Bartolo reassures banding will not eliminate mixed abilities

Video: Ray Attard

Education minister Evarist Bartolo has reassured academics, educators and parents that banding would not eliminate mixed abilities but was necessary in the transition between streaming and mixed ability grouping.

Last week, a number of academics blasted government for introducing a system which would reduce inclusion and widen the achievement gap between students.

While pointing out that academics are divided over the matter, Bartolo told MaltaToday that when streaming was removed three years ago, “mixed ability was introduced in a haste and without the necessary preparations” which meant that teachers were not ready for the challenge and mixed ability got a “bad reputation.”

Insisting that government is not going back to streaming, because the system removed in 2011 gave terrible results, Bartolo said that banding would “be part of the transition” between streaming and mixed ability grouping.

Speaking to MaltaToday, he explained that banding, which already exists in certain schools, would not eliminate mixed abilities completely, but instead narrow down the spectrum of abilities in a singular classroom, allowing teachers to reach out to students more effectively.

“The current system is not allowing students who are performing badly to improve and neither is it helping students who are doing well to do better,” Bartolo said.

Bartolo added that whatever policy is introduced, “teachers will be the ones which make it happen on a daily basis.”

Highlighting the difficulties of mixed ability grouping since its introduction, the Malta Union of Teachers welcomed the decision to introduce banding in state schools.

In a statement issued today, MUT said that it requested clarifications from the education ministry about the way banding will be implemented and is satisfied about the procedure which will be adopted.

Echoing Bartolo’s comment’s to MaltaToday, MUT noted that a number of schools already adopted ability grouping on similar parameters of banding.

The union added that an ongoing evaluation of the system to should be carried out to ensure that all decisions are backed by evidence provided directly by schools and educators, “who are ultimately facing the difficulties of mixed ability and differentiated teaching.”