Re: gifted programs in your area

Stephanie wrote:
"Ericka Kammerer" <eek@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1aqdnd-SIumlLJ7anZ2dnUVZ_ruqnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you go completely
to ability based groupings, serious age-related issues come up.

Like what? Taking the content of the material for example. Part of a reading level is comprehension. A person would not rightly be grouped

I didn't mean comprehension in the usual sense. There's
just content that's mature enough that it's not particularly
appropriate to a younger audience, or not particularly captivating
to an older audience (and if you've got a reader who's struggling,
having appealing material is really important).

The kid who is working several grade levels
ahead is still surrounded primarily by kids several years older.

You are operating under the assumption that most people are at the same level as their age-peers in most things. I wonder if that is true other than the fact that we have placed people that way historically. I envision a mixed age group.

I think that most available evidence suggests that
there's roughly a normal distribution for IQ, and quite a
few takes on achievement as well. Therefore I *do* think
that even with ability-based groupings, you'll still see
the majority also clustering by age.

It just widens the problem (because now the 8 year old will not
only be with 12 year olds working at a 12 year old level, but also
14 year olds working at a 12 year old level).

Your language here demonstrates an assumption that levels are appropriate by AGE. I don't think that is true. How about you will have 8 year olds, 12, year olds and 15 year olds in reading level 4.

Same deal. I think you'll have a whopping huge problem
managing a classroom and teaching appropriately to a class ranging
in age from 8 to 15 years old. Can you really even see that
working? Think of an 8 year old you know and a 15 year old you
know and ask if they can be well accommodated in the same class,
even given a similar technical ability in a subject.

*And* it still doesn't
begin to address the issue of the highly gifted child being able
to move *faster* or *more deeply*, not just as the same pace but
a couple years ahead.

So they progress through the levels at their own pace.

So teachers are going to be juggling different ability
levels anyway? Or are these groups fluid? And if they're fluid,
how is the teacher managing kids coming in and out as that
happens? If you have to cover algebra I during some time
period, how do you accommodate kids going through that at
different paces, and arriving up from pre-algebra at different
times, and transferring out to geometry at different times?
I really don't see how this is any significant improvement on
the current system.

Best wishes,
Ericka
.

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