Total School Cluster Grouping

Richardson ISD schools follow a research-based practice called Total School Cluster Grouping (TSCG). In elementary school, clustering is done by homeroom class. In our secondary schools, clustering happens within GT sections of advanced classes. Clustering will continue into the 2026-2027 school year and beyond. Clustering is beneficial to all students because it:

• helps all students improve their academic achievement and educational self-efficacy.

• helps teachers more effectively and efficiently meet the diverse needs of their students.

• provides full-time support to high-achieving and high-ability students.

• weaves gifted education “know-how” into the fabric of the school.

• improves representation of traditionally underidentified gifted students.

Using a cluster grouping model reduces the range of achievement levels in each classroom so teachers can more effectively support their students' growth. Richardson ISD teachers plan for their students' success by considering the following questions:

1. What do we want students to learn?
2. How will we know if they learn it?
3. What will we do when they don't learn it?
4. What will we do if they've already learned it?

Cluster grouping is a crucial and effective way of supporting teachers in planning and facilitating targeted learning experiences that extend and enrich learning for all students, including those who may have already mastered grade-level standards.

Each school revisits their student clusters annually while building class lists and master schedules. This year-to-year flexibility, paired with campus leadership teams conducting final checks of class lists for fidelity to the TSCG model, is an important aspect of clustering and one that draws a clear distinction between it and the more fixed practice of tracking.

In building clustered classrooms each year, campuses consider testing information from CogAT and/or MAP, along with other pertinent data and observations that bring a full picture of each student's abilities and needs. Testing data is used to include, not exclude, students in more challenging classifications.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten classes are not clustered for two main reasons. First, kindergarten classes present the largest range of achievement levels because students' prior school experience differs. Second, because neither MAP testing nor gifted identification occurs until the middle of a student's kindergarten year, no pre-existing cluster of identified gifted students is in place when school starts. Each campus decides how to create their kindergarten classes.

Transfers

Students who transfer to or within RISD during the school year will enter with varying types of educational information. Following TSCG protocol, campus administrators will place the child where they will have the most growth. If needed, the child can be moved. Most of the time, a move is not necessary.

All Richardson ISD teachers are expected to facilitate appropriately challenging and engaging learning experiences in their classrooms. By having high expectations for all students, using strategies that promote achievement, and providing opportunities for enrichment and extension to any student who masters a concept before the end of unit, RISD teachers seek to empower every student to learn and grow every day.

Students new to TSCG may express frustration because the work is more challenging than they are accustomed to. This initial "rigor bump’" is normal and presents students with the opportunity to learn to work hard and rise to meeting challenging curriculum. It is a more enduring life lesson for students to be challenged and receive marks below 100% than for them to move through school obtaining great grades with little effort. (Robinson et al., 2002)

Although the class placement process is important, what happens afterward is what makes the Total School Cluster Grouping model successful. As RISD continues to train all teachers on strategies to deepen learning and build more complex understanding of skills and concepts, each classroom strives to be one filled with enriched learning experiences for all students.

Email: kelsey.karcher@risd.org