Originally Posted by DAD22
Thanks for putting numbers with it. My questions is really about what prevents teachers from meeting students at their level effectively. Is it the number of students, or the discrepancies in ability? A combination? My guess it's a combination, but what is the proper weighting of those factors?

I'd say its a combination of both factors, with a third factor being the skill level of the teacher, where the relevant skills are managing instruction at different levels simultaneously AND content knowledge. In many districts elementary and middle school teachers have a K-8 certification, i.e., no specialized content knowledge. They have to learn extra to teach HG students at an appropriate level while also developing/delivering lessonss for the rest of the students.