Ability Grouping

Ability grouping is the practice of placing students into classes or smaller groups based on their assessed academic ability, either across all subjects or, in a narrower form often called setting, within individual subjects rather than the whole curriculum. Distinct from long-term tracking into separate multi-year programs, ability grouping is typically applied more flexibly and can be revised as a student's performance changes, though it remains a debated practice, with research disagreeing over its effects on higher- and lower-achieving students.