It’s common to ‘stream’ maths classes. But grouping students by ability can lead to ‘massive disadvantage’

  • Written by: Elena Prieto-Rodriguez, Professor, University of Newcastle
It’s common to ‘stream’ maths classes. But grouping students by ability can lead to ‘massive disadvantage’Karolina Grabowska/Pexels, CC BY

It is very common in Australian schools to “stream” students for subjects such as English, science and maths. This means students are grouped into different classes based on their previous academic attainment, or in some cases, just a perception of their level of ability.

Students can also be streamed as...

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