Mathematics
Promoting Equality

Perhaps more than in any other subject, mathematics education reveals a bias in favor of students from more affluent backgrounds. A recent Israeli study found that placement in mathematics ability groups was more closely associated with students’ socioeconomic backgrounds than with their previous achievement in the subject (Feniger et al., 2021).

This bias is also reflected in official Ministry of Education data, which reveal, among other things, a strikingly small proportion of students studying mathematics at the highest five-unit level in the city of Ofakim compared with Herzliya. The pattern persists even when examined within a single city: schools in the city’s fifth socioeconomic cluster have considerably more students studying five-unit mathematics than schools in the first or second clusters.

One of the systemic structures reinforcing this inequality is the division of students into ability groups as early as middle school, effectively categorizing them as “strong” or “weak.” Numerous studies show that the effects of this early grouping remain evident for many years after students complete secondary school.

Heterogeneous mathematics instruction is one of the solutions currently being studied in response to the problems created by ability grouping. Research indicates that heterogeneous instruction offers many benefits, including richer learning opportunities and greater encouragement to pursue scientific and technological studies—without disadvantaging high-achieving students and potentially even improving their achievement.

Naturally, this different approach to teaching also presents a range of systemic and pedagogical challenges. To deepen understanding and develop pedagogical responses to these challenges, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Branco Weiss Network of six-year schools, and the Center for the Study of Pedagogy joined forces.

This research and development partnership focused on identifying pedagogical methods capable of addressing the challenges inherent in heterogeneous mathematics instruction, mapping the needs of teachers and students, and developing mechanisms to help teaching teams overcome the challenges they face.

The partnership established a foundation for expanding these interventions and evaluated the effectiveness of heterogeneous mathematics instruction across different learning contexts. As part of the partnership, the Branco Weiss Network advanced the elimination of ability grouping in middle schools and the creation of more heterogeneous classrooms. At the same time, teachers, coordinators, and researchers worked together to develop equity-promoting pedagogies for these classrooms, creating a framework for professional support and learning.