Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Ability grouping in education; Motivation in education;

Abstract

Many educators are arguing that if education is to be successful, classroom teachers must be able to match the instructional material for each student with that student's level of achievement. Supposedly, providing material that is too difficult or too advanced for the student's ability can result in failure and eventually a loss of motivation. On the other hand, providing material far below the present level of achievement can lead to a similar loss of motivation. According to this line of argument one of the basic tasks facing the teacher is the proper "matching" of the curriculum to the student's capabilities.

The research for this study involved a comparison of the results obtained from The Wide Range Achievement Test, the classroom text used, and the teacher's estimate of each student's ability.

The Wide Range Achievement Test used for the study of the basic school subjects. This test provided a grade placement of an individual student in the areas of reading, spelling and arithmetic.

The sample for this study consisted of children referred to the Educational Clinic at the University of Northern Iowa.

Only one of the six hypotheses was refuted and this compared the arithmetic text and Ss ability as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test. The findings also showed that the Ss tended to be overrated in arithmetic and underrated in reading by the teachers.

Year of Submission

1972

Degree Name

Specialist in Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

Department

Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations

First Advisor

Ralph Scott

Comments

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Date Original

1972

Object Description

1 PDF file (51 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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