There is a spectrum in any classroom of more than one student. I would say simply that whether and how to advocate for your child should depend on whether your child needs more than what the classroom and the school offer.
Exactly.
I have found that trying to find a classroom where the mean is as close as possible to my kids ability works best.
Agreed. However, few may create classrooms as flexible
cluster groups by readiness and ability, regardless of chronological age and/or grade level so that children are learning at the appropriate challenge level or in their zone of proximal development (ZPD), with the closest possible intellectual peers in a subject. In more instances, cluster grouping may be a
buzzword to give the impression of meeting a child's educational needs.
Even when students are grouped by readiness/ability, as this
study shows, classrooms of "gifted" pupils may have a preponderance of non-gifted but high-achieving students added to bring the class size to 20-24 pupils.
I admit that I am very jaded about differentiation these days.
You are wise not to accept "differentiation" as anything more than a
buzzword. Differentiation only means that something is different, it does not imply that the difference provides an educational experience which is better suited to the child's needs.
