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

Berry has no patience with those who say they aren't able or willing to put multiage education in place because of NCLB. "That drives me crazy," she says. "Standards are here to stay. Why are we fighting it tooth and nail? Just make sure the curriculum aligns with the test, and that the standards are embedded in all your activities."

Tom Cooper, the principal at Sycamore Elementary School in Claremont, Calif., says although he and his staff are totally committed to multiage education, it is getting more and more difficult to run a multiage school, given the testing requirements imposed by NCLB. But in the end, says Cooper, "When you teach kids well, they'll do fine, regardless of the method of assessment. I'd say don't worry about it."

That's the kind of attitude that keeps Roellke optimistic about the future of multiage education. "Progressive-minded administrators who believe strongly in multiage and have a vision of how to implement it and a staff to pull it off don't need to worry about test scores," he says. "If the teaching is high quality and the curriculum is comprehensive, test scores will fall into place."

Additional Resources

Publications:

"The Promise of Multiage Grouping" by Elizabeth Kappler and Christopher Roellke, Kappa Delta Pi Record, Summer 2002

"Combination and Non-Graded Classes: Definitions and Frequency in Twelve States" by DeWayne A. Mason and Janet Stimson, The Elementary School Journal, March 1996

Children at the Center: Implementing the Multiage Classroom by Bruce A. Miller, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Ore., and ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene, Ore.

Websites:

Learning and Teaching in Multigrade Settings, an international research programme. School of Lifelong Education and International Development at the Institute of Education, University of London. www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade/index.htm

The Multiage Classroom. The Combined Elementary Task Forces of the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Consortium, Omaha, Neb., and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. www.unocoe.unomaha.edu/multiage.htm

Multigrade Classroom Instructional Resources Overview. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. www.nwrel.org/ruraled/multigrade.html

National Multiage Institute. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz. coe.nau.edu/academics/Programs/ nat.multi.inst.php

Priscilla Pardini is a free-lance education writer in Shorewood, Wis. E-mail: pardini@execpc.com