This booklet is the fourth in a series of "hot topic" reports, that address current educational concerns. The booklet examines questions relating to grade configurations, its purpose being to increase awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding grade span. It explores the ways that schools have addressed concerns associated with particular grade spans and suggests avenues for further inquiry. The text focuses on historical trends in grade configuration and the various contexts of grade spans, such as whether a school is in a rural or an urban area. Most research on grade span focuses on the middle grades and addresses such questions as: Which grades should be grouped together in one school? How many grades should be in one school? and How many school transitions will students make during the K-12 years? Some tips for starting a school with a grade span new to a school system are offered, followed by an overview of grade-span considerations. The bulk of the volume describes eight schools' experiences with grade spans, discussing such issues as how the grade span came about and how the schools were structured to meet the needs of the particular grades it contains. (RJM)