The weaker students were put into a slow-moving group that reviewed the textbook used by second-year students in middle school. Zhang provided the bulk of the teaching to this group, which used self-study only as a supplement. To Zhang, these students were making a strategic retreat, taking a few steps back so that they could advance again.
慢組由學習較困難的學生組成，退回去從初二的內容學起，以老師傳授為主，自學輔導為輔，「退是為了進」。