Linek's Discussion For Case Study of First Grade Grouping

Janet's initial grouping reflected the general assumption that students of a lower socioeconomic status have more difficulty with reading, yet she quickly discovered that these groupings did not work. There is much support for heterogeneous ability groups, as students of higher levels provide support for students of lower levels; although I am in support of this type of grouping, I have found that the students themselves prefer to be grouped with students of similar abilities because they usually end up doing the brunt of project work when grouped with students of lower levels. Ultimately, Janet learned that interest, not ability, should be considered when deciding upon reading material for students and that she could conduct running records to determine specific strengths and weaknesses she could use to group students for strategy and skill lessons.

After looking at Janet's grouping I was thinking that she needed to take other considerations into helping her plan her groups.  If anything, understanding that groups need to be flexible and ever changing.   Janet learned a lot over the year.  She was told to group her students based solely on their performance on a benchmark.  After looking at the results she knew the grouping looked like she had placed her kids in groups based on stereotypes.  As the year went on, she began to notice that her students were not successful in her groups.  She began to use her formative assessments to make decisions based on what she observed rather than what a benchmark told her.  She now knows that she needs to use what she observes as part of her reasoning behind her groups. 

Janet worked with a very diverse group of students in which many of them were struggling readers.  She consulted other professionals in her building on how to help her students.  She knew that she should be doing more with them but was stuck on their abilities and cultures.  After talking with several others and attending workshops she learned how to group her students in ways outside of their abilities based on just the benchmark testing.  She created more assessments to use in her classroom to help her get a bigger picture of their strengths and weaknesses.  She also found other ways to group her students and did not use just one way all year.   

As a middle school teacher, I have not done much ability grouping.  When my students work collaboratively, they either select their group or I select the groups randomly.  I have heard about ability grouping in the elementary grades and thought that it made sense to do this.  After reading about Janet and her struggles I began to rethink my opinion.  I see that Janet was guided by the reading specialist to put her students in groups based on their benchmark scores.  But the benchmark scores only give a small glimps into her students' abilities.  It was good that she was able to "look" at the groups and see there was a problem.  Her flexibility and wanting to help the students lead her to change the way she ran her classroom.
One program that DISD took on in the middle schools was called Corrective Reading.  It placed students into certain levels of reading based on their ITBS scores.  It did not take into account any other aspect of their reading ability.  Luckily this program only lasted a couple of years.  It was ability grouping to the max.

I think that Janet was doing honestly the only thing she knew how to do based on the benchmarks and advice from the reading coach. After reviewing the research behind ability grouping, I see there is a major difference in grouping based on reading levels and specific reading needs. Usually when students are grouped by reading levels, it tends to create barriers between races and ethnic groups. However, using assessments correctly helps teachers see common areas that students across races struggle with. Keeping diversity between her reading groups will naturally produce a better atmosphere in her classroom. 

I agree with some of the other responses that Janet was doing the best with what she was being lead to do.  Apparently benchmarks are considered the primary indicator of success at this school.  While I think benchmarks can give a teacher important information, it should not be trusted as the main source of student data.  It can mask differences in learning styles.  As the site said, “Grouping decisions are complex and require careful analysis.”  Janet is working towards understanding this, but is stifled by the “process” prescribed by the reading specialist.  Fortunately, Janet is seeking advice from multiple people.  As she learns to trust her intuition and learns more about formative assessments, conferencing, etc., her confidence will grow and all of her students will begin to see success.

Janet’s classroom is very diverse and based on some of the comments by school personnel it appears that there is bias towards the "apartment kids" and the ELL kids.  With those types of feelings, are the students really being challenges, or have they already given up on them?  Janet is following the guidance of her literacy coach when she creates groups based on the students’ benchmark text levels.  I believe Janet thinks she is grouping correctly, however she does begin to question it when she actually looks at the initial group.  I think schools, administrators, teachers get used to doing things a certain way and get stuck.  I have seen that it is definitely hard to make changes in a process that has been in place for a while, even when there is no solid reasoning for it.  I was glad to see that Janet saw there was a lack of progress with the next set of scores and began to question her grouping.  With that came her motivation for additional input from teachers, and attending a workshop to increase her knowledge resulting in a new, more effective way to group and provide ongoing assessment.

I thought it was interesting that the literacy coach
suggested Janet and her colleagues focus on what the students need and set
aside where they come from and that he recommended grouping based on benchmark
text levels. Creating the
homogeneous reading groups should be used when there are specific instructional
purposes.  Heterogeneous groups need
to also be used to create opportunities for children with different skills to
learn from each other both linguistically and culturally. Student interest should also be
considered when grouping to promote a community of readers who want to
learn. The workshop she attended
on formative assessment helped her realize how much information can be missed
if you only use benchmark data to group students. Janet knows now that it’s also important to give
students a choice of books they can read, grouping should be more flexible and
less permanent, and making daily observations of reading behaviors provides a
wealth of information.

Janet began her grouping based on a single assessment.  It seems like she had pressure from her administrator as well as the coach at her school.  Determining the needs of students require more than a single assessment.  An outsider does not know the indiviual students well enough to make instructional decisions.  However, Janet had a willing attitiude to learn about how to help her students reach their gaols.  Teachers have to be open to assessment and they have learn how to use the results properly.

Janet noticed the struggles that her students were having in her class.  During a meeting they all noticed the similar problems that they faced, which effected the campus AYP.  The problem is that they had started to stereotype the students according their cultural background.  Janet grouped the students that she felt would be successful together. Later, she realized that those same students lacked interest in small groups.  Janet clearly needs to take a closer look at her instructional practices if she plans to help make the campus successful.