Differentiation has been called the key to academic success, and provides the most effective learning experiences by aligning assessments and activities to the students needs.

Student needs include:

• performance or academic readiness

• learning preferences, learning styles of motivations

• cultural backgrounds or language competence

• social emotional competence

Differentiation includes:

• Intentional personalized design based on student needs

• Consistent monitoring and modification of products, processes or content based on student needs