Dec 17, 2010 09:02 GMT  ·  By
Learning alongside brighter students raises standards in classrooms for average pupils
   Learning alongside brighter students raises standards in classrooms for average pupils

Researchers from the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom argue in a new study that children who are smarter and more capable than their peers in the classrooms in fact raise the standards for that group, allowing the others to perform better than usual as well.

The correlation holds especially true in key stage 2 English and maths tests, the team reports. Regular primary-school pupils in England perform better on these assessments if they study alongside gifted or more able kids.

Scientists have also determined that the students who are closest to the average of their classmates are the main beneficiaries of this correlation. In other words, less able pupils do not benefit too much from having smarter children in the classroom.

The new research was conducted by experts at the UB Center for Market and Public Organization, who were led by scientist Steven Proud. The study is entitled “Peer effects in English Primary schools: An IV estimation of the effect of a more able peer group on age 11 examination results.”

“These results suggest that all pupils benefit from an increase in the ability of their peer group. However, some pupils benefit more than others,” the team leader explains.

“Depending on the objectives of schooling, these results could carry significant implications for the optimal grouping of children within schools,” he goes on to say.

Scientists have known for a long time that average children tend to benefit from studying in the same classrooms as brighter pupils, but the actual extent to which this effect is influencing the learning process has never been investigated in detail before.

“The magnitude and characteristics of the effect of a child’s peers on their outcomes has long interested researchers and policy makers,” Proud explains.

“In this paper, I take advantage of the correlation between  the average outcomes a child’s peer group attains with the distribution of ages within the cohort to construct an instrument for the ability of the peer group in order to estimate the peers effects on children’s outcomes at age 11,” he adds.

“IV results suggest there is a significant positive effect of a more able peer group. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is more benefit for children who are close to the ability of the peer group than those whose ability is not close,” the expert argues.

All the key stage 2 tests on which the new conclusions are based were taken between 2002 and 2006. Information were taken from every primary school in England that has a comprehensive admissions policy, the team reveals.