Differentiation acknowledges student differences and represents a commitment to know, address, and plan with those differences in mind. A differentiated classroom refers to an educational setting that provides different ways for students to access content, to make meaning from new information and ideas, and to make products.

Differentiation assumes that students bring different types of knowledge and experience related to curricular goals. Differentiation acknowledges that different students will need to engage in the ideas and skill areas of the curriculum from different entry points.

The goals of educators who differentiate are to ensure that all students learn and to support each child's individual success. Differentiation insures that teachers are gauging appropriate levels of challenge for students. A differentiated classroom is set up to make the right accommodations so that the ideas and learning experiences are engaging and appropriate for all learners.

From the rare child who excels across all subject areas, to the child who struggles across subject areas, and all the variations in between, every student benefits from a thoughtfully differentiated classroom. In a differentiated classroom, instruction is targeted at the readiness level of each student. Differentiated instruction is set up to lead students to develop deeper understanding by building that instruction on what the students already know.

With high stakes testing and the notion that, truly, no child should be left behind, it behooves each of us to find ways to assure that all our students have access to the curriculum and to appropriate and fitting vehicles for sharing their knowledge and understandings.

Differentiated instruction makes use of a variety of resources and opportunities for students as they master the curriculum and deepen their understandings of the important concepts and skills to be learned. Differentiation is creating thoughtful educational experiences that both engage students and invite them to deeper understanding of essential concepts, principles, and skills in each discipline or subject.

Differentiated classrooms are not chaotic, but busy with students taking charge of their learning in a self-regulated learning environment. In this setting, students articulate their rights and responsibilities as learners. They actively pursue their goals within a flexible setting.