1993 - Alternative Uses of Ability Grouping in Secondary Schools: Can We Bring High-Quality Instruction to Low-Ability Classes?

Attribution: Gamoran, Adam
Researchers: Adam Gamoran
University Affiliation: University of Wisconsin- Madison
Email: gamoran@ssc.wisc.edu
Research Question:
Explores possible instances of high-quality instruction in low-ability classes.
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: American Journal of Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 102, No. 1, pp.1-22
Year: 1993
Findings:
  • Catholic High Schools use tracking more effectively and produced smaller achievement gaps.
  • Difference exist among schools in the implementation and effects of tracking.
  • There appear to be instances of successful low-track classes at least in Catholic Schools.
  • The characteristics of successful low-track classes are: High expectations, an academic curriculum, oral interaction between teachers and students, great effort on the part of the teacher ,and the absence of a system of assigning weak or less experienced teachers to lower tracks.
Keywords: Ability GroupsAcademic AchievementCatholic SchoolsCurriculumEnglishExpectationsFacultyTeachersTrackingRegions: MidwestMethodologies: QualitativeAnalysis Methods: Qualitative Techniques Sampling Frame:8th & 9th grade English classes in secondary schools
Sampling Types: NonrandomAnalysis Units: ClassroomData Types: Qualitative-Cross Sectional
Data Description:
  • 9 High Schools that varied in the context of their communities, including rural, urban, and suburban schools, and public and Catholic schools.
  • Students from 8th to 9th grade.
  • Of the 112 English classes they studied over the two-year period, 42 in eight grade and 50 in ninth grade were ability grouped.
  • Examined 18 schools that used ability grouping for English, seeking examples of schools that had (a) high-quality instruction in low-track classes, and (b) higher than expected achievement on a year end literature test among students in low-track classes.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts