At Lowell Elementary School, gifted and highly motivated students from Tacoma (Washington) elementary schools come together to work on projects and develop their skills in creative thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, and group interaction. Projects draw on student interests to foster motivation, independent and cooperative study, and…

Longitudinal data from two cohorts of over 4,000 students, followed from grade 7 through grade 9, reveal that schools differed in track structure, criteria for student assignment, assignment flexibility, and the effects of tracking on student growth in achievement over time. Implications for the school choice debate are discussed. (SV)

A commentary precedes this reprint of a study that investigated the academic, psychological, and socialization effects of ability grouping on gifted learners. Conclusions drawn from 13 research syntheses supported sustained periods of instruction in like-ability groups for gifted students. The commentary discusses the research findings and…

Finds little or no differential effects of ability grouping for high-, average-, or low-achieving students, based on data from a 1992 longitudinal study. Examination of three school inputs (class size, teacher education, and teacher experience) indicates that grouping and nongrouping schools similarly tailor resources to ability levels. (Contains…

The practice that has come to be known as "tracking" began as a response to the influx of immigrant children into America's schools during the early 20th century. To educate this newly diverse student population, school officials thought it necessary to sort children into different "tracks" based on their ability or past performance. With the new…

The aim of this article is to explore pupils' preferences for particular types of grouping practices, an area neglected in earlier research focusing on the personal and social outcomes of ability grouping. The sample comprised over 5000 Year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years) in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools in England. The schools represented…

The mathematics achievement of a cohort of 955 students in 42 classes in six schools in London was followed over a 4-year period, until they took their General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations (GCSEs) in the summer of 2000. All six schools were regarded by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) as providing a good standard…

Programs and policies related to the education of English learners are often based on the belief that fluency in English is the primary, if not sole, requirement for academic success. While English is in fact necessary for academic success in U.S. schools, so is a strong base in content-area academics. This study investigated the effects of track…

All teachers are aware of the wide range of abilities that exist within most standard Australian primary school classrooms. Many of these schools implement structures such as ability grouping and/or streaming to help meet the needs of this diverse group of learners; but does ability grouping meet these needs? The number of studies that have looked…

This article provides an evaluation of the rationale for, and impact of, setting with English classes in the second year of secondary school in one Scottish authority. The Council's education department has a long-standing policy of mixed-ability classes in English for the first two years of secondary school (S2). A number of schools approached…

Research on stratification in schools shows that the differentiated structure of schools is associated with increasing inequality of educational outcomes. Some writers have therefore advocated "detracking"--the elimination of stratification within schools. Other writers have suggested that differentiation within schools is possible without the…

Discussing issues involved in the successful teaching of literature, this book presents essays that explore recent findings from research concerned with the teaching of literature in contemporary K-12 classrooms. The book is organized by age, special population, and special issues. Essays in the book address such issues as ability grouping,…

Concerns about student resegregation resulting from discriminatory student grouping practices are highlighted in this paper. Part 1 determines the characteristics of discriminatory ability grouping and tracking practices through a content analysis of 35 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) case file documents for the fiscal years 1983-89. Twenty-three…

This book adopts the point of view of a child to consider young children and how they think about reading. A premise of the book is that beginning readers have rich understandings of reading and are able to share these insights with any adults who care to listen. The book argues that reading instruction can be improved by listening to children and…

An ethnographic study examined the issue of educational equity in student placement as it related to the first-grade reading program in the San Diego City Schools. Four first-grade classrooms from four different schools, one in each of the districts's four operations areas, were selected for study as being representative of the geographic…