ABSTRACT
There can be no doubt that in education, as in other walks of life, there are fashions. In the 1960s the trends were strongly towards the comprehensive ideal, frequently followed by a move towards mixed ability organisation. In 1976 a number of headteachers replied to a detailed questionnaire about the extent and nature of mixed ability teaching in their schools. Eight of the schools were still selective in intake, and 32 were already comprehensive. In about a quarter of the schools, mixed ability teaching had increased in extent during the three years between the surveys. Likewise, in a quarter of the schools there had been a reduction in the number of classes organised for mixed ability teaching. Of the remaining schools only a minority had no mixed ability teaching at all. Mixed ability teaching in the lower forms of the comprehensive school, then, is to stay. Its use with older pupils looks more transitory.
