School Age

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My oldest was in a split FI class from GR1 to 6 (in the bottom grade until gr5). It worked well for her academically and now starting in a new school for 7 & 8 she already has a whole group of gr8 "friends". My youngest is going to be in the bottom of a gr2/3 split starting this school year and I

I was flattered the year my eldest son was assigned to a grade two/three split class. I was assured that because he was bright and motivated, it would be a great fit. A combined grade was sold as a kind of Darwinian survival of the educational fittest. Several split classes later, like many other parents, I wonder who’s winning in this scenario.

Across the country, school boards are increasingly using split classes to handle declining enrolment and class-size caps, while also juggling specialized programs (like gifted and French immersion). In Ontario, for example, about one in four kids is in a split class. The numbers are roughly the same across the country, and even higher in rural areas where there simply aren’t enough students in each class to warrant a single grade.

But do split grades really work? Are teachers simply being asked to make the best of a bad numbers situation? Or can your child actually benefit from learning with older or younger students?

The research suggests the latter. Joel Gajadharsingh, professor emeritus of education at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, is considered a leading expert on combined classes. He says students in split grades “do just as well, if not better” academically, thanks to repetition and exposure to another grade. He adds that their ability to behave and get along with others is also superior. They’re more independent, confident, responsible, dependable, respectful, collaborative and — if you haven’t heard enough already — even tend to develop better study habits, regardless of whether they’re in the younger or older grade.

“They’re not simply left alone,” says Gajadharsingh. “They have assignments to do and it’s these things that teach them independence and dependability to do their work. They also learn to collaborate in this kind of environment, where they either give help or seek help.”

Originally published in Today's Parent, September 2009