The slowdown of the multiage classroom: what was once a popular approach has fallen victim to NCLB demands for grade-level testing

School Administrator, March, 2005 by Priscilla Pardini

There were some exceptions to the practice of grouping students solely by age. Those included instances where one teacher taught two or more grades in the same room at the same time. Known as "splits," "combination classes" or "multigrade" classes, such arrangements can still be found today, but they differ from true multiage classes in that they are generally set up for administrative and/or economic purposes rather than educational merit.

To be sure, there have been a few multiage programs that emerged over the years that were educationally grounded. Most notable--and still popular with a sizable number of parents and educators--is the Montessori approach, which calls for children to be exposed to a wide range of educational opportunities while learning at their own pace. Others include the Open Education movement of the 1960s, which grouped and regrouped children throughout the school day based on their needs, and Individually Guided Education, which surfaced in the late 1970s and called on students to work their way through personalized learning plans.

Richer Environment

Today's multiage movement traces its philosophical roots to the guiding principles of early childhood education, which stresses the importance of developmentally appropriate pedagogy. "It's very much a child-centered approach that assesses children's understanding and chooses curriculum pieces to fit their needs," says Sandra Stone, director of the National Multiage Institute, based at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. "The emphasis is on the child rather than on the curriculum."

Although that attitude can guide teacher practice in single-grade classrooms too, it's more likely to happen in a multiage setting. "If you're a 3rd-grade teacher, you tend to focus on, 'This is what I teach,'" says Stone. "If you're a multiage teacher, you focus on 'These are the children I teach.'"

Schatmeyer says teaching a single-grade class can give teachers a false sense of security. "They feel they can use the same textbooks, the same basal reader," he says. "Many teachers go with what the manual says. They follow the script." But when schools do away with a grade-level designation, he adds, "It forces the teacher to look at the individual needs of each child."

According to the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Consortium, that means constantly monitoring student growth in multiple subject areas and designing activities that move students through the curriculum at their own rate. Other key elements of multiage teaching include the use of cooperative learning, flexible grouping and integrated, thematic units of study. Students are encouraged to be independent, to make their own decisions and to share what they learn with others.

Schatmeyer says being a member of a multiage classroom is like being a member of a big family. "Older kids work with youngers just like they do at home," he says. Stone agrees. "You see more sharing, more turn taking, more caring for one another."

Stone, who teaches classes in multiage and early childhood education, says a multiage setting provides a richer learning environment. "Children bring multiple perspectives and hear multiple perspectives," she says. Anderson likes the "good spread of physical, mental and social experiences" that different-aged children bring to a classroom setting. "That's the way the rest of life is," he says.