School Days

Since I attended Texas public school during the mid to late 80's, the education pendulum was far to one side - the ability grouping side. In Kindergarten there were two groups - red and green. In first grade, there were three ability groups - green, blue, and red. (Common sense tells you that the green group was the cognitively higher group.) As I entered into second and third grade, I was able to switch classrooms for the four academic areas. These make-up of students in the classrooms were also ability groups. I also experienced similar classroom structures in the fourth and fifth grades. The physical setting of these classes involved "richly equipped subject areas with activity centers and flexible space which can be easily adjusted for whole class and small group instruction" (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997, as cited in Berk, 2007). Since my middle childhood experiences in education were successful I am a firm believer in ability grouping. Hopefully, one day the pendulum will swing back to the "ability-grouping side" instead of the mainstreaming side.

Berk, L.E. (2008). Exploring lifespan development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.