Perceptions of multiple stakeholders on the effectiveness of ability grouping of gifted and talented

Every school in the world has a mission to help children reach their potential. In practice, however, many teachers do not always attend to the needs of gifted students as they think that the students can achieve by themselves and do not need any individual attention. An Australian Parliamentary Senate Inquiry (2001) warned that there is a problem with gifted education in Australia and that the needs of gifted students are not being met. In New South Wales, there are academically selective classes in Years 5 and 6 of primary school (known as “opportunity classes”) and selective high schools for gifted students. However, there is still resistance to ability grouping of gifted students.