Volume 2 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 50

48 detracked, they in essence are detracked because students are in mixed-ability classes. The current research supports the research and authors who claim mixed-ability classes lead to equality and higher achievement for all students (Burris & Garrity, 2008; Burris & Welner, 2005; Oakes, 1985, 2005). The researcher expected the Level II and Level III mean score of the students who had been in the seventh-grade Pre-AP classes to be statistically significantly higher than the mean score of the students who had been in the heterogeneous seventh-grade classes. The data, however, revealed that not only was the score of the heterogeneous group higher, it was statistically significant - ly higher. Based on the data, the implication is that ability group - ing does not increase achievement, but mixed-ability classes do increase student achievement (Burris & Garrity, 2008; Burris & Welner, 2005; Oakes, 1985, 2005). Conclusions It appears from the current findings that grouping students in seventh-grade science is not making the difference anticipated by the District. Students did not score at higher levels on the eighth- grade Science STAAR since the implementation of the Pre-AP seventh-grade science class. The achievement gap between the Pre-AP students from low and high SES was not statistically significant. However, the gap between Pre-AP students who are White and students who are Non-White was statistically signifi - cant. There is concern over the condition of education of all students in the United States. The reauthorization of the Elemen - tary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 1969 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, indicates that the government is making an effort to ensure the success of all of our children (ESSA, 2015). Ability grouping has been used as a method to provide students the curriculum and instruction to maximize their learning and development (Agne, 1999; Ansalone, 2010; Schullery & Schullery, 2006; Vanderhart, 2006). Often this grouping causes greater differences in learning between the lower and higher students and divides students along racial and socio- economic lines (Ansalone, 2010; Loveless, 1999; Manning & Kovach, 2003; Mickelson, 2015; Oakes, 2005). The daunting task to provide an equitable education to all students looms before educators. With such conflicting research for and against ability grouping, educators need to find a way to resolve the differences so that every child of every color and every socioeconomic status can be successful and pursue his dreams. References Agne, K. (1999). “Kill the baby”: Making all things equal. Educational Horizons, 77 (3), 140-147. Ansalone, G. (2010). Tracking: Educational differentiation or defective strategy. Educational Research Quarterly, 34 (2), 3-17. Aud, S., Fox, M. A., & KewalRanani, A. (2010). Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups. Retrieved from the National Center for Education Statistics website: http:// nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015.pdf Ballón, E. G. (2008). Racial differences on high school math track assignment. Journal of Latinos and Education, 7 (4), 272-287. doi: 10.1080/15348430802143428 Brown, F., Hunter, R. C., & Donahoo, S., (Eds.). (2012). Diversity in schools, (pp. 149-167), Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Burris, C. C., & Garrity, D. T. (2008). Detracking for excellence and equity . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Burris, C. C., & Welner, K. G. (2005, April). Closing the achievement gap by detracking. Phi Delta Kappan. 594-598. Chapman, T. K. (2013). You can’t erase race! Using CRT to explain the presence of race and racism in majority white suburban schools. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 34 (4), 611-627. College Board. (2014). The 10th annual AP report to the nation . Retrieved from http://media.collegeboard.com/ digitalServices/pdf/ap/rtn/10th-annual/10th-annual-ap- report-to-the-nation-single-page.pdf Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Securing the right to learn: Policy and practice for powerful teaching and learning. Educational Researcher, 35 (7), 13-24. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, Pub. L. 114-95, (2015). Ford, D. Y., Moore, J. L., III, & Milner, H. R. (2005). Beyond cultureblindness: A model of culture with implications for gifted education. Roeper Review , 27 , 97-103. Kalogrides, D., & Loeb, S. (2013). Different teachers, different peers: The magnitude of student sorting within schools. Educational Researcher , 42 (6), 304-316. doi: 10.3102/0013189X13495087 Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C. C. (1992). Meta-analytic findings on grouping programs. Gifted Child Quarterly , 36 (2), 73-77. Loveless, T. (1999). The tracking wars: State reform meets school Sally Smykla Scoggins, Ed.D.