RT Journal Article
T1 Does within-school between-class ability grouping harm the educational outcomes of socio-economically disadvantaged children?
A1 Jerrim, John
A1 López-Agudo, Luis Alejandro
A1 Marcenaro-Gutiérrez, Óscar David
K1 Pedagogía
K1 Dinámica de grupos
K1 Escolares - Psicología
K1 Movilidad social
AB Grouping students into different classes based upon their academic achievement or ability is a relatively common practice across the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Yet some argue that teaching students in mixed-ability classes is a better approach, with important benefits for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Unfortunately, existing evidence comparing outcomes across these approaches is scant. This paper hence provides new international evidence on this matter, drawing upon data from the 2015 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study study. Our results point towards null effects; neither approach leads to demonstrably better outcomes for students than the other. This also holds true for young people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, suggesting that between-class ability grouping does not harm the educational prospects of these children. Some limited evidence does emerge, however, that primary school teachers believe they are better able to support struggling students—and challenge the highest achievers—when ability grouping is used.
PB Oxford University Press
YR 2024
FD 2024-12-17
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39281
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39281
LA eng
NO John Jerrim, Luis Alejandro Lopez-Agudo, Oscar David Marcenaro-Gutierrez, Does within-school between-class ability grouping harm the educational outcomes of socio-economically disadvantaged children? International evidence, European Sociological Review, 2024;, jcae050, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcae050
NO Fundación BBVA  (Programa PRISMAS y PROBLEMAS.
NO Ramón Areces
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026