Children in primary schools in Ireland are often placed in within-class ‘ability’ groups (Sloan et al., 2021), despite well-documented issues with this as a pedagogical approach (Francis et al., 2016). Recent studies have considered the longitudinal impact of ability grouping in UK samples at both primary (e.g., Boliver & Capsada-Munsech, 2021; Papachristou et al., 2022) and secondary levels (e.g., Francis et al., 2020; Hodgen et al., 2023), however similar evidence within the Irish context is lacking. Research with Irish primary school children through in-depth qualitative case studies has documented how ability grouping shaped children’s interactions and peer networks (McGillicuddy, 2021), with children in high ability groups attaining a higher social status. Longitudinal studies within the UK have shown that children placed in lower ability groups at age 7 years are less likely than their peers in high ability groups to enjoy maths at age 7 or 11 years, after controlling for maths ability at age 7, sex and social class (Bolvier & Capsada-Munsech, 2021). Other longitudinal studies, again, set within the UK context, have suggested a causal link between ability grouping and academic self-concept (Campbell, 2021) and emotional and behavioural problems (Papachristou et al., 2022), factors which are also associated with poorer academic outcomes. Taken together, these findings suggests that ability grouping practices may perpetuate social inequalities in education through an impact on a range of outcomes associated with school success. Building on the existing research conducted primarily outside of the Irish context, the current analysis seeks to explore, for the first time, longitudinal associations between ability grouping in reading and maths in an Irish primary school sample. Further, given the mixed empirical findings of evidence of gender differences in misallocation to ability groups (Muijs & Dunne, 2010; Connolly et al., 2019) and gender differences in relation to school engagement, academic self-concept and subject liking, we explored whether gender as a potential moderator in relationships between ability grouping and outcomes.

This paper draws on data collected over two waves of a national, longitudinal cohort study of primary education in Ireland, the Children’s School Lives (CSL) study (Devine et al., 2020). CSL involves approximately 200 schools and follows 4,000 children, their teachers, school principals, and families. This mixed methods study captures data annually using quantitative surveys, classroom observations, and case study qualitative approaches. The study involves two distinct cohorts: Cohort A followed children for 4 annual waves of data collection, from their first year in primary school (Junior Infants class; age 4-5 years) until to 2nd class (age 8-9 years). Cohort B followed children for 5 annual waves of data collection from 2nd class (age 8-9 years) until the final year in primary school, 6th class. The current analysis focuses on ability grouping practices within Cohort B. For both cohorts, the first wave of data collection began in 2019 which means that the 2020 wave of data collection were impacted by Covid-19 school closures. For this reason, the current analysis focuses on two waves of data from Cohort B: wave 3 (Spring 2021) and wave 4 (Spring 2022). Wave 3 involved 99 primary schools, recruited following stratified random sampled from a national database to reflect the school population in relation to school size, designated disadvantaged status, and school gender mix. Teachers reported their use of ability grouping for reading and for maths, and in classes where ability grouping was used, teachers reported whether each child was in a low, middle or high ability group. Other variables were measured using child report through a self-completed questionnaire administered by trained fieldworkers on a whole class basis. Questionnaires consisted of validated measures, selected following a review of the literature.

At wave 3, for reading, 10% of the sample were not taught in ability groups, with a similar proportion not taught in ability groups for maths (11%). For reading, 34% of the sample were placed in high ability groups, 37% in middle ability groups, and 19% in low ability groups. The proportions were similar for maths, with 31% in high ability groups, 40% in middle ability groups, and 18% in low ability groups. There was a high level of consistency between ability group placements across subjects, with 72% to 74% of those in the low, middle or high ability group for reading also in the same ability group for maths. Analysis is currently underway using multilevel linear regression to account for the clustered nature of the data (children within schools). These models will assess the relationship between ability group status in wave 3 and change in a number of outcomes over time including: child academic self-concept, school engagement, school belonging, subject interest. Preliminary analysis to date suggests that overall, children in middle and low ability groups for maths at wave 3 have significantly lower interest in maths at wave 4, while for reading, a significant difference was only found for children in low ability groups. After controlling for subject interest at wave 3, this pattern remained for maths, but not for reading. When the models were split by gender, girls in low ability groups had significantly lower liking for reading in wave 4, however there was no difference between boys by ability group status. For math, boys in low ability groups, and girls in both low and middle ability groups, had lower liking in wave 4.

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