Stratified at seven: in‐class ability grouping and the relative age effect

Abstract

There is an established body of evidence indicating that a pupil's relative age within their school year cohort is associated with academic attainment throughout compulsory education. In England, autumn-born pupils consistently attain at higher levels than summer-born pupils. Analysis here investigates a possible channel of this relative age effect: ability grouping in early primary school. Relatively younger children tend more often to be placed in the lowest in-class ability groups, and relatively older children in the highest group. In addition, teacher perceptions of pupils' ability and attainment are associated with the child's birth month: older children are more likely to be judged above average by their teachers. Using 2008 data for 5481 English seven-year-old pupils and their teachers from the Millennium Cohort Study, this research uses linear regression modelling to explore whether birth month gradation in teacher perceptions of pupils is more pronounced when pupils are in-class ability grouped than when they are not. It finds an amplification of the already disproportionate tendency of teachers to judge autumn-born children as more able when grouping takes place. The autumn-summer difference in teacher judgements is significantly more pronounced among in-class ability grouped pupils than among non-grouped pupils. Given evidence that teacher perceptions and expectations can influence children's trajectories, this supports the hypothesis that in-class ability grouping in early primary school may be instrumental in creating the relative age effect.

Grammar schools in England: a new analysis of social segregation and academic outcomes

“…Younger children in each age cohort have lower test scores, worse non-cognitive skills on average, are rated weaker by their teachers and are less happy and more often bullied at school (Crawford, Dearden, and Greaves 2011). This is all worsened by selecting pupils by ability, as is done in grammar schools at the young age of 10 or 11 when their age in year matters more (Campbell 2014).…”

Differentiated instruction in a data-based decision-making context

“…These explanations relate to the negative effects of DI on low-ability students. Teachers might lower their expectations for these students (Campbell, 2014;Wiliam & Bartholomew, 2004), and more time may be spent on behavior management than on instruction (Wiliam & Bartholomew, 2004). The time spent by a teacher on a specific group requires self-regulation skills from those students who are not placed in that group, and especially low-ability students might find this difficult (Hong, Corter, Hong, & Pelletier, 2012).…”

Children’s levels of contingent self-esteem and social and emotional outcomes

“…By way of illustration, if themes are identified relating to a child's conduct and their reliance on their physical appearance, formulations could be made around interventions that will reduce the child's contingency on normative social influences. Although this may require individualised support for reframing their reflected appraisals of others, it could also include ensuring that the class teacher is consistently teaching in mixed abilities groups to reduce group comparisons (Campbell, 2014;Alexander, 2010). It may also involve working with senior members of the school to ensure that the school ethos ensures that every child feels they are a genuinely valued member of their community (Bonell, Fletcher and McCambridge, 2007).…”