Factors of ability grouping: a case study of Copaceil School

This case study evaluates the factors involved in ability grouping across a fifth grade class and the grouping effectiveness. Students were regrouped or reshuffled for language arts instruction by previous year's teachers' perspective of their abilities. Student placement was compared to standardized test scores. Placement was found to have significant overlap between different ability groups both in terms of standardized test results and fifth grade teachers' perceptions of the groupings based on interviews. There was some differentiated instruction by ability group with varied pace and level of materials depending on the group. Standardized test scores were found to drop significantly. Recommendations include considering doing within-class ability grouping on an as-needed basis in place of regrouping .