Primary school maths: streaming for high-ability learners – pros, cons and alternatives

My Year 5 daughter is very good at maths, but she’s finding it boring this year and says it’s too easy, a Hong Kong parent writes. I understand that there are children with different abilities in her class but why doesn’t the school put pupils in streams so the good mathematicians can have more challenging work?

Whatever the academic grouping system a school has in place, whether it be streaming, ability grouping within a class or mixed-ability teaching, it is imperative that all children are being challenged at an appropriate level. Some studies show that high-ability pupils can become demotivated and frustrated when they are grouped with lower-ability students. On the other hand, if less able children are always grouped together they never have the advantage of working with good academic role models, and this can also be demoralising.

Streaming by ability is common in secondary schools and it is easier to organise as lessons are separate entities, but there are differing, and sometimes contentious, views about streaming students at primary level. Teaching approaches are often dictated by the philosophy and pedagogy of the school, and also the human resources available.

Some primary schools do successfully stream pupils across year groups for core subjects like maths. However, there are challenges; for example, students’ abilities differ greatly in different areas of the mathematical curriculum. Some may be strong at computation but weak at problem solving. Others may be confident with data handling but struggle with telling the time. Therefore, it is important that frequent formative and summative assessments are carried out in order for teachers to assess and check understanding in each area.

Grouping students by ability within their own class can have several advantages. Perhaps most importantly, it allows for flexible and fluid grouping. Main-class teachers knows their pupils better than other teachers in the school and can consequently change groupings accordingly, catering for different abilities by differentiating activities.

The lesson might, for example, consist of the general introduction of a maths concept followed by pupils practising skills and working on problems at their own ability level.

Practical areas of maths such as 3D shape and measurement lend themselves to being taught in a mixed-ability situation where pupils can experiment, work on problems and share ideas. This is a good opportunity for the teacher to mix up groups, encouraging children to work with different peers. The classroom-based approach to grouping is less disruptive than streaming, as it is unnecessary for large groups of children to move to different classrooms.

It also avoids timetabling issues that may occur when working around set times for specialist subjects such as PE, music and Mandarin Chinese. Lesson timings are more flexible; a maths lesson can be extended if pupils are in the middle of an exciting investigation or if concepts need extra reinforcement.

One of the main concerns about streaming at a young age is that it can leave less able pupils feeling labelled, which invariably affects their self-esteem and work ethic. They can feel “stuck” in a group, which gives little incentive to work hard. All students should know that with sustained improvement in a subject, they have a chance to move up a group.

Other factors such as learning styles and confidence levels also come into play. Students who are anxious when finding a maths concept difficult to understand often develop a negative attitude and consequently lower achievement. These students sometimes react better to being at the top of a lower-level group rather than the bottom of a higher group where they are constantly struggling to keep up and may get ridiculed by peers, affecting their confidence and enjoyment of the subject.

Maths is a particularly emotive subject for many parents and pupils. A recent report that tracked Italian and British pupils highlighted that maths was considered a hard subject compared to other subjects in the curriculum. Maths is, in essence, a linear subject in which concrete knowledge and understanding of each concept are vital to moving on to the next level. Gaps in understanding can hinder future progress.

You are right to question whether your daughter is being stretched in maths and a discussion with her teacher would be useful in highlighting her desire to be challenged in the subject she loves. Look at your daughter’s recent assessments and ask about her strengths and weaknesses. Remember not all maths these days is recorded in workbooks. Some of the most challenging problem solving can be oral or practical.

Julie McGuire is a former Hong Kong primary-school teacher