Millions of American teachers have long struggled with this issue. With classes averaging at least two dozen students, many educators say they have little choice but to tailor their lessons to the children in the middle of the pack. Now, data collected by education researcher William Sanders show how widespread the practice is. The students who ranked near the top or the bottom at the beginning of the year tend to show less improvement. Sanders argues that teachers should be expected to give each student, no matter the starting point, a full year's worth of academic growth so that each child is no worse off than when he or she entered that teacher's classroom.
Many teachers agonize over their failure to do that and are searching for solutions.
But the reality is that there just isn't time. Rick Nelson, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, noted that teachers are asked, in effect, to be the writer and performer in a different five-hour play every day. Jim Jarvis, head of the science department at Westfield High School in Chantilly, is unapologetic about focusing on the average student. The student who wants to learn but is slow at it deserves every bit of extra time I can devote. Fast learners, too, can languish when placed in a large classroom with a wide range of achievement levels.