Setting and streaming have a long and controversial history in education – but what does research say about their efficacy, and whether they should be used in schools?
It used to be the norm for children to be grouped according to their “ability”.
Within-class fixed grouping has fallen out of fashion now, but setting (grouping pupils across the same year group into specific classes for particular subjects) and streaming (grouping pupils into a class for most or all of their classes) remain common practice, particularly in secondary schools.
Both approaches are intended to enable more efficient teaching: the thinking goes that by narrowing the range of student attainment in each class, teachers can tailor their practice to student needs more effectively and ensure that all learners are provided with the right level of challenge.
But critics of these practices highlight the negative social and psychological effects that can be caused by being labelled, and the difficulty of removing these labels once they are assigned.
How does it work in the classroom?
Research by Professor Becky Francis and her team at University College London found that a disproportionate number of disadvantaged and ethnic-minority pupils are allocated to lower-attaining groups, and that students can often be misallocated to groups through poor-quality assessment.
In an analysis in Tes, they explained that the overriding message from the research points schools towards ensuring that their grouping practices “do not restrict progress for any pupils”, and that this will require schools to examine whether all pupils have equal access to a rich curriculum and high-quality pedagogy, regardless of their level of attainment.
As such, they suggested that schools and teachers should ask:
If pupils are grouped by attainment for lessons, or within class, are they assessed frequently and able to move groups if necessary?
Are pupils in lower-attaining groups allocated the most experienced teachers who will be better placed to explain concepts more clearly, enabling pupils to catch up faster?
Do teachers have high expectations for all pupils, whatever their level of attainment?
Are teachers aware of the effect of their own expectations on pupil progress in the first place?
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.
To achieve this, it summarises the best available evidence for teachers; its Teaching and Learning Toolkit, for example, is used by 70 per cent of secondary schools.
The charity also generates new evidence of “what works” to improve teaching and learning, by funding independent evaluations of high-potential projects, and supports teachers and senior leaders to use the evidence to achieve the maximum possible benefit for young people.
