Multigrade schools, which combine students of different ages and abilities in one classroom under one teacher's direction, are supported by numerous World Bank projects. This paper aims to increase staff awareness of the complexity of such components and their economic and pedagogical benefits. Pedagogical techniques and outcomes form the core of multigrade teaching. Although multigrade instruction occurs in both developing and industrialized countries, current administration and teacher preparation systems tend to ignore it. Administrators must focus more on strategies affecting actual teacher behavior and role perceptions. Teachers should be resource persons, managers, and facilitators of the learning process. Multigrade schools will succeed if teachers adopt more effective teaching practices, if adequate programmed learning materials are available, if local and regional support networks are developed among teachers, and if national support is given to pilot programs. National level policy decisions regarding educator training, teacher recruitment and support, and materials development become inevitable when a pilot program leads to a large-scale expansion. Appendices contain population density charts, implementation costs and savings information, and a sample pedagogical workshop format. (Contains 39 references.) (MLH)