Survey Responses: Question 3: Does your school have leveling? Differentiated instruction? Which do you prefer and why?

These are questions taken directly from the survey I created and passed around to teachers from elementary to higher education.  Each bullet is a separate person's answer, and some include quotes with permission from the teacher.  All others are anonymous.

3.)  Does your school have leveling?  Differentiated instruction?  Which do you prefer and why?

• Both are used in my classes.  I implement differentiation to ensure all learning styles are addressed.  -- Jeff Miller
• Yes, school has leveling.  School has differentiated learning.  I have worked at both types of schooling.  I prefer leveling.  Why do the academic students have to "put up" with the behavior patterns in a class?
• Our school has leveling and we are also expected to differentiate instruction.  I find differentiated instruction very difficult to do successfully.
• We have both, I believe, and I agree with both.  It allows for students of the same level to work more successfully without a teacher having to shift from level to level every class.  -- Justin Gorham
• The school has leveling but there are classes where different levels of students are in the same class.  I would prefer leveling because then the teacher can better prepare students with specific information and know the students will be able to understand the work.  --  Terry Villemure
• Yes -- leveling.  Yes -- depends on teacher.  Prefer leveling.  Teacher time constraints make leveling more effective.
• My school has leveling with differentiated instruction.  I teach math and do not feel heterogeneity would benefit the students.  It's easier to do in some other subjects.
• The school has both.  Four levels from remedial (1) to honors (4).  Differentiated instruction takes place in all levels to accommodate the needs and learning styles of all students. 
• We have both leveling and differentiated instruction. 
• My school has leveling and I like it.  It groups the students according to their abilities, and I think it leads to more productive teaching and class time.  Students also have the option to change levels if they show improvement.  --  Angela Balch 
• Yes.  I would prefer no leveling because classes would self-level.  A student who is not good at math would not take higher level classes.  Leveling students makes them think they can only do work in their level (regardless of their ability). 
• We have different levels for classes, but I also have to do some differentiated instruction within the level.  This is especially true for my lowest level classes where I have a mix of ELL, special education, and "repeat" students, in addition to "regular" level 1. 
• Yes to leveling; differentiated instruction is the goal.  I have always used a combination of both since I teach different grade levels. 
• Yes, leveling.  D. I.?  Depends on the teacher.  It used to be called "individualized" lessons/instruction/curriculum, and I've done it for years.  --  Leslie Blanding 
• My school has leveling.  There are four levels.  There should therefore not really be a need for differentiation.  I find however that many students are not placed correctly in levels and then some differentiation needs to be done.  I prefer leveling because I find that many students do not have self-discipline to work on an assignment while I work with another group on a different assignment.  --  Cornelia Reisman 
• We level math and language arts, and only allow students reading on grade level to take world languages (or remain in reading classes if not).  I prefer differentiation because homologous classroom grouping breeds an ugly spirit of arrogance and entitlement in the highest levels and conversely leads to a culture of defeatism and laziness in the lower levels.  I have taught in both scenarios and much prefer a mix of abilities -- after all, the world is not leveled -- we must learn to live with those who are different.