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STUDENT
ASSIGNMENT IN THE MIDDLE GRADES: TOWARDS ACADEMIC SUCCESS
FOR ALL STUDENTS
Learning
Activities
Student assignment, often called ability
grouping or tracking, remains a divisive issue among
parents, teachers, administrators,
and policy makers. Members of the National Forum to
Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform struggled with the many
nuances of ability grouping before coming to consensus
on its position on ability
grouping and student assignment. The following tools
may be helpful as you consider the issues surrounding
student assignment in your own school, district, or
state:
HIGH-LEVEL
CLASSES FOR ALL STUDENTS: The National Forum's Policy
on Student Assignment
This document which was designed specifically for parents
and community members outlines the National Forum's
official position on ability grouping and student assignment
in language that is friendly to a wide range of audiences.
Anne Henderson, a well-known family-school relations
advocate, worked with staff and members of the National
Forum to create it.
SCENARIOS, DISCUSSION QUESTIONS,
AND ROLE PLAYS
To
help Forum members explore their own feelings about
student assignment, the
Forum created and thoughtfully considered several hypothetical
school scenarios:
- a school with a gifted and talented program
- an extremely heterogeneous classroom
- a school placing students in algebra vs. "regular"
math
- a support model for students with learning disabilities
- a pull-out program for Title I students
- an English-as-a-Second-Language program
Each
of these scenarios includes a discription, discussion
questions, and role-playing activities.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL
These questions were developed to stimulate
thoughtful consideration and discussion of student assignment
practices within your own school or district.
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