Standards

Split Level

November 01, 2003 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Multigrade classrooms are falling out of favor.

Cathy Jackson liked the way the 8-year-olds sometimes modeled positive behavior for the 6-year-olds in her multiage classroom in Louisville, Kentucky. But beyond that, this Bowen Elementary School teacher didn’t see many benefits to the state’s efforts to mix two or three primary grade levels in single classrooms following the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. “If you had [high-achieving] 1st graders with the 2nd graders, that would be great,” she says. “But you never know what you’re going to get.”

Her principal, Stephen Tyra, agrees. Since he arrived at Bowen in 1995, he has allowed his teachers, most of whom managed multiage classrooms, to gradually return to teaching a single grade. “Every chance we saw to return to a more traditional setting, we took it,” Tyra says. “A teacher can plan for a straight grade with much more depth.”

The shift away from multiage grouping at Bowen Elementary is far from isolated. Throughout Kentucky and across the country, the use of the teaching approach which gathered significant momentum in the 1990s is declining. An annual survey conducted by the Kentucky Department of Education shows that since the 1998-99 school year, the percentage of the state’s public elementary schools using only a single-grade configuration has doubled, to 48 percent.

Multiage grouping has existed for as long as one-room schools have, and to some extent its current decrease in popularity can be attributed to the faddish nature of educational practice remember the enthusiasm for, then the backlash against, the “open classrooms” of the 1970s? However, some argue that this time around, the standards movement is hastening the idea’s demise. “Many teachers report that it is getting harder and harder to have a multiage classroom with grade-specific standards,” says Jim Grant, executive director of Staff Development for Educators, a Peterborough, New Hampshire, company. “The testing movement has created a lot of mischief.”

Take Norton Elementary, also in Louisville. Unlike Tyra, Norton’s principal, Lynne Wheat, is a fan of multiage classrooms, arguing that they encourage students to push themselves. “When children of like abilities are grouped in a setting together, they will only do as well as they have to,” she observes. “But when they are grouped by multi-ability, they want to shine.” Throughout the year, kindergartners may move into a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade class, and higher-level 3rd graders sometimes join 4th grade classes if teachers believe they need to advance in a certain subject. “That’s the beauty of multiage,” says Wheat. “There are no walls. Kids are constantly moving.”

Despite general satisfaction with the approach, Wheat says the state’s emphasis on test scores is making it harder to keep the multiage program intact. She’s considering separating out a few 3rd grade classes so teachers and students can spend more time preparing for the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, a national test given to that grade under the state’s accountability system. “The pressure is out there, and you feel the heat,” she says.

While testing pressures may make it more difficult to operate multiage classrooms, the concept itself also has quirks. Vast differences in social and physical development can create problems. Older students at Bowen Elementary, Tyra says, often took joy in spoiling holiday fantasies for their younger classmates. “It certainly blows Santa Claus, doesn’t it?” he says. Many parents dislike multiage classrooms because, too frequently, teachers overseeing mixed groups teach “to the middle” and the bright older kids aren’t challenged sufficiently.

Such concerns led to a 1998 revision in the Kentucky law, giving local school councils the power to decide the extent to which multiage grouping should be used, effectively making it easier for schools to opt out.

Some argue, however, that schools are phasing out the approach just as teachers are getting the hang of it. Ellen McIntyre, an associate professor of education at the University of Louisville, says state teachers have learned more about varying instruction to meet students’ needs. She also claims multiage grouping has boosted academics by promoting a greater emphasis on writing in the early grades. “It was a way to nudge people toward more developmentally appropriate practice,” McIntyre says. “I’d go through It all again for what it’s brought to Kentucky.”

—Linda Jacobson

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Standards Florida's New African American History Standards: What's Behind the Backlash
The state's new standards drew national criticism and leave teachers with questions.
9 min read
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, S.C. July 18, 2023. For DeSantis, Tuesday was supposed to mark a major moment to help reset his stagnant Republican presidential campaign. But yet again, the moment was overshadowed by Donald Trump. The former president was the overwhelming focus for much of the day as DeSantis spoke out at a press conference and sat for a highly anticipated interview designed to reassure anxious donors and primary voters that he's still well-positioned to defeat Trump.
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in West Columbia, S.C., on July 18, 2023. Florida officials approved new African American history standards that drew national backlash, and which DeSantis defended.
Sean Rayford/AP
Standards Here’s What’s in Florida’s New African American History Standards
Standards were expanded in the younger grades, but critics question the framing of many of the new standards.
1 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida State Board of Education in the teaching of Black history.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida state board of education in the teaching of Black history.
Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union via AP
Standards Opinion How One State Found Common Ground to Produce New History Standards
A veteran board member discusses how the state school board pushed past partisanship to offer a richer, more inclusive history for students.
10 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Standards The Architects of the Standards Movement Say They Missed a Big Piece
Decisions about materials and methods can lead to big variances in the quality of instruction that children receive.
4 min read
Image of stairs on a blueprint, with a red flag at the top of the stairs.
Feodora Chiosea/iStock/Getty