Ability Grouping: 1970- Status, Impact, and

The examination of the use of ability grouping of students begins with presentation of the, questionnaire resoonses from 328 school districts concerning how andyhow much ability grouping is practiced within their systems, on what basis students are assigned to groups, and how many poor or non-white students are involved. Following is a summary of research relevant to the impact of ability grouping on school achievement, affective development, ethnic separation, and socioeconomic separation. Consideration of the problems and utilities involved in the use of tests for grouping children with limited backgrounds focuses on test reliability and validity, cultural bias, publishers ' test information, and use of tests with disadvantaged and Mexican American groups. The final section contains a series of brief accounts of alternative strategies to ability grouping. OU0 The work presented herein was performed pursuan