Exploring Teacher Beliefs and Use of Acceleration, Ability Grouping, and Formative Assessment

Few academic interventions for gifted students have generated more empirical support than acceleration and ability grouping, and formative assessment is advocated as a tool that educators can use to appropriately integrate accelerative practices and ability grouping into the classroom. However, the empirical support for accelerative practices, ability grouping, and formative assessment does not always translate into practice. This qualitative study sought to explore how teacher expectations about student ability influenced teacher use of accelerative practices, ability grouping, and formative assessment. The findings indicate that the availability and use of formative assessments, coupled with high teacher expectations about student ability, support teacher use of best practices in pacing and grouping strategies.