The Advantages and Disadvantages of Ability Grouping

Ability grouping (tracking) is among one of the most hotly debated topics in our schools today. Logic, emotion, and research often clash in this long-standing debate that has lasted for nearly a century. Is ability grouping an effective way to handle differences in student ability? Does such grouping benefit students? Research, emotion and logic often clash when responding to these questions.

What is ability grouping/tracking? Ability grouping is usually used in elementary schools. It is commonly used in reading instruction. Students are organized into small groups that target that groups reading level. Tracking is usually found in middle schools and high schools. Middle school and high schools use tracking to group students by previous academic achievement. Students who do well in reading are encouraged to take an honor's coarse, while students who do not do so well are encouraged to take a remedial courses.

What is the history of tracking? By the middle of the 19^th century, American schooling began becoming centralized into locals systems by grades and organized around a rational curricular system. The legendary schoolhouse, which in some cases, was inhabited by students from students two to twenty, experienced a remarkable transformation. The move was to create a more manageable clientele and to push infants and young adults out of the classroom. The system at that time used materials and books that students brought from home. Reformers argued that they should instead follow a hierarchal sequence of topics, exposing students to increasingly harder skills and complex knowledge. In many districts, algebra for example, was removed from grammar schools' jurisdiction and reserved for high school.