He concluded that both the younger students and the tutors benefited from the experiences. Some teachers were concerned about the demands of teaching different ages and developmentally different students in the same classroom. At this time, individuals must draw their own conclusions about the degree to which the research on multi-age grouping is educationally valuable at the middle level. Current research findings about the academic benefits of multi-age grouping at the middle level are inconclusive. The academic findings are generally positive or neutral, rather than negative.
Current research does conclude that multi-age grouping provides affective advantages.
It enhances students' self-esteem, decreases behavioral referrals, reduces the effects of labeling, encourages the formation of close communities, and leads to social and academic continuity. Generally, specific research between these types of affective variables and academic achievement is positive, thus increasing the likelihood that future research at the middle level will solidify the relationship between the multi-age process of grouping and student achievement. The critical variable in achievement research is usually the nature of the instructional process, not the nature of the organizational process. What Current Research Says to the Middle Level Practitioner, edited by Judith Irvin. We encourage readers of this Research Summary to read the McLaughlin and Doda chapter.