A teacher tests the common case for streaming students by ability, including the analogy that mixed classes are like a hike paced for the slowest. Research by John Hattie shows streaming barely helps the top sets, harms the bottom ones and lowers teachers' expectations. Mixed classes let students learn from 'more-knowledgeable' peers, and on his own class hike everyone makes it together.
The multiple choice (27-30) runs from the opening scene to the Vygotsky paragraph. The summary (31-35) covers the two Hattie paragraphs. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (36-40) runs from the Vygotsky paragraph to the end.
Multiple choice
Questions 27-30
How to attack this block: The opening lesson shows one teacher juggling very different needs. It isn't a complaint about weak students. Streaming 'appeals to almost every stakeholder'. The Qomolangma line means the brightest never reach their full potential. 'Scaffolding' is the support given in early learning and then removed.
Question 27
Answer: BParagraphs 1-2
Why does the writer open with the Romeo and Juliet lesson?
He's given some of the students copies of No Fear Shakespeare… Another girl simply can't focus and he gives her pens and paper to draw with.
Question says → Passage says
a range of learning needsFor three students, even these literacy demands are beyond them / five of them might be able to support their statements / two curious students
how a teacher handlesHe's given some of the students copies of No Fear Shakespeare / he gives her pens and paper to draw with
Why: The scene runs through very different students, from those who can't manage the simplified text to two discussing Shakespeare's philosophy, and shows the teacher giving each group something different. The writer then says the lesson is going 'rather well'. It's a demonstration of handling mixed needs: B.
The trap: D is the strongest distractor because one girl can't focus. But the teacher gives her drawing materials and nothing suggests she disturbs anyone. A and C are wrong because most of the class engages with the play.
Question 28
Answer: AParagraph 3, last sentence
What does the writer say about streaming in the third paragraph?
The practice is intuitively appealing to almost every stakeholder.
Question says → Passage says
a very broad appealintuitively appealing to almost every stakeholder
Why: 'Almost every stakeholder' covers students, parents, teachers and schools, so the appeal is very broad: A.
The trap: B is tempting because the paragraph mentions selective schools 'for the brightest students'. That's a description of how streaming is organised, not a claim that it favours them. C and D aren't discussed.
Question 29
Answer: CParagraph 5 (the second half of the hike analogy)
What idea does the Mount Qomolangma line suggest?
The brightest ones will never summit Mount Qomolangma, and the stragglers won't enjoy the lovely stroll in the park they are perhaps more suited to.
Question says → Passage says
not achieving their full potentialwill never summit Mount Qomolangma
studentsThe brightest ones
Why: Qomolangma (Everest) is the highest peak, so it stands for the highest achievement possible. Saying the brightest will 'never summit' it means mixed classes stop them reaching their full potential: C.
The trap: A ('unsuitable paths') matches the second half of the sentence about the stragglers and the stroll they'd suit better. The question asks only about Qomolangma, which is about the brightest students.
Question 30
Answer: CParagraph 6, third and fourth sentences
What does 'scaffolding' mean in the Vygotsky paragraph?
what they can achieve only with support - teachers, textbooks, worked examples, parents and so on… The purpose of teaching is to provide and then gradually remove this 'scaffolding' until they are autonomous.
Question says → Passage says
the assistance given to a studentsupport - teachers, textbooks, worked examples, parents
in their initial stages of learningprovide and then gradually remove… until they are autonomous
Why: 'This scaffolding' points back to the support just listed. It is given first and then taken away as the student becomes independent, so it's help in the early stages of learning: C.
The trap: D sounds like the ZPD itself (targeting the right level for each student). But scaffolding is the support, not the target. A is the opposite: scaffolding helps learning rather than preventing it.
Summary completion (phrase list A-I)
Questions 31-35
How to attack this block: Hattie finds streaming does little for results (higher achievements), hurts the bottom sets most, and those sets hold many students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The brightest gain only a little, and teachers' expectations of streamed groups are limited. Several options are near-synonyms ('weaker students' vs 'bottom sets'), so check which one the grammar and the text support.
Question 31
Answer: HParagraph 7, first two sentences
What is there little evidence that streaming leads to?
there is limited empirical evidence to suggest that streaming results in better outcomes for students
Question says → Passage says
very little indicationlimited empirical evidence
leads toresults in
higher achievementsbetter outcomes / minimal effects on learning outcomes
Why: 'Better outcomes for students' means students achieving more, which is H, 'higher achievements'. Hattie adds that tracking has 'minimal effects on learning outcomes'.
The trap: I 'positive impressions' fits the grammar ('leads to positive impressions'), but the paragraph is about learning results, not how streaming is perceived.
Question 32
Answer: DParagraph 7, third sentence
Which students does streaming affect most?
streaming appears to significantly - and negatively - affect those students assigned to the lowest sets
Question says → Passage says
the most significant impactsignificantly - and negatively - affect
students placed in thestudents assigned to the lowest sets
Why: 'Assigned to the lowest sets' = 'placed in the bottom sets'. The summary's 'placed in the ___' needs a place, and D is the only option that is one.
The trap: G 'weaker students' means almost the same thing, but you can't be 'placed in the weaker students'. Read the words around the gap.
Question 33
Answer: FParagraph 7, fourth sentence
What do many students in the lowest sets have in common?
These students tend to have much higher representation of low socioeconomic class.
Question says → Passage says
a large proportion of themmuch higher representation
disadvantaged backgroundslow socioeconomic class
Why: 'Low socioeconomic class' means poorer, less privileged families, which is 'disadvantaged backgrounds' (F). 'Much higher representation' = 'a large proportion'.
