Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Age-Graded Classrooms in Elementary Schools
Elementary schools rely on the use of age-graded classrooms as the primary way
to limit the range of abilities within a single classroom. Every elementary school
that we visited had age-graded classrooms. However, some teachers reported
problems with the age-graded classroom as a way to deal with individual dif-
ferences. Even teachers in affluent districts where students are from homogenous
backgrounds reported that teaching math in an age-graded classroom presents dif-
ficulties in dealing with individual differences.
To address this concern, one school was experimenting with classrooms that in-
cluded students of different ages. This elementary school located in West City had
many students with limited English-language proficiency and minimal experience
with school. Some students had just arrived in the United States and had never
been formally enrolled in school. To manage these kinds of students, the school
district in which this school is located had restructured some elementary school
classrooms so that students were placed with students of similar levels of achieve-
ment, rather than of similar age. A teacher at this elementary school regarded this

---

76
program highly, observing that it helped recent immigrants become integrated
into the school.
Individualized Instruction in Elementary Schools
Teachers in elementary schools often worked one-on-one with students during
group work time. We frequently observed teachers walking around the classroom
helping students individually. Assistant teachers were also present in many class-
rooms, and their role was to work one-on-one with students. In one case, a single
assistant teacher was assigned to a severely handicapped girl who was
mainstreamed into the regular classroom.
Individualized instruction also occurs when subgroups of students are periodically
taken out of the regular classroom to receive accelerated or remedial instruction
in basic subjects. For example, during math lessons, students who were unable
to keep up with the regular lesson and those for whom the regular lesson was
too easy could go to a different teacher to receive instruction that was more
appropriate for their ability levels.
We observed these pullouts for math and language arts, but we did not observe
any pullouts for science. Teachers explained how ability differences in math and
language arts are more pronounced than in science, because science is a subject
that does not require all students to be at the same level. Participation in science
in elementary school is for the most part not based on cumulative knowledge, as
is the case with math, and there is a heavy emphasis on experimentation. Al-
though the degree of understanding of the experimental results may differ, stu-
dents from a wide range of ability can still successfully conduct the experiments
in the laboratory periods in science.
Computers and individualized instruction in elementary schools. 
Technological
advances are changing the ways schools deal with individual differences. Although
uncomfortable with the many new advances in computer technology such as the
internet, educators were generally optimistic about the potential of computers to
help them deal with individual differences. Many educators reported that they
used computers as a way to individualize instruction and manage individual dif-
ferences in ability. They cited how computers can be used to match the level of
each student, for example, in providing spelling and reading drills for students in
need of remedial instruction. Students who were gifted could also progress at
their own pace. Several teachers also mentioned the added benefit that students
seemed to enjoy working with computers and that some computer games had an
educational component. Software for math, spelling, and reading drills were fre-
quently used by students.

---

77
In spite of the perceived benefits of computers, the availability of computers var-
ied greatly from school to school. The poorest schools had the fewest computers.
Parks Elementary had only one computer per classroom, and they were outdated
and lacked the power to run most educational software. In contrast, later models
and a greater quantity of computers were more typical at the schools we visited
in affluent districts. Some regular classrooms had four or five computers, some of
them recent models. Rockefeller Elementary, located in the affluent suburb of
Lakeside, had a computer room with several dozen computers, and Vanderbilt
Middle School had a whole computer room for student use.