Mixed Ability Classes

[thismeansnothing]

Were in the process of applying for secondary schools for my eldest. Were in an area I didn't grow up in, don't have any friends with kids in the local high schools so we are looking around as it's all new to us.

Our main concern is 2 of the 3 we have seen have mixed ability classes for English, maths and science. This isn't what me and DH are familiar with as we were set for everything at our schools. One school have done this for 5 years now so have a cohort who have done it all the way through and have some exam results for it. The other school have brought it in in the last 3 years.

At DDs primary there have been mixed year groups and this caused some issues. I'm not saying DD is a child genius by any stretch but she is bright and I feel at primary it's held her back a bit. In that she'll finish her work and it's been a case of read a book. Or pairing her up with someone whos struggling and getting them to work together and her re-explaining. And I don't want the same at secondary. After speaking to staff I'm dubious to see how this works in reality. How can a class of say 30 get the most out of a 50 minute lesson when there's such a range of abilities?

I have been slightly convinced to see how it may work in English. As it's a bit more abstract and ideas based and it's how you then get that down on paper. But something more skill based like maths and science I'm scepticle.

Me and DH have looked at the progress 8 score for the school that have done a cohort in this set up and it looks like it bebefits those that are in the middle ability wise. Where as high and low achievers seem to regress by the time they leave.

So what I want to know is is this the norm now? Has any mumsnetters kids gone through high school and with this set up and has it worked?

Got to say both these schools are quite small (400/500) pupils so maybe not the capacity to have mixed abilities for timetable reasons. Who knows.

Exactly.

DS1's school doesn't set for Maths in the first three years and I know some parents were put off by that. At GCSE they still don't have sets but I think studying for higher and foundation levels differentiates them a bit and he did Triple Science (which again means some separation). His 4 9s were in those subjects. I had the impression his school had a few students on course for those kind of grades including some of his friends. Others got lower grades and/or were entered at a lower level. They do use IT systems that give differentiated tasks but he also got active teaching and he said he thought he had the best Maths teacher at school. School is in an area of London with high deprivation, FSM rates and a large majority of families whose first language is not English (though this includes parents who are academics, teachers and many others who are very able and keen to support their kids' education, and who are very fluent in English as well as several other languages!) They do seem to have quite high staff retention rates by London standards, compared to schools which parents think will be "better", and my impression of the teachers' commitment to supporting my kids - and others - as students has generally been pretty good.

I think early setting and streaming has a risk of permanently relegating a lot of students quite early, and reinforcing a lot of inequalities - there are huge differences in intake in a number of our local primary schools.

He got into reading in year 3 and still read quite a lot on his own initiative in year 7 but sadly he virtually stopped in year 8. I think he possibly could have done a little better in English if he'd read a little bit more - English Lit was his only grade below 7 (a 6)

KS3 I don't think it has been too much of an issue. GCSE years it hasn't really worked for my dc in subjects which have higher and foundation levels or in English. The teachers are having to teach to both levels, work set needs to be accessible to all and, understandably, they are not getting the specific advice to move them up to the highest grades. It is a bit less satisfying for the more able student. There is less specific support for them and some other class members switch off from learning in classes leading to more challenging behaviour.

My dc's class for MFL had students who gained really low to really high scores. To gain the higher scores a student really needed to teach themselves outside of the classroom. This may be different in a comprehensive school (my experience is of a secondary modern) where there is a larger group of students who are wanting the higher grades but as they are split across the classes there may not be enough in any one class to cater for that wish.

Having said that I think it means that those students have a more realistic insight into their ability and there is less angst about whether they will fail because they know that there are people working at all different levels. Again this is based on my experience of dc in Grammar schools, so in a comprehensive with more permeability between classes there could be a clearer understanding of this.

I can also see the benefits for some students who might have otherwise been pigeon holed into a certain group but actually develop well over time and in a non linear way. Decisions about whether to enter for higher paper or not are delayed until the school has to fill in the forms (ed- forms for exam entry, not class forms, these were mixed to the end) in year 11 so there is no predestination based on sets determined by year 9 exams. I think that there was a development maths group for a few students who really struggled but most students were taught in a mixture of higher and lower tier classes.

I think for the majority of students it probably works well but for my dc it possibly affected a few grades, although all 7 and above so still really good. Don't envy the teachers though.

I think mixed ability teaching in an area with selection at 11 as a norm, such as Kent, rather than a mostly comprehensive system with a few very selective state grammar and private schools, like London or Yorkshire (though we do have very sharp area/social and economic inequalities) is a bit different.

I think some kind of setting is necessary. Mixed ability works well for the middle and those slightly below. It is generally poor for the weakest and the most able. The range of ability can be huge. I have children in Y7 who are working at reception level for reading in the same English class as those with a reading age of 16+. It is bonkers.