This study examined how two small-group discourse types (Reflective and Exploratory) supported the inclusion and enacted levels of cognitive demand of students who typically struggle with mathematics in real-world, task-based assessment activities. The study focused on 11 fifth-grade students within a larger study involving 97 fifth-grade students engaging with 24 mathematics task-based assessment activities. Results showed that students that typically struggle with mathematics were more likely to participate in group discourse during reflective discourse. Additionally, discourse contributions by these students were more likely to be high cognitive demand during reflective discourse. Reflective discourse provided students with time to think through and write down their own strategies which may have increased student confidence and willingness to engage in explaining and justifying their thinking. [For the complete proceedings, see ED629884.]