Cloonan grouping pilot offers lessons for middle school reform - The Advocat

Cloonan grouping pilot offers lessons for middle school reform - The Advocate

"Students assigned to lower ability groups said that it felt good to 'feel equal,' " according to the report. Teachers, too, remarked the difference and worried that returning to the old grouping system would be a "huge disappointment" for these students.

At the other end, high-achieving students reported, "It felt good to support and help others;" however, they also complained of more disruptions and receiving less support and leniency from teachers.

"Not one person interviewed mentioned that this pilot was beneficial in any way for high-achieving children, other than 'helping' lower-achieving children," Arda Arslanian, the mother of a former sixth-grade participant, wrote in an e-mail. "This point is what many parents who have questioned the district's non-ability grouping drive are concerned about."

While some students perceived a jump in discipline problems, Rudolph said that disciplinary referrals dropped to zero during the seven weeks. By comparison, the administration typically received three or four disciplinary referrals during a regular week.

As for concerns about higher achieving students, he said, they had received a rigorous curriculum, and for the most part were challenged by it. However, instruction wasn't perfect.

"That's why we wanted to do the pilot," he said. "We needed to see where we had to tighten up, and where we fall short -- and we found out at times we did."