported memory functioning in adulthood. In Study 1, the age and ability groups responded similarly to the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (D. E. Broadbent, P. F. Cooper, P. Fitzgerald, & K. R. Parkes, 1982), but differences emerged when the…

Ability grouping is a common approach to dealing with student variance in learning. In general, findings suggest that such an approach to dealing with student differences is disadvantageous to students who struggle in school and advantageous to advanced learners. The concept of differentiation suggests that there is another alternative to…

In the Australian state of Victoria, students from elite independent and Catholic schools dominate entry into elite universities. Nonetheless, there are a small number of schools within the government sector whose students succeed in these terms. Such schools are considered highly academic and entry is very difficult. This paper is based on…

Critics suggest that ability grouping all too often limits the instructional experience of lower-track students and that students placed in low tracks at a young age may never be transferred to upper tracks where higher-order skills are typically taught. As a result of this growing criticism, schools are increasingly eliminating ability grouping.…

A 59-item annotated bibliography on language arts instruction for the gifted organizes research into three main categories: (1) instruction of gifted students in tracked classrooms; (2) instruction of gifted students in mainstreamed or heterogeneous classrooms; and (3) instruction of gifted and nongifted toward the goal of developing higher level…

At the end of the 1992-93 school year, Dutch schools finished their preparations for a new core curriculum for the first stage of secondary education. One of the problems teachers faced in implementing this curriculum was the problem of class heterogeneity. How teachers dealt with heterogeneity was studied through an examination of the use of…

This paper analyzes the effects of ability grouping on middle school math and science achievement, attempting to account for these effects in terms of measurable classroom experiences of students. It is hypothesized that grouping effects operate through classroom instructional differences. Data collected from a national sample of public school…

The Miscellaneous section of the Proceedings contains the following 15 papers: "Computer Literacy in the Newsroom: A Model for Learning" (Bruce Garrison); "Newspaper Source Use on the Environmental Beat: A Comparative Case Study" (Stephen Lacy and David C. Coulson); "Historical Survey of Media Coverage of Biotechnology in…

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a law enforcement agency primarily responsible for ensuring that recipients of federal assistance do not discriminate against students, faculty, or other individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age. OCR is responsible for enforcing the following Federal civil rights laws: the…

The opinion poll of public school teachers reported in this document is part of a series designed to report scientifically collected data that accurately reflects the views and experiences of specific groups of educators. For this study, a total of 3,300 teachers were included in the random sample and 1,265 (38 percent) responded. The responses of…

This study examined cooperative learning (CL) programs that were successfully meeting the needs of gifted students and identified factors critical to this success. Of 19 programs nominated as models of cooperative learning, 5 sites were selected and visited: Wilton Public Schools, Connecticut; Glenville Elementary School, Connecticut; Mary Taylor…

The study summarized in this report was designed to explore some questions concerning the application of cooperative learning for gifted students. A survey of 301 educators belonging to either gifted education or cooperative learning associations found that the two groups held strongly differing views. Members of the gifted education group were…

Beginning in the 1980-81 school year, the Pitt County (North Carolina) School System assigned students in kindergarten through grade 12 to subjects, teachers, and classes in accordance with a plan submitted to and approved by the United States Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This report gives results of an evaluation of the basic skills achievement…