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STUDENT
ASSIGNMENT IN THE MIDDLE GRADES: TOWARDS ACADEMIC SUCCESS
FOR ALL STUDENTS
Annotated
Terms
Because
members of the National Forum have struggled with the
many nuances of ability grouping, we would like to offer
several observations about some key terms in our policy
statement.
High
expectations--For years, schools across the
country have mounted banners proclaiming, "All Children
Can Learn." Yet, many teachers and administrators believe
that only a certain segment of the student population
can think and achieve at high levels. Sadly, this belief
fosters learning environments where only a fraction
of the student body is challenged and supported as they
strive to produce work of the highest quality. The
rest are caught in what Martin Haberman calls a "pedagogy
of poverty" - the ritualistic acts of giving information,
directions, and tests, asking questions, and monitoring
seat work and homework.1
Teachers who are primarily concerned with the intellectual
quality of student learning are engaging in what Fred
Newmann and Gary Wehlage have termed "authentic
pedagogy." In contrast to Haberman's pedagogy of poverty,
authentic pedagogy requires that students construct
meaning or knowledge, engage in disciplined inquiry,
and work on products that have value beyond school.2
Newmann and Wehlage identified
"a [school's] commitment to maintain high expectations
for all students, regardless of individual differences"
as one of several cultural and structural features that
result in authentic student achievement.3
When high expectations are
communicated through challenging lessons and assignments,
students improve their academic performance. For example,
when math or science instruction focuses on higher order
thinking and problem solving, students score higher
on the NAEP test. Similarly, higher achieving students
are expected to spend more time on homework.4
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to policy statement
Temporary grouping
of students for purposes of instruction--Ensuring
that each student gets the tailored, personal support
necessary to participate and succeed in a rigorous, standards-based
curriculum may require the instructional staff to group
students temporarily for purposes of instruction. The
National Forum believes that students should never
be assigned to homogeneous groups for all their classes
all the time.
When students are temporarily grouped for purposes of
instruction, the instructional staff should consider the
following questions:
- What are our goals in making this assignment? Are
we aiming to accelerate learning for each student?
How will we know we are making progress toward our
goal?
- Are we basing the assignment on diagnosed needs,
interests, and talents, and not on a single test of
achievement or ability?
- How will we routinely monitor the progress of students,
so that students move freely from group to group based
on their academic progress?
- How will we inform students and family members about
the purposes of such assignments and about the criteria
for moving from one instructional group to another?
- How can we use disaggregated placement or outcomes
data to make sure that certain groups are not left
behind?
- Have we explored other options? For example,
- One grade-level team created a shortened block
of time at the end of the school day to give students
an opportunity to complete an assignment or a
task. Students who had already completed their
work could tackle an extension of the assignment
that would move their grades up to the next level.
Students were temporarily assigned to this class
(based on completion of assignments or desire
to do extra work on an assignment), and teachers
kept careful records of student progress on a
weekly basis.
- Some schools have been able to include students
with learning difficulties in all classes through
the use of co-teaching. Rather than pulling students
with disabilities out of the classroom for purposes
of instruction, resource teachers work in the
regular classroom alongside the classroom teacher.
Such co-teaching requires a high degree of coordination,
but in the end, all students in the classroom
may benefit from this staffing arrangement.
- Other schools have used cooperative learning
as a strategy for including all students in heterogeneous
classes.
When innovative strategies such as these are used, instructional
staff must commit to these strategies, and school leadership
must provide the intensive professional development and
ongoing support necessary to make these approaches successful.
Please refer to our list of additional
readings and real world
examples for more examples and suggestions about temporary
grouping.
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References:
1. Wheelock,
A. (1998). Safe to be smart: Building a culture for
standards-based reofrm in the middle grades. Columbus,
OH: National Middle School Association, p. 31.
2.
Newmann, F.M. & Wehlage, G.G. (1995). A guide
to authentic instruction and assessment: Vision, standards
and scoring. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Education
Research, pp. 8-12.
3.
Newmann, F.M. & Wehlage, G.G. (1995). Successful
school restructuring: A report to the public and educators
by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools.
Madison, WI: Board of Regents of the University
of Wisconsin System.
4.
Ames, N. & Haycock, K. (2000). "Where are we now? Taking
stock of middle-grades education." In proceedings
of U.S. Department of Education National Conference
on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in the Middle
Grades: Linking Research and Practice. Washington,
DC: NERPPB, p. 53.
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