The Effect of Homogenous [sic] Versus Heterogeneous Reading Achievement Groups on 4th Graders [sic] Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of homogenous versus heterogeneous reading achievement groups on 4th graders reading comprehension. The participants in this study were all fourth grade students in the suburban Anne Arundel County Public School (AACPS) system of Maryland. All participants received whole group instruction with teaching points from the AACPS reading curriculum consistent with the Common Core State Standards. There were three groups in the study in which students were to collaborate to solve a single problem related to the whole group instruction of the day. The groups were formed based on student’s scores on the AACPS 3rd grade Reading Benchmark assessment. Students who scored below 50% on the pre-assessment were placed into one group, those who scored above 50% were placed in another group, and a third group was for med by randomly selecting students from each group to form a heterogeneous group. After six weeks, students were given a mock benchmark assessment, also created by AACPS, in order to determine if students scores showed the most progress when working in low achievement homogenous groups, high achievement homogenous groups or heterogeneous groups. The results on the mock benchmark assessment indicated no significant difference in reading comprehension across the three groups. The null hypothesis was retained.