Osiągnięcia szkolne czwartoklasistów w oddziałach o różnym składzie wiekowym
Academic achievement of fourth-graders in classes of different age composition

Summary/Abstract: Are hopes pinned on mixed-age grouping in preschool and elementary school substantiated by scientificdata? The answer was looked for in TIMSS 2015 research in Poland. It was carried on inthe middle of the reform of school entry age which lowered it from seven to six year of life. In thecountry representative sample of fourth-graders 17.8 percent of pupils entered school at the age ofsix. In 254 classrooms the dispersion of age varied from 0.20 to 0.65 years and was greater than inTIMSS 2011 (0.15–0.40). The analysis of achievement in mathematics and science was performedby means of hierarchical linear models with the control of pupils’ gender, age, initial skills, andSES, as well as school’s location and class size. The achievement in mathematics was correlatedsignificantly negative with the dispersion of age in the class. The younger pupils scored the highestin mathematics and science in classes with moderate dispersion. The results do not support a beliefthat mixed-age grouping is beneficial to academic achievement.

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