Properly using homogeneous ability grouping when creating class lists can benefit gifted children.
Every year, schools and teachers are faced with the same old question – how do we split up the kids this time? There are many issues that educators take into consideration when making up the class lists. For example, some school focus on social issues, such as who gets along with whom, and which combinations are toxic. Some schools try to balance out students who need extra help from the teachers so that no one teacher has an impossible time commitment. Some schools attempt to achieve a perfect balance among ability levels to enhance cooperative learning groups, and some prefer that the classrooms be more homogeneously grouped to match the strengths of the teachers.
For schools that genuinely care for their gifted students and might lack the resources to provide exceptional services for the children who have been identified as gifted, along with acceleration, cluster grouping is an effective method for meeting their needs. The concept is very straightforward; instead of dividing the pool of gifted children in a particular grade, schools place them all in the same class or put them together for particular subjects (usually math and language arts) in which they demonstrate strength. Among other reasons, an advantage of the cluster grouping is that the gifted students can push and challenge each other as long as the teacher is familiar with differentiated instruction.
As a parent, you should find out how your school creates its class lists, especially if you have a gifted child at home!
