The Range of Instructional Need Within U.S. Grade 4 Mathematics Classrooms

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Abstract

Due to persistent academic disparities present when students enter school, age-based grade-level classrooms are assumed to contain a wide range of instructional needs. This potentially places many students in suboptimal learning environments. Using the U.S. portion of the TIMSS 2019 grade four data, we find U.S. classrooms to be extremely academically diverse and the majority of variance to lie between students within classrooms. This highlights the limited utility of using age as a proxy for academic need and the challenging environment most elementary teachers face. Thus, delivering appropriately matched learning experiences under the current system of age-based grouping is likely difficult. This is particularly relevant for high-achieving students whose needs are often not the focus of the enacted curriculum.

Authors

• Blaine Pedersen, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Matthew C. Makel, Johns Hopkins University

• Scott Joseph Peters, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

• Jonathan A. Plucker, Johns Hopkins University