ABSTRACT
What lies behind a school’s decisions about who sits where and in which classroom? Is the way children are grouped driven by a priority to ensure effective learning and progress for all students, or is the underlying purpose much more to do with challenging social hierarchies? Which is best: streaming, setting or mixed ability? Does it all come down to a question of equity versus excellence, or are schools asking the wrong questions? This chapter looks at the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and then asks some questions about what criteria might be applied in terms of judging how learners learn and how teachers teach. Is how educators teach children at least as important as how they organise them? Able students need each other’s company, they relish interactive strategic and analytic activities; they enjoy a high challenge competitive environment. The chapter explores how, in a mixed-ability environment, teachers can react to those needs without intimidating students with dissimilar needs.
