This review of research focuses on policies and practices that result in placing students in groups that are more or less homogeneous with respect to academic performance. Recent analysis of data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 provides the largest and best-controlled multi-year study of ability grouping ever conducted…

A program designed to help teachers in the Netherlands put a form of mixed ability teaching into practice was evaluated for its implementation and effects. Implemented with 14-year-old students, the program consisted of whole class instruction by teachers, followed by guidance of small groups and individuals. Cooperative learning in small groups,…

To provide a differentiated language arts program to meet the needs of highly able and gifted readers and to encourage interest in reading and the development of state reading goals, students in the sixth grade of a middle school in Maryland were grouped by ability for their language arts/reading classes. Students were exposed to a wide variety of…

Analyses of the examination results for the Certificate of Primary Education, the Kenya Certificate of Education, and the Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education showed that academic achievement at the primary and secondary levels in the Western Province of Kenya is very poor, compared to the other provinces. To determine the school factors that…

Although over 77 percent of American school districts use ability grouping, or tracking, research overwhelmingly indicates that the practice benefits only the gifted. High schools commonly have two or three tracks. Regardless of the methods used to place students, the effects of ability grouping are uniform; furthermore, placement in low ability…

Covariance structural analyses (LISREL) were used to examine latent mean differences in general self-concept (SC), academic SC, English SC, and mathematics SC between low-track and high-track high school students. The study report is preceded by a theoretical model of adolescent self-concept and discussions of academic track as a social referent…

A school system in Cape Town, South Africa, developed a program called the "Combined Magnet Class" to serve gifted pupils from standards (grades) 3-5 in one classroom. Changes to the standard curriculum were made, and a pupil-determined pace was adopted. The pupils studied English, Afrikaans, and mathematics using a syllabus, for…

The Alaska School Effectiveness Project produced several reports in a series of reviews of research literature on such topics as instructional grouping: ability grouping. Using an ERIC search and conventional library methods, the question raised was "Do students in the aggregate perform equally well academically and have comparable attitude…

The purpose of this paper is to examine, from a Constitutional perspective, the bases on which ability grouping and tracking might be challenged as barriers to equal educational opportunity. Findings from educational research on ability grouping, commentary from law review journals, and the texts of cases themselves are included as a part of the…

In previous studies of ethnic group bias in intelligence test items, the question of bias has been confounded with ability differences between the ethnic group samples compared. The present study is based on a conditional probability model in which an unbiased item is defined as one where the probability of a correct response to an item is the…

This presentation of a thematic approach to the teaching of literature, language, and composition in grades 7-9 begins with an overview and rationale for the approach, a general statement of course content, and a discussion of those resources which influenced the formation of the program. The thematic programs in literature for high ability and…

Rules and regulations governing education of the gifted in North Carolina precede an outline of screening and identification procedures. The question of ability grouping is explored through a review of eight research studies and articles. Questions and answers are used to present information on the gifted to parents, and the selection of teachers,…

This book explores the relationships between law and education, as expressed in the developing body of "education law." The emphasis is on elementary and secondary education, both public and private, although materials on higher education are included throughout. The book is divided into (1) "The Governance of Education," which explores the…

What the legal responsibilities are surrounding school integration, and areas of desegregation in which the courts themselves appear to be unsure and confused can be determined by examining the numerous court decisions on problems related to school desegregation. It seems clear that delays under the "all deliberate speed" doctrine, or by other…

This is the first of a series of Capsule Bibliographies on current issues in urban and minority education. It is a selection from a computer search using suitable descriptors matched against a standard Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse profile for urban and minority concepts. Such descriptors (subject headings) as…