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I was encouraged to receive NCTE's "Statement on the Opportunity to Learn" recently as the debate about ability grouping and tracking continues. Part of the statement reads, "Regardless of the communities in which students live or attend school, their backgrounds, or the way they learn, literacy educators must provide all pupils the opportunity to use language and literacy in critical and empowering ways that address and surmount students' varying needs." The varying needs of learners in our classrooms continue to be a challenge, and conversations about how best to address these needs are often divisive. In my twenty-nine years as an English teacher, I've heard many arguments for both sides, but I've been unbending in my belief that my job is to meet the students in my room where they are and, in our time together, move them as far as I can toward becoming better readers, writers, and communicators.
Four years ago, my principal asked me to teach the newly un-leveled sophomore English course at our school. The team of teachers who initially tackled this challenge were opposed to combining what had always been "accelerated" and "regular" English 10. They felt that because of the difficulty of the combination, students were not adequately prepared for AP, so our AP Language numbers at the junior level had dropped by half. I spent most of the summer preparing for the class. I enlisted the help of a university colleague from the Boise State Writing Project. I invited the other sophomore English teachers to planning meetings at my house. Mostly, I did a lot of reading and research. My experience teaching AP led me to their resources for pre-AP curriculum as well as their policy on equity and access: the College Board believes that "all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success." I wanted to challenge all students in the class so they could choose AP coursework. I knew I had to help students believe they could handle the challenges that would move them forward. Researcher John Hattie's list of influences on student achievement includes teacher estimates of achievement, teacher efficacy, teacher expectations, and teachers not labeling students as having the potential...