Ability grouping in the secondary school: attitudes of teachers of practically based subjects

teachers, the group with the highest levels of concern regarding grouping practices,
reported having at least a few reservations about current practices. There were no
statistically significant differences in responses between teachers from the three types
of school.

Table 1 about here

When teachers were asked what they would like the grouping structures to be mixed
ability was still the overwhelming preference (see Table 2), although in music 21% of
teachers indicated that they would like to see setting in years 7, 8, and 9 and 22% of
PE teachers indicated that they would like to see setting in years 8 and 9 and 9% in
years 7, 8 and 9. There were no statistically significant differences between teachers
from the three types of schools.

Table 2 about here

Beliefs about the effects of ability grouping on able pupils

Mean scores of teachers’ responses to a range of statements about ability grouping were
calculated for each subject area. Table 3 outlines responses to statements regarding the
effects of mixed ability and setting on children whose attainment was above average.
Strong agreement with a statement was indicated by a score of 5. The strongest support
for setting came from the teachers of PE, the weakest from the drama teachers (see
Table 3 for details). The music teachers most strongly agreed that setting prevented
brighter children being inhibited by negative peer pressure. The PE and music teachers
agreed equally strongly that the bright children were neglected or held back in mixed
ability classes. The only statistically significant difference related to the statement that

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