“Differentiated instruction” is a fairly new term, but good teachers have been using it for as long as there has been formal teaching. In one-room schoolhouses, teachers differentiated because their classes included different abilities and ages. In the 20th century, teachers differentiated when they put kids in separate groups — “blue bird,” “red bird,” “yellow bird” — in order to teach to each level of student abilities. Then the government became involved, and differentiation was seen as a way to “equalize” students.

Considering that the schools’ goal is to get every student to be “proficient” in every subject area, those students who are already at or above grade level are taught at the same instructional level as everyone else in the class — including students who struggle academically because of factors like home environment, physical and/or mental handicaps, and behavioral issues. Such struggling students who had been in “pull-out” programs are now being taught the same curriculum as their grade-level peers, alongside their peers. Largely because of this inclusion and teachers’ ability to differentiate instruction, test scores for our more struggling students have risen.

When instruction is geared to passing mandated tests — with the goal that in two more years everyone must be proficient — the idea of tailoring lessons to challenge those students who already “get it” goes to the bottom of the to-do list. The majority of teachers’ time is spent making sure that students who are proficient stay so and that those who are struggling are brought to proficiency. Teachers are working harder, longer and with fewer resources in an effort to make this happen — but there is a cost.