Tell me with whom you're learning, and I'll tell you how much you've learned: Mixed-ability versus same-ability grouping in mathematics

In this article we report on 3 studies in which we investigated the effects of teaching mathematics in a mixed-ability setting on students' achievements and teachers' attitudes. The findings of the first 2 studies indicate that the achievements of students need not be compromised in a heterogeneous setting; on the contrary, the achievements of our average and less able students proved to be significantly higher when compared to their peers in the same-ability classes, whereas highly able students performed about the same. In the 3rd study we show that participating in the project workshops had a positive effect on teachers' attitudes toward teaching in mixed-ability mathematics classes.

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