MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT IN MONOGRADE AND MULTIGRADE CLASSROOMS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY FROM PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN LOWER CHITRAL, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Multigrade teaching (MTG) — where a single teacher instructs students from more than one grade level simultaneously — is a practical and widespread response to the educational challenges posed by remote, low-density communities. In the mountainous district of Lower Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan, geographical isolation, sparse populations, and infrastructural deficits have made this model the dominant mode of primary schooling. Yet despite its prevalence, robust empirical evidence comparing student learning outcomes across monograde and multigrade settings remains scarce in this context. This study addresses that gap through a quantitative, post-test non-equivalent groups design. Sixty Grade 3 and Grade 4 students (30 from each school type) from two public primary schools in Lower Chitral completed a 20-item Mathematics Achievement Test aligned with Pakistan's Single National Curriculum (SNC). Independent samples t-tests and two-way ANOVA were conducted to compare group performance. Results showed no statistically significant difference in mathematics scores between monograde (M = 15.0, SD = 2.5) and multigrade students (M = 14.5, SD = 3.0) — a mean gap of 0.50 points (t(58) = 0.73, p = 0.468, Cohen's d = 0.18). Grade 4 students outperformed Grade 3 students in both settings, but classroom type exerted no significant effect on achievement and no significant interaction was found between classroom structure and grade level. These findings align with an expanding global literature suggesting that well-supported multigrade classrooms can produce mathematics outcomes equivalent to those of single-grade settings. The study draws on Vygotsky's socio-constructivist framework — including the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the role of peer-mediated learning — to explain the equivalence. Policy implications for the KP Education Department and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: multigrade teaching; monograde classrooms; mathematics achievement; primary education; Lower Chitral; Pakistan; Zone of Proximal Development; socio-constructivism