Differentiation can work - really depends on the teachers/circumstances.
Our kids were in a "differentiate or die" elementary school. No kid was pulled out of the classroom for *any* special instruction, gifted or special ed. All of those resources were pushed into the classrooms. They were in a 4th/5th combined class (27 kids) w/ 2 teachers, plus assorted others (aides, student teachers, specialists, etc., ...) at any given moment. At one end of the spectrum, our twins studied pre-algebra, while at the other end was a kid learning the primary colors. Differentiation in that classroom was amazingly successful, a sight to behold.
