This morning I read an article condemning ability grouping (thanks Michael Fawcett for sharing it), and feel I need to comment. This article focuses on a very rigid form of grouping which I agree has been shown to be detrimental to learning. However this does not mean that we should abandon grouping, just that we should rethink it, as many NZ teachers already have.
The article focuses on a form of grouping which is much less common these days. Grouping needs to be very flexible and responsive and it should be needs-based. A child could be in one group today for work on a particular skill or strategy but in a different group tomorrow. In any one day they will be in a number of different groups and I have yet to visit a NZ primary class where learners sit permanently in ability groups.
Giving students agency so they they can opt into groups where they feel they have a need is very important. For some things there will be mixed-ability grouping and for others there will be small groups working on a particular area of need.
We also need a broader definition of ability. For example a group of students with a wide range of reading ages could all be working on using an index in a book, they don't need to all have the same book, they can choose their own from a selection that have indexes. Some could have been asked to join the group because the teacher has identified they have a need for this skill, others may have opted in to the group because they feel the need to brush up on this skill. Thus they are grouped for their ability on a particular skill at that moment in time. Tomorrow, or even later the same day they may be in another group, even for the same skill.
If we are personalising learning and having agentic learners there is still a place for ability grouping, just not in the way it has happened in the past. Learners should be identifying their learning goals and choosing groups based on what they need to achieve their goals.
So, in summary, it is not ability grouping we need to do away with, but rather narrowly-defined, rigid, unresponsive and totally teacher-decided ability grouping we need to move away from.
