The article "Ollie Taylor's Story" was very interesting to me. I am not really familiar with ability grouping, so it was very informative. One thing I think is funny is that when students are grouped according to their performances and abilities, they are from then on restricted in educational growth. How can a student progress in knowledge and if they are never challenged or given appropriate opportunities? To me, a low-achievement classroom is more like a waste of time. If you don't set students up for success then you are setting them up for failure, and in my own understanding that is the problem with ability grouping. You aren't setting them up to improve, you are just keeping them at the same level they were at, and that is a complete contradiction to what teaching is all about.

Coming from a social constructivist point of view, ability grouping would seem to be a very detrimental tactic for use in educating our youth. “The focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are created, institutionalized, and made into tradition by humans. Socially constructed reality is seen as an ongoing, dynamic process; reality is re-produced by people acting on their interpretations and their knowledge of itâ€

I totally agree that ability grouping hinders the growth of students. If I had been put into a "group" in third grade, it probably would not have been a very high one. I think it is silly to separate children at so young of an age, especially since research has shown that the children in the "low" group perform much better if they are grouped with children from a higher group. We do a disfavor to students if we decide their futures for them so early. America is supposed to be a place where everyone can get ahead, which I know does not happen, but kids should at least have that chance in the classroom. School should be a place where all students have potential, not just those who did well on a third grade test.

I never have been a fan of ability grouping. The levels of ability is what made the social divide among my classmates during late elementary, middle and high school days. I was a horrible test taker, and never did the best I could when the paper I was writing was called a test, placement exam....etc. Everything else I made almost perfect grades on. When it came time to find out if I was going to be in AG (academically gifted) classes, I wasn't. I was stuck in regular level classes bored to death. Until high school I took average learning ability classes because that was my limitation based on a test I took in 3rd or 4th grade. When I had the choice in 10 grade I took honors from then on and blew the class and the placement test out of the water. Classes should be mixed to provide challenge for everyone. I would throw away the placement tests if I could.

I was just reviewing everyone's comments and thought they were excellent. I agree with the idea that ability grouping is not the best choice to make. I feel that once students feel that they are labeled maybe in a negative way they will give up thier desire to learn and thier educational growth will come to a hault.

I have never really thought about it before, but Leah mentioned that if grouping were used in her school she probably wouldn't have been in a very high one. Well, in my case, I am sure I would have been in a low one. When I was in Elementary school I made poor grades because all I ever did was daydream about horses. I didn't begin making good grades until high school really, once I realized it was actually important. I can't imagine what would have happened to my educational career if I had been grouped with other poor school performers. I was always an intelligent kid; I just preferred not to do homework or participate in class. This was all something I grew out of; but if I had been hindered by ability grouping, I probably wouldn't be in college today. It is interesting to image how your life could have been changed so drastically by grouping if you were in the lower ranks.