Which approach maintains a common objective while supporting students at different readiness levels?

• A. Provide tiered tasks, scaffolds, and flexible grouping.
• B. Give entirely different objectives to each group.
• C. Use only one activity regardless of readiness.
• D. Move the objective to a different standard.

Answer: (A)

Differentiating instruction while keeping a shared goal means tailoring the path, not the destination. Using tiered tasks, scaffolds, and flexible grouping lets every student work toward the same objective, but with supports and entry points aligned to their readiness. Tiered tasks present the same learning target at multiple levels of complexity so students can access it from where they are. Scaffolds provide temporary supports—like prompts, modeling, or sentence starters—to bridge gaps without changing what students are trying to achieve. Flexible grouping lets you regroup students by need or readiness for targeted instruction or collaboration, preserving the common objective across groups.

Other options break that alignment: giving entirely different objectives means not all students are aiming for the same standard; using one activity for everyone can overlook varied readiness; moving the objective to a different standard changes what is being learned rather than how it’s accessed.