Wage Increase Deceptive, Say Feds

Another Snow, Another Day Off In W-b Area

By JENNIFER LEARN; Times Leader Hazleton Bureau
 Sunday, January 16, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 8A QUICK WORDS: GROUPING PUPILS:
PROGRESS OR PRESSURE 





HAZLETON -- Straight-A ninth-grader Maria Marsicano had mixed feelings when
the district added "C" and "D" students to her math, English and science
classes at Hazleton Junior High School last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In a way it held me back because the teachers tend to devote more time to
students who need more help," said Marsicano, 14, of Hazleton. "But then
again, some kids may improve their self-esteem by looking up to kids with
higher grades and saying, `I can do that too.' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I can't really say I'm for or against it. I can see where the school
board's discrepancy comes in." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Hazleton Area School Board is debating whether to continue to group
pupils of mixed abilities in classes -- called heterogeneous grouping -- or to
return to a system of putting pupils of like abilities in the same class --
known as homogeneous grouping. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nationally, the trend is toward putting students of varying abilities into
groups as school districts attempt to find ways to teach students of all
levels. All Hazleton Area intermediate schools were converted to heterogeneous
grouping when the district consolidated its schools last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 New school board member Bill McCann, who helped make student grouping a
campaign issue last fall, wants to return to the days students were placed in
classes according to their abilities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not considering ability when student classes are formed holds back high
achievers and makes low achievers feel inferior as they struggle to keep up
with other students in their class, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During a board work session scheduled for Tuesday, he will reveal the
results of a recent survey of teachers on their experiences with varied
methods of grouping pupils. McCann is head of the district's pupil/teacher
committee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meanwhile, school board member Ed Pane and other proponents of
heterogeneous grouping say putting students of mixed aptitudes in the same
class gives all students an equal setting to learn and eliminates tracking, or
labeling students as smart or dumb. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pane also believes the format helps students learn to get along with people
of different talents and abilities as they must in when they enter the
business world. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mike Christina, president of the Hazleton Area Education Association
teachers' union, predicts more teachers will support homogeneous grouping
because it is easier to teach students of similar abilities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's harder to give a class of 25 students equal time when you have very
good students and students who need a lot of help in the same class,"
Christina said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Christina challenges faster learners in his heterogeneous science classes
at West Hazleton Junior High School with special assignments and more
difficult questions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Making it work &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Teachers need support to make heterogeneous grouping a success, said
Douglas Lynch, chairman of the Wilkes University Education Department. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For example, teachers should instruct no more than 25 students and be
provided a variety of teaching materials and space for working in clusters or
groups. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The criticism of heterogeneous grouping has centered on the West Hazleton,
Hazleton and Freeland junior high schools and the central high school.
Elementary school students always have been grouped heterogeneously because
they aren't tested enough to group them by abilities, said Curriculum and
Instruction Director John Rabets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The move to heterogeneous grouping was done after much thought, many
studies and a consideration for the national trend," Pane said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pane said improvements have been made in heterogeneous grouping at the
junior high school since last year. For example, the district added more
accelerated placement classes in various subjects to challenge high achievers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And the class choices for high school students -- business, academic or
vocational concentrations -- act as a way of sorting them into groups of
similar abilities, Pane said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The true test &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ninth-grader Vito Logudic, like his classmate Marsicano, sees good and bad
in heterogeneous grouping at Hazleton Junior High School. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Last year I was sort of held back, not that I'm smarter, but I just learn
fast. I felt badly for kids who took longer," said Logudic, 14, of Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This year Logudic enrolled in honors courses in algebra, history, biology
and English that weren't available to him last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I really like the honors courses. They're smaller classes and a little
more challenging," Logudic said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Putting students of varied abilities together doesn't eliminate labeling,
Logudic said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Last year kids still made fun of ones who answer all the time. Some kids
still got called dumb. There's always going to be labels, and that's sad,"
Logudic said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ninth-grader Ryan Kelly, 14, of Drums, said teachers are the key to
successful instruction when student abilities vary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Some teachers are able to keep every student going at his own pace
collectively, others can't. I think it depends on the teacher," Kelly said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I always thought the only benefit of heterogeneous grouping would be
social," he said. He wishes school officials would group students of similar
abilities for basic subjects like English and math and continue to group
students of varied abilities together in classes like home economics,
introduction to foreign language, gym and shop. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Logudic agrees with the social advantage of heterogeneous grouping. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "For my whole life, I've been with the same group of kids. It was nice to
meet some new people for a change," Logudic said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most area school districts do not group based on student ability. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wyoming Valley West, for example, has converted all but one of its schools
to heterogeneous grouping, said Andrew Marko, director of instruction,
curriculum and pupils. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The last school should be switched to heterogeneous grouping next year, he
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Twenty to 30 years ago, schools were told to separate students into
groups," Marko said. "But all of the research done in the past 20 years
indicates that the worst thing to do to students is to group them
homogeneously because you label and track students."

Grouping Pupils: Progress Or Pressure? 
As The School Board 
Grapples With Heterogeneous 
Grouping, Opinion In The 
District Is About As Divided As A School Full Of Cliques

Grouping Pupils: Progress Or Pressure? As The School Board Grapples With Heterogeneous Grouping, Opinion In The District Is About As Divided As A School Full Of Cliques