# The case for mixed-ability classes: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 3, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 3, Reading Passage 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 27 | B | He can ask most of the class about character development ... I'd think my lesson would be going rather well if the discussion went as described above |
| 28 | A | The practice is intuitively appealing to almost every stakeholder. |
| 29 | C | The brightest ones will never summit Mount Qomolangma |
| 30 | C | The purpose of teaching is to provide and then gradually remove this 'scaffolding' until they are autonomous. |
| 31 | H | there is limited empirical evidence to suggest that streaming results in better outcomes for students |
| 32 | D | affect those students assigned to the lowest sets |
| 33 | F | These students tend to have much higher representation of low socioeconomic class. |
| 34 | E | Less significant is the small benefit for those lucky clever students in the higher sets. |
| 35 | B | Streaming students by diagnosed achievement automatically limits what the teacher feels the student is capable of. |
| 36 | NO | it follows that streaming students with similar ZPDs would be an efficient and effective solution |
| 37 | NOT GIVEN | the value of knowledgeable student peers must not go unrecognised either |
| 38 | YES | There is also something exciting about passing on skills and knowledge that you yourself have just mastered |
| 39 | NO | we need the many to flourish - not suffer at the expense of a few bright stars |
| 40 | NOT GIVEN | Once a year, I go on a hike with my class, a mixed bunch of students. |

## Why these answers are right

**27. B.** The scene shows one teacher giving simplified texts to some students, drawing materials to a girl who can't focus, character questions to most of the class and deeper questions to two curious students. That is a teacher dealing with very different learning needs, option B.

**28. A.** The third paragraph defines streaming and ends by saying the practice is intuitively appealing to almost every stakeholder. Appealing to almost everyone involved means it has a very broad appeal, so the answer is A.

**29. C.** Continuing the hiking analogy, the writer says the brightest students will never summit Mount Qomolangma in a mixed-ability class, and that mediocrity prevails. Never reaching the highest peak means never reaching their full potential, so the answer is C.

The why and the trap for questions 30 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-case-for-mixed-ability-classes/answers).

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