Ability-grouping pupils within schools, also referred to as attainment-grouping (Taylor et al., 2018) or tracking, has a long history in the UK and has attracted much research and debate (Ireson & Hallam, 1999). Already during the 1950s, ability-grouping was the dominant form of organization in primary and secondary schools. In the following three decades, social and educational disadvantages associated with rigid ability-grouping started being noticed and as a result there was an increase in teaching mixed-ability classes. The 1990s saw a resurgence in the implementation of ability-grouping in an attempt to raise academic standards nationally.
Types and Prevalence of Ability-Grouping
The type and prevalence of ability-grouping varies across countries. In several countries, such as Japan, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, both between- and within-school tracking is common. In others, including the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, within-school tracking is more frequent (Belfi...
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Flouri, E., Papachristou, E., Joshi, H. (2022). Ability-Grouping. In: Levesque, R.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_813-1
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