Multigrade Classrooms: Are Our Students at Risk

During my internship I was placed into a rural school which used split grades or multiage classrooms. There were classrooms with a grade 1-2 split, a 2-3 split, a 4-5 split, and a 5-6 split. I was placed in the grade 2-3 split. After about a month and a half into the school year the decision was made to make some changes. The grade 1, 2, and 3's would be separated into their own grade specific classrooms. For the remainder of my internship I noticed a distinct positive change in the students after the switch away from the multi-grade classrooms. …