A challenged environment is one which does not easily promote effective teaching and learning. If teaching which is fundamental to learning is to be effective in a challenged environment therefore, teachers and learners have to be adequately prepared to cope with the challenges. The problem of achievement gaps among students has been evident in education for many years. This study looks at the works of researchers on reducing gaps in the achievement of students. Bloom observed that teaching all students in the same way and giving all the same time to learn provides little variation in achievement. Students for whom the instructional methods and amount of time are appropriate learn well, and those for whom the methods and time are less appropriate learn less well. Bloom argued that educators and teachers must increase variation in instructional approaches and learning time. In an educationally-challenged atmosphere like ours, this research is very apt. The findings will be useful for improving teachers’ effectiveness in bringing about higher achievement in low-achieving learners, thereby closing their achievement gaps irrespective of the challenges of the learning environment.
