What Is Flexible Grouping?
Flexible grouping is not a new concept in American education. It has its roots in the original one-room rural schoolhouse where students of varying ages, backgrounds, and abilities were grouped and regrouped to meet instructional needs. As towns and cities grew and universal education became a national goal, ways of grouping students changed. The assumption that students of the same age learned at about the same rate caused most schools to group students in classes by their ages, a practice that continues today. Whole-class instruction was a natural outgrowth of that decision. Observing that same-age children learned to read at widely varying rates, teachers began to divide students into subgroups based on perceived ability. Math subgroups soon followed. But change is happening. Today, classrooms are filled with children from an increasing variety of cultural and economic backgrounds. As part of a national push for citizens who can think, solve problems, work with others, and learn on
