Which statement best describes concerns about how comprehensives operate in relation to social class and streaming?

Which statement best describes concerns about how comprehensives operate in relation to social class and streaming?

• A. They stream or band students within the school according to ability.
• B. They fully break class barriers.
• C. They always mix students across classes.
• D. They reproduce the old tripartite system within a school.

Answer: (A)

Comprehensive schools aim to educate all students together, but a central concern is that they still separate students into ability groups or streams for different subjects. This internal tracking means pupils are placed in layers that affect the pace, level of challenge, and opportunities they receive. Because prior achievement and family support often correlate with social class, higher streams tend to include more advantaged students who have more encouragement and resources, while lower streams can capture students facing more disadvantages. The result is that class-based inequalities are reproduced within the school, even though entry into the school was non-selective. So the statement about streaming or banding students within the school according to ability best captures the issue. The other ideas don’t fit as well: comprehensives are not guaranteed to mix all students across classes, they do not fully break class barriers, and while internal tracking can resemble some aspects of the old tripartite system, the key concern is the ongoing within-school division by ability.

Comprehensive schools aim to educate all students together, but a central concern is that they still separate students into ability groups or streams for different subjects. This internal tracking means pupils are placed in layers that affect the pace, level of challenge, and opportunities they receive. Because prior achievement and family support often correlate with social class, higher streams tend to include more advantaged students who have more encouragement and resources, while lower streams can capture students facing more disadvantages. The result is that class-based inequalities are reproduced within the school, even though entry into the school was non-selective.

So the statement about streaming or banding students within the school according to ability best captures the issue. The other ideas don’t fit as well: comprehensives are not guaranteed to mix all students across classes, they do not fully break class barriers, and while internal tracking can resemble some aspects of the old tripartite system, the key concern is the ongoing within-school division by ability.