Making a comprehensive case against between-school academic grouping for secondary schools.

Abstract

In this thesis, I present a comprehensive case against the practice of between-school ability grouping for secondary schools. With this practice, pupils get selected into different ability groups, which then determine what schools the pupils can enter after primary school. I will be focusing specifically on between-school ability grouping as it exists in Dutch society. To start, I will create a working definition of the practice to test against the Dutch context and worries about equality of opportunity. Then I will introduce three distinct arguments against the practice. First of all, it creates educational inequality, where some students experience much greater barriers to education than others. Secondly, it creates an academic status hierarchy, where certain pupils are more valued than others. Finally, it is an example of wrongfully paternalistic treatment, where the prospective autonomy of pupils is disregarded.