TASK 2 / BAND 7.0+ / ACADEMIC ABILITIES

Some people think that schools should select students according to their academic abilities, while others believe that it is better to have students with different abilities studying together.

Discuss both views and state your own opinion.

There is a heated debate relating to whether schools should structure classes according to students' intellectual ability or allow strong and weak pupils to study together. This essay will examine this question from both points of view and then explain why I believe the former idea is more convincing. 

On the one hand, proponents of mixed-ability classes frequently argue that by sharing an educational environment, stronger learners can easily help weaker ones improve. With that, the number of low-achievers might eventually decline, resulting in increased academic success for all students. Conversely, a weak student would be stuck and constantly be left behind by the faster-progressing speed of other groups if they were segregated by level. Consequently, it would be virtually impossible for these students to catch up with their privileged peers, thus creating inequality in education. 

However, others argue that studying with their similarly skilled classmates would result in a more balanced progression among learners. In this way, both struggling students and those who excel academically will be able to study at their own pace. For example, while students in slower groups could not advance as far as those in faster ones, they have the requisite time to absorb the knowledge, something they could not be able to achieve if studying at a quicker rate. Additionally, this also benefits capable students because they are able to make better progress, more breakthroughs, and study more freely without having to halt and wait for their friends.

In conclusion, both arguments have validity. However, I believe that increasing personalization in learning is a preferable alternative. This is because it not only relieves strong students of the responsibility of supporting the weak but also increases the students' overall learning performance. Educational systems should prioritize this approach. (292 words)

IELTS Khang Tran.