Formative assessment is an evaluative practice developed in the classroom for the improvement of learning using evidence on student progression. The objective of this research is to compare sample groups from multigrade and single-grade classrooms on the theme of formative assessment based on the students' opinion of the teacher's performance. The…

Composite classes (also known as multigrades) are beneficial in several ways but have challenges for teaching and learning. This study aimed to explore participants' views concerning their experiences in teaching and learning within a composite classroom setting in Samoa. Specifically, the study sought to determine composite classes' impacts on…

A first-year teacher thrust mid-term into a mixed-grade geometry class in a tough high school struggles to sort out what works and does not work to engage the 120 students in meaningful learning. The students are largely from low-income urban families and demonstrate a broad range of abilities and motivation. The purpose of this study is to…

Have you ever wondered how Laura Ingalls Wilder taught all of her students in the little one-room school house in The Little House on the Prairie series? How did she teach students on so many different levels and all at the same time? Well, that is exactly what it is like in most adult education classrooms today. The purpose of this paper is to…

Research shows that educational outcomes are no different for pupils in single-grade and multigrade classes. However, little is known about the instructional practices of multigrade teachers. What is known suggests that multigrade teachers tend to employ instructional practices that are not likely to facilitate effective teaching and learning. The…

One of the twelve exemplary programs summarized in the Introduction to Right to Read's "Effective Reading Programs: Summaries of 222 Selected Programs" (CS001934), this program is designed to accommodate all types of learners in the same multigraded classroom. Reading skills study each day begins with a planning circle, where each…

Multigrade schools, which combine students of different ages and abilities in one classroom under one teacher's direction, are supported by numerous World Bank projects. This paper aims to increase staff awareness of the complexity of such components and their economic and pedagogical benefits. Pedagogical techniques and outcomes form the core of…

This document reports on the 1991-92 Teacher Recognition Program honoring exceptional teachers from rural and small schools in the New England states, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The program was intended to enrich the quality of education in the Northeast United States and its Caribbean jurisdictions by sharing information about…

Although the single-grade classroom has emerged as the most prevalent administrative arrangement, the existence of the split grade phenomenon continues to be a part of educational tradition in both rural and urban schools, predominantly at the elementary levels. Teachers are then forced to compromise curriculum to teach all levels simultaneously.…

In 1993, East Cleveland Schools teamed with Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Foundation to pilot FAST (Families Are Students and Teachers). Kindergartners stay with the same teacher through second grade and benefit from summer enrichment programs and school/home interactions. A strong relationship-oriented program, coupled with…

This paper describes the long-term effects of a staff-development program, "Dealing with Multi-Grade Classes," based on selected findings from teaching-effectiveness research in schools with multi-grade or mixed-age classes. The short-term effects were examined in two studies conducted in 1986-87 and 1989-90. In 1992 a follow-up study…

Six teachers from small and rural schools throughout the Northeast were selected as the 1990-91 Laboratory Fellows by the Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast and Islands. These teachers were chosen for their exceptional strategies for incorporating multilevel grouping in their classrooms, grades 6-12. This publication…

In this collection, nine master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe classroom management techniques that have proven effective in their multigraded classrooms. Over half the document consists of one paper, the last in the volume, entitled "More like a School Family than Just a Teacher and His or Her…

This handbook was written to review current research on multigrade instruction, to identify key issues faced by multigrade classroom teachers, and to offer novice teachers a set of resource guides for improving instructional quality. The first chapter reviews previous research on multigrade instruction. It addresses questions regarding the effect…

This paper presents the results of a school improvement study (main field test) directed at schools with mixed-age classes in the context of inservice teacher education. A quasi-experimental treatment control group investigation was designed to test the effects of the staff development program "Dealing with Mixed-age Classes," and the…