Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations
Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations
My experience has been uplifting students from failure to consistent success at an inner city high school. A key factor that I attribute to the students' success is the independent exit price -- a 15-20 minute assignment that asks students to perform the objective with high accuracy before leaving the classroom. You may be asking,
How do you deal with advanced students who need challenge and low skilled students who are not ready to tackle the exit price?
Here is how I differentiate the exit price:
1) Everyday I teach to a base skill or what I call "baby objective" that builds off what the majority of students already know and can actually master in one period. The objective should be rigorous but not overwhelm the majority.
2) My exit price includes a mix of problems- high, middle, and lower level. I put high level problems so that advanced students feel challenged and the other students know they have something to shoot for. If a student shows mastery at a basic level by doing 70-80% of the exit price correctly, then they get an A, and everyone leaves happy. If the student can do
