ABSTRACT
We present mixed attainment grouping as a potential equitable alternative to setting. We outline the characteristics of mixed attainment grouping and draw on the literature and our own research to elucidate why it is often perceived by teachers to be difficult. We present teachers’ fear of mixed attainment grouping as part of a ‘vicious circle’ which serves to limit the extent to which it is deployed by schools. We find from our own research some reasons to be hopeful that mixed attainment can be feasible in schools and present the views of pupils and teachers on the advantages of mixed attainment grouping. We outline our principles of mixed attainment grouping, developed during the pilot year of our study, and offer some suggestions, drawing on the literature and on our research, as to how mixed attainment grouping could be made possible in schools. Finally, we offer a note of caution and need for research and exemplars of good practice, given the still limited understand of what outstanding mixed attainment practice looks like.
