Is Least Restrictive More Restrictive?

As I team teach in middle school inclusion classes I see students in each class with a large deviation in skills.  There are the honor students who "get it" as soon as you say it or show them and can build on the information.  Then there is the middle range of students who will "get it" eventually after a little more demonstrating and hands on activities.  Finally there are the lower students who need continuous repetition of a topic presented in every format imaginable.  There are differing views, do you teach to the top or to the middle?  Remember, there are ranges of abilities within each group.  If you teach to the top, you lose the bottom students who get frustrated and can't keep up as well as some of the kids in the middle.  If you teach to the middle you lose students on the top to boredom and still many at the bottom to frustration and being overwhelmed. While accommodating and differentiating within lessons help many  students, there are still those who either need more direction and practice or the opportunity to inquire. 

By putting our lowest and highest students together in the same classroom are we really doing them any favors?  Even with two teachers, there is not enough assistance and enrichment to go around with a block period.  Yes students could be divided into two separate groups within the class.  However the students know when they are the low group is and don't like to be pointed out as such.  It seems to me that by grouping students into such a large range of abiities no one is being served in their "least restrictive environment".  There are benefits to having a range of abiities within a classroom, such as keeping the bar high for all students.  But, it would also be beneficial to reduce the range of academic needs to a more manageable level.  At some point some of the very low students who struggle with processing and or reading deficits would benefit from being grouped more homogeniously so their specific needs can be met.  Within the grouping they can feel successful working at their potential and not feeling that they are always being compared to students who function at higher levels or think faster.