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Should we ‘stream’ school students based on ability? New research suggests yes – but we need to be cautious

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 790 words · By Becky Taylor; David Pomeroy; Olivia Johnston
Evidence-Based Policy Academic Streaming Educational Equity
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What to know about Evidence-Based Policy

The article discusses the debate over academic streaming in schools, presenting a new UK study that suggests benefits for high-achieving students in mathematics. It balances these findings against long-standing concerns regarding equity and the potential for lower-stream students to experience a cycle of low achievement.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 12
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Educators have long debated whether students should be “streamed” – or organised into different classes based on their academic performance.

Why it matters

Is it better for students to be learning with students of a similar “ability”, or a mix?

Common ground

In Australia, most high schools stream students according to their ability, especially for maths.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses the debate over academic streaming in schools, presenting a new UK study that suggests benefits for high-achieving students in mathematics. It balances these findings against long-standing concerns regarding equity and the potential for lower-stream students to experience a cycle of low achievement.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/should-we-stream-school-students-based-on-ability-ne…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
schedule Pending 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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Claim 1: “a new UK study, involving Becky Taylor, one of the authors of this article, has just found high-achieving maths students in England achieved better results when streamed.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a UCL comment and an EEF research announcement, confirm a UK study involving Becky Taylor found that high-achieving maths students in England did better when streamed.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 2026, a leadership crisis emerged within the Labour Party amid public and internal party dissatisfaction with Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and his government. Labour's po…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Labour_Party_leadership_c…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rebecca Jane Francis, (born 7 November 1969) is a British educationalist and academic, who specialises in educational inequalities. Since January 2020, she has been Chief Executive of the Education E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_Francis
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Reform UK, also known as the Reform Party, is a right-wing populist and far-right political party in the United Kingdom. It has seven members of Parliament in the House of Commons, two members of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_UK
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 2: “The new study found high-achieving students made much more progress than low-achieving students when streaming was used.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 3: “Students from minority racial groups and disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to find themselves in the lowest streams.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from multiple sources indicates that minority groups (specifically African American students in one source) and students in 'lower' groups are disproportionately affected or represented in lower academic tracks.
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web search NEUTRAL — Students streamed into "lower" groups often end up doing lower-level work and miss out on the challenges they would need to develop more advanced skills. The intent of easier work might be to protect …
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/597529/should-we-stream…
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web search NEUTRAL — Protocol On Reducing Academic Stress In Students.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1…
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web search NEUTRAL — African American students are disproportionately represented in lower academic tracks, which are often handicapped by lower quality curricula, equipment, and instruction (Hallinan, 1996; Oakes, 1990).
https://www.academia.edu/63500241/The_psychology_of_dispropo…
help
Claim 4: “Streaming also did not damage the results or self-belief of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
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Claim 5: “Streaming can also occur in the primary years.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that ability grouping/streaming occurs in primary schools, including a survey on primary school practices and a discussion on pros/cons for high-ability learners.
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web search NEUTRAL — In practice, however, most primary schools were too small to implement streaming. In 1944, the Butler Education Act, established -3- the need for ability grouping in primary schools to ensure effectiv…
https://www.academia.edu/21036597/Ability_Grouping_Practices…
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web search NEUTRAL — Children can be streamed, grouped for ability within the classroom, or taught in mixed-ability classes; streaming them in primary school, while possibly beneficial for high-ability learners, can affec…
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/…
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web search NEUTRAL — ii) Research on ability grouping and learning settings at other levels of education like Primary schools colleges and the University.Benefits and disadvantages of of streaming practices to accommodate…
https://ijehss.com/uploads2020/EHS_3_119.pdf
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Claim 6: “In Australia, most high schools stream students according to their ability, especially for maths.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results from the same source (which appear to be different versions or excerpts of an article) explicitly state that most Australian high schools stream students, especially for maths.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 7, 2026 ... In Australia, some schools have stopped streaming in a bid to be more inclusive, but streaming is still the norm. A new UK study. Despite these ...
https://theconversation.com/should-we-stream-school-students…
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web search NEUTRAL — In Europe, however, tracking is a term used for differing-ability schools ... To cope with the crisis, many who have been required to teach secondary level ...
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ883877.pdf
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 8, 2026 ... ... ability", or a mix? In Australia, most high schools stream students according to their ability, especially for maths. Streaming can also ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/aotearoa/comments/1u03u1y/should_we…
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Claim 7: “This concern has spurred “de-streaming” movements in New Zealand and Ontario, Canada.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web results confirm de-streaming movements in both New Zealand (mentioning Māori education scholars) and Ontario, Canada (mentioning Grade 9 math and BLM movement).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This concern has spurred "de-streaming" movements in New Zealand and Ontario, Canada. In Australia, some schools have stopped streaming in a bid to be more inclusive, but streaming is still the norm.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/597529/should-we-st…
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web search NEUTRAL — In New Zealand, leading Māori education scholars have long pointed to the correlations between teacher expectations for Māori students and their educational attainment in mainstream secondary schools.
https://theconversation.com/could-academic-streaming-in-new-…
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web search NEUTRAL — those in applied classes. Ontario’s announcement of de-streaming of Grade 9 math coincides with a swell of activism regarding the Black Lives Matter movement that has launched conversations across ins…
https://on360.ca/policy-papers/how-to-end-streaming-in-ontar…
info
Claim 8: “These students made three months’ more progress in schools that streamed students for maths that those that did not.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While sources confirm that high-attainers make more progress when grouped by ability, none of the provided evidence specifically mentions the 'three months' figure.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 9, 2024 ... All classrooms are mixed ability but some more than others. Some high schools “stream” students so you have higher and lower ability ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/australianprimaryteachers/po…
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web search NEUTRAL — of the test, and found that private school pupils from Kent, with the same English and maths results, ... (2014) Progress made by high-attaining children from ...
https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Poten…
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web search NEUTRAL — Broadly speaking, high attainers make more progress than low attainers when they are grouped by ability (Education Endowment Foundation, 2016). The effects ...
https://cfey.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/SMC-Progress-at-…
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Claim 9: “Students with disadvantage and students with low prior achievement made similar amounts of progress regardless of how they were grouped.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 10: “this study found students who were not streamed made only one month less progress overall than students who were, after two years.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
info
Claim 11: “The study examined the maths results and self-belief of students in years 7 and 8. It did this by comparing schools... This included 28 that used mixed-ability grouping and 69 that used streaming.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific numbers (28 mixed-ability and 69 streaming schools) and the focus on Years 7 and 8 are mentioned in the UCL comment source, but the other sources do not provide these specific figures to corroborate the exact count.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Advance UK, formerly the Integrity Party, was a far-right nationalist political party in the United Kingdom led by Ben Habib, the former Deputy Leader of Reform UK. The party was launched in June 2025…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_UK
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An election took place in the East Anglia constituency of South West Norfolk on 4 July 2024, as part of the 2024 general election. Liz Truss, the shortest-serving British prime minister in history, wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Norfolk_in_the_2024…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Summer of '69" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams from his fourth studio album, Reckless (1984). The song was written by Adams and his longtime collaborator Jim Vallance, and produce…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_'69
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 12: “In Australia, some schools have stopped streaming in a bid to be more inclusive, but streaming is still the norm.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that some Australian schools stopped streaming but it remains the norm is found in the same source as claim 0 and 3, but not corroborated by other independent sources provided in the evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 2, 2026 ... While the practice of education has evolved significantly since ... Many of these schools have disappeared, but some remain. Over time ...
https://www.emerald.com/her/article/doi/10.1108/HER-09-2025-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Australian Government recognises that there are some students with particular needs ... Exposing these best practice examples encourages other schools ...
https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.…
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web search NEUTRAL — ... have identified further relevant programs for people with mental illness. While there are some examples of best-practice stigma reduction for health ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7814561/
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.