Commentary--Sorting It Out: Thoughts on 'Does Sorting Students Improve Scores? An Analysis of Class Composition' by Courtney A. Collins and Li Gan

One of the most challenging decisions made by school system administrators each year is how to assign students to teachers. This decision, usually guided by the administrator's beliefs and values, has major implications for the teacher and the student. Collins and Gan undertook a complex study to examine the impact of grouping practices on student achievement within 135 schools in the Dallas independent school district. Their study addressed three issues: (a) how schools sort students into classes, (b) the effect of these sorting practices on student performance, and (c) differences in effects for different groups of students. They looked at the "tracking effect" on high- and low-achieving students, students who had been identified for special (SPED) and gifted (GT) education, and for students with limited English proficiency (LEP). This commentary explores the implications of this study for students with gifts and talents. [For "Does Sorting Students Improve Scores? An Analysis of Class Composition." NBER Working Paper No. 18848 (2013), see ED541251.]