The trap: A 'wrong classes' can tempt if you think 'class' means a school class here. In this sentence it means social class.
Question 34
Answer: EParagraph 7, fifth sentence
Which students get only a small advantage from streaming?
Less significant is the small benefit for those lucky clever students in the higher sets.
Question says → Passage says
only minimal advantagethe small benefit
the brightest pupilsthose lucky clever students in the higher sets
Why: The small benefit goes to 'clever students in the higher sets', which is E, 'brightest pupils'. 'Meanwhile' in the summary marks the switch from the bottom sets to the top.
The trap: C 'average learners' is never mentioned. The passage contrasts only the lowest and highest sets.
Question 35
Answer: BParagraph 8, second sentence
What does streaming do to teachers' views of what students can do?
Streaming students by diagnosed achievement automatically limits what the teacher feels the student is capable of.
Question says → Passage says
teachers tend to havethe teacher feels
lower expectationsautomatically limits what… the student is capable of
Why: If streaming limits what a teacher thinks a student can do, the teacher expects less. That's B, 'lower expectations'.
The trap: I 'positive impressions' fits the grammar but reverses the meaning. Hattie says the effect is a limit, not a boost.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 36-40
How to attack this block: The writer says Vygotsky's model, taken alone, would seem to support streaming, so the first statement is NO. He says passing on newly learned skills brings pride and zeal (YES), and that the many matter more than a few bright stars (NO). He never discusses other teachers' doubts about peer tutors, or whether the class hike improves results.
Question 36
Answer: NOParagraph 6, last two sentences
Does the writer think Vygotsky's model supports mixed-ability classes?
If we accept this model, it follows that streaming students with similar ZPDs would be an efficient and effective solution.
Question says → Passage says
The Vygotsky modelIf we accept this model
supports the concept of a mixed-ability classforcing everyone on the same hike regardless of aptitude - would be madness
Why: The writer says that, taken on its own, Vygotsky's model points to streaming, and that putting everyone together would look like 'madness'. So the model seems to support the opposite of mixed ability. NO.
The trap: Later the writer uses the MKO idea from the same constructivist theory to argue for mixed classes. But that comes after 'Despite all this', and the statement is about the ZPD model as he presents it here.
Question 37
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 9, last sentence
Does the writer say some teachers are unsure about letting students act as MKOs?
While teachers are traditionally the MKOs in classrooms, the value of knowledgeable student peers must not go unrecognised either.
Question says → Passage says
students to take on MKO rolesknowledgeable student peers
Why: The writer says student MKOs should be valued, but never mentions other teachers' doubts about it. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Must not go unrecognised' hints that some people might overlook student MKOs, which feels like doubt. But nothing says teachers are uncertain, and you can't infer it.
Question 38
Answer: YESParagraph 10, last sentence
Is it rewarding to teach something you've only just learnt?
There is also something exciting about passing on skills and knowledge that you yourself have just mastered - a certain pride and zeal
Question says → Passage says
rewardingsomething exciting / a certain pride and zeal
to teach knowledgepassing on skills and knowledge
only recently acquiredyou yourself have just mastered
Why: 'Passing on' = teaching, 'just mastered' = recently acquired, and the 'pride and zeal' make it rewarding. YES.
The trap: The end of the sentence talks about the joy being 'lost by the expert'. That's about experienced teachers, and it supports the statement rather than contradicting it.
Question 39
Answer: NOParagraph 11, second sentence
Should the top students' success be the main priority?
And today, more than ever, we need the many to flourish - not suffer at the expense of a few bright stars.
Question says → Passage says
the highest-achieving studentsa few bright stars
The priority should bewe need the many to flourish
Why: The writer's priority is 'the many', and he says they shouldn't suffer for the sake of 'a few bright stars'. Putting the top students first is the opposite. NO.
The trap: The hike analogy in paragraphs 4-5 complains that the brightest never reach the summit, which can sound like the writer's view. It's an argument he has 'heard' and goes on to challenge.
Question 40
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 11, last five sentences
Do group outdoor activities with the class improve classroom results?
Once a year, I go on a hike with my class, a mixed bunch of students. It is challenging. The fittest students realise they need to encourage the reluctant.
Question says → Passage says
collaborative outdoor activitiesI go on a hike with my class
with teachers and classmatesa mixed bunch of students… We make it - together
Why: The hike shows students helping each other, and it's a metaphor for mixed classes. But the writer never claims the hike itself improves results in the classroom. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The paragraph starts with collaborative learning 'improving their communication and social skills', so the link to outcomes feels close. That sentence is about collaborative classrooms, not the outdoor trip.
NO. If we accept Vygotsky's model, streaming students with similar needs would seem efficient. So the model appears to support streaming, not mixed ability.
D (bottom sets), not G (weaker students). The text is about students 'assigned to the lowest sets', and the summary's 'placed in the' needs a place, not a type of student.
Words from this passage worth keeping
tentative(Paragraph 1)
not certain; a first attempt
attainment(Paragraph 3)
the level a student has reached
stakeholder(Paragraph 3)
anyone with an interest in something, such as parents or teachers
wanes(Paragraph 4)
gradually becomes weaker
stragglers(Paragraph 5)
people who fall behind the rest of a group
mediocrity(Paragraph 5)
the state of being only average or second-rate
empirical(Paragraph 7)
based on observation or experiment, not theory
entrenching(Paragraph 7)
fixing something firmly so it is hard to change
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 18 Test 3 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 3, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
