Heterogeneous-classroom debate continues

“I don’t care what you call it,” parent Carol Scott told the Board of Education. “I just want to know that my son, as a gifted child, is going to get enough stimulus and enough push that he will not be bored in his classroom.”

Scott, whose son is entering the middle school in the fall, was referring to the controversial heterogeneous sixth-grade curriculum, an academic model in which students of all abilities study in the same classes. Heterogeneous grouping was introduced in the sixth grade last year, but came under scrutiny in April when the district announced that it was not only planning to implement the model in seventh grade next year, but that it intended to cut seventh-grade honors courses.

Scott was one of roughly 10 residents who voiced their concerns about the heterogeneous model at a May 10 board meeting, questioning its efficacy and saying that the sixth-grade curriculum does not challenge all students — some parents have said that their children are earning “100 percent averages” effortlessly and are bored with their classes. Others have said that there are few higher-level assignments requiring critical thinking, and that, overall, the curriculum is not rigorous or challenging enough.

Resident Julie Simms told the board that she and many parents feel that the district has so far failed to provide “empirical evidence demonstrating the efficacy of the program.”

“We would like to stress that we’re not inherently opposed to change, or to a heterogeneous grouping model,” Simms said, “provided that it can be implemented and executed in such a manner that each student is challenged …”

In the wake of the outcry from parents, school officials said that the sixth-grade model would remain the same next year, but that heterogeneous grouping would not be introduced in seventh grade. Honors or Regents classes will be available, said Dr. Vincent Butera, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

At the meeting, school officials said that while they support heterogeneous classrooms, the current model should be more closely evaluated. Trustee Darlene Tangney said that heterogeneous groupings “could be a great thing,” but that the model needs to be properly measured. “… I am not convinced that that measurement has happened in the last few years,” Tangney said.

Butera explained that the district introduced heterogeneous grouping in the sixth grade because of the “negative impact of tracking students at such an early age.” In a tracking system, Butera has said previously, advanced students and challenged students are put in different groups, which education research shows is not beneficial for them.

According to the National Middle School Association, the effects of tracking are particularly negative for poor and minority students, as well as those with limited knowledge of English, because it fails to focus on their learning needs. The association recommends that schools replace tracking with heterogeneous grouping, though it acknowledges that there is a need for additional research.

Some residents, like Amy Rand, who has a child at Lido Elementary School and said she is a 17-year-veteran of middle school education, expressed confidence in the heterogeneous model. “Doing anything other than heterogeneous is criminal,” Rand said. “It is nothing but excellent for every single one of our kids.”

According to Butera, the decision to implement the heterogeneous model in seventh grade was made in February. At the meeting, he mentioned a middle school survey of sixth-grade parents, conducted in February, in which 96 percent said they believed there was a positive learning environment for sixth-graders and 78 percent said they felt their children were being challenged.

Butera said he has heard from teachers that in the heterogeneous model, top-performing students continue to do well, but the district is striving to ensure that there is universal high student achievement. “We want to make sure every child is perfectly

challenged,” he said, “not just in the sixth grade …”

Butera acknowledged, however, that heterogeneous grouping remains a concern for many parents.

Scott said that until the district can say how it will engage her son academically, “I don’t feel confident [sending] him to the middle school.”

Isabelle Gille said that parents who question the model are simply “advocating for a quality education for each and every student in this district. It is not acceptable,” Gille added, “to meet the needs of

one group of children at the expense of another.”

Outgoing Superintendent Dr. Robert Greenberg suggested that the district continue its use of the heterogeneous model, but that it be carefully examined. “I will not waver on my recommendation that this is the right thing to do for all our youngsters,” Greenberg said.

“[But] I think if this direction is to be continued, it should be continued with a pair of fresh eyes,” he added, referring to incoming Superintendent David Weiss.

Board Vice President Patrick Gallagher said the issue needs further discussion. “I think we’re at a critical point where we need to really look back and reflect for a moment,” he said, noting that Weiss’s input, as well as that of a new middle school principal and math director, is needed. “They need to be as committed with it as we are committed with it,” Gallagher said. “If they’re not that committed, then we can’t move forward.”

Comments about this story? CEngelhardt@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.