Grouping primary students by achievement for literacy and numeracy instruction: who wins?

Achievement grouping in the form of streaming was demonstrated to be inequitable on many levels by research conducted in the 1960s and 70s. The practice was demonstrated to produce limited advantages for limited groups of students whilst hindering the academic and social advancement of the majority. Streaming became less common in the ensuing decades. Since that time, achievement grouping has taken different forms in response to these issues, such as setting, tracking and regrouping, with the desired perception being that more equitable strategies have been implemented. Recent research in the United Kingdom and elsewhere has suggested that these grouping methods have similar equity issues to streaming. This paper examines the practice of regrouping Australian primary students into separate classes according to achievement levels for literacy and mathematics lessons. Results from a mixed method study involving two groups of schools (one employing regrouping and one with mixed-achievement classes) are examined. Data collected through interviews with principals and teachers, student surveys, state-wide academic test results and classroom observations are analysed. The results bring the practice of regrouping into question, as it is determined that between-class achievement grouping by subject area is merely a more politically palatable form of streaming.