Ability Grouping in Education

`Ability Grouping in Education will provide very useful and timley background
for psychologists working with schools where setting or streaming is a major
issue' - Educational Psychology in Practice

`With an anticipated audience of teachers and policymakers, this book is user-
friendly, incorporating detailed research findings illustrated by graphs and
tables. A summary is provided at the end of each chapter, offering an overview
for the time-conscious wishing to skip through the engaging but largely
illustrative statistics and quotations. However, a close reading has its
rewards, as the extracts from teachers and students offer poignant insight
into the enormous complexity and far-reaching implications of ability
grouping' \- Cath Lambert, Educational Review

In this book, the authors provide an overview of ability grouping in
education. They consider selective schooling and ability grouping within
schools, such as streaming, banding setting and within-class grouping.

Selection by ability is a controversial issue, linked with conflicting
ideological positions and reflected in strong differences of opinion about the
merits of selective schooling. Educational systems under pressure to produce
an educated workforce have led governments to look for ways of raising
attainment, and grouping by ability is sometimes seen as an organizational
solution.

Drawing on their own and others' research in primary and secondary schools,
the authors provide an accessible analysis of the issues and latest research
on ability grouping; as well as the implications of ability grouping for
teachers, managers in education and the wider community.

This book is for students and practitioners taking courses in school
effectiveness, education management, as well as educational psychologists and
local authority professionals.

Judy Ireson is Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Special Needs at the
Institute of Education , University of London, and Susan Hallam is in the
Department of Psychology & Special Needs.