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Karlie Deming
Mrs. Cramer
Comp Pd. 2
4 Oct. 2018
Grouping in Educational Environments

Teaching methods shape the people we become. Grouping students based off educational

standpoints is an important method for school districts because it affects the learning style of

students. Therefore, schools who use grouping make the classes fit to the needs of their students.

Schools build the generations that will soon be leading this world and pushing them to get to

their full potential is a goal and grouping has been their method of success. Grouping in schools

has lasting effects on students by assisting their abilities, restricting their opportunities, and

influences their self-confidence.

First off, grouping students based off learning skills assists their ability. Students are

placed in classes based off their educational status and they cannot expand their abilities if the

class doesn’t push them to be better. Work is fit to the needs of the students so that they can

excel in subjects and skill levels based off what's achievable to them (“To separate”). Classes fit

to the educational values of students is a more successful method for teaching because it builds

up the skill level of students without stepping outside their abilities. Taking lower level students

and putting them in higher level classes pushes them over their skill set causing them to fail.

Whereas when we place students who are like- minded together they help one another to develop

new skills and better their skills that had been previously developed. Robert H. Anderson states

that students need taught as they think (288). This statement helps to understand that if

professors teach above students' level of thought they cannot comprehend the curriculum they

are receiving causing them to fall behind and lose knowledge they should be gaining. When
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students fall back in their curriculum it's hard for them to come back without the necessary

resources and or lessons within their skill level. Although most schools allow students to reach

full potential there are still some who restrict it.

Secondly, students' opportunities are restricted by limiting their classes. Many gifted

programs for students cost money or are based off student's education level making them

available to select students. Paul Connolly explains that the students who are in lower level

programs do not receive the same resources that are provided to higher level students. This

causes many of the students to lose interest in their classes or the subject overall (1). Providing

all students with the same resources would help improve the environment of schools because all

students would have equal opportunities to succeed. Gifted students should have their curriculum

fit to them as do the special need (Anderson 288). If they fit curriculum for students with lower

skill levels it should also be done for those with higher learning levels. Students with higher

levels cannot go beyond their skills if they do not get provided with lessons that push them to do

better. Many times, students at higher levels are held back in mixed level education classes

because the teacher has to make sure the work is achievable by lower level students (Connolly

2). This is also a cause of teachers not reaching curriculum requirements because they have to

keep the pace slower for lower level students, Whereas higher level students are working below

their skill level so they fly through the assignments and end up wasting class time waiting for

other students to catch up when they should be working through other lessons and even going

past the required curriculum.

Lastly, Students lose, and gain confidence based off the teaching methods and education

they receive through school. If classes didn’t involve learning pace and grades the environment

of which the learning takes place would change in positive aspects. Many students are bullied

because they are slow or can't take upper level classes due to grades but if all students were
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mixed it would be unknown who developed what skills and who sat above who. It would also

create a better relationship between students because they will all be on the same level receiving

the same education. Lastly attitudes would change because of the positive atmosphere in which

the learning is taking place (Connolly ethal 1). Higher education students receive a more positive

boost in their confidence because they are receiving better resources and teaching from the

school and their teachers. On the other hand, lower level students receive negative affects

because they lose interest and give up in their classes causing grades to drop and attitudes to

change in a negative way. This also affects the teaching staff and administration because they

feel they are not doing their job to the full potential because they cannot help thier students to

succeed or even convince them to put in effort in their courses (Anderson 288). Also stated by

Anderson is that the teachers are uneducated and have little to no training in mixed education

(288). Therefore, they struggle to stay on task and keep their students within their educational

ability because the range of work is broad, so they must include all needs of the students. This

also helps to show that when students fall behind it falls back on teachers who were never

educated on the teaching styles and have no solutions because they are used to teaching students

with like mindsets.

In other words, grouping in schools has lasting effects on students by assisting their

abilities, restricting opportunities, and influencing their self-confidence. Mixed classes help to

provide resources to students in lower classes who wouldn’t have access otherwise but hold

upper level students back due to lack of skills. Higher level students cannot reach full potential

due to the need to fit all student skills. Many students also miss out on opportunities due to not

being placed with students who think like them and they do not get the chance to fully develop

their needed skills because of curriculum restrictions. Lower level students are also limited to the

classes they can take due to grades and pace. Lastly, grouping affects the self-confidence of
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students in negative and positive ways based off the class level they are placed in. Higher level

students receive a positive boost due to the fact they are more advanced and faster than other

students. But lower level students are left behind and made fun of because they don't have the

same skills or work at the level of other students. Each teacher builds a leader the type depends

on their style and methods teaching

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Works Cited

Anderson, Robert H. "Nongraded Schools." Encyclopedia of Education, edited by James W.

Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2002, pp. 1812-1813. Gale Virtual

Reference Library, Web. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Connolly, Paul, Nicole Craig, Sarah Miller, Louise Archer, Beckey Francis, Jeremey Hodgen,

Anna Mazenod, Becky Taylor, Antonina Tereshchenko. Campbell Collaboration: The

effects of grouping students by academic attainment on educational outcomes in

secondary schools. Ed. 2017, CampbellCollaboration.org. Web. 20 Sept.2018

"To Separate Gifted Students, or Not?" New York Times, 25 Sept. 2012, p. A22(L). Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, Web. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.