The use of ability-grouping is currently increasing in primary schools and is particularly prevalent in mathematics.
Teachers are placed in the unenviable position of having to marry research evidence suggesting that ability-grouping is ineffectual with current policy advocating this approach. This mismatch is further fuelled by society’s fascination with ability, intelligence and giftedness, prevalent across our media and leading laypeople to proclaim they know what is ‘best’ for our schools and children, reproving teachers who step outside of this framework. Despite being a key issue in education, primary school teachers lack an accessible, contemporary text through which to critique and reflect upon their practices.
However, Dr Rachel Marks, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, has debated this question in a new book that draws on her research across three primary schools. Using a case-study approach the book explores how children perceive themselves in relation to ability-language and practices and the implications of this for their engagement with the primary mathematics classroom.