Enhancing Academic Efficiency through Ability Grouping and Remedial Classes: The Cases of India and Vietnam

Improving the performance of academically weak students remains a major challenge in developing countries, particularly in the context of the ‘leave no one behind’ agenda. This study examines the roles of ability grouping and remedial classes in enhancing academic efficiency among students in India and Vietnam. Drawing data from 17,866 students in the 2016/17 Young Lives School Survey, this study estimated efficiency scores by using the order-alpha partial frontier approach, and their determinants were assessed through a bootstrap truncated regression model. The findings indicate that ability grouping increases students’ efficiency by 3%, whereas remedial classes decrease it by the same margin. Additional analysis reveals that ability grouping is most effective for academically weak students in public urban schools, while remedial classes are more beneficial for academically weak students in private urban schools. These findings suggest that interventions should be tailored to student characteristics and school contexts to reduce efficiency gaps, and promote more equitable learning outcomes.