Latest Evidence Supports Mixed-Age, Composite Classes

New research shows that many students who study in composite classes perform better than those in single year cohorts.

The study finds evidence that, for Early Years and Lower Primary pupils, the gains created by composite classes are roughly equivalent to the attainment gap between the average pupil and a pupil in one of the 20% most deprived data zones in Scotland, where the research took place.

Composite classes – where children from different year groups are taught together – are widespread across the world and, within BISA, students in EYFS and KS1 are in composite, mixed-age learning group and this has been the practice within these Key Stages for the past 5 years.

The effects of composite classes on pupil attainment, alongside the effect of smaller class sizes, are the subject of much debate amongst parents, educators and politicians – yet composite classes are little-studied.

In a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, researchers at Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute set out to investigate the effects of both composite classes and class sizes on pupil attainment. For this they took advantage of high-quality pupil level data covering a period of 12 years.

Their results suggest that Year 1 students benefit from sharing composite classrooms with Year 2 students, with every additional older student raising the Year 1 students’ numeracy performance by around one percentage point. The effects on literacy were slightly larger at 1.3 to 1.5 percentage points.

Reassuringly, the researchers also found no compelling evidence for adverse attainment effects on Year 2 students who share a composite classroom with Year 1 students.

Lead researcher Dr Markus Gehrsitz said: “Our research finds that exposure to older peers is highly beneficial to early stage primary school pupils in terms of attainment.

“Composite classes, which are widespread internationally ... explicitly create these peer effects while simultaneously reducing the number of classes that are needed and by extension reducing cost.

Our study should ease parental concerns about any negative attainment effect of composite classes, and reassure local authorities that the cost savings provided by composite classes do not come at the expense of pupil attainment or educational quality.

“While not a panacea – for instance composite classes often require more intense preparation by teachers – we would encourage policymakers to experiment more with mixed classrooms.

Ruth Maisey, Education Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “Although focused on schools in Scotland, the finding that composite classes are more effective for improving pupil outcomes than lower class sizes is relevant to other nations in the UK and internationally. In particular, this evidence will help for schools which are under capacity make better-informed choices about whether to run with smaller class sizes or to opt for composite classes.”

At BISA we welcome this latest research supporting our practice within EYFS and Key Stage 1 and will continue to keep up-to-date with the latest in educational research as we 'Reach for the Highest' - 'Summum Appeto'!