XYZ grouping
a program in which school administrators assign students in the same grade to classes by virtue of their test scores and school records. Students with similar abilities are placed in “high,” “middle,” or “low” groups or classes; each group follows the same basic curriculum. Students in the middle and lower classes in XYZ programs do not increase their achievement as compared to students in traditional classes, but students in the higher classes in XYZ programs increase their achievement by about one month on a grade-equivalent scale as compared to students in traditional classes. In XYZ classes, self-esteem of lower ability students rises slightly and self-esteem of higher ability students drops slightly. See also ability grouping.