We believe that students do not benefit from being isolated into different ability and interest groups. Such isolation may remove the most enthusiastic students and talented students from the mainstream, and all of us need their enthusiasm and talent. We believe that all students benefit from a good mix. Thus we have mixed all levels of chemistry into one classroom.

However, we do not believe that all students should be expected to live up to the same standards. Thus, this course has been designed with multiple grading scales and with options for students to change levels. We favor leveling or tracking (chemistry 1, chemistry 2, and chemistry 3), however we believe that the student should be involved in selecting the level while functioning in the course.

A few years ago, students were locked into a course by a decision that was made a year earlier with little knowledge of this course. Problems that we used to encounter (students needing to transfer levels required a complete schedule change, or found no classes open) no longer exist. Students now may change levels without making schedule changes. They do not even have to change lab partners. We find that some students, after spending a semester in chemistry 1 or 2, move up a level while almost as many will move down from chemistry 3 to 2, or from chemistry 2 to 1.

Related posts:

1. Advantages of combining different levels in one class Since our high school chemistry program is far more abstract and mathematically rigorous than our high school biology program, students who base their selection of...
2. Disadvantages of combining different levels in one class. Actually, we do not find these disadvantages but rather limitations. And the limitations are just the ways in which we prefer to be limited, however...
3. Reducing Student Stress while Maintaining Rigorous Course Standards We face the difficult problem of attempting to assess individuals while most of the work and assignments are collaborative. We have a strong preference for...
4. Delocalizing the Teaching Staff or Who’s Up There Teaching Our Class Now? Since our program is research oriented with a strong emphasis on question development, it is essential that students have access to chemistry teachers at all...
5. The Art of Chemistry Assignments in this course are divided into three different levels (we do not mean chemistry 1, 2, and 3). On the first level, the student...