Fair Isn't Always Equal: Chapter 5

Tiering assignments allows students at different readiness levels achieve the sme goals. Every student should be expected to reach the same level of proficiency as the rest of the class, but they all can take different roads to get to that level. The simplest way to tier an assignment is to make questions more or less complex based on the readiness of the student. Learning contracts can be used to allow students to complete an assignment in a different way, or for a later date than the rest of the class. If the student breaks her contract, the teacher can decide what will happen next. Some ways to tier assignments for the entire class are:

• The tic-tac-toe board: This form of tiering allows students to put together their own assignments by choosing one option from each row of the board.


• Cubing: For this type of tiering, the teacher makes a 3-D cube that has different options on each side. Students can choose any one option from every side of the cube.


• RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic/Time): Students choose one option from each category to come up with a complete assignment.

Although tiering is a lot of work, it is effective. Teachers need to be sure the tiering is appropriate and fair for each student. Since not ever assignment needs to be tiered, only tiering major assignments will keep the teacher sane and will help the students learn more.