Abstract:

Oasis Elementary School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress per the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and received an Underperforming label per AZ LEARNS due to the academic gap between English Language Learners, Special Education students and the general student population. The desire to meet the needs of a growing diverse student population led to school reform with the implementation of Within Grade Level Flexible Grouping. The grouping approach was selected to narrow the academic range that naturally exists within a heterogeneous classroom and to give students the opportunity for movement as they reached mastery. The effectiveness of Within Grade Level Flexible grouping was studied by comparing the student academic achievement at Oasis Elementary School and three Title schools with similar demographics within the same district. Quasi-experimental Interpretable Non-equivalent Untreated Control Group with Pretest and Posttest, was the research design used for the comparisons. The reading AIMS data was analyzed by using the NCLB accountability system and the Within Grade Level Flexible Grouping Growth Model.

The findings revealed that Oasis Elementary School had similar achievement levels as the comparison schools. Despite their similar academic achievement levels, it was concluded that the implementation provided a positive outcome based on the high percentage of novice teachers at Oasis Elementary School during the time of the study. This study provided detailed information of successes and challenges for administrators interested in implementing Within Grade Level Flexible Grouping. In addition it contributed to the research on a topic with minimum case studies.