The California class size reduction program provided schools with cash rewards for K-3 classes of 20 or fewer students. I show how program rules made it possible for schools to save money by using mixed-grade classes to meet class size reduction obligations while maintaining larger average class sizes. I also show that this smoothing of students…

Examined elementary principals' views of combination classes. Interviews indicated they preferred single-grade classes, believing that combinations led to diminished curriculum and parent and teacher concerns. They assigned effective, experienced teachers and high-ability, independent students to these classes. Few viewed combination classes as…

A bilingual teacher in a multiage 4th-6th-grade classroom has met the special academic needs of limited-English-speaking migrant students who immigrated from Mexico with little previous schooling. Her strategies and techniques include an accepting classroom environment, high expectations for every student, building on student background knowledge…