Young children believe they are great singers, artists, scientists, engineers, gymnasts, architects and authors, capable of anything; most appear fearless and proud of their accomplishments. Then, we test these children for “readiness” before they enter kindergarten, identify deficits and, on Day 1, begin drilling academic skills.

Children’s "can do" spirit and natural eagerness to learn is quickly subsumed by seat-work, homework and tests. Such environments not only discourage learning, but individual needs are set aside to raise group scores.

Research supports positive, supportive, respectful relationships as vital to encouraging learning in young children: relationships that form and flourish over years in multi-age, multi-grade classrooms between and among teachers, families and children. In Italy and other parts of Europe, it is common to keep a group of elementary school children together for five or six years (first grade to fifth or even sixth grade). Teachers come to know and understand each child well and build upon individual strengths and interests, family members and teachers develop trust, and children develop strong bonds with and learn from peers and teachers. These factors are found to decrease classroom stress and increase enthusiasm for and engagement in learning.

Some argue that in the U.S.’s age of accountability, multi-age grouping may no longer be viable. It is more efficient to group not only by age, but ability, making it easier to drill isolated facts and test discrete knowledge and narrow skills.

However, the Italians argue that much less time is wasted in their model -- there’s no delay after holiday breaks, teachers build on in-depth knowledge of children and their families when developing and carrying out individualized curriculums.

While American researchers call for more analysis in multi-age elementary classrooms, data from the U.S .and abroad show sufficient benefits for children, especially those "at risk,” to make this model worth promoting.