Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Split Grade Classes

Is a combined grade the best for your child?
Danielle Harder

I was flattered the year my eldest son was assigned to a grade two/three split class. I was assured that because he was bright and motivated, it would be a great fit. A combined grade was sold as a kind of Darwinian survival of the educational fittest. Several split classes later, like many other parents, I wonder who’s winning in this scenario.

Across the country, school boards are increasingly using split classes to handle declining enrolment and class-size caps, while also juggling specialized programs (like gifted and French immersion). In Ontario, for example, about one in four kids is in a split class. The numbers are roughly the same across the country, and even higher in rural areas where there simply aren’t enough students in each class to warrant a single grade.

Click here to read the full article. (Thanks for sending this article in Roxanne!)

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