<p>I should have said the U.S. has a huge <em>illegal</em> immigrant population.</p>
<p>I think that the school should have either kept all the levels or merged all the levels. Merging b and g and leaving a the way it is just rubs me the wrong way. If merging will benefit anyone at all, then it makes sense to do it across the board. It is hypocritical to say that it is a beneficial change but then still retain the a group that makes the school look good.</p>
<p>The school should also make it up to kids and parents as to what level they can sign up for. (I am also from MA where this happens.)</p>
<p>I predict that the net effect would be that a huge number of b kids will move up to a, effectively restoring the segregation of the g group.</p>
<p>p.s. Our elementary school has multi-age classrooms (at one time, grades 1-3) which required differentiated instruction. For some, it worked,for others, they were either lost (1st graders) or bored (3rd graders). It took very skilled teachers to make it work.
p.p.s. Extra assignments do not address advanced students’ needs: deeper assignments may.</p>
<p>At Happykid’s HS, there were general levels for all courses, honors sections for some, and a ton of AP courses. The school operated a full-time trawling system that appeared to include everyone from the Principal through the night maintenance workers for the sole purpose of pushing students into the highest level they could possibly cope with. B in first semester Freshman American History, good work, you are now registered for Honors American History second semester. B in 11th grade English, good work, you are now registered for AP Lit for 12th grade. By expecting the students to perform to higher standards, and by offering all kinds of support during the day and after school, this HS at least is making it work. Whether this would be possible anywhere else on the planet, I don’t know.</p>