Grouping primary school children by their ability may intensify the disadvantages experienced by summer-born children, research has suggested. A study from the Institute of Education found that the youngest children in a school year are far more likely to be placed in the lowest ability groups than autumn-born pupils. The findings were based on information from more than 5,000 English seven-year-olds. Tammy Campbell, the study’s author, said: “If teachers place younger pupils – early in their school career – in lower ability groupings, and older pupils in higher groupings, this hasty (and potentially premature) sorting may have a significant impact on subsequent differences in educational attainment.”
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