Original scientific paper
ABILITY GROUPING AND PUPIL RESULTS ON THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE
Amalija Žakelj
; National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia in Ljubljana
Milena Ivanuš Grmek
; aculty of Education, University of Maribo
Abstract
The first part of the article deals with the characteristics of ability grouping and its impact on pupils’ learning outcomes, the importance of teaching differentiation and individualization as well as their advantages and limitations. The second part of the article presents the results of a study that attempted to examine the organizational characteristics of ability grouping in Slovenian and Mathematics in Slovenian primary schools, call attention to the role of the sociocultural environment when dividing pupils into levels and analyze the performance of ability-grouped pupils, on the one hand, and pupils from heterogeneous groups, on the other, on the National Assessment of Knowledge. The research comprised 1,454 ninth-grade pupils from 41 Slovenian primary schools. The study has shown that approximately three-quarters of schools implement ability education; the majority offer classes at three and the rest at two difficulty levels. Pupils’ school grades and socio-cultural background play an important role in the ranking of pupils into levels. The results showed a medium-to-high grade statistical correlation between pupils’ levels in Mathematics and Slovenian language, on the one hand, and their mother’s and father’s education and their average grades for Slovenian and Mathematics in the 7th , 8 th and 9th grades, on the other hand. This result indicates that social background significantly influences pupils’ learning performance. In addition, the study has shown that ability grouping can be effective only if teachers adjust both the teaching methods and learning materials to the pupils at each individual level.
Keywords
differentiation of instruction; external assessment of knowledge; Mathematics; primary school; Slovenian; socio-cultural environment
Hrčak ID:
105556
URI
Publication date:
27.6.2013.
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