Ability Groups

[curiousmum32]

My daughter who is 4 an in reception told me today that the class has been divided into a few groups- Moon, Stars, Earth, Sun. And that she is in the star group.
Cant figure out if she's in the top group or in the middle or below. Havent had a chance to ask the teacher and I am not sure if they would tell.
Please advise.
Thank you

I agree with irvine its not ability at yr r as some are 4/5 the age of others.
Also things like reading is a skill you only learn once so inference/comprehension is actually more useful. Maths in primary (arithmetic) is nothing like calculus.

One year DS was on Bee Gees table. The other tables were Beatles, Blur and Berlin. All the parents were foiled by this as we could never work out whether the code was chronological, or done by album sales or what. It's far easier when they're a dodecahedron and you know they're clever.

I just used to group mine by whatever theme we were doing. The names didn't mean a thing.

Surely you know whether your child is clever without trying to determine a meaning from an ability group at school? Dodecahrdron may be the bottom group in some schools. Triangle is top group in ours

When I taught reception/y1 the children chose the names for their groups based on what we were learning about. They were also not ability groups but used for organising and turn taking. We did however have 2 groups of y1 and 2 reception (small school)

Triangle unlikely to be high ability unless the only other groups are circles and lines

What a load of crap. Ability group names are whatever the teacher wants them to be

We don't stream until Y2 at all

There is some weird thinking on this thread. The top group being the shape with most sides is a prime example. Teachers just choose any bloody shapes or animals or colours or countries etx

When DD was in Year 6, the groups were called
Shakespeare, Dickens, Pythagoras, Newton and Einstein.

I would love to hear the MN theory about these

(actually they weren't ability groups at all)

This is ridiculous. OP, what ability group your child is in isn't something you need to know. You just need to know about her own progress, not related to the rest of the class.

At the school my DC go to there was definite ability grouping from year 1 on wards. The children work it out very quickly. Orange was the group who needed the most support in year one and it was circles in year 2. Once they get to year 3 they stop trying to hide it anymore. In year 4 my DS is directly told that if he does x, y or z he might be able to move up a group in a particular subject.

I totally understand your desire to work out how your DC is doing. You just want to know that they are OK. Parents' evening and discussions with teachers are the best indication of how your child is doing. In reception, is she happy to go into school? Does she appear to be learning?

Why wiggypudding even if you ignore the fact teachers may be deliberately subverting a system you think, a triangle has always been a powerful symbol of being top. The very nature of the shape, defines the very pinnacle that a group can attain.

More likely to be organisational groups than ability in Reception, there's not really any need to group by "ability" in early years unless its a school that groups children for phonics.

I'll be honest, i'd be sad if my child wasn't at the top of the class. I think I'd struggle if my child was mediocre academically. I know it's an unpopular thing to say.

sirfredfred what if the triangle is picked for the bottom class because of its broad base?

I have never heard such bonkers reasoning as in this thread!

Some genius reasoning on this thread.

Groups at this stage of reception were supposedly not by ability at our school. So it's pure coincidence that they put 4 children together who are all now top group for all of reading, writing and maths. There are a couple more who duck in and out depending on term and subject. Teachers seem keen to tell me which groups my kids are in, I've never asked but almost always been told. And the names are random, except for maths where the top group seems to always be hexagons. 3 sides good, 6 sides better.

DS1 was autumn born but a late talker which held up his reading. In reception he was in the 3rd out of 4 groups. He's doing maths at Warwick now...

You can usually tell top and bottom tables by seeing who's in them. The kids know who's brilliant at reading/writing/maths. Middle are harder to guess unless you know the kids well.

^don't understand this? Of course late talkers can go to uni and study maths. 😂

Ellen, don't think anyone is saying being in a lower group in reception scotches your university career!

Oh Stars is bottom group

You're not supposed to work it out. Some parents will tell their kids and the teachers try to avoid this. Come year 1 or 2 she will have realised there is a "clever", two "middling" and one "needs help" group. Enjoy the short time they don't realise adults attach a lot of value to book bands and times tables ability. In reception, it is often not by ability.

I think I'd struggle if my child was mediocre academically.

Ability to blend and count aged 4 says does not predict the next Einstein any more than starting to walk aged 11 month predicts the next Usain Bolt. I know it is really hard to remember that when PFB is 4 and her best friend is 3 book bands ahead of her.

OhMyGoddd Only if the teacher really hates Simply Red.

No of course paxillin , I meant generally over their school career with A levels being the final measure, not age 3!

True genius like Einstein don't fit in at school anyway. He was expelled